Niklaus' point of view

I couldn't sweep away the uneasy feeling of being watched, but no matter how much my gaze darted around, I came up with nothing.

Why was I uncomfortable and restless? Was it because I was feeling guilty knowing I endangered Maya by coming to her place last night?

I picked up my phone and called Judy at once. For some reason, my eyebrows kept twitching and I had this premonition that something bad was about to happen.

"Judy speaking"

"I need status on Maya" I ordered him the moment he answered.

"Sure, give me a few minutes," He said to me and ended the call.

I tapped my finger on my laps uneasily while tousling my already messy hair, anxiously waiting for Judy's report.

My phone rang two minutes later, it was Judy.

"Where is she?"

"In E-building for the audition"

Oh right, I forgot about that. No wonder she woke up quite earlier than usual.

"Alright, keep an eye on her. Report to me if anything unusual happens"I was about to end the call when he added

"Your daughter is there too"

Well, that was not surprising, Isabella had now formed a tight bond with Maya; if she didn't go to show her support, who would?

"Watch my daughter with care - especially what she purchases and ensure she doesn't cause trouble " I emphasized.

Since she was out in the open where she could get her hands on whatever she wanted, who knows what that little imp would bring into her possession this time?

Well, I would order a thorough search once she was back, yet my daughter was smart; prevention was better than cure.

"Alright sir "

The call ended, I took a deep sigh of relief and relaxed against my car's headrest.

"Where do we head to, sir?" Micheal, my chauffeur who I had called to drive me back, asked.

"To the company'

Though the unsettling feeling in my stomach didn't go away, I could now breathe since Judy was watching over them- he would keep them safe or so I thought.

In the company, I hardly settled down when my secretary walked into my office with a nervous look and a file in hand.

I looked up vexed, "What is it?"

He gulped before placing the file on my desk, opened, and revealed the list beneath for me to take a glance while making a sigh of the cross when he thought I wasn't looking.

My brows scrunched up as I glanced through the engagement arrangements in which the budget rounded up to a hundred billionaire dollars.

I pinched the space between my brows out of irritation while I went through the list just to be sure my eyes weren't deceiving me.

This wasn't even our wedding but an engagement party and she was going all out like this? Does she think I plunk my money from a tree?

Yes, I had enough money that I could not exhaust in this lifetime but it was a product of my blood and sweat. It would have been a lot understandable if I was funding a project, not this!

If our engagement could cost this, our wedding arrangements would probably be an astronomical sum.

With a glare, I tossed the file back to him which he caught swiftly.

I barked, "Return to me when you've made reasonable adjustments "

"But sir, she -"

"Are you the one marrying her or me?" I cut him off.

He swallowed nervously and wiped the sweat dripping down his forehead," Of course not, I wouldn't dare to "

"Your girlfriend is high maintenance, I can't even date her " I could see the look plastered all over his face but didn't say anything.

"Make the door your friend"

"Yes sir " He bowed and left.

I loosened the tie on my neck but took it off eventually, tossing it to the back of my seat - I needed to breathe and it was ceasing the little air I could get into my lungs.

Tina was definitely my retribution for all the heartbreaks and bad things I have done to all the women I've ever dated and slept with. This was karma paying me back in my own coin by using Christina, f*ck the universe.

Today was destined to be a bad day because after the witch pissed me off with her ridiculous list, there came another tragic news: Maya and my kid were involved in an accident.

I raced to the hospital like a madman - my employees would never forget the sight of me speeding to my destination like the Flash.

My mind blanked, what happened? Didn't Judy have his eyes on them? The thought of losing my daughter and Maya made my heart pound so erratically, it felt like it would leap out of my chest.

"Where is she?" I roared at Judy once I reached the hospital and didn't wait for him to direct me since my gaze found her.

I engulfed my daughter in a tight hug; so tight that Isabella complained.

"At this rate, I'll die from suffocation"

I loosened my hold but didn't let her go, pressing her flush against me; relieved to feel her beating heart; relieved to feel her hot breath on my neck.

I pulled back and rained kisses on her face while the girl just tensed up in my arms. I was so close to losing her today and the thought frightened me greatly - the fear made me numb.

Aside from a scratch on her face and bruise where she had scraped her hand on the concrete, she looked okay.

I was still checking her when Eden burst into the room and engulfed his daughter in a tight hug, his behavior similar to what I've done to my daughter moments ago.

"What happened?" I inquired.

I was too anxious over my daughter's safety to ask what had happened earlier.

"We were attacked; some brawny scary looking men with guns surrounded us "

"Maya fought against them but they were just too many " Anabelle contributed.

Speaking of Maya," Where is she?"

"She's in the operating room. From what I know so far, she suffered a concussion, two broken ribs, and some bruises "

"What?!"

"It was Gerald's doing " Judy disclosed.

The shock was yet to wear off when a punch met me straight in the face. My face swiped to the side as I staggered before glancing up at Eden with a glare.

"This is all your fault!" He growled and moved for a second blow but I intercepted him, grabbed his arm, and threw him over my shoulder eliciting a shriek from the frightened Anabelle.

We both launched to our feet with quick reflexes and prepared to charge at each other when Judy got between us.

"Would you two lovestruck fools behave for once" He scolded the both of us sternly with a fierce gaze.

"Idiots" Isabella mumbled under her breath, shaking her head with her arms folded across her chest.

"What would Maya say if she saw you two behaving like hormonal teenagers ?" Judy queried sternly.

"She would punch some senses into their retarded brain probably" surmised Isabella once again.

Once the anger died off, I indeed realized how stupid both of us were.

leaving the room and far away from the children's earshot, I began my interrogation - not giving a damn to Eden who was standing beside me with an expressionless look.

"How did this happen? Didn't I ask you to keep an eye on her?"

"I did but his men fooled me. I had been following at a safe distance when his men disguised in police uniform erected a roadblock. Before I could get to them, they had already been rescued with Gerald and his men eradicated"

"Who rescued them?" Eden asked this time.

"I have no idea, they cleaned their trace perfectly" Judy answered.

"Fine, what's important is that Maya is alive and I hope like hell I don't see you near her " Eden said his piece and left.

"Is Sakuzi, isn't it ?" I asked Judy after ensuring our discussion wasn't being eavesdropped on.

"I couldn't find any evidence linking them, but the killing pattern? That's their MO" Judy pointed out, then asked in confusion.

"It's confusing, why would he go through the trouble of saving the girl? He could have just ended Maya's life and blamed it on Gerald- heck, why would he even save her from Gerald?"

I faced him, " He has marked her, Judy. Aside from him, no one else is to end the girl, and ending her in such a manner, is a great loss to him - he would do it right in front of me "

" What are you going to do?"

"You're relieved of your services " I dropped out of nowhere.

Judy was dumbfounded," What?"

"From now on, you're free from serving me "

"You can't be serious"

"I'm never been serious than now "

He grabbed my arm "Do you understand the implication of what you're doing? Who would protect you?"

"You're not the only shadow guard available, Judy. You're no longer under me but your job from henceforth is to protect the girl "

"Maya?" His hand fell, "No wonder"