Ariana Knight; the one whom Daniel considers his sister is the special one for him!

It didn't strike me, not even for once. I mean, how could it? My mind would never go to that extent.

I was jealous of the person who I admire. Yes, I was jealous. Before, I couldn't accept that, but now I did. For days, I was running my mind for what? Just to come to know that—— the particular someone special to Daniel was his sister? Goodness, I'm such a fool.

Waving my insecurities away I kept looking at the scene in front of me. I couldn't help but admire Ariana Knight. She was looking classy and elegant in her simple white skirt and turquoise slip top. Xavier Knight wore the color-matching outfit as his wife.

The scene in front of me was worth admiring. Laughing faces, teasing remarks, and harmless bickering; a display of a happy family. No one could say that they all weren't blood-related.

Suddenly, they felt my presence which made me go stiff. And when Daniel started making his way towards me I wished I hadn't come here. The mischievous smirk on his lips almost forced me to turn back and run.

No, no, no. Don't come near me. Please.

My face flared up with heat when he came and stood in front of me, a smirk still playing on his lips. I tried to look everywhere but him. He was going to tease me.

"Still jealous?" He whispered, his eyes twinkling in mirth.

"I... I told you I was not and I'm not jealous of anyone. That day I just asked you out of curiosity." I mumbled. He nodded his head, looking at me in amusement. For sure, he wasn't buying what I said. So I continued,

"You should have told me beforehand. You kept me in dark. You should have told me that the Princess is Ariana Knight, the one you consider your sister. For days, I kept on running my mind to come to any conclusion and I was thinking about you—"

"You were thinking about me?" He cut me off in amusement. I mentally face-palmed for rambling nonsense.

"That's not what I meant." I bit out, lowering my head to make my hair fall on my face so that he couldn't notice my blush.

"Oh, come on Eloi, accept it that you were jealous over me. I would be glad to hear that you too want to fit me in your heart the way I want to."

I kept my eyes down and bit the inside of my cheek to hold back my smile because he might have thrown a playful remark but I wanted it, to be close to him, to fit him in my heart.

"Hey, am I dreaming, or are you smiling over my remark?" The cheerfulness in his voice made my smile broader.

As everything is clear now then should I confess to him what I want? Or should I wait for him to make a move first? I don't think I should delay.

"Hey, can I meet my guest?" A sweet voice interrupted us.

"Of course, Princess. Meet Eloi, your biggest admirer." Daniel said cheerfully, stepping away from the front.

Ariana Knight beamed when she looked at me. "Nice to meet you, Eloi— I mean, Miss Nicole."

"Nice to meet you too and please call me Eloise. Umm... Can I call you Ariana?" I asked in hesitation.

"Of course, Eloise." She gave me a warm side hug.

"Well, you can call her Eloi. She won't mind." Daniel commented and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Why? She already has a nice name. Daniel, You always make nicknames for everyone. Do you have a problem with the original names?" Ariana playfully narrowed her eyes at him. Daniel shrugged in response. Suddenly, Amara started squealing when her eyes fell on me.

I chuckled and kissed her cheek. "Happy Birthday, kiddo." She giggled and wrapped my hair in her fist. Ariana helped me to remove my hair from her fist.

"It seems like she's familiar to you, otherwise she doesn't open up to new people easily," Ariana asked in confusion, the smile still not leaving her lips.

"This is because Amara knows her. Welcome, Eloise and please call me Xavier." Xavier said as he came and stood beside his wife. I smiled at him. Ariana frowned, looking at her husband then Xavier smirked and faced Daniel. "She and Daniel babysat our daughter together two days ago."

"Together?" Ariana looked between me and Daniel. I cleared my throat and tucked the loose strands of my hair behind my ear as I had nothing to answer.

"Yes, Ari, together. Daniel? Come on, answer her." Xavier said and I couldn't miss the mirth in his voice.

"Errr...yes, Princess." Daniel rubbed the back of his neck. Ugh! Why is this getting awkward?

"Hello everyone, who do we have here?" Another sweet female voice interrupted us. I looked in the direction of the voice to see a middle-aged lady approaching us. She was Mayla Knight and Rupert Knight was with her.

I felt like an alien whom everyone wanted to see.

"Oh, Eloise Nicole. Welcome, dear." Mrs. Knight greeted me with a broad smile. I smiled and greeted her back. I greeted Mr. Rupert Knight too.

"Mom, do you know who she came with?" Xavier said out of nowhere. "She came with Daniel and they even babysat my daughter together two days ago."

Ugh! What was he playing at? No one asked him to share the details.

