"I'm visiting my father today," I said to Evan and Trish who were having breakfast with me in my apartment.

Daniel left early in the morning as he had an early meeting to attend. I told him about my visit to my father and he almost canceled his meeting if I hadn't interfered. He wanted to accompany me but I told him that work was important and he could meet my father some other time. Moreover, I needed to see my father's reactions before introducing Daniel to him.

"All of a sudden?" Evan asked. I nodded my head as I dug my spoon in the bowl of Brussels sprout salad I was eating.

"Yes. He saw the news and wants me to give him an explanation." I chuckled at the fact that I would have to go through a fake interrogation of my dad.

"Alright then, I'll visit the people who desperately want you to work with you. My phone is loaded with messages asking to arrange a meeting with you." Evan said as he sipped the protein shake. "But what about Leena Antonio? She too wants to meet you today. Should I meet her on your behalf?" He added.

"No, I'll visit her personally on my way back from my dad's place," I mumbled. She would be waiting for answers about whatever happened at her party. I thought to myself.

"Aren't you tired?" Trish spoke up and I glanced at her in question. Her devilish smirk told me something naughty was going on in her head. "You know, Daniel spent the night here...Oww-" I hit her leg from under the table before she could complete her sentence. I glared at her daring her to speak further. But did she give up? No. Instead, her smirk widened.

"You were tired the day before-"

"Okay enough. I think you two should leave for work. I too am getting late." I stood up and went inside my room to get ready. Though nothing happened last night, I was blushing as if something actually happened.

Jimmy, my bodyguard drove me to my father's place. I asked him to take a different route as I was suspicious the media might follow us. I had no intention to bring my father into the limelight.

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

"So, who is he? What does he do?"

Dad inquired, his arms crossed across his chest, and was trying hard to exhibit an intimidating aura. He didn't even let me sit and started his inquiry.

"I bet you must have googled him by now." I too crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows.

He averted his eyes for a second then looked at me. "Of course, I had to. The proposal created a buzz that means he's an influential man and I needed to find out everything about the man who stole my daughter's heart." He reasoned out.

"Then why the inquiry?"

He opened his mouth and then shut it then huffed. "Oh, come on, Eloise, at least pretend to be intimidated of me." He grumbled which made me laugh.

"You're so cute, dad." I gave him a bear hug.

I sat on a chair in the backyard while dad went to make fresh juice. I kept my gaze fixed on the plants growing proudly under my father's maintenance. The green color leaves and vibrant flowers held me captivated. A smile graced my lips as I recalled my father's words: 'Nature's diversity shows us how vibrant our life can be. Just a little exploration can bring you to your matching signature flower.'

Guess, I found mine one.

"It's good to see you smiling. You look carefree." Dad said as he blocked my view by bringing the glass of juice before my eyes.

"I'm happy these days." I took the glass and he sat on the chair beside me.

"I already like the boy." He commented as he took the sip of the juice from the glass.

"Won't you ask me how he treats me, or if he's a nice man or not?" I asked, sipping the juice. I kept my eyes fixed on the view in front of me. I thought dad would ask me a lot of questions about Daniel. I knew it wouldn't take long for dad to like Daniel but I thought as a father he would show a bit of strictness.

"It's not needed." His statement made me look at him. He studied the confusion on my face and chuckled. "He has changed you for good, Eloise. I have seen notable changes in you and I'm sure those are because of him. You have started to smile a lot. These days, whenever we talk on the phone, you complain less and talk about the bright side of the day spent."

I had no idea why my cheeks flamed at his explanation. I chewed the corner of my lower lip and but couldn't hold my smile.

"The only thing I want to know is how he managed to melt the heart of stone?" He asked in amusement.

"Dad!" I gaped at him. "You think I have a heart of stone?" I asked in disbelief.

"Had... You had." He chuckled. I shook my head in incredulity thinking if my father thinks this about me then what others would have thought?

"So, what spell did he cast on you?"

Leaning back on the chair, I crossed my legs in lotus style. "He did not do anything." I circled my finger on the rim of the glass, looking at the orange-colored liquid in the glass.

