According to Neal, Dawn was pretty young. She was fresh out of university and at her age most other girls were struggling to find a job or struggling with their studies or they were just too inexperienced. Though she had managed to come a far way given her conditions, she had a lot to learn.

He said, "Dawn, I am sure that some people in the government must have done their due diligence about the interested parties. There is a large lobby in the offices, which consist of men who are solely into this. Their job is to create a liaison between officials and other businessmen who want to curry favors or get their jobs done." Neal crossed his legs. "I am surprised that they opened applications for bidding after such a long time and now they are conducting the bidding so early!" Crinkles formed on his forehead.

​​

"So does it mean that they waited for someone?" asked Cole.

"Yes, I strongly believe that," said Neal tilting his head to the side. He marveled at how sharp the siblings were and once again made a mental note of that. "There is someone they want to favor or someone who is too influential to get things done his or her way." Seeing the concern on Dawn's face, he added, "Would you like Daryn to interfere? Because if he does, then the bidding war would reach the next level."

"What do you mean next level?" asked Cole.

"Daryn has deep connections. He would scour the whole place and before the bidding begins, he would have the names of all those who want the refinery. Basically he would know the limit people would be able to go to in terms of money. Trust me, once he knows that, he would easily win the bid."

"Ah!" Cole tapped his chin as a smile came on his lips. "That's amusing."

"I don't want him to get involved," said Dawn. "I mean I will ask for his help if the need arises. Besides, money isn't the problem. It's the motivation." She wondered who the government would want to favor. She exhaled heavily. "I wish Gayle was here…"

A silence fell in the air.

"Is there anything else I can do?" asked Daryn, breaking the awkwardness.

She shook her head. "I am going to visit Lily…"

Neal immediately became alert. "I will accompany you in that case."

"It's not needed," said Dawn. She wondered what an old lady would do to her.

As if understanding what she meant, Neal added, "I am not overly concerned about Lily, I am not comfortable with you leaving the premise of the mansion and going to meet Lily in the Wyatt House. The threat on you looms large till the babies are delivered and then too I would increase your security."

Dawn pursed her lips. She looked at Cole who was amused as to why they would increase the security, but didn't ask any question.

"Okay…" she agreed. "I will go there in an hour's time."

""I'll be right there," he replied and then left the siblings.

Once he was gone, Cole said, "Though I don't really want to go to visit Lily, if you want I can accompany you there."

Dawn gave him a thin smile. "It is fine Cole. I don't mind it at all. You should be comfortable. However, I feel that you should come with me as your duty."

Cole looked away, a tinge of flush on his face revealed his guilt. After a moment's pause he said, "I really won't go there Dawn. However, I want to go and meet Cecelia. She has taken admission in the University and is pursuing fine arts."

Raising an eyebrow, Dawn gaped at her brother. She asked after collecting herself, "How do you know so much about Cecelia?"

"Because I have been in touch with her," he shrugged.

She frowned. "Why?" She found it extremely bizarre that Cole would even remain in touch with their cousin.

"Dawn, she is a nice girl. I mean she was a jerk when you must have met her first, but that time she was in the company of all the wrong people. Now that she is with David and Rose, her life has changed a lot. And the worse part is—" Cole pursed his lips and lowered his gaze.

"What is it?" Dawn goaded him to speak.

"The worst part is that she knew that her mother was having an affair with Helena, which was the reason for her divorce with David. And she knew it from almost five years, but unfortunately, she could never tell it to anyone. She was too scared as to what people would think about her mother. Plus the fact that she was involved in her brother's death… it just devastated her. It had taken a long time for her to come back to normalcy."

Dawn crossed her hands across her chest. She was filled with pride. "So you have maintained a close relationship with her?"

Cole looked straight into her eyes and then without guilt added, "I have… and I like her. We connect on several levels." He looked at the table where he was perched and with his finger, he scratched its surface. "She wants to say sorry to you for what she did with you in the past because she felt that her actions were incorrect, but she feels that it was because of her mother's and Lily's influence. They had forced her to show pretty in front of Daryn hoping that she would marry him."

Dawn bit her lip and shook her head when she remembered what Cecelia did in the store when she had gone to choose her wedding gown. "Yes, what she did was terrible."

"Then maybe you both should sit together and talk it out. Because I know that she is very upset and ashamed of her behavior," Cole suggested.

"I won't mind Cole, but you have to give me time to digest this information." Dawn felt uncomfortable to just go like that. Then on an afterthought she said, "Why don't you call her for dinner with us one of these days? David and Rose can also come. I do have a lot to talk to David. At the same time it would be nice if she comes here. I mean that would be an ice breaker." Ever since Dawn had taken a break, David had been overseeing the affairs of the Company.

Cole frowned but she knew that he liked the idea. "Okay!" he replied. "Then let us go."

Dawn smiled and got up. She looked down at her tummy and wondered what life would be after the babies are out. Would she have time to do anything else other than bringing them up?

All the way to David's place, Cole continuously chatted with Dawn and Neal. He updated them about his school and rugby camp. "Man, I have no idea as to why Ileus didn't lead their team in the last match."

"When was it?" asked Dawn.

"It was a week back! His team was so annoyed."

Dawn pursed her lips. Ileus was busy at Ixoviya at that time but how could she reveal that to Cole. "Maybe he was busy," she said softly.

"Busy? Oh come on! Who the hell ditches their team at the last minute?" Cole said bitterly. "I heard a rumor that the team owners would take action against him and they might expel him or levy a huge penalty—maybe fifty percent of the match fees." He shuddered.

"As if that would affect him," Neal added sarcastically. "That man is beyond rich. He is the king of—"