After our confession when Daniel dropped me at my apartment I immediately rushed to Trish's apartment and press the doorbell continuously.

"Just stop pressing the bell who— Eloise? Why are you pressing the doorbell like a maniac?" Evan, who opened the door frowned deeply.

"I have to talk to Trish, Get aside." I pushed him aside and stepped inside his apartment.

"What the hell, Eloise!" Evan shouted but I ignored him and made my way to Trish's room. I found her lying on the bed, reading a book.

"Trish!" I squealed, jumping onto her which made her startle all of a sudden.

"OMG, Eloise. You almost gave me a heart attack. What happened to you?" She asked, sitting up on the bed. "Wait! Why are you smiling like you have won a lottery?" She asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

I grinned. "I have to tell you something."

"What?"

I bit my lower lip, trying to stop smiling but it wasn't helping. I patted my cheek with my hands to stop myself from smiling.

"You're acting weird, Eloise. Are you sick? Did you eat something unusual at the birthday party?" Trish asked in concern.

"No! I'm not sick. Just wait a moment, let me compose myself." I took deep breaths and when I wasn't smiling anymore, I looked at her.

"I and Daniel are now kind of...together," I mumbled.

"OMG, OMG. Did he propose to you? He asked you to be his girlfriend?" She screeched.

"No! I mean he didn't ask out like that but yeah, he wanted me to give him a chance so I said yes." I bit my lower lip. And in no second I was pulled in a bone-crushing hug.

"I was waiting for this day to come. I would love to see you two married." Trish said excitedly.

"Hey, hold on your horses. We aren't official yet and you're talking about marriage?" I said in disbelief, pushing her away.

"It won't take time for you two to be official and believe me you two are going to be the cutest couple."

I rolled my eyes but deep down I was feeling giddy. Well, I myself wanted him to ask me officially but I didn't want to pressurize him or myself. I wanted to cherish every moment and wanted this to leave it as it was going.

"Why are you two squealing like lunatics? Pay some mercy to my ears!" Evan yelled, entering the room. Trish stood and ran to him, squealing, again.

"You know what, Evan? Eloise and Daniel are now a couple. Isn't it cute?" Goodness, why can't she act normal?

"Goodness, woman, don't squeal. My ears are on the verge of bleeding. And why are you squealing? Eloise should be the one doing so." He scowled. I mentally rolled my eyes.

"I'm doing so because she doesn't know how to celebrate such kinds of things." Trish grinned. Evan and I shook our heads.

"Eloise, I'm happy for you." He came and hugged me. "You know since the day you've met him, you're smiling a lot and I really appreciate Daniel for this. I guess he's the one for you. Eloise, make sure to cherish everything." He mumbled.

"Thank you, Evan." I smiled at him.

I then went back to my apartment and slept peacefully.

:::::::::::::::::

The next day when I was almost wrapping up the photo shoot when I received a call from Ariana Knight. She wanted to hang out as she didn't have any work. I too agreed as I was free after the shoot.

We agreed to meet in a cafe. So, after my work was finished, I wore a cap and a mask and drove to the cafe, taking Trish with me.

"Hey!" I greeted Ariana and Lauren when we entered the cafe. They both were sitting in the corner. Ariana stood up and hugged me, Lauren did the same.

"This is Trish, my best friend." I introduced. Ariana smiled broadly and hugged her too.

"I feel bad for you, Eloise. You can't roam openly without hiding your face." Lauren commented when I took off my mask.

"Yeah, I've to struggle to keep my life private." I huffed.

"You should have bodyguards. And how did you come here?" Ariana asked.

"I drove myself. I had two drivers/bodyguards before but they tried to sell personal information to tabloids. So now, Evan, my manager is doing that work for me. Sometimes I feel bad for him as he can't live his own life just to be with me." I explained and faced Trish. "I'm sorry, Trish."

"Hey, it's okay. We both understand." She gave me a side hug. Lauren and Ariana were looking at us in confusion.

"Oh! Trish is Evan's girlfriend." I said. Ariana and Lauren gushed at Trish which made her blush.

"I can understand. Xavier's trusted bodyguard, Finn is always on my duty." Ariana said, drumming her fingers on the table.

"Let's order something to drink," Lauren called for a waiter and we ordered our drinks and then we engaged ourselves in conversation. We talked about our interests, dislikes, latest fashion trends, and did a little gossip. We then head out to do some shopping.

And we did a lot of window shopping. Yes, window shopping. Lauren and Trish got along very quickly and dragged both me and Ariana into different showrooms to do window shopping. Whenever the sales lady tried to sell the product to us, we'd run out of the showroom. It was so much fun.

Thankfully I had my face covered otherwise that would have become news. Ariana too had a cap and glasses on. Finn, Ariana's bodyguard was with us all the time.

