"I was told I was dangerous...

I asked why.

They said, "Because you don't need anyone."

That's when I smiled.

Cyrus POV

I glanced at her, she fell asleep. I remember the first time I saw her. It wasn't at her graduation party. It was at the church, she was helping Sister Ancy and Mother Julie. It was surprising that she never noticed me. I was present on every occasion possible and wasn't lucky enough to catch her eye.

I was a part of the board of trustees and she volunteered for the charity events the Church is responsible for. We had crossed paths but never got the chance to have a conversation.

My biggest rival, Edwards, held his second daughter's graduation party. No one knows anything about his second daughter. He never brought her to any business events or to an annual ball.

His first daughter, Sara, who attends every event with her father and mother, is known by everyone. I never liked that lady. There were a lot of scandals attached to her name. I had to attend the graduation party just to piss off Edwards, but what surprised me was her. I had never imagined she would be the daughter of my biggest rival.

I nearly lost it when Edwards announced the marriage. I personally knew Mick, it was a sick feeling knowing who she was going to marry.

Mick's a bitch and was famous for his scandals as well. The Whites were trying to keep their son's reputation clean for a while. Xavier mentioned it before. They were trying to find a bride for their son but I never ever imagined it would be her.

I decided to leave the party as soon as the announcement was made, but I couldn't leave the parking lot. I spent hours thinking about what I could do or about how I could approach her before the wedding. Luck was on my side.

I was astounded when I saw the scene between the two sisters and Mick. It was surprising to see the dislike she had towards Sara and Mick. I was not expecting that. I always believed Edwards hid his second daughter because he cared for her. I knew the truth the moment I saw how she was treated at the party.

I know from a long time back that Dave Edward had an affair before his first wife died, and that is how Sara was born. Then he remarried, saying his second daughter needed a mother in her life. But the truth was, his second wife was his affair and Sara was his real daughter as well. She is older than Isabelle but he made the world believe that Isabelle is older than Sara.

The first time she saw me, I knew she thought I was an attractive man. The way her eyes roamed up and down checking me out. Her face turned pink when I caught her checking me out.

I had to use my chance carefully. I needed to be careful while dropping her off at the mansion. Everyone in the business world knew the rivalry between us. I didn't want anyone seeing me with her and informing Edwards.

She thought I was not observing her when she took my flip-flops from the back seat and put them on. I tried my best not to laugh.

I have no idea why I asked her to come with me. But, I know for sure that if I don't do anything she will be someone's in one month.

I'm taking her to my grandpa's private estate. There's no comfortable place in this world for me other than my Nonno's. I halted the car before taking out the blanket from the back seat and putting it on her.

There's a long night ahead before we reach the town. My Nonno and Nonna have lived in the town and estate for decades. They would be leaving the town. It is their home and happy place.

I glanced at her before smiling at the truth that she had no idea of who I was. It's refreshing and I'm not planning on telling her about me. I called my grandparents last night, telling them that I was coming home with someone. They were surprised and asked if I was bringing any business partners. Xavier was the only one whom I brought to the estate. He was the only one who stayed with us for the Christmas holidays.

I didn't give them the answer. Now they are curious about whom I'm bringing apart from Xavier and Elora. Xavier has been my best friend and brother for ages. Elora pretty much became a family as well. Xavier married Elora a few months ago. They have been dating for a while and I knew her from the start. I like her and I'm happy for Xavier. He deserves everything in this world.

*

I glanced at her as she woke up from her sleep. "Hey."

"Morning."

"Good morning, do you have water?" I gave a nod and pointed to the back seat. "What time is it?"

"Five in the morning, you can sleep. We still have two hours of driving."

"No, I slept well. You were driving the whole night? Did you take breaks in between?"

I nodded my head."Yeah, I did. We will stop by for breakfast."

We fell into complete silence before she turned on the radio. There is a food court which I know.

I parked the car and opened the car door for her. "You sure they are open at this time?" Whenever she has to ask something, she needs to look up, craning her head. It's either I'm too tall or she is too short. Anyway, I love the fact that she has to strain her neck.

"They are 24/7."

"Oh." She is looking at the garden.

I looked at a group of bikers, they seemed like they were on a road trip, but what caught my eye was they were looking at Isabelle. I wrapped my arm around her waist. I don't have any problem with people looking at her.

She's beautiful but too much staring is the issue. They got the message. Giving an understanding nod, they smiled before turning around and talking with each other.

I held the door open for her. Isabelle stepped inside and we went to stand in line. Isabelle looked around the interior of the cafe, " It's so beautiful."

"Yeah, it is," I said, peering at her. She glanced at me before looking at the menu. We waited for our turn. In the meantime, I asked Isabelle to select from the menu. Once we give our orders, we look around for booths.

"Let's sit there." She says, going to the corner booth where you can have a view of the outside.

"You have been to this place before?" She asks, once settled. "Yes."

"Ohh." She's looking out of the window at the bikers.

"They are Mc bikers. They are as a group, every year or for every six months they go on a road trip."

