Niklaus' point of view

"You have been so happy lately, does that mean I'm getting a baby sibling soon?" Isabella's sudden question surprised me.

For the first time in history, I was fixing her breakfast personally because she has been a doll lately. Perhaps, that should be because Eden distanced his daughter from her and yes, Pedro has been coming over but this time, both are under strict surveillance.

"What are you talking about?" I feigned ignorance, passing a plate of the hot pancake to her.

Isabella rolled her eyes," Oh please, you can deceive others but not me," she went into details," Whenever you're with Tina, you have this 'frozen face syndrome' "

My daughter made a comical gesture of the so-called "frozen face" syndrome - does that even exist?

She continued, "But when you're with Maya, you smile a lot which is kind of creepy"

"So?" I was captivated by this discussion.

"So, simply means you've been seeing Maya behind Tina's back," she added," Aren't parents or in your case parent, supposed to lay a good example for their kids to follow but all you have taught me so far is how to cheat on my future boyfriend,"

I was dumbfounded. How was I going to explain my way out of this one? If Isabella was Anabelle, it would be a lot easier but we're talking about a super-intelligent ten-year-old here.

"Isabella" I breathed, taking off the cooking glove," I'm not a good role model, don't follow my footsteps" I confessed truthfully.

There was no beating around the bush with my daughter. Trust me, it was better you gave her an honest answer than she providing one for you.

"Which is why..." I went on, "I'm going to give you the best training. Show you the right route and make sure, you don't end up like me"

"Yeah, sure. Good luck with that," she said nonchalantly, adding syrup to her pancake batter before taking a huge bite out of it. Isabella moaned in satisfaction, nodding her head and taking more huge chomps hurriedly.

My heart melted at the sight. Well, let's just say that after that punishment, Isabella and I decided to call a truce. So, we have been getting along - at the moment.

Who knows when her demons would crop up again?

"Take it easy or you'd choke" I criticized her, then moved to grab the coconut milk from the fridge when I remembered that belonged to Maya and picked the orange juice instead.

"That's a creepy fetish" Isabella observed, "Why do you keep feeding me other juices when I prefer the coconut ones?" She complained.

"You'd understand when you grow up," I said, dismissing the argument.

I took a stool and sat at the clutter-free polished granite counter to have breakfast with my daughter instead of the dining table.

"You know I've been thinking lately," Isabella said," It's high time I got a boyfriend already"

The spoon I had brought to my mouth froze in midair while I slowly lifted my hooded eyes.

"Or maybe not," She rephrased after receiving my sharp death glare.

Get what boyfriend? What does she know about love? Relationship? And of course sex? She's too young for that. Moreover, those boys out there are just wolves in sheep's clothing - trust me, I'm telling from experience. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm protecting my daughter here.

Almost immediately, my expression shifted when my phone rang, it was Adam. My eyes narrowed skeptically, why was he calling? For some strange reasons, he has been quiet and didn't even comment on me saving Maya from Sakuzi again.

I knew Adam heard about it, after all, I caused quite a ruckus that day with the number of men that accompanied me.

"Be a good kid, I'll be back soon," I ruffled Isabella's hair- a gesture she hates so much yet I couldn't help myself.

"Where are you going?" Isabella asked.

"Your grandfather called," I told her, taking off the apron wrapped around my waist.

"You're in deep hot trouble, aren't you?" She mused.

"Don't know yet but probably" I answered, having known this was related to Maya. The fact he kept quiet the past weeks meant he was up to something.

Isabella glanced up at me, "Let's hope you don't get beaten since I won't be there to rescue your ungrateful ass"

"When I'm back, young lady, we'd work on your language," I informed her on time.

The kind of obscene words she vomits gets me scared for her future. Women are supposed to be gentle and decent, not unruly, harsh, and foul-mouthed. What guy would marry her in the future?

Pushing those matters to the back of my mind, I drove to my father's place, eager to know what he has to say.

The security was tight just like the last time I came, Sakuzi's presence was wrecking the old man's nerve plus the fact I declared war on him; who knows when I might takeover.