"Maybe it's his natural aura, his playful personality, cheerfulness that attracted me towards him. He's always full of energy, he has a different perspective towards life and always sees good in everything." I mumbled. Daniel's smiling face was flashing in front of my eyes as I said that.

"It seems like he's a jolly person," Dad commented.

"Believe me, dad, you'll be delighted to meet him. He can bring a smile on anyone's face just like that." I faced him and snapped my fingers.

"It's rare to see you praise someone. From what I am seeing, I could say that you have fallen head over heels for him," He wiggled his eyebrows. I smiled brightly.

"Without any doubt."

He pulled me in a side hug and kissed the side of my head. "I'm happy for you, my darling. Finally, you've found someone who can keep you sane." I laughed at his remark.

"So when are you introducing him to me?" He asked as he removed his arm from my shoulder.

"Soon." That's all I said.

"What did your mom say?" And just like that, my smile dropped. I knew he was going to ask this but mentally I was hoping for the opposite. Nonetheless, I answered.

"She doesn't want me to be with him."

"What?" He was taken aback for a moment then he slowly came back to normal. He too didn't expect this.

I shrugged my shoulders in dejection. "Yes."

He struggled to say something but nothing came out of his mouth and after a moment he spoke, "Don't worry she'll come around."

I chuckled bitterly, he would never say anything against her. I guess that's what love is. I too can not say or listen to anything against Daniel that's why I almost shouted on mom when she tried to compare him with Michael. Does mom love dad the same way he does? I doubt it.

I decided to drop the topic as it would lead to nothing and spent half of the day with my dad, sharing my thoughts about Daniel. I left from there and reached the city when the sun was on the horizon to disappear.

Evan reminded me to visit Leena before I head back home, so I asked Jimmy to drive me there. As I stepped out of the car after reaching outside her office building, I was attacked by the paparazzi. Jimmy secured me from them and led me inside. Leena's office was the place where models, actors, and other celebrities could be seen going back and forth in and out of the building that's why it was the most favorable place for the paparazzi to capture people in their cameras. They threw questions at me like crazy. They asked me the reason for visiting Leena, I made my way inside the building without answering them.

"Hey, Leena." I greeted her with a smile as I entered her office.

"Oh, darling, welcome. I was waiting for you." She said as she stood up from her chair and pulled me in a warm hug. "I'm glad you surpassed the raging media easily."

"Yeah, they have gone crazy as if they haven't witnessed the proposal of any other celebrity," I said in aghast.

"Believe me when I say yours was way different and surprising." She said. A mischievous smile played on her lips. I blushed a little.

"They hadn't left me alone too since that night. They want details of your relationship from me. You tell me, how should I explain to them that I'm as curious as they are?"

"I'm so sorry, Leena that you have to go through this because of us. We even created chaos in your party. Trust me I had no idea he was going to propose to me at the party." I said guiltily.

"Oh, hush now." She waved her hand. "The chaos was worth it. I'm happy that the party I organized came to better use than to just gossip around." She led me to the couch and sat beside. "Knowing Daniel, I thought he was going to do something comical but he just took my breath away with the way he proposed you. That was so phenomenal."

I chuckled shyly. She sighed dramatically and said, "I wish my husband had done even a little bit of what Daniel did for you. But of course, he proposed me almost two decades back, and back at that time a single flower was enough to win someone's heart." I laughed at her dramatic response.

"You're one lucky girl, Eloise." She mumbled, studying my face intently. "Man like Daniel is hard to find these days." I nodded my head in understanding.

"I think I have said enough about your personal life, now let's talk business."

"Business? I thought you called me to discuss whatever happened at the party." I peered into her eyes.

"You know, whenever a celebrity gains publicity, no matter what the method is, they attract business; everyone wants to work with the person the media has the eyes on. Everyone wants profit and fame. This is how it works, this industry works. I'm no different." She said as she stood up from the couch and made her way to the chair behind the desk. I kept my gaze fixed at her.

"I want to claim a talented, passionate, and hard-working candidate like you before anyone else could." She said, leaning forward on the desk. I stood up from the couch and sat on the chair placed opposite the desk.

"Umm...okay? So that means you want me to work with you again." I said carefully.

"Exactly!" She grinned in triumph. "Would you like to?"

