Daisy's POV
"Uncle Silvan!" The voices of my children caught me off guard when they jumped down from their chairs to meet the man who had just walked in.
I threw a sidelong gaze at my mum who seemed most pleased to have him here. Who was this man that my children knew and I didn't?
All through dinner, I couldn't feel a bit of comfort. Not with the chitchats going around the table which I felt lost in, not with the constant side eyes I got from Silvan, and not with the fact that my kids knew who he was when I didn't.
Soon dinner was over. I stood up and called Rhea and Riley to my side.
I smiled at them, pulling them closer. "It's time to go to bed, honeys."
"Daisy," Mum called me.
I turned around and met a dissatisfied frown on her face.
"What? Mum?" I asked.
"Isn't it a bit uncourteous to go to bed without getting to know our visitor?" She asked.
What for? Could you not tell me about him at a later time?
"Drop the kids and come and introduce yourself to Mr Silvan," she said.
I sighed softly and let go of the kid, then walked over to where she stood with Silvan.
Of what use was it greeting the guy that had been eyeing me up and down all the through dinner. The whole time, he had been giving off a vibe I couldn't roll with.
I swallowed back my annoyance and stretched out a hand. "Hi."
The idiot had a smile plastered on his face. "I'm Silvan. So nice to finally meet you."
With the way he said that, I could feel there was something else to this his visit. It'd better not be what I was thinking it was.
He raised the back of my palm near his mouth, placed a soft kiss on it before gently dropping it back like it was some expensive royal perfume.
I sneaked a fast gaze on mum only to see her smiling.
"I'm really surprised you don't know Silvan, darling," mum said. "You must have seen him once or twice during your visits while you were outside."
I straightened my back and shook my head. "No."
"Then, I'm guessing it's only the kids who have met him," she suggested with a mindful shrug.
I shot a fast gaze at Silvan, carefully taking in his features. Nothing about him rang a bell. I guess it was only on my kids who knew him, since there were times when I sent them to holidays without me.
"Let's have a seat, darling," my mother suggested all of a sudden, gesturing at the dinning table which the maids were cleaning up.
"What now, mum?" I nagged, rolling a fast eye at Silvan who stood like he was holding something back in his throat and was waiting for a perfect time to spew it.
"Daisy." There was a slight hardening in mother's tone now, making my shoulders drop.
"Alright," I muttered, not wanting to displease her. But I would if things went beyond what I could take.
I headed over to the dining table and dismissed the maids as mum and Silvan came to join me.
"So, darling, I know you did you best to come home every now and then while you were away from home," mum said and patiently listened. "But now that you're back, we and the Lockhart family have planned to tie our families in a marriage bond."
The moment she dropped those words, my heart skipped a bit. Although I'd suspected it was where she was headed, the revelation send a cold shivers down my spine.
"What are you saying, darling?" She asked with a candid smile.
No. I wanted to drop it bluntly that tie wasn't going to happen, but it'd only sound like I had something against the Lockhart family.
"I'm sorry, mum, but I don't think that is possible," I mutter.
Surprise flickered in their eyes and I went further to explain. I'd thought myself now to be a woman of few words, even in situations like this. But here I was, finding the need to explain the reason behind my decision.
"Mum, I know you have my best interest at heart, but you can't just see it the way I do. I'm literally done with men. Rhea and Riley are my joy and I want to focus on being the best mother I can be to them," I rambled.
"You need a man—"
I cut her off before she could spew further. "No, I don't." I shook my head, eyes widening to hold back tears that were provoked by the memory of how my last marriage ended.
"Daisy—"
"The last man I had in my life was my husband, mum, not a boyfriend. You know what that means." My voice rose one step.
I felt my throat thicken, making saliva difficult to pass through.
It was only then that Silvan decided to speak for the first time since the whole discussion.
"Look, Daisy. I don't mind that you have kids and I don't mind being their father," he starts.
But that statement sounds like it had been vomited by a man who didn't know its weight. Yet, I wasn't interested in any way.
"No, thank you." I dismiss his offer.
I'd already settled in with raising my kids by myself. Plus, with dad and my brothers present, my kids had all the father figures they needed.
"Daisy—"
I could feel my blood boiling now. I'd already found happiness in my life, what more was I looking for? Mum always claimed to understand my feelings, but if she really did, then she wouldn't be here persuading me into accepting something I simply didn't want.
"Where is dad and why isn't he a part of this discussion?" I ask, standing up from my seat, tears rolling down my eyes. "I guess you guys must have already concluded things. This discussion is just perfunctory."
"Sit back down, darling. We're just trying to do what's best for you, darling."
"Like hell you know what's best for me!" I snap, irritation pumping through my veins.
I push my chair back and turn around to leave.
"If you take a step out of here, Daisy, we will suspend declaring your identity until you get married," mother warned.
"Go ahead and do it. I don't even need the identity!"
My words leave her with a gasp and I storm out of the dining room, racing up the stairs with tears in my eyes.
Immediately I get to my room, I push my laptop which I'd left on my bed. My fingers slipped accidentally over the trackpad and the screen woke to reveal a message which Zara had sent thirty minutes ago.
I wiped my tears and opened the message. A link?
I click the link and it leads me to a blog. My body trembles as my eyes fall on the title of the landing page.
"CEO and founder of FuturaLab is married to Declan Ellington, the fast rising billionaire!"