We were about to head to eat something when Lauren's boss called her to the office for some urgent work. "I literally asked him for a half-day and now that grumpy man is calling me back." She cried. We all laughed. Ariana consoled her and made her leave.

Then Trish got a call from her beauty studio, so she too had to leave. She took my car with her as Ariana offered to drop me home.

Ariana and I decided to eat something so, we went to a fine dining restaurant near us where no pressure of being chased by paparazzi won't haunt us. The moment we sat at our table, I received a call from Daniel. I excused myself and received the call.

"Hey, Eloi. How are you?" Always cheering voice of Daniel made my lips curl up in a smile.

"Same as I was yesterday." I bit my lower lip.

"Oh! That means beautiful, cheerful, and obviously passionate kisser the way you were yesterday?"

I blushed at his teasing remark.

"You're blushing, right?" I heard him laugh. I held my phone tightly against my ear, my eyes turned wide like two saucers. How does he know?

"Oh goodness, Eloi, I want to see your blushing face. I love it." He laughed again.

"Daniel, stop it," I whispered.

"Okay, I'll stop because now your face must be red as a tomato. Anyway, what are you doing? Can we meet?"

"Now? As in right now?" I asked.

"Yeah, actually I'm free, I don't have any meetings for the rest of the day. So I thought if we could meet."

"Uh... Actually, I'm out with Ariana, so, I don't think we can—"

"You're with Ariana? You didn't tell me."

"Do I have to tell you where I'm going and whom I'm with?" My eyebrows raised.

"No! That's not what I mean. I mean you're with Ariana so... Nevermind. I guess we can't meet. You enjoy your outing with her and take care."

"Okay." I hung the call and went back to the table where Ariana was waiting for me.

"I'm so sorry, I made you wait."

"It's not a big deal. Now, let's order, I'm famished." She pouted, tilting her head. I laughed at her reaction. We placed an order for our food.

"Umm... Eloise, may I ask you something?" Ariana said hesitantly.

"Yeah, sure, anything."

"You like Daniel, don't you?"

My breath hitched at her blunt question.

"I'm sorry for asking you directly but I really wanted to know. Xavier told me something so I wanted to confirm it from you." She said, studying me intently.

I bit my lower lip thinking what should I tell her. I do like Daniel but would it be okay to tell her since I know that Daniel and I are not official? But she's like a sister to him and she's a nice person. I don't think she would judge me or have a wrong intention about anything.

I decided to tell her as she could help me to know more about Daniel. I nodded my head and said, "I do like him." I bit my lower lip after saying that. She smiled broadly and held my hand on the table.

"I'm so happy to hear that. I like you, Eloise, you're a good person. And I like you with Daniel too. I just wanted to hear it from you." She paused for a bit and then continued, "Daniel is a great soul, Eloise. He'll always keep you happy and entertained. You'll never have a dull moment with him." We both chuckled.

"But Eloise, I want to tell you something very important about Daniel." I sat straight to listen carefully. "Daniel... He shows his playful and joyous nature to everyone which makes people believe that he's the happiest person but... no one knows what he hides behind his charming smile." She smiled sadly. "I can't tell you everything as it's not my place to tell but I can tell you that he's a very sensitive person, he gets hurt easily. He pulls up a happy face every morning so that he doesn't have to answer anyone's question about his mood. Deep inside... he's hurt. He needs someone who understands him, who'll listen to him."

"Eloise, I told you all this because I want you to take care of him. He's a little dumb when it comes to his own care. He hides his pain which is wrong. I request you, Eloise, please keep him happy inside out."

I was speechless. I knew she was talking about his family and somewhere I too knew that there's a deep cut inside Daniel's heart that was left after his family's demise but I never knew he's extra sensitive. He has pulled up a facade of playfulness... just to keep himself away from pain. I would definitely ask him about all this but only when I know he's ready to tell.

"I'll do my best to keep him happy. And I assure you that I'll take care of him." I reassured her. He has done many things for me and now it's my turn.

"Thank you so much, Eloise."

We both ate and paid the bill then we exited the restaurant and sat in her car.

"Hey! Would you like to go to XDS before going home?" Ariana asked, facing me. "Actually, I want to meet Xavier, and... If you want you can meet Daniel too." She smiled mischievously.

Well, It would be a surprise for him and I would be able to see his workplace.

"Sure." I smiled back.

When we reached the XDS building, Ariana led me to Daniel's floor where we stopped outside his P.A's office.

"Hey, Scott." Ariana chirped happily, entering Scott's office.

"Hey, hi, Ariana. What a pleasant surprise!" He looked happy too. "Nice to meet you too, Miss, Nicole." He said when he saw me. I smiled at him.