"Depends on the work you are offering," I said directly. Though I was eager to work with her, I wanted to make sure if the work was of my taste or not. We have to be blunt in order to avoid conflicts in the future.

"I have tied up with a cosmetic brand that is about to launch a new lipstick range. And I want you to endorse it." She informed me.

"I would love to," I replied in a heartbeat. It was a fair project, after all.

"That's great. So, shall we discuss the terms of the contract?" She asked.

"Could you please hand over the papers to me, or mail it to me? I'll read the terms carefully at home and will let you know as soon as I read it. If that's okay with you." I said hopefully.

"Oh, no worries. I'll ask my secretary to mail you the sample contract. Take your time."

"Thank you so much for understanding, Leena," I stood up from the chair. "I think I should leave now." I smiled. She stood up from her chair and approached me.

"Would love to work with you again." She extended her hand for a handshake. I clasped her hand and smiled.

"It would be a pleasure for me too," I said and exited her office. As soon as I stepped out of her office, I took a deep breath of satisfaction. A contented smile graced my lips as I made my way outside the building.

A lot has changed in my life since the day Daniel knocked on the door of my heart. Talking about personal affairs and keeping my mother's complicated issues away...I found the love of my life and my dad was happy with my choice. And about professional affairs, I was looked forward by almost every influential business person. I had just received an appealing offer that could bring something good out of me, could improve my worth as a model. I couldn't ask for more. I was at the best point of my life what could go wrong-

"Miss Nicole, we have received the news that you have agreed to work with Rick Hashington. Is it true?"

"He said you have agreed to model for his new lingerie line."

"At first you were refusing to work with him and now you said yes?"

"How much money did he offer you?"

"What deal he offered that you agreed on all of a sudden?"

"When will you start working with Rick Hashington?"

I was left aghast with the intensity of questions thrown at me by the media as soon as I step my foot out of the building. I couldn't think straight. What were they talking about? When did I agree to work for Rick? What was happening? How did they get the hold of this fake news? And most importantly, who the hell was spreading the rumors?

They blocked my way and kept shouting the questions. An uneasy feeling surged inside me. They had thrown themselves on me like an army of ants strikes on a sugar granule. I was uncomfortable and feeling suffocated. Suddenly, the air of relief hit me when the lunatic people were swatted away from me.

"Stay away. Maintain your distance." I heard Jimmy's angry voice. I looked at him and suddenly felt relieved. "This way, Miss Nicole." I nodded my head and strode ahead in Jimmy's security. He didn't let anyone come near me. As soon as I sat in the car, he drove off. What the hell was happening? I needed answers. I asked Jimmy to stop the car a distance.

I immediately took out my phone from the purse and went on the internet to look for something that could give me answers. Not too late I found a video that was uploaded just ten minutes ago. I opened it my heart hammered inside my chest as I listened to the interview of Rick Hashington.

"I've hired Eloise Nicole to model for my new lingerie line." What the fucking hell?

"I have heard somewhere that she doesn't wear lingerie on-screen then how you managed to change her mind?" The interviewer asked.

He chuckled and replied "Who can deny me? Who can deny the fame one would get working for me? And besides, there's always the first time for everything, Eloise wants to experiment and I'm helping. And not to forget the biggest factor, money. I offered her a quite appealing deal she couldn't resist. Money can bring you anything."

What a sick bastard!

Shutting my phone, I threw it beside me and ran my hands through my hair. What was he playing at? Why was he spreading rumors? He framed me as a money-hungry and desperate woman who could do nothing without him. I clutched my hair tightly and let out a loud groan.

"Miss Nicole, you okay?" Jimmy asked with concern. I sighed exasperatedly and sat straight. I wanted answers as to why he did it.

"Jimmy, drive me to Hashington's office," I said in a hard tone.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Miss Nicole. Mr. Adams strictly ordered me to keep you away from Rick or Micheal." He replied hesitantly.

"I'll take care of him. Start the car." I said curtly. He looked at me in the rearview mirror with hesitance. He was not going to follow my order. Well, then...

"Drive or I'll take the taxi." I threatened.

He reluctantly started the car and pulled into the street. He knew that his duty was to be with me and give me protection, not to leave me alone.

"Let's see what answers you have for what you did, Rick"

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