Chapter 75: Almost three days
Daisy looked up at the sky as the skipper led the traditional Chinese styled boat towards the middle of the lake, ’’It’s even more beautiful from here,’’ she could see paper lanterns floating up so close yet far away.
Daisy looked at Angel with a hint of regret in her heart knowing that the little girl would have been amazed by the sight of it.
’’It is...’’ Ryle’s gaze landed on the woman whose gaze was altering between her daughter and the sky as if she wanted to show it to the little girl and he found it charming how she was equally excited as Angel even though she herself did not realize it.
’’Beautiful indeed,’’ Ryle whispered.
’’Huh?" Daisy looked at the man, unable to catch his words but suddenly her eyes widened, ’’Ryle, dodge!"
Daisy moved on reflex and pushed Angel into Ryle’s arms. Her hand moved to the back of his head as she pushed him to the side and with her other hand, she pulled a gun out of the waistline of her dress.
’Swish’
In the split-second as Daisy positioned the gun, a feathered dart grazed by the back of her hand a drop of blood trickled down, rolling down the side of Ryle’s face.
Daisy gritted her teeth and pulled the trigger.
’Bang’
’Bang’
’Splash’
The bullets went through the heart of the boat skipper and the man staggered twice before falling in the water with a splash.
Daisy’s heart was still beating fast as she pulled back from Ryle and looked at Angel. The little girl had her eyes closed, her breathing was even as she slept peacefully in Ryle’s arms.
Daisy looked at Ryle, her fingers still positioned on the back of his head, gripping his hair, ’’Are you alright?" her voice came out in a whisper.
’’I am... Daisy!" Ryle called out to the woman as she staggered in her footsteps.
Daisy felt her vision growing blurry as her body swayed, her knee hit the edge of the boat, she could see the sparkling water, the blurry reflection of the lanterns in the water. She thought she was going to fall into the lake but strong fingers wrapped around her wrist in a firm grip.
Daisy could feel the warmth of those fingers seeping inside her skin through the chill that consumed her body.
’’Daisy...’’
She could hear a hint of concern in that distant voice of the man that was probably a game her mind played on her.
’’Daisy...’’
The last thing she realized was that she fell into a warm embrace before the world in front of her went completely dark.
...
’’Ugh...’’
Daisy felt a numbness in her body as she tried to move. Her eyes opened slowly, only to be greeted by the sight of a beautiful crystal chandelier on the ceiling that shimmered as the moonlight hit it.
Daisy moved her head to the side. As the white curtains moved in the night breeze, she could see a silhoutte near the floor to ceiling glass wall.
Ryle?
Daisy squinted her eyes but her vision was still blurry.
She opened her mouth to call out to the man but her throat was so parched that she broke into a series of coughing fits.
The noise had the man turning around.
Ryle placed his hands down and strode towards the bed, ’’You are awake,’’ he poured a glass of water and helped her sit on the bed before moving the glass closer to her mouth.
Daisy took a few sips of the water before she held the glass from him.
’’You are awake,’’ he whispered again, his gaze wandering all over her body before he looked at her face.
Daisy moved to place the glass aside but Ryle was quick enough to take it from her hand and keep it on the bedside table.
Daisy looked to her side on the bed before looking at him, ’’Where is Angel?" she proceeded to remove the blanket.
’’Where are you going?"
’’I want to see my daughter...’’
"Shhh!" Ryle grabbed Daisy’s shoulders as he pulled her back onto the bed, his brows etched in concern, ’’Angel is alright. It’s past 2 am. You will wake her up.’’
Daisy frowned, ’’Where is she? I want to see her.’’
Ryle’s lips thinned, ’’You need rest!"
’’I want to see my daughter. Did I not make myself clear?" her voice turned cold but in the next moment, her eyes widened when the man suddenly pulled her into his arms and held her in a princess carry.
"What are you doing?"
’’Showing you your daughter.’’
’’Ryle, put me down. What is this place? Where are we?"
’’Say another word, Daisy, and see what I do to you,’’ Ryle’s voice took a threatening edge, that for some reason made Daisy silent.
Despite her unwillingness, she stayed put in his arms as he walked them out of what seemed like a grand master bedroom and stepped into the hallway before walking downstairs.
As Daisy gazed around the place, she realized that this was not some hotel. They were at Ryle’s extravagant glass mansion in Los Angeles.
But weren’t they in Shanghai Spring Festival? How long has it been ever since...?
Her own thoughts made her heart drop until Ryle pushed open the door to the bedroom downstairs and turned his head aside.
Daisy was greeted with the sight of Angel sleeping next to Ivy. Ivy still had her headphones on and with the constant movements of her legs, it was obvious that she was struggling to battle her insomnia and trying to sleep as usual. But Angel slept with her limbs thrown in all directions, the girl’s tiny mouth was open as drooled gathered on her pillow and the sound of her soft snores were resounded softly in a rhythm inside the room.
"How long has it been?"
The door to the room closed and Ryle turned to walk upstairs, holding Daisy in her arms.
It felt just like yesterday but the weather seemed serene when she opened her eyes. Not only did Ryle bring her to his mansion, but he even brought Ivy over to take care of Angel.
’’Almost three days.’’
His response told her why her body felt so numb, so fragile, something that she had never felt before, not even during her pregnancy sickness.
’’How did you get Ivy to come here?"
’’Asked Maxim to get it done,’’ When Angel used to live with Maxim and Diana, he had seen Ivy taking care of Angel while both of them would be at work. That was the time before Daisy came to meet Angel in US.
He did not have much impression of Ivy except for the fact that she was pretty close to Angel, and Diana found her trustworthy enough to leave her with Angel when she went to work so Daisy should be trusting of her as well.
With Daisy unconscious, he could not monitor his subordinates if he assigned them to take care of Angel nor will those grown men know anything about taking care of a child.
Hiring new people was a risky thing as he did not trust people easily, let alone when it involved a tiny precious life. He knew that with his attention on Daisy, he might neglect Angel’s care so it took him a lot of brainstorming before he finally came up with the idea of inviting Ivy over.
As Daisy listened to his words, a sense of relief washed over her.
’’Not on the bed...’’ she struggled in his arms as he proceeded to place her on the bed, ’’My back feels stiff,’’ Daisy protested when the man did not listen to her.
Ryle paused and moved towards the couch near glass wall.
As Dexter, Daisy had been to Ryle’s place many time before in the past but she had not had the chance to step into the master bedroom before so it was the first time she got to witness the marvellous view out of his room.
There was vast stretch of pine trees that seemed like a deep forest. In the night time, as the moon was high in the sky, partially covered in the clouds, the moonlight filtered through the glass and hit all the crystal accessories in the room, emitting a unique radiance, sparkling beautifully.
Everytime, she had come to his place before, she had frowned at the extravagance of his glass house, considering the man’s taste to be lacking and too showy.
