Daisy continued flipping through the pages and the more she flipped, the more vague the random words became.

Sometimes, the handwriting was elegant and strokes were bold. At times, they were messy but it was obvious that it was all written by the same person. On certain pages, there were some bloodstains that seemed unintentional as the person had tried to wipe them off.

Daisy could not find any meaning behind these words no matter how she thought about them until she reached one particular page.

’He would never know about Ryle but how can I protect Raelynn in this state? How can I save my child?’

Raelynn... should be Ryle’s little sister. What did Ryle and his sister need to be protected from? More precisely, who?

Daisy flipped another page and her eyes narrowed when met with the lines that greeted her.

[Then came the time to part

But you are deep in my heart

How many times have I met you

In dreams at night]

These words. The poem.

They were the same as they had been in one of Caleb’s painting. But unlike the half written poetry there, this one was the complete poem.

Daisy remained seated in that position for another moment before she slipped the notebook inside her uniform.

She got up to leave the room but her footsteps paused when she reached the door and her eyes wandered around the place once again.

She walked towards the walls one by one as she tapped on it gently. When she reached the wall on the side of the bed, she stopped and tapped again.

Under her gentle tap, the wall seemed to bounce a bit.

Daisy stepped back and adjusted her strength before throwing a punch on the wall and like a broken glass, the fragile wall crumbled down at her feet.

When Daisy glanced at the tens of paintings, big and small that covered the wall, she instinctively took a step back.

...

Inside the ballroom.

"Has anyone caught your attention yet?" Nathan sported a cold look on his face as he questioned Ryle.

’’No,’’ Ryle answered without hesitation. The woman who had caught his attention for years now has found the perfect opportunity to slip out of the crowd, abandoning him here in the bunch of boors.

’’You...’’

’’Don’t be angry,’’ Si Yena walked towards Nathan, ’’It’s not good for your health,’’ she hooked her arm around Nathan’s.

Nathan heaved a deep breath, ’’If you can’t choose for yourself, then I will personally pick a woman for you.’’

Ryle wordlessly took a sip of his wine and averted his gaze, looking at the pairs dancing in the ballroom. But his eyes narrowed into splits when he spotted a familiar figure in the distance, standing in the distant corner.

Right at this moment, Ryle heard Si Yena urging Nathan to dance.

"I have some important affairs to tend to. Be good and stay here," Nathan played with a loose strand of her hair, leaned in to kiss her neck before he turned to walk to an isolated corner with the phone in his hand.

Ryle looked into the direction the man had left in and a glint flashed across his eyes.

"Is it you?" Si Yena turned to Ryle.

Ryle merely glanced at the woman wordlessly, clearly not having the intent to grace her with a reply.

"He has been rather occupied lately. It’s almost as if something keeps going wrong all the time. Is that because of you?"

"Are you not playing the innocent mother anymore?" Ryle placed his wine glass aside and turned to the woman.

"I don’t really care what you are doing with your father," Si Yena sighed, "But I can’t help but be curious, especially when my best friend is involved in this whole fiasco."

Ryle’s face darkened.

"What? Surprised that I know that Daisy is here?" Si Yena smiled brightly, "You shouldn’t be. After all, it took me a lot of time and guesswork to conclude that Daisy was Daze. Her disguises have always been able to fool me effortlessly."

Ryle straightened up and walked towards the woman.

Si Yena did not budge. She stood rooted to her spot till Ryle stopped a few steps away from her and stretched his hand towards her.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"May I? Ryle asked, pointing his chin towards the dance floor.

"What do you want? She asked coldly.

’’Are you afraid I would kill you in front of an audience?"

Si Yena smirked, ’’Do you dare to kill me?" As she let him lead her to the dance floor, she continued, ’’Even while knowing that your father would personally deal with you after that.’’

’’He has had many mistresses before. He used them and discarded them all the same. I don’t know if I should find you funny or pathetic that you think of yourself as anything special,’’ Ryle calmly responded as they swayed to the beats.

His eyes however traced the movements of a figure in the distance.

’’Your father has arranged for a team of doctors to help me get pregnant. He intends to marry me as soon as possible. Don’t you think I’m special?" The smile on Si Yena’s face did not falter in the slightest at his mockery.

’’I must congratulate you, then,’’ Ryle smiled and twirled her.

Si Yena’s face stiffened. There was something wrong.

Something was awfully wrong with the situation. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The smile on Ryle’s face told her that she had walked into a trap but how.

The music shifted and the partners switched. As Si Yena’s hand was grasped by a rough hand, she noticed Ryle stepping away from the dance floor, back to his aloof self as if he had not had any engagements with her at all.

"Long time no see,’’ a low voice whispered against Si Yena’s neck and her body turned cold immediately.

’’What are you doing here?" Si Yena felt the arm around her waist tightening.

’’Miss Si, you pull me in for your plan, kick me out of it, and then you sleep with me for days and disappear from my life. And by the end of it all, you don’t even seem to be expecting my presence?" His fingers slid through her backless dress.