"What is it? Why did you call?" I asked him, stepping into his office.

Adam was longing in his swivel chair with a leg crossed over the other, expecting my presence.

"Get prepared, you'd be taking the night flight out of this country" Adam dropped the news.

"What did you just say?" I must have heard wrong.

"Our branch in Country B was attacked and armory of weapons carted away with. You should know issues with firearm escalates quickly like a wildfire. We need to curb damages before we have a problem with the government over there"

Adam's reason for sending me away seems concrete still yet, I felt uncomfortable. It couldn't be a coincidence that this happens at a critical time like this.

"As the family head, isn't your responsibility to deal with issues like that? " I asked him.

"Sure it is, but I need a young brain to sort this one out. Moreover, you're aiming for my position, shouldn't you have a taste of what I deal with periodically?" He questioned me with an arched brow.

"Don't tell me you are going to decline this opportunity because of that woman?"

My jaw ticked while my gaze held my father's, that question carried a threat.

If I didn't leave tonight, Maya's safety was not guaranteed. He knew about me going to her, he knew everything. This was his plan to separate us and this incident just provided a good excuse for him to send me away.

"Fine, I'll leave" I decided," But touch the girl in my absence and you would lose me forever" Was my threat.

Adam smiled, "Fine, just be sure to give your fianceé a goodbye kiss while I stay off your fancy woman"

He knew the thought of Tina irritated me yet he kept on taunting me. With a deep breath, I strode out of his office. The more I stayed in there, the more I felt like all the air was being forced out of my lungs.

I drove to the office straight away. I know I had promised Isabella I would take the day off and spend time with her, but this was an emergency. I don't know how long I would spend in Country B, so I had to cover up my work for at least a week.

By the time I was done signing documents that needed my approval and making necessary arrangements, it was already evening and I had less than three hours to leave.

Thankfully, Lucas had arranged most of my stuff so I just needed to come here, refresh, and bid goodbye to my loved ones before leaving.

"This is a setup," Isabella commented once I announced the news to her. She had suspected it from the hectic activities going on in the house; everyone was planning for my departure.

"Are you trying to say, I'm walking into a trap set by my own father?" I frowned at her," Even if father hates me - which he doesn't- he'd never harm me to the point of death" I clarified.

"You're so stupid. He's obviously keeping you away from Maya!" she spat.

"That is for sure but don't worry, I have people keeping her safe" I promised my daughter, patting her on the shoulder tenderly.

"I don't have a good feeling about this but since you say so" Isabella sighed.

"I'm set to go, aren't you going to give me a goodbye hug," I asked with my arms outstretched expectedly.

"It's so cheesy, I'm not doing that," Isabella turned to leave but I forced her into my arms amid her squirming.

"Hugging a loved one is not cheesy, it's called showing affection" I taught her, tightening my arms around her small frame. Gosh, I was going to miss her.

"Fine, time-out. Release me already, my oxygen is dwindling" she complained which made me pull away.

"Alright, stay safe" I dropped a peck on her forehead before grabbing the duffel bag from the bed, the rest of my stuff was in the car.

Just as I was about to grab the doorknob, Isabella said, "You stay safe too," and added with difficulty," D-dad"

A huge grin curved my face, "Could you repeat - "

"No," she said before I was even through.

"Goodbye, my angel" I winked at her and left.

I gave some instructions to Amanda regarding my daughter and also to the guards before climbing into the car and we drove. I was leaving with Lucas and as ordered, Micheal stopped at Maya's new apartment.

Since I had already informed her of my departure, I was just there to say good-bye in person.

"You're really leaving?" It was obvious Maya did not like the idea of me going away and she looked kind of down today.

"Is anything the matter?" I asked out of concern.

"No, it's nothing. Just feel overwhelmed with my role and all" she said before requesting, "Do I get a goodbye kiss?"

"You don't need to ask" I smiled and kissed her.

But then, what started as a short, sweet kiss deepened into a longer, passionate one which ended up with me on her bed.

Well, I owned the private jet anyway, any pilot working under me must learn to exercise patience.