"What kind of person is she? Your grandmother." Zaria asked as they approached the manor. She had not heard much about the matrriach of the Fort Family so she was curious about her. Was she a kind and loving woman? Was she scheming or arrogant?

Desmond held her hand and led her into the Manor while turning to glance at her with a smile. "If you are worried about whether she will approve of you, you have nothing to worry about."

"Who talked about approving?" She frowned and swatted his hand away, though she had to admit that she was worried about that too. Most women from wealthy families wanted nothing more than for their children and grandchildren to marry women and men of the same status as them.

It was already difficult for such a family to accept her, an assistant, to be Desmond's girlfriend. Of course, they didn't know about their blossoming relationship but she was certain that they would oppose it and prefer Natalie instead.

"Stop thinking too much." Desmond chuckled. He didn't need to ask to know how wild she was letting her thoughts run.

"My grandma is a strong believer of following one's heart." He explained.

"She is?" Zaria would never have expected that of the matriarch who was rumored to be exceptionally strict.

Desmond nodded. "While she appears to be unapproachable at first, that's just a front she puts on so she is not disrespected. However, she warms up to the people she thinks are sincere."

"She must love you so much." She observed how gentle his expression was as he talked about her. They must be close, even closer than he was to his immediate family.

"She is the most playful elderly lady you will find anywhere." He confirmed her words with a longing smile, as though he missed her. He then snapped back to the main point. "She was forced to marry my grandpa when she had just come of age. Although they fell deeply in love later and are inseparable even at their age, she prefers for the younger generation to fall in love first. The point is, she will not oppose you as long as you are the one I choose."

His words made her less worried, especially when he added that she should be herself and not try to impress her, since the elderly lady was not hard to please.

The European-styled manor was more spacious than she imagined it would be, with antique furniture. At one end of the living room, there was a fireplace and logs of wood near it, which he threw into the fireplace and lit up.

She went over to sit near the fire as she hugged her jacket.

"It will start snowing soon." He whispered as he glanced at her.

"And that's a main point because?" She wondered aloud. Winter wasn't her best time of the year. She prefered warmer days where she could go for a cold swim once in a while, or go for a vacation at the beach.

"I want to play in the snow with you." He suggested with a gentle smile. "Roll up a huge snow ball to hit you with."

"You psycho." She laughed. She knew that it was rare for one to be injured by a snow ball, but he made it sound like he would create one big enough to drown her once she got hit.

"I'm hungry." He changed the topic with a laugh, then put on a serious face to express that he really was hungry.

"Cook up something to eat." She shrugged. Wasn't that obvious? He didn't expect her to cook for him, did he? She hoped not because she was enjoying the warmth from the fire so much that she did not want to move an inch.

"Not just that." He rested against her shoulder. "Both of me are hungry."

"Both of…" She stopped when she realized what he meant. "Get off me! Order some pizza to eat or something."

Having been kicked out, he could only drag his feet to the kitchen to find the magnetic food delivery chart he had stuck against the fridge door.

"Love, what would you like to eat?" He shouted into the living room and heard no response. Pulling the chart off, he went to find her at the fireplace. "What would you like to eat?"

"Popcorn." She threw him a random order, which made him frown at her.

"That doesn't count."

"I can't think of anything." She sighed. "Just order anything."

Hence, he ordered pizza and burgers, making her eyes bulge when the food arrived. He had ordered too much!

"Don't give me that look. Dig in! I heard this chain's burgers are the yummiest." He urged, and grabbed a chicken burger.

"How did you know I prefer beef?" She asked when she realized what he had ordered for her.

"I took note of what you often order at the employee cafeteria." He confessed, earning a gaze that accused him of being a stalker. He burst into chuckles. "One has to know their employees well, don't they? In case I decide to buy takeout lunch for the whole company one day." He shrugged matter-of-factly to justify himself.

"Is that so?" She put down her burger while giving him a meaningful look. "What does Helena from the marketing department like? What is she allergic to?"

Desmond thought hard about it then looked at her innocently. "Who is Helena? I didn't know there was someone with that name in the marketing department?"

Zaria was speechless. He did not even know the head of his own company's marketing department? Was he really the CEO?

She was about to resume eating when she raised her hand to wipe a food particle off his lips.

"If you want a kiss, you do not need my permission. Just go ahead and kiss me." Came his narcissistic response, and she decided to ignore him.

…

The Fort siblings were on the verge of exploding as they thought of how stupidly they had been played by Zaria.

" Why did you go to her house? Are you insane? You could have been shot!" Samantha scolded Jaime who now had a bandaged wound on his shoulder.

"I was fucking shot, okay!" Jaime exploded.

"Yes you were. And you should be glad that the bullet did not run through your brain. Otherwise…" Samantha continued pacing as she thought of how tragic the outcome would be if Jiame died as a result of sneaking into Zaria's home. She would not have the chance to revenge.

Nothing was more tragic than having her prey stolen from her by her worst enemy. She wanted to be the one to torture and kill Jaime and she would not let anyone take that from her.

"That woman has to die." For more than a few reasons, Samantha added mentally, and her words earned a scoff from her brother who turned to look at her like she was an idiot spouting nonsense.

"How will you be able to kill her if you could not do it the last time? She must have become more careful." He reasoned.

Samantha sighed when she remembered that Zaria must have someone protecting her as well, and that oerson was none other than her brother. What a traitor.

She suddenly stopped pacing. " I've found a sure way to get rid of her once and for all."

"And what's that?" Jaime didn't believe that she was capable of doing anything that actually made sense.

"Attack when Desmond is away." She winked, making him frown.

"How the hell is Desmond going to be away from her when he has her as his wallet? He can't let her be on her own for more than a few hours and probably has bodyguards protecting her." Not to mention, Theodore. That man looked simple but now that Jaime thought about it, with his profession and the fact that he was the most wanted enemy of most prominent businessmen and government officials, he should be long dead.

His encounter with him the last time just served to prove that he was far from being as simple as he appeared to be. Perhaps, Desmond was not the only one whose absence was necessary for anyone to be able to get to that woman.

"Don't forget, I used to be close to that bastard." Sneered Samantha, referring to Desmond. "We can collaborate with someone from the inside to get him out of the country for at least a few days, It will be adequate time to settle the mistress."

Jaime thought about her words and turned to face her. "Who do you have in mind?"

"Evan West. Have you forgotten the kind of man he is?" She snickered.

When Jaime realized what she meant, a frown of discontent formed on his face. "I now know why you didn't manage to get rid of that bitch even when you had all the good cards. Are you an idiot? Why would you even think of Evan, that double-edged sword?"