Daniel did not know what to say to Samantha. Her eyes were very clear as if she was so sure that her plan would work. She waited for him to say something, waiting for his approval but it looked like he was also trying to study her just the same.He wanted to take responsibility, after all, it is his grandfather. But judging on the look of determination on her face, it seemed like she really wanted to do this.
Seeing that Daniel had no reaction, Samantha leaned forward until she was on his level. And with her hands on either side of his face, she captured his lips. She kissed him ever so tenderly and lovingly, not wanting this moment to end. Her heart throbbed thinking about him and it wasn"t because she was hurt, it"s only because she loves this man.
Stroking her back with his warm hands, he held her in place as he responded to her kisses.
"I know that you want to do everything for me, love. And I appreciate that a lot. But I think this time, I need to do this alone." She spoke as soon as they parted their lips.
He stared at her as he tried to understand where she was coming from. He was about to speak when Samantha continued, "I don"t want your grandfather to accept me just because you asked him to. I want to be accepted by him on his own will."
"How are you going to do that?" He said, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"I... have a plan."
"How sure are you about this plan of yours?"
"I"m not sure if it"s going to work. I just need your support on this."
After sometime, Daniel exhaled a sigh. "Okay. Whatever you need to do. If you need help-"
"I know, I will ask you." She said with a sweet smile.
"Good. Now let"s go to bed, we need to wake up early tomorrow."
...
The next day.
"Come on, baby you can do it! Just a few more seconds." With a stopwatch on his hand, Daniel cheered on as Samantha was holding herself up into a planking position.
She groaned as she felt the strain on her abs. It had been a while since she last trained like this and it was killing her every muscle.
Samantha had learned some martial arts during her teenage years. She had a lot of free time since she didn"t really do anything else besides being cooped up inside her room, play with gaming consoles and reading any books if she wasn"t playing with her computer. She was fourteen years old when she started to take an interest in learning martial arts after binge-watching karate kid movies.
She had this silly thought that she wanted to be the one who kicks a.s.s rather than be the damsel in distress.
Her parents found her a really good instructor and so she started to train a few times every week. She had built muscles and strength as well as discipline for the few years that she had been training. But when she got into college, she became really busy and so her training stopped. It has been a long time since she did some intense workout.
Although she sometimes goes for a run in the morning, or do yoga when she feels like it, she wasn"t like Daniel Cho who was diligent with his every morning routine. If he is pressed for time in the morning, he makes sure to do it at night.
"Ten seconds." He announced.
She groaned once more and just a couple of seconds before the timer ended, she already gave up, collapsing on top of her exercise mat. "I don"t wanna do it anymore. I give up."
Daniel chuckled, "You were only two seconds away, Samantha. But you did great. You can do better next time."
"I feel like throwing up. My head is spinning." She rolled over and laid on her back. This was their second set and she already felt like dying.
"Don"t lie down, honey. Come on, get up." He pulled her up gently and she tried to stay still but her legs became jelly. Instinctively, Daniel kept her steady as he placed an arm around her waist.
"Why are you killing me?" She murmured, closing her eyes as she tried to stabilize her breathing. They did a lot since the early morning, from light running to other Cardio workouts. Both of them were sweaty but neither one irked when their skins touched.
"I"m not killing you, I"m making you stronger. You need it."
Samantha chortled at his response because all she could think about was that he only wanted her to train to increase her stamina when they do another bed exercise.
While this was Daniel Cho"s initial plan, he decided that it was also going to be a good thing for her to be in a better shape and train her martial arts again; just in case she will need it in the future. He thought that whatever may happen, Logan cannot always watch over her and he could not always be with her. This was his way of preparing her for something unexpected.
Not knowing who their opponent was and how or when they were going to strike is the most dangerous thing.
…
While Daniel went to work after their early morning workout, Samantha was getting ready for her mission for the day.
Once she got everything that she needed, she loaded the things in her car and drove to Grandfather Cho"s mansion. It was half past eleven in the morning when she arrived at the estate.
Reaching the gates, she was stopped by the guards and asked who she was. Since it was the first time that she had visited the old man, no one probably recognized her yet.
The guard paged someone from his walky and then Samantha was allowed to enter. When she arrived at the front entrance, Grandfather Cho together with his a.s.sistant were standing by the door, waiting for her arrival. The old man"s face was void of any emotion and Samantha started to feel nervous.
Grandfather Cho stood with a cane on his hand. He was neither smiling nor frowning, "Well… this is a good sign, I think?"
When she got out of her car, a few maids came to help her with the things that she brought with her and they took them all inside.
Wearing a simple pristine white dress, she looked prim and proper while she walked carefully towards the two old men. She swallowed and braved herself as she greeted, "Good morning, grandfather."
The old man looked at her face and the image of his first love flashed before him. His face became gentle before it became cold.
"What are you doing here?" He responded curtly.
Lifting the corners of her lips, she looked very charming. "I want to have lunch with you. I cooked your favorite food."
Grandfather Cho"s brows raised slightly and he scoffed. In his mind, the only woman who was able to please him with food was his late wife. "How could this girl cook my favorite food?"
Clearing his throat, he turned around and entered his house.
Mr. Jiang, Grandfather Cho"s a.s.sistant nodded at Samantha with a smile as if he was wis.h.i.+ng her good luck.
The two of them followed him inside, Samantha feeling even more nervous now that she had stepped inside the mighty old man"s den.