’’Fine, you go. But I am going to discuss this with Grandpa Qin. He cannot make my future husband work so much all the time.’’

Maxim raised an eyebrow, a twinkle in his eyes, ’’Future husband? Finally, are you willing to upgrade my status?"

’’Of course,’’ Diana bit her bottom lips as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his chin, ’’Back then, I was pregnant so we couldn’t get married. But now, Elias is born already and everything is better than before. Once Daisy and Ryle settle everything on their side, we can get married.’’

Maxim wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her in, ’’Now, I am reluctant to go anywhere. The surgery is scheduled in an hour. Maybe we can...’’

Diana grabbed the man’s hand that was already busy pulling the tie, ’’The kids are sleeping here.’’ 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

’’The other room? Bathroom? Hall?"

She blushed, ’’You... You have a lot of stamina, don’t you?" To think that the man had the audacity to think of such things after finishing a long surgery when he had another one waiting in queue.’’

’’Why don’t you check?" he whispered hoarsely, guiding her hand downwards.

She pulled her hand back, ’’Go now. We will talk about this after you are well rested.’’

After saying her bit, she stood on her tip toes and kissed his lips this time. The man wrapped his palm around her neck and captured her lips in a deep kiss.

One kiss led to the other and the couple ended up making out against one of the walls in the dark before the man slowly let her go, ’’Ana...’’

’’Mmm?"

’’I love you so much.’’

Diana smiled wordlessly, ’’I know. I love...’’ As he leaned in to hear her words in anticipation, she continued, ’’...myself too.’’

Maxim’s lips twitched, ’’I will punish you when I get back,’’ he whispered in her ears.

Diana accompanied Maxim to the doorway.

Maxim held the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss.

’’There are guards. What are you doing?"

He sighed and pecked her lips before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, ’’The kids are sleeping. Join them and catch some sleep.’’

After he left, Diana also locked the door and went back inside the penthouse.

The guards who were hiding in the dark remained stiff-faced throughout the public display of affection until one of them stepped forward.

’’Hold your breath!"

As the men looked around, there was a suspicious gas rising in the air on a ground level.

They were the elite guards that Daisy has specifically assigned to this place for protection during her absence. The man in lead spat, ’’Two of you, trace back to the source of this gas and eliminate it. Catch the culprit at any cost. Six of you should go and check the outer area of the building for any possible threats. The remaining people, half of you stand at the door to ensure nobody manages to get past and the remaining half, ensure the ventilation in this place.’’

Fifteen minutes later, half of the men had lost consciousness due to the gas.

’’Is everything clear now?"

"Yes, we have ensured all is well. Leader, you don’t look well...’’

The leader straightened himself up, raising his hand, ’’Check on the young miss first.’’

Their words had just dropped when a sound of approaching footsteps alerted them. Their manpower had greatly decreased so they were immediately on guard. But when the leader saw the huge group on the other side, his face tensed.

’’We have been tricked.’’

An hour later.

Ryle and Daisy stepped out of the elevator in front of the penthouse. The man had just taken a step when she held his hand.

’’Blood...’’ The scent of blood lingered in the air, albeit very subtle but negligible. Daisy turned to look at him and the look in his eyes reflected her own.

Fear.

They had stayed in the Kingsley Mansion right under the enemy’s nose but she had never felt this fear.

’’It will be fine,’’ Ryle held her hand firmly and led her out.

The door was unlocked and was dangling off the hinges and in the corner, a group of men were piled up, one above the other. Some had injuries while some seemed to be fine. Daisy knew how many men she had assigned for this task and at one glance, she could tell that one man was missing, their captain. Her eyes did a once over before she rushed inside.

’’The captain was the one who broke the door. They were taken down by schemes, poisonous has. They were misled into searching the wrong place. By the time they realized what was wrong, they had already expended their strengths and were taken down by the other party. They made a lot of loopholes which would make it easy for anyone to intrude if that was their intention...’’

’’Calm down!" Ryle gripped her hand tighter. Daisy was shaking as a whole by this point. Everything she analyzed was flawless but her attempt at doing that was merely an attempt to hide her anxiety.

There were no signs of anything in the house. Just footprints of a large boot that belonged to a man. The whole place was deathly quiet and the only sound that could be heard was the sound of birds chirping.

When they reached the master bedroom, suddenly all the distance they had covered overnight seemed negligible in comparison. There was dread settling over them.

Tears rolled down Daisy’s eyes as she pressed her palm on her mouth. And Ryle’s heart dropped at the same time.

The realization of one thing was clear. There were two children in the house yet not a single noise could be heard. Everything seemed so still that it felt wrong. It would be a normal occurrence on other days but on this particular day...

Ryle kicked open the door and led Daisy inside.

And the scene they witnessed stoned them in place.