"Interesting." Now her gaze met mine. "Where do they go? Do they cross the borders?"

"Hmm, depends. They do cross the state borders."

"They look cool with their bikes." She watched the bikes fascinatedly. I smiled at her fascination.

When we are done with the food, we again hit the road. It took exactly 45 minutes before the estate's high compound wall came into view.

"Where are we?" Isabelle asked.

"You will see."

The gates opened automatically. The guards saluted before I drove the car in. There's another five-minute drive to the mansion. The estate is huge and has its own private forest area.

"You really have a huge garden for sure." She half-joked.

I smiled thinking about how she was going to react when she saw the whole place. When we reached the front driveway, I stopped the car. One of the old workers, James, was already waiting for us. I went out and Isabelle did the same.

"Hello James, how are you doing?"

"All good sir. How are you?"

"I'm good." He turned to Isabelle and gave her a slight bow. "Hello, ma'am. I'm James." Isabelle shook his hand. "Hello, I'm Isabelle." I haven't informed my grandparents that we are going to live here for a while. They believe I will be going back to the city in two days. James excused himself to inform my grandparents.

I guided her to the front door, "Cyrus, where are we? Whom are we gonna meet?" She held my shirt sleeve and gave a slight tug to gain my attention.

"We are at my grandparent's place." She stopped walking and looked at me with horror-striking eyes.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"No."

"Why are we here?"

"There's no other place where I'm comfortable staying."

"Ugh, I― I don't think I will be comfortable staying here." I raised a brow. "You haven't even lived here for a day."

"Your grandparents live here!"

"Yes, do you want to live somewhere else with me? Where do you need to worry about the questions rising in your head?" She gaped as she thought about it.

"I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable taking you somewhere else. My grandparents are good people and over here you don't have to worry about your safety."

"Pablo, look who is here!" Nonna rushed towards me. Isabelle stood behind me while I wrapped my arms around Nonna. I kissed her forehead as she cried in happiness.

"I missed you, Cyrus, I can't believe you are here." She sniffed. "I thought you were busy with work. We missed you so much."

"I missed you too, love."

"I don't want you to leave so soon this time, Cyrus."

I chuckled. "Don't worry, we are going to stay for a month." She pulled away, giving me a confused look. I turned around to show her a nervous-looking Isabelle.

"Hello," Isabelle said. Nonna went to where Isabelle stood and pulled her into her arms.

"Sorry dear, I didn't see you," Nonna said, patting Isabelle's cheek.

"Cyrus, who is this beautiful lady?" Nonna teased. Isabelle's face started turning pink.

"My boy, how have you been?" Nonno slapped his hand on my shoulder.

"Huh― Doing good, old man." I gave him a smile as he chuckled. "How are you doing?"

"Oh― We were doing badly because we were missing you every day." Nonno greeted Isabelle.

"I'm Pablo and this is my wife Elizabeth."

"Isabelle, sir."

"Darling, call me Pablo." Isabelle gave a smile.

"What are you doing with my grandson? You better run away when you have the chance," Nonno joked. Isabelle gave an awkward chuckle while Nonna slapped his arm.

I took a step towards Isabelle and wrapped my arm around her waist, "Nonna and Nonno―"I looked at Isabelle before looking at them. "She is my girlfriend."

Nonna and Nonno's eyes widened in surprise. I felt her go stiff in my arm. She tugged on my shirt. "What the heck? I'm not your girlfriend." She whispered.

"Play along if you want to experience things." She shook her head but didn't say anything as Nonno and Nonna were watching us.

"I can't believe my Cyrus is having a girlfriend! And he brought her here to introduce us," Nonna whispered, hugging Nonno. She pulled Isabelle into another warm hug. "Darling, you don't know how happy I am." She patted Isabelle's cheek.

"Nonna, it was a long ride. We need to take a nap."

"Yes... Yes... I will wake you two when it's lunchtime."

I held Isabelle's hand in mine as they were watching us. I gave a slight tug to her hand. "Come on." I took her to the first floor where my room is located. Isabelle couldn't stop looking at the paintings and antic pieces that Nonna had decorated the hallways with.

Once we reached my room. I opened the door and turned on the lights. I left her hand and went over to remove my jacket. "Where is my room?" I turned to her lazily as she looked at me with her doe eyes.

"This is your room." Her brows frowned in confusion. "Then why are you standing here? Aren't you leaving?" I started removing my shoes and socks. "This is my room as well."

"You mean we are going to sleep in the same room?" I hummed.

"What? Are you crazy? I can't share a room with you!"

"Partners live in the same room."

"No, I don't want to live in the same room as you!" I pointed at the bed. "We would be acting as roommates. The bed is big enough for two people."

"No, not happening."

"Why? Don't you trust yourself when I'm with you?"

"No mister," she said, stomping her foot before going inside the bathroom. I wandered towards the washroom and knocked on it. She didn't open the door. "What?"

"Everything's in there. You can freshen up and there are fresh clothes in the closet." I turned around and left for the guest bedroom.