Chequita

Charlotte gulped audibly, realizing that what she thought was her carefully woven web of deceit was unraveling before her eyes. 

She had underestimated her nephew, assuming he was a mere pawn in her uncle Nikolai's game.

As if on cue, the room seemed to grow colder, casting long shadows on the lavish dining area. 

The ticking of the ornate grandfather clock in the corner echoed ominously, marking the passage of time, and the weight of Daniel's knowledge hung heavily in the air.

Daniel continued as he fixed his posture, "Regarding your daughter's engagement, on account that you are my father's cousin, I'll give you a bit of advice. I suggest you tread carefully." 

Charlotte's once-confident demeanor had crumbled entirely, leaving her grasping for words. Her eyes darted around the room as if searching for an escape route.

"D…Daniel dear, I…" She started to say.

"You see, Aunt Charlotte, I have come to realize that promises made in our family are like fleeting whispers in the wind. They hold no substance unless they are written in stone." Daniel voiced, not giving her any time to think of a countermeasure.

He remembered when his uncles had vowed to protect him after the calamity that befell his parents. 

But when young Daniel stared at the empty hall every day after he was thrown into his grandfather's house by those same uncles, his heart gradually turned cold.

There was no such thing as a promise that existed in his family.

Charlotte was just deluding herself. 

His cold eyes swept over her black hair which was heavily arrayed with several gold pieces and he wondered if her neck didn't hurt. 

"But even though our family's promises may be as fragile as glass, the consequences of deceit are far less forgiving." 

"Aunt Charlotte, I hope you're prepared for what you just got yourself into. I'm late for work so I won't be seeing you out." He chuckled heartlessly when he saw her horrified expression, his long legs striding out of the mansion.

He knew his aunt understood what he spoke of very well.

She was so eager to carry out his grandfather's plans and get her rewards but she didn't stop to consider the consequences if she failed.

Nikolai Kozlov might be a shrewd businessman but like an emperor who guarded against his sons who had come of age, he was quite paranoid.

He didn't take the bait laid bare before him and even exposed the secret conversation between Charlotte and his grandfather.

How would Charlotte explain to that paranoid old man that she didn't change sides and spill the family secrets to him?

Well, Daniel wasn't concerned about that and he even thought that maybe this would keep those lecherous and greedy eyes away from him and his company.

Along the lush garden outside the building, a sleek burgundy SUV was parked right in front of him, his driver Oliver stood diligently beside it.

Oliver nodded in greeting and he lightly responded with a hum. 

He stepped into his car and Oliver shut the door calmly after him.

Oliver had just driven out of the mansion and Daniel couldn't help but ponder seriously about the strange visions he had experienced. 

It was as if a door to a hidden world had been cracked open, revealing secrets that should have remained hidden. 

But for now, he had more pressing matters to attend to.

He thought with a sly smirk, 'These people want to take over K and the benefit was what? A fake appointment and a flimsy engagement between a fool and a much taller fool?!'

'Heh. I just realized that grandfather actually looks down on me.'

His eyes flashed and he immediately retrieved his phone from his pocket.

"Regarding our previous deal with the Armiya government about renovating their army barracks, which we gave up for Kozlov Empires, inform the proposal manager that we've had a change of heart."

"As a way to make up for their wasted time, let them know that we're now planning to build a fully equipped military training facility on the same site, and we won't charge them for it. I expect to see some progress on this project by the end of today."

And with that, he ended the call with a beep.

Daniel had never spoken so much before so before Lucas could react to the barrage of words, he heard the tooting of the phone in his ear.

Lucas: '…'

Forget it. He couldn't blame anyone. 

No one asked him to apply to K for a personal assistant to the CEO and pass with flying colors too.

For his extravagant and beautiful paycheck, he'd persevere.

Looking at the itinerary, numerous documents, and incomplete projects before him, Lucas sighed and pulled open a new folder on his laptop.

He stretched his limbs and cracked his joints before muttering, 'For my beautiful Chequita! Fighting!' 

The workers who were passing by at the moment couldn't help but shake their heads in sympathy.

'The boss's assistant was losing it again!'

*****

On a cruise ship sailing along the borders of Diadyn, a slender figure reclined with an air of unassuming grace upon a lounge chair by a swimming pool. 

