Daniel and Rachel were having dinner at one of the hotels under the Carter franchise. It was the first time they had gone on a date together. The idea of going on a date was suggested by Rachel. It was quite common for a man to ask a girl out on a date. However, she wanted to be the one to take him on a date. So, she had planned a romantic candlelight dinner with him.

At first, Daniel was surprised. Later, he accepted her suggestion as it was quite out of the box and he wanted to experience this new thing. He was also happy that the date was being organized by his woman.

The day Daniel had professed his liking towards Rachel to her, he had contemplated the entire night. He was yet to tell her about his birth secret. Although it did not matter whether he told her or not as he would still be an Adler. Nevertheless, he did not want to hide such a huge matter related to his life from her.

He was yet to find an opportunity to tell her about himself. But he was nervous and scared; nervous because he did not know how to tell her and scared because he did want to lose her after she found out the truth.

After Rachel had invited him to have dinner with him in the morning, he had made his mind to tell her the truth. He couldn't hide it forever and he did not want to start a relationship based on the foundation of lies.

"Are you alright? Since the beginning of this date, you look a little lost." Rachel asked staring at him. Since the two had started to have their dinner, she had noticed Daniel's weird behavior. He was unusually silent and most of the time he looked lost. It was only Rachel who was chattering non-stop the entire time.

"Yes. Yes. I am fine." Daniel replied at once. He immediately composed himself. He took a sip of wine from his glass.

Rachel saw him drink and raised her eyebrows. "What happened to 'I will not be drinking as I will be driving later'?"

Daniel gulped. He was still not ready to speak. However, he could not prolong it further. He mustered all his courage and looked at Rachel.

"Rachel, I have something to tell."

"Yes, Daniel tell me. Oh, if it is related to work. Save your breath. I am not going to listen to it." She objected immediately. She had come to spend some time with Daniel, not to listen to some boring work stuff.

"No Rachel. It's not related to work. Actually, it's about me."

"Yes, Daniel. Tell me. I would love to know about you." Rachel said, looking at him like a love-struck puppy.

Seeing her beautiful gaze, Daniel was losing his willpower.

'Concentrate. This is more important.' He chided himself in his mind.

"Rachel, I want to ask you something."

"Yes, Dan. Go ahead. Ask anything you want."

"Rach, what if I am not someone who I am?" He questioned and looked at her curiously.

"What do you mean? Ah.. Don't tell me that you are one of the secret agents who are working undercover to find something."

Daniel chuckled at her unusual thinking. Before he could reply, Rachel continued. "Is it true? Oh my good lord. I am so happy. I always wanted to be the wife of an undercover agent."

Daniel's heart skipped a beat when her heard mention the word 'wife'. However, he immediately realized that he still had to climb a mountain before that could happen. "No. No. Stop Rachel. Listen to me. I am not a secret agent."

Rachel's excitement dropped at once listening to his words. "Ohh. Okay."

"Rachel, I am not my parents' son," Daniel said slowly and waited for her response.

"What nonsense are you talking. I think the wine here is making you speak bullshit." Rachel was angry. She did not know that the hotel was having stock of some bad quality wine. She was about to call the manager to reprimand him, when Daniel held her hand.

"No Rachel. I am saying the truth and I am not drunk. I am not my parents' biological son. I am adopted."

Rachel blinked once, twice, thrice. Yet, she did not know how to respond. This was not something she had expected.

"Ohh. Wow. This is unexpected." She gulped her glass of wine in one shot.

"Yes. Yes. I know that this is something unbelievable and I am sorry. I know I shouldn't have hidden the truth from you. I am really sorry. I was scared of losing you." Daniel blabbered on as he held her hands tightly.

Rachel was silent. She was still comprehending what Daniel had told her a few minutes back. What she did not know was that her every second of silence was breaking the man in front of her from within. He let her hands go and pulled back. He was devastated. The one girl he had taken a serious liking to had left him too.

"We can end our relationship if you want to. I won't force you. You can leave anytime you want."

As soon Daniel's hands left Rachel's, she felt something was amiss. She lost the warmth from his hands that had wrapped around hers. She came out of her thoughts and looked at the man's sad face. She immediately realized that he had misunderstood her.

She stood up and hugged him. "Silly, what are you thinking?"

Daniel was a little shocked by the sudden hug.

"Who told you that I want to leave? Don't have these crazy thoughts ever again. I am not going to leave you. And by the way, who told you that I was so fickle-minded. I don't care who you are. I don't care if you are adopted. I don't care if you are rich or poor. The only thing I care about is you. I like you and that is all that matters."

She looked into his eyes as she spoke while her hands patted his back in order to soothe him. Her words were like a melody to him. She was like the oasis in the middle of the dessert. He was immensely happy. He pulled her on his lap and hugged her tightly. He did not have to think about other people walking in on them in such an intimate position as they were in a private booth.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I was scared. At one moment I thought that I had lost you."

"No way. Not possible. I am thinking of tying you with me for life. How can you even think of running away from me?"

Daniel chuckled.

"Also, if you dare leave me, I will hunt you down and break your legs. You are not allowed to leave me." Rachel said in a domineering attitude, leaving no room for second opinions.

"I wouldn't dare," Daniel said at once.

"You better not." She huffed.

Looking at her cute face, Daniel had only one thought in mind: to kiss her and that was what he did. He pulled her face close to his and slowly placed his lips on hers. This sudden kiss shocked Rachel. At first, she did not respond. However, she kissed him back later when she came out of the shock.

The kiss was passionate and gentle. Daniel angled her neck so that he could kiss her correctly and his lips laid perfectly on hers. He alternated between pecking and kissing. However, he did not go any further. This frustrated Rachel. She took the matter to her own hands. She pried open his mouth and delved her tongue inside. Immediately their tongues were involved in a tango dance, fighting for dominance.

Rachel could taste the wine in his mouth and it made her drunk. She was immediately lost in enjoying the moment. The kiss continued for a while, until Daniel had to pull back due to lack of oxygen. Meanwhile, the woman in his arms was already huffing and puffing and her face had gone bright red from her cheeks to her ears.

It took them some time to calm their hearts. After Rachel's heartbeat returned to normal, she looked at Daniel with eyes filled with provocation. "Now, I have marked you mine. Let's see if you will run away from me."