11| Quiet observation

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I wear my demons like armour, shielding nothing but the emptiness inside.

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Mili snuggled up in Daniel's arms as the cold breeze struck her delicate skin, spraining her ankle wasn't really bad after all - especially when you have someone to carry you around.

Daniel made Miliani sit opposite him on a cute candlelight set up for dinner. He, never in his life, had brought any girl out for dinner as he found none of them worthy of his attention, his time and things like this stupid and unnecessary. But watching Miliani savour her delicious meal, taking dainty bites and quietly enjoying her food seemed to be one of his new musings. So, a few shifts on his usual would not hurt.

The chefs served various cute and colourful dishes, from starters to desserts, wrapped up in pretty decorations, while Daniel just ordered steak and raw whiskey. Miliani has a thing for dinky little things, and Daniel has esteemed it on his own. Her contentment was palpable, its fragments were touching the surroundings of him. To him, Mili felt like the tastiest bite he used to save as a child to devour at the end of his meal.

After they had dinner in quiet, Daniel stayed there for a while, observing the sights of the town beneath his feet. He let the air of the new day touch his body as it was already past midnight with Mili by his side. Daniel's usual cold, unyielding demeanour was a little softer today, Miliani could sense it. Deep in her mind, she always remembered what Jessica suggested to her a few days back. Though she had no one in this world to look up to, no place to shelter herself, she still wanted to know when Daniel would set her free and let her go. But, tomorrow was his day, only his - a small yet important event for the endeavours he had envisioned. Power, money and respect of the whole world were on one side but breaking apart the Romanos empire and marking it as solely his was on another side, another level of his essentiality.

Mili mentally decided to wait until the day's event gets over and then, ask Daniel about her own queries. Not many words were exchanged between them as usual but Daniel noticed Mili trying to tiptoe on her injured ankle to witness the view he was beholding.

On discovering this, he lifted Mili in his arms again, giving the mere five-three girl an edge over his six-two figure. Never in her life had Mili seen the night view of any city. She was swamped with amusement, beholding the whole town sparkling down her eye level, as they were on the terrace of the highest building in the town.

"Happy?" Daniel questioned watching her getting glowed up, all delighted to which she nodded with a pleasant smile. Trivial things like that can make any human happy was not known to him unless it was his wife.

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Next morning

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The slick surface of the vintage fountain pen glided along Daniel's finger, a relic steeped in family history. His father had used this very pen to sign his first contract, his brother Kevin had wielded it to mark his own milestones and now it was in Daniel's possession. It was definitely not Daniel's first significant signing but his brother had sent it over being aware of today's importance to convey his regards, though he was still in the hospital. Daniel slipped the pen into his blazer's pocket as one sharp knock on the door of his study broke his moment of nostalgia.

The second in command of the Romanos, Nacho, entered with one fancy, shining bottle of champagne in his hand.

Daniel's ability to read people's treacherous attitudes never really failed him but the pleasant glint in Nacho's eyes was surprisingly in stark contrast to the usual attitude of the other members of this empire. Taking a calculated step forward, Daniel positioned himself in front of the massive oak table, leaning forward and pressing his palms firmly against its polished surface.

"Pardon me for stealing the first drink of the day, but here's a toast to the new beginnings," Nacho said with a gentle grin placing the bottle on the table. New beginning - indeed but Nacho was not the one who should be happy about it.

Pulling the cork with a pop, Nacho expertly poured two glasses and handed one to Daniel. Daniel accepted the glass but his sceptical eyes never left Nacho's suspicious behaviour. Before Daniel could say anything, Nacho brought the glass to his lips to eliminate his awkwardness and sipped on it saying, "I'm not poison-proofed either."

Daniel could not help but let out a smirk at his words, lifting the glass in a reserved manner. Nacho clinked his glass against Daniel's, his smile unwavering. "To the new Don," he echoed, taking another sip immediately after.

Daniel slightly nodded taking a measured sip and then settled his glass down.

Nacho leaned forward, his expression turning serious from the previous light mood as he informed, "There are concerns about the distribution of power and responsibilities. Some members of the board are wary of the changes and need assurances that their positions won't be compromised."

Nacho found Daniel's gaze hardened as always. With the same cold, unreadable looks in his eyes, Daniel asked with a soft chuckle, "And you're one of them?"

Since the day of arrival, Nacho's behaviour had been quite unpredictable, not yielding to Daniel's anticipations. Exactly that's why Nacho seemed fun to Daniel, a good little riddle to play along.

"I wish I were," confidence was solid in Nacho's tone. Daniel wondered for a moment what might be the reason behind this, but whatever it was, Daniel's interest lay in breaking it apart. Nacho left after downing the remainder of his drink in a single gulp.

On the other side of the mansion, Miliani got herself all dolled up with Willa's assistance. The maids weren't allowed their mobile phones inside the mansion and also, during their working hours. That's why Willa stayed up at night studying makeup lessons for Miliani after her shift was over. Miliani also could not really sleep being alone, her eyes had little puffs which were concealed by Willa's newly learned make-up skill. She was still not over with Miliani's hair when Jessica along with Tulip knocked on the door.

Both Mili and Willa could not figure out what to do with Mili's long, wavy hair. Jessica silently observed Miliani's limited edition custom-tailored dress - a floor-touching elegantly black gown with a deep front slit. But her makeup and hair weren't up to the level of her attire. Minimal and basic accessories, unruly hair and amateur makeup made her look miserable in Jessica's eyes.

Jess clutched hard on Tulip's shoulder as Tulip proceeded to help the clueless girls with their work but Tulip paid no heed to her. Mili's undefiled, unworldly appearance unwantedly reminded her of the girl she had tactfully hidden beneath the layers of her heavy makeup.

"May I?" That smiley-faced woman asked Miliani who was seated on the stool before the huge mirror wall. After Mili cheerfully agreed relieving a sigh of relief, Tulip made one messy bun with her thick hair and tied it with a diamond-encrusted hairpin leaving two strands of hair fall on her face from either side. Jessica gave Tulip a malicious smile as the hair Tulip tied, made Miliani look irresistibly in matching with her outfit.

"Come with us," Tulip offered with a never leaving smile on her face.

"Don wants your presence at his study, signora," a maid waiting outside the room delivered the message.

"So what! We came here, especially to receive Miliani. Besides, a wife has no place around her husband at such events," Jessica said. She, for some reason, needed Miliani away from Daniel during the event.