The air felt heavy as an eerie silence surrounded the entire room. Selena pressed her chest tightly as her heartbeat echoed through, piercing the silence. An unknown fear swept Edward's face, his fingers trembling and ears turned red.
"Grandpa?" Selena called him, sensing his uncertainty.
He blinked and shook his head lightly. "This is not possible."
She sat quietly, her face towards the floor. "I...am sorry." She pulled herself together and looked at him, her gaze was soft but firm. "But...he is actually the best choice we could think of. He can really be our strongest weapon."
Selena's heart skipped a beat as Edward slammed his fist on the table. "Why don't you listen, Selena! I told you not to get involved with Daniel!" He almost screamed out. "It's not like you can do anything you want."
Selena's eyes glistened, her jaw clenched. "Grandpa-" Her throat felt heavier as she looked away immediately. He felt guilty for being too rude but didn't bother being softer either. She took a deep breath and trying to soothe her voice, said, "ok, just tell me then. What's it with Daniel that makes you so furious."
Edward kept quiet for a while."This matter...this isn't just businesses rivalry. It's much more complex than that. I don't want you to be a bait in this matters of past. It's better to stay away." He paused and sighed. "Go, get some rest for now. Don't get wrapped in this dirty politics." He turned away quickly, afraid his eyes might betray the fear he'd kept buried for years.
Selena sat there, fingers numb, tears rolling down her cheeks. Grandpa never spoke to me this way. Then why? Her heart ached as her thoughts cut deeper than anything. Who are you Daniel Knight?
It was quite a beautiful morning. The weather was great and the sky was clear. Mika's car stopped in front of the gate as Selena rushed out and got on the car.
"What's the rush this early?" Mika smiled at Selena who was staring at her phone.
"Meeting Daniel..." She said shortly.
Mika smirked and whispered, "the couples right?"
Selena looked at Mika, her eyes dull, her lips pale. Her face was worn out. Mika got worried and whispered, "did you not have a good sleep last night?" Selena gave a small nod and again got into her phone. "Drive to the cafe."
Mika gave a sigh and started driving.
It was a fresh morning. Daniel sat on his chair, the computer screen flashing in his face, fingers running across the keyboard. His focus broke as a notification blinked on his phone :
"At the cafe, it's quite urgent."
He stared at the text for a while and called his secretary.
"Selena wants to meet at the cafe." He said, flipping pages of the file, in an ignorant way. "I am quite busy, you can go talk to her."
"Umm yes." He said and walked away.
"Guess...she regrets it already." Daniel smirked faintly, running a hand through his hair before turning back to the screen.
After a while, Selena and Mika reached the cafe and saw Daniel's car was already there. Selena's heart was pounding, a slight fear lingering in her head. She took a deep breath, fixed her hair a bit and got off the car.
"I'll wait for you then." Mika spoke, peeking inside the cafe. Selena smiled and nodded as she headed inside. She entered the cafe and looked around, but didn't saw Daniel.
"Miss Selena." Selena's heart skipped a beat as someone appeared from behind. She turned back and, sighing, held her chest tightly. "Mr secretary?"
"Are you alright?"
"I am fine, you just scared me a bit." She gave an awkward smile. They both went upto a table and sat down. Selena held her coffee cup tightly, eyes flickering around, looking for Daniel.
"Isn't...Daniel here?" She asked hesitantly.
He fixed his tie and said, "Actually Mr Daniel is quite busy so he asked me to come instead."
It's better, or else he would twist things even more. She thought and tried to calm down.
"I came here today to ask for a favor actually... It's that I...want to terminate the contract." Her voice was firm and sharp.
"But it can't be done now..." He said in a low voice. He took out his phone and slid it forward. "Maybe you didn't read the contract well before signing."
She picked up the phone, her brows slightly narrowed. Her face turned pale as it was clearly written that this contract can't be terminated till a year. Her finger tips turned numb as she looked up at the secretary. "I...I-" She suddenly fell lost of words to utter.
"I am sorry miss Selena but terminating the contract might not happen now." He took up his phone and stood up. "I'll take my leave first." He said and walked out of the cafe.
Selena sat there regretting things— not because she didn't wanted to avenge her father's death but because she didn't respected her grandfathers words.
Mika saw the secretary leaving and looked around for Selena but she was not there. She rushed in and saw Selena was still in the cafe. She entered and walked up to Selena.
"Is it done?" She whispered.
"Mika, did I...made a mistake?" She spoke with a low voice, face turned towards the floor. "Will grandpa be upset with me?"
Mika patted her shoulder lightly and smiled. "It's fine. He is your grandfather. He will never hate you. Let's go back first."
Mika took her to the car and drove back. All the way, Selena was lost in her thoughts. Mika noticed her absence of mind however she didn't know what she should say.
"Umm, what actually happened today?" She spoke, breaking the silence. "I don't know anything about it."
Selena blinked and pulled herself together. "It was grandpa, I told him about getting married with Daniel. " She muttered. "But he...asked me to stop. He disagreed completely."
Mika kept quiet for a while. "But does he know it's a...contract marriage?"
"No." She whispered lightly, staring out at the street. "But he said there is something other than business rivalry between the two families. I just want to know what exactly happened that he can't even tolerate a single word about that Knights."
Mika gave a little nod. "I'd look after it then."
Mika dropped Selena and returned back. Selena tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and waited by the gate for a while. She then collected all of her courage and walked in.
"Grandpa, I am back." She called out and reached the door. She entered the room and her steps froze.
"Miss Selena. You're finally here." Her heart skipped a beat as she saw Daniel sitting in there.