Daniel froze when he heard that. Then, he looked at Ryan in confusion.Goosebumps spread all over Ryan's skin. "Why are you looking at me like that? If you have something to say, spit it out."A light chuckle came from Daniel. He decided to set aside his tasks for now. His warm voice rang out. "You've got a reputation for being nice to all women, regardless of their looks. What's with the sudden insult toward Jessica today? Have you gone through some kind of epiphany?"Ryan couldn't help but chuckle, too. "Yes, I'm kind to women of all appearances. But that doesn't mean I'll still be nice if they're mean to others."That was his indirect way of saying Jessica wasn't a nice woman.Daniel twirled his pen between his fingers but didn't refute his claims. If this had happened in the past, he would've already defended Jessica. However, various truths had surfaced before him. Besides, he wasn't an idiot who couldn't differentiate between right and wrong.Ryan knew from Daniel's reactio
Daniel gazed down at the phone on his desk. "Hey, what do you think would've happened if she was with me during those three years?""What?" Ryan hadn't caught what he said and only heard the mention of "three years." He crossed one leg over the other and shot a confused frown at Daniel. "You must be having another ill episode."Daniel ignored that comment as he tidied the documents on his desk, picked up his phone, and stood. "Should we go for lunch?"His tone was calm, and he didn't look like he was joking."Now?" asked Ryan, who glanced at the time. He didn't know why Daniel had brought up lunch when it was still breakfast time.Daniel had picked up his car keys. "The Four Seasons restaurant is far from the company. It'll take almost an hour to drive there, so we'll reach around lunchtime. Forget I offered if you're not up to it."With that, he strolled to the door.Ryan froze. When he snapped out of his daze, he realized that Daniel had already stepped out the door. So, he ra
"Alright! It's done. Ms. B, how's your side going?"Markus was making a simple pasta.He added some meatballs to add flavor to it.It would be a great addition to an otherwise usual meal.Despite the big portion, they would be able to finish it in no time. Thanks to Rebecca, the kitchen staff had been gaining weight lately. They were always running out of ingredients for staff meals.By the time he finished his part and plated it nicely, Rebecca was almost done with her dish. "I'm done. Let's bring them to him."She made a local dish from Liam's hometown—lemon chicken. Although he had settled down in Riverwood, he had worked in his hometown at the beginning of his career.Still, he could never get enough of the local cuisine.Even after he moved to Riverwood, he frequented Four Seasons to enjoy some local delicacies with Markus.Markus had suggested she make lemon chicken. That way, Rebecca might be able to move Liam by conjuring his memories of his hometown.Taking Liam'
As soon as Markus said that, Rebecca could feel the mood change instantly.She wanted to say that he didn't have to take it that far. After all, it had been a while since Liam retired.It was alright if he didn't want to treat Zelda. A threat was overkill since it was nothing but a meal.Her gaze alternated between the two old men. In the end, she swallowed the words at the tip of her tongue.She stood there quietly, deciding to have faith in Markus.A light snort from Liam broke the silence. He moved Markus' fork away and quickly aimed for a chicken piece.When he shoved it into his mouth, Markus and Rebecca stared at him. They didn't want to miss any nuances in his expression.To their dismay, his expression didn't change after he swallowed the meat. Instead, he set the fork down to cleanse his mouth with tea. He shook his head and commented, "This lemon chicken doesn't taste legit."Rebecca accepted that reaction. Her heart slowly regained its pace as her body relaxed.
Daniel was fast. Noticing that Rebecca was going to fall into the fountain, he hurriedly pulled her into his arms.Before she could regain her balance, he asked in concern, "Are you alright? How could you fall without tripping? Are you that careless, Rebecca?"He chided her as she steadied herself.When anger was rushing through her blood, she couldn't care less about the stinging pain in her ankle."You're the one to talk. Who scared me by showing up behind me? "If you're mad, please meet a doctor at the hospital alongside your fiancé. Don't take it out on me." She shoved him away, wanting to leave.However, she had underestimated the severity of her injury.She felt pain the moment she raised her leg. As a result, she could not regain her footing and fell again.Daniel managed to catch her. Ignoring her hurtful remarks, he held her still by the waist and examined her ankle.He didn't know how she injured herself so badly that her white sock was now tinged red. The color was
It was Markus and Liam coming out of the private lounge. They looked at Rebecca and Daniel.At that moment, she simply wanted to bury herself in a hole.She wondered if they had witnessed how Daniel had jostled her just now.Regardless of that, she still wanted to disappear.Liam broke the silence first. "Mr. Daniel, you …" Unlike Markus, who was astonished to the core, Liam simply didn't expect to see Rebecca and Daniel together.Markus returned to his senses and asked Rebecca, "Rebecca, what are you …"Rebecca wished that someone could bury her alive at that moment. She shifted her gaze away silently while pinching Daniel.Feeling the slight sting, he looked down at her and smiled lightly."Uncle Liam," he greeted Liam before explaining, "This is my wife."She accidentally hurt herself. There’s a cut on her ankle, so I'm taking her to the hospital for a tetanus shot. "I wanted to carry her, but she was shy, hence the noise. I hope we weren't interrupting anything."Li
Daniel took a step forward while fixing his eyes on Rebecca.Only then did she manage to fish the car keys out of his pocket. When the car keys chimed, he wrapped both arms around her waist.He was pinning her to the car door.This position was somehow intimate."Daniel, you …" Rebecca gulped. She watched him vigilantly while clutching the car keys.It took her a second before she said, "The car … It's unlocked …"Daniel stared into her eyes for a moment before raising his head.He took a step back expressionlessly. "Open the door."His tone was cold, as if someone had offended him.She frowned as she was sure she didn't do anything besides take the car keys out of his pocket.She had done that at his request. All she did was grumble. Thus, she assumed that he was being petty and that he couldn't stand her trivial complaints.Rebecca opened the car door so Daniel could place her in the passenger seat. Following that, he crouched next to her feet instead of walking away
"Are you worried about me?" Daniel faltered. He turned to look at Rebecca.Rebecca frowned. "I—"Daniel's sneer cut her off. "Distance, Rebecca. You're the one who said that." He slammed the door shut.It made Rebecca jump. She gave him a look. He was so unreasonable! She got in the front passenger seat and shut her eyes.The journey to the hospital passed in silence. The car sped along smoothly, making Rebecca slowly doze off. Maybe it was because she'd been spending all her time in the kitchen lately.The sound of a phone ringing woke her up. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by Daniel's jaw."Daniel?" Rebecca's voice was a little hoarse after her nap. She looked around to see they were walking along the hospital's stone-paved path. "Have we arrived? Why didn't you wake me up?"Daniel tightened his grip and said, "I can't believe you have the nerve to ask. You were sleeping like a log and refused to wake up, no matter how loudly I called. If I didn't carry you out of t