"Oh my, Goodness." Suddenly, I was engulfed in a bone-crushing hug by Mrs. Knight. "Daniel and you? I'm so happy to hear that," She squealed like a kid. I was about to say that we weren't official yet but she let go of me and pulled Daniel's left ear.

"Since when this is happening? Why didn't you tell us? Were you trying to hide her from us?" She scolded him. Daniel scrunched his face.

"Ow...Aunt Myla, I didn't hide anything or anyone. Xavier invited her. And I'm still trying to convince her for something to happen."

My eyes went wide after listening to what he said and my face flared with heat. Goodness, he's so straight forward. And when did he try to convince me? Until now, he said that only once and that is not counted in convincing.

"Then you better make a move, Daniel." This comment came from Rupert Knight. Everyone laughed out loud except me and Daniel and I wished I could run away from here as it was so embarrassing.

"Princess, give Amara to me and you continue to talk with Eloi." Daniel took Amara in his arms and walked away leaving me alone with all these people. How could he do that?

To my relief, everyone followed Daniel except Ariana. She shook her head and patted my back.

"This is normal in my family. They never leave a chance to pull each other's legs." She laughed to herself and I joined. Suddenly, a woman came and stood beside Ariana.

"Hi, Miss Nicole, I'm Lauren Hart. I couldn't meet you when you came to XDS because my grumpy boss gave me loads of work. And here too, my boss didn't let me meet you saying I would create a scene. Can I have a photo with—" Her rambling stopped when Ariana clamped her mouth shut.

"Don't mind her, she's a little crazy. By the way, she's my best friend and Sean's P.A." Ariana chuckled awkwardly. I laughed and greeted her, she reminded me of Trish. I even clicked a selfie with her.

"You know Eloise, we should meet more to know each other," Ariana suggested.

"Let's have a girls' day out!" This suggestion came from Lauren.

"I would love to. Can I invite my friend too?" I asked, looking at both of them.

"Why not? Okay, it's settled then, we'll have a day out. We just have to decide the date and time. For now, let's celebrate my baby's birth." Ariana said and led us to the cake cutting area. A table was placed on the lawn on which a three-tiered cake was placed.

Ariana held her daughter in her arms and Xavier held a plastic knife. Amara was so excited to cut the cake that she didn't wait for Xavier to help her cut the cake and hit her hand on the top layer. We all erupted into fits of laughter. Xavier tried to stop his daughter from doing any further damage but she didn't listen. I guess she's is going to be a big foodie.

As the cake was smashed and Amara didn't want to use the knife so Ariana and Xavier together did the formality of cutting the cake. Many photos were clicked and no single photo was going to be delivered to the media. Then we sat to have lunch. Many mouth-watering dishes were served. After lunch, all the females sat aside to chitchat, and the male sat aside to discuss business. Amara was with Daniel as he couldn't leave her alone.

And I didn't feel left out even for once. They blend me in their family. Laughter, stories, and gossips were shared between us. It felt like I found people to hang out with.

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I stood near the food table with Amara in my arms and kept my eyes focused on Eloise who was laughing heartily at whatever talk was going on between the ladies.

I was elated to see how easily she mingled with the people I love. And all of them too welcomed her with bright smiles. And that was enough for me to know that they liked her. It's time to make another move now but I was still in doubt if Eloise would accept me or not.

Although she was showing jealousy and she even didn't regret the kiss——I knew it because it was written all over her face——still, I was in doubt. But I was not going to back out without any effort because she was the kind of woman I wanted to spend my life with. I finally came to the decision that...

I will make her mine.

"My queen? What are your views about Eloi? Do you like her?" I asked Amara who was busy playing with my shirt collar. She looked at me with her big doe eyes and tilted her head. I asked again,

"Tell me, dear, would you love to call her Aunt? Would you love to see her by my side?"

"She would love to call her Aunt. Just don't waste any more time." I rolled my eyes after hearing Xavier's voice. I turned and faced him. Sean was with him.

"So, the mysterious client is no more mysterious, huh?" Sean smirked.

"She never was. Two of you assumed that." I scoffed. Both of their smirks converted into a grin.

"What?" I narrowed my eyes at them.

Sean spoke, "You just confirmed that we were right from the start. We knew she was the one who sent you flowers that day."

I didn't respond as it would not make any difference. They knew it and I couldn't hide anymore.

"I like her," Xavier commented. "For you obviously." He added when I gave him a hard stare. Then he moved his gaze to the ladies who were still laughing at don't know what. "And Ari like her too."