The golden sun, descending lazily towards the horizon, cast a warm, honeyed glow upon her. She was a picture of alluring contradiction, a delicate yet bewitching presence that commanded the attention of onlookers.

Wearing a cherry-printed white bikini that clung to her skin like a lover's embrace and accentuated the curve of her hips and the slender arch of her back, she seemed to effortlessly embody the essence of sensuality.

Long, sun-kissed supple legs extended gracefully from beneath the bikini's briefs, leading the eye to dainty feet adorned with glittery toenail polish. 

Her hair, a cascade of sunlit auburn waves, framed her face with an almost ethereal softness.

Men who passed by couldn't help but stare a few more times at the girl while women couldn't help but feel envy and jealousy looking at her.

She was just too eye-catching!

At this moment, a man who was dressed as a waiter walked toward the girl lounging and bowed his head respectfully.

"Miss Silver, your father said I should inform you that your things are ready." He said, not daring to raise the gaze of his eyes from the tip of his shiny shoes.

No matter how full on display it was, what he should not see, he'd not dare to even take a peek.

Staring at the shimmering expanse of the sea, Silver's lips, a natural shade of rose, curved with a subtle smile.

She raised her arm and pulled the dark sunglasses off her face with delicate fingers, revealing her eyes which were the color of the deepest oceans.

Onlookers couldn't help but sigh again.

Despite the undeniable allure of her appearance, it was the gentleness that emanated from Silver that left a lasting impression.

"Tell Dad I'll be there in a moment. Sigh…he really knows how to ruin my fun." She said with a slight pout of her lips, her eyes watery. 

One look from this bewitching flower and the whole men on the cruise ship wanted to dote on her.

She was destined to bring men to their knees.

After the waiter took his leave, Silver basked in the sun for a few more minutes before she sat up and casually draped a white stripped towel over her body.

Although she pretended not to see, she had long noticed the stares of the people around her since she sat there.

The feeling of seeing but not being able to touch, Silver knew just how harrowing that felt to the opposite gender. And she had used it to the best of her ability since she got on the cruise ship two weeks ago.

She would 'naively' wear a flimsy piece of clothing and bask in the sun then properly cover herself up from head to toe when she left.

Silver intentionally created an illusion that she didn't know the effect of her alluring figure on men and women alike. 

This made her seem like a lost newborn rabbit who didn't know the ways of the world.

This was why these clueless men would leave their girlfriends and stare at her wantonly every time she came to the lounge. 

Because there really was no other way. 

When she wasn't lounging, her outfit usually covered her up from head to toe so how would the perverted men neglect their women and get this sort of beguiling view if they didn't show up at her lounge hour?

Remembering the number of expensive gifts and business cards in her room Silver laughed mockingly in her heart. 

It was too obvious to say that her trick worked every time.

These men claimed to hold the business world in the palm of their hands yet they fell terribly in front of the measly tricks of a woman.

'How embarrassing!' she thought.

Silver had just walked past a table when a man called out to her. 

"Good day Miss Silver."

She turned her head gently and locked eyes with a man donned in a two-piece flowery print shirt and shorts. 

The man had curly black hair and his deep-set almond eyes were framed by thick eyebrows. His pale lips were pulled into a small polite smile and he looked at her gently.

She searched her memories for this man's name and soon remembered.

"Good day, Mr. Andrew." She hid her disdain and nodded politely at him.

This man was the first man to approach her since she got on this cruise ship. At first, she was excited that such a handsome man was bowing at her feet but later that evening, when she came out for a late-night star gazing, she caught him making out with another woman.

The disgust she felt that day was still very fresh in her memory.

"I wanted to ask if you'd be free for tea this afternoon," Andrew asked, his brown eyes filled with gentleness.

With the amount of gentleness he was emanating, Silver was about to think if this man didn't come toward her to woo her but to compete with her instead.

Throwing the thought to the back of her mind, she still smiled at him politely.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Mr. Andrew but I'll be leaving the ship with my father in about thirty minutes so I won't have the time to accompany you." She said, pointing at the helicopter that appeared overhead, trying her best to look as apologetic as possible.