章節 10: I will miss you

"Huh?" Si Yena blinked in a daze. After a moment of silence, it seemed as if she realized what Daisy was asking about, ''Our little Princess? She is playing,'' she focused the camera on the little girl lying on the bed, holding a small cat stuffed toy near her face.

Daisy did not say anything.

''She has been crying all night and she barely slept yesterday,'' Si Yena mumbled as she leaned forward and stroked the little girl's tiny hands.

Daisy lowered her head, ''Thank you,'' she looked at Si Yena gratefully.

''Daisy, you don't have to thank me,'' Si Yena paused, her gaze turning a little complicated, ''I might not deserve it.''

Daisy did not respond to Si Yena's words. The woman had been there for her when she had not expected anyone's company. There was no explanation needed to back her gratefulness, ''Just one more month. I won't be able to stay in touch with you for some time but I will meet you in your mansion soon.''

''What exactly are you up to?" Si Yena questioned.

Daisy paused.

''If you don't want to say…''

''I want to authenticate a new identity for myself for future. If I run from the wedding right now, I will be pursued. Having the baby with me will put her at risk of being exposed. Once I escape from their trails and adapt to my new identity, I can easily come back, take the child and leave again,'' Despite being a woman of few words, Daisy explained everything to Si Yena patiently.

Si Yena's eyes turned downcast.

''What happened?"

''You know, despite the chaos in your life, you are lucky, Daisy.''

''Lucky?"

Si Yena nodded, ''You have your ways with which you can carry out your own will. No matter what circumstance you are cornered in, you can find a way out. You have skills. It's easy for you.''

Daisy pondered over the past few days that she had to spend without her child and the upcoming weeks she would be spending without her while working on her plans that might not even work out.

Si Yena continued, ''Unlike me, my family will never accept my will and I have no way to convince them. I have no way to escape from the decisions that they will impose on me.''

Daisy frowned, ''What happened…''

A series of consecutive knocks interrupted Daisy's words, ''I will get back to you later.''

Si Yena nodded.

Daisy disconnected the call and opened the door.

Dressed in a beautiful golden dress, Diana stood at the entrance, worry and disbelief etched between her brows as she looked at Daisy, looking all beautiful, donned in her bridal attire. If it was some other day, Diana would have started singing praises of her sister but she looked distracted in that moment, ''I thought you would change your mind. Why are you going all the way with this marriage?''

Without giving an opportunity for Daisy to speak, Diana continued, ''I have seen this Lu Sheng a couple of times and every I saw him, he was with a new woman. Are you sure you are going to spend the rest of your life with a man like that…?"

Daisy hugged her tightly, not letting her finish with her blabber, ''I'll miss you.''

A weird feeling consumed Diana, a bad premonition rising in her chest, ''What do you mean by missing me?'' They grew up in different countries yet Daisy never said a word about missing her because they always found a way to meet each other whenever possible, ''The Lu Family is settled in Beijing only. You will always be close,'' Diana mumbled hesitatingly as she hugged Daisy back.

Daisy closed her eyes, letting the complex thoughts in her heart rest.

...

In a private room of the grand wedding venue.

''Mom, I don't want this marriage. Don't you get it?" A young man screamed, hurling a vase to the floor.

''Ah Sheng,'' Mrs. Lu looked at her son in disappointment, ''Have you lost your mind?"

"You want me to marry Daisy Chen?" Lu Sheng looked at his parents mockingly, ''She is beautiful, yes. But have you ever seen a smile on her face? If you want me to marry Diana, I can consider that. She is docile, sociable, sweet and exactly my type of woman. But Daisy? That domineering woman! I once approached her in a party years ago but she did not even bother looking at me. And she has a reputation for being well trained in martial arts. Do you think a woman like that would be soft or womanly in any way? I don't even know how she looks like now,'' he spoke without filtering his words, knowing that he would be left with no way out if he held back in that moment.

Mr. Lu and Mrs. Lu exchanged glances before the former said, ''Then why did you agree to this marriage in the first place?"

"You have never talked about my marriage before so I thought this was a fluke,'' Lu Sheng shrugged, ''Or perhaps you need the help of the Chen Family for some business deal. That's what I thought so I was more than willing to lend you my hand for some time.''

Mr. Lu frowned, ''Regardless of the reason, your consent is what carried this relationship forward. Now, if you retreat, we will be making an enemy out of the Chen Family, and that is not something we should do at this juncture.''

''Our Family is not less than the Chen Family whatsoever,'' Lu Sheng's brows furrowed, ''Why should we be scared of them?"

''What do you know? If you understood these things, then you would be helping your second brother out with family business instead of partying all over the world,'' Mr. Lu reprimanded, ''The Chen, Qin, Lu and Si Family has always been on cordial terms. If two of the families make enemies out of each other, the other two will be reaping the benefits by the shift of the power dynamics. Do you understand the consequences of that?"

''The Qin Family might not have any interaction with any other family. But Old Master Qin and Old Master Chen used to be close friends before Old Master Chen passed away. Do you think they will collaborate with us in any way or put us above the Chen Family considering their Old Master's relation with Daisy's grandfather?''

Mrs. Lu pondered over husband's words and continued speaking, ''As for the Si Family, they bootlick the Chen Family all the time. From what I know, the young Miss of Si Family is a close friend of Daisy.''

Lu Sheng fell into contemplation when he heard his parents' words. It was not that he did not know about all these possible consequences, but it was his marriage that they were talking about. He could not imagine spending his life with a woman as cold and intimidating as Daisy Chen. He had agreed to it thinking that it was just a fluke but now what?

Before he could say anything, Mrs. Lu spoke up, ''But you don't have to worry about all these things. If you don't like Daisy then so be it. You just have to marry her. Nobody is saying that she is the only woman you are going to have.''

Mr. Lu looked at his wife as the density of her words registered on him.

''As long as we tread carefully, and you have her under your control, then the Chen Family is not a threat to us anymore,'' Mrs. Lu declared, ''You can go ahead and do anything without any fear. We will back you up.''

Lu Sheng frowned, feeling a hint of displeasure inside him when he heard his mother's words but eventually, he remained silent.

''It doesn't matter to me what you both are planning to do, but this marriage has to go on at any cost,'' Mr Lu's words dropped as the final ultimatum on the mother and son duo.

In another luxury room of the same wedding venue.

Four men sat on a luxurious black L-shaped couch, focused on the laptops on their laps as their fingers moved in a blur. There was an imminent panic and fear on their faces no matter how much they tried to appear calm.

The doors to the room open and immediately, the intense typing sounds came to a halt as the men stopped their movements and placed their laptop aside.

They stood up in unison to face the man who had stepped inside the room, "Boss,'' they greeted.

With one hand tucked in his pockets, Ryle strode inside the room. His expressions languid and his posture laid back as he surveyed the place.