"Missed this place so much." Ariana laughed. "So, is Daniel free?" She asked.

"Mr. Adams is free but he has a visitor who arrived ten minutes ago."

"Important?" Ariana asked.

"No! Just a friendly visit. It's Miss Claire Wilson."

That piqued my attention. Claire Wilson, in Daniel's cabin? Friendly visit? My mood instantly turned sour. But I would love to see how'd he react when he sees me in the presence of Claire.

"Oh! Then I can meet him, Thank you, Scott. I'll meet you afterward." Saying that Ariana dragged me out. My heart was beating at an unusual pace. I didn't want to see or hear that would hurt me.

Ariana knocked on the door of Daniel's office and with the "come in" she stepped inside and I hesitantly stepped inside.

I saw him sitting on the couch with Claire sitting beside him... Beside him! When his eyes met mine, he stood up in surprise but before approaching me he approached Ariana and kissed her forehead. "What are you doing here?" He asked, surprise laced in his voice.

"Surprise! And see who came with me." Ariana pointed at me. I didn't move, I kept standing near the door.

"Hey, Eloi." He waved his hand. I replied with a 'hey'.

Ariana greeted Claire and me too just for the formality. "Hey, Claire." I forced a fake smile.

Ariana then left to meet her husband, leaving me alone; irritated, and frustrated at the existence of Claire.

"What are you doing here?" Claire asked, crossing her arms.

"I don't think that's any of your business," I replied coolly. I didn't want to show her my frustration which was bubbling inside me at 100°C.

"Ah... Claire, can we meet some other time? I've something to discuss with her." Daniel interfered.

Some other time! Oh?

"Daniel, I came here first. I should be the one spending time with you, not her." She whined.

"Is this some kind of first come first serve offer?" I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows.

"I'm not talking to you." She snapped, stepping towards me.

"Hey, hey, hey. Stop, you two." Daniel came between us. "Claire, not this time. Please, understand." Daniel held her shoulders.

"Just because you're extremely sweet." She pouted and left, not before giving me a deathly glare. As if I'm scared of her.

I didn't look back but I heard the click sound of the door. Daniel locked the door? He came and stood in front of me. His famous charming smile playing on his lips.

"Jealousy suits you." He commented. My face flushed but I countered, "I'm not jealous, not at all, especially of her."

He surprised me by bringing his lips down but before his lips could touch mine, I pushed him away. His eyes laced with confusion.

"Although I'm not jealous, still, I want to ask you something. Do... Umm... Do you have feelings for Claire... Or ever had before?"

To my surprise, he laughed. He laughed clutching his stomach. "And she says she isn't jealous." He said between his laugh. I clenched my jaw and formed my hands into a fist.

"Tell me, Eloise, where did you get that idea from?" He asked when his laughter died down.

"Well, you did go on a date with her. Remember?" I again crossed my arms.

He thought for a second then laughed. "You believed it?"

"I didn't have any reason not to believe it," I stated.

"Are you doubting me?" His expressions suddenly became serious.

"Dan—" I gasped when I was suddenly pushed against the wall, caged between arms of Daniel which were resting either side of my face on the wall.

"Do I seem like a man who plays with the emotions of women?" He asked in disbelief. His face was too close to mine. I regretted whatever I said when I saw the hurt in his eyes.

"No Daniel, that's not what I meant," I claimed solemnly. He gave a small smile before cupping my face between his palms.

"Eloise, Claire is just my friend or so I consider her. She's the daughter of an important client that's why I can't always refuse her demands of meeting me. But I've always made it clear to her that I don't feel anything for her nor I ever gave wrong signals to her. I always kept a valuable distance from her. And the date you're talking about wasn't a date, I was just teasing you because I love teasing you." He grinned like a kid.

Goodness, he's so sweet! I felt like crying but I didn't. Only this man has the power to make me cry. He had done it before and he was doing it now.

"I'm sorry, Daniel. I didn't mean to hurt you." I said softly, looking into his eyes.

"I'm not hurt. Not at all. Instead, I'm happy that you never fail to hide your jealousy that shows how much you like me." He winked. "Well, I like jealous Eloi but you don't have to be... especially of her."

I blushed profusely when he threw my remark back on me. Especially of her!

"So... If your doubts are clear then can I get a kiss?" He asked too innocently that I couldn't resist. A sly smile broke on my lips which gave him a signal and in no second his lips came down on mine.

He smiled in the kiss when I pulled him closer by grabbing his shirt collars.

"Though I met you yesterday, still, I missed you." He said, breaking the kiss. He pulled me closer by circling his arm around my waist.

"Would you like to spend some time with me too?" He whispered in my ear which shot sweet tingles in my body.

"Well, I'm free so... I would love to."

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