"How can you be so sure? I mean I know they are getting along but it's just their first meeting." I spoke absent-mindedly as I reverted my gaze at Eloise.

"You know, I can read Ariana inside out. I've learned to read her expressions. So, I can tell with surety, who she likes and who she doesn't." Xavier explained, snaking his arm around my shoulder. "And my parents like her too. I know you wanted all of us to like her so, make a move already." He mumbled the last part softly. A warm smile tugged my lips. That's why I consider these people as my family. They understand me even if I don't say anything.

"Why are you acting like a coward? I never taught you that. Make a move already." Sean said, snaking his arm on my shoulder from the other side.

"I'm not a coward, I—" Before I could say anything Sean took Amara from my hold and spoke,

"Did you see that, darling? Your uncle Daniel is such a coward. He can't confess his feelings to the woman he likes. That's why you should consider me your favorite uncle because his influence is not good for you."

"Shut up. Don't try to turn her against me. And I'm not a coward. I've already put this thing in her mind. It's just that I was in a little doubt but now I'm not." I shot back.

"That's like my Daniel." Xavier patted my back but my eyes were still narrowed on Sean, who was grinning ear to ear.

"I would be elated to see you married because I would get to play with your children too," Sean spoke.

"If you want to play with children, make your own. I can bet you have a woman in your life too whom you're hiding." I snapped at him.

He scowled. "What rubbish you're talking about? I don't have anyone in my life."

"You have," I smirked.

"Why everyone is playing hide and seek these days? Give my daughter to me. I feel like you don't consider me your friend to share your thoughts with me." Xavier took Amara in her arms and walked away.

"Hey, I'm not hiding anything. It's Sean." I ran after him.

Evening rolled by and soon time to leave arrived. Sean and his P.A left first. Eloise and I too bid our goodbyes and left.

"Did you enjoy today?" I asked when we were in the car.

"A lot. Everyone was so welcoming." I heard satisfaction in her voice which made me smile.

I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel as I figuring out how to bring up the topic I wanted. Then I thought asking directly would be easy. That's what I did.

"So, what are your views about what I said two days ago?"

"What did you say two days ago?" She frowned. Oh, acting dumb!

"Don't act dumb Eloi or should I repeat everything that happened at my penthouse?" I smirked.

"No! I mean I... I just remembered."

I pulled the car to the side and removing my seat belt, I shifted in my seat to face her.

"So? What's your answer?" I asked, observing her moves. She bit her lower lip and looked away. A blush started covering her face.

"Look at me, Eloi," I whispered as I intertwined her fingers with mine. She faced and studied my eyes.

"You sure you weren't joking?" She mumbled.

"I assure you I wasn't," I replied solemnly, squeezing her hand softly.

"Will you be able to handle my mood swings? You already know how stressful my life is and sometimes I get very angry over small things and—"

"I'm handling you just fine since the day we met." I chuckled. "And I can assure you that I'll do the same in the coming future."

She kept her gaze on me for a few seconds, studying me if I was playing tricks but I wasn't.

"Will you give me a chance?" I asked again. She smiled without averting her eyes.

"Well, you really are handling me just fine." She chuckled. "And I don't think... your asking for a chance is the right thing because you are the one who is giving me a chance to find myself, you are giving me positivity, you are showing me how beautiful life can be."

"So, yeah, I would love to take things further. Let's see where this takes us."

"Thank you, thank you so much, Eloi." I was so happy that I didn't think twice about pulling her in a passionate kiss. She too kissed me with equal fervor. I smiled in the kiss when she pulled me closer by grabbing my collars. I only pulled away when we both needed air to breathe. Breathing heavily, I rested my forehead against hers. Her eyes were closed as she too was gasping to fill in air.

When she opened her eyes and looked into my eyes, I smiled and kissed her forehead. "I hope none of us regret this," I whispered.

"I hope so." She whispered back. I pulled away and straightened in my seat. I was smiling like a fool.

"Why are you smiling like that?" She asked. I craned my neck in her direction and grinned. "Because I loved it how passionately you kissed me. You're a good kisser, Eloi."

"Shut up, Daniel." She hit my arm, blushing like never before.

"Tell me one more thing, Eloi... You were jealous of Ariana, weren't you?" I gave her a roguish smile.

"I told you I wasn't."

"You were."

"I wasn't."

"Yes, you were!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Okay, maybe I was. Happy?" She raised her hands in mock surrender.

"A lot." I laughed out loud and did mentally did a happy dance.

I then dropped her home, not before kissing her forehead one more time.

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