Davian tried not to show just how anxious he felt while she spoke her next words. It took quite an effort on his part to keep a straight face and not show just how eager he was to know the only way to become someone of importance to the woman he had started to cherish more than his own life.
"If you want to become my partner, then you need to be of some importance to me, Mr. Parker. I don’t need a cook to take care of my meals or a man to pamper me, I need someone who will help me build the future I want for myself." Grace stated calmly.
After two seconds of pause, she added, "Of course, the cooking and pampering are welcomed as well."
She spoke the sentence with such calmness and a straight face that even she felt deceived by her own acting. She sure was getting better at this - or at least that’s what she believed.
"I can be anything you want me to be. A cook, a pampering boyfriend... or husband, or a man who can stand next to you and shoulder every obstacle that will come at us in the future." He finally held that strong aura of Davian King Parker as he spoke these words.
Grace watched him silently for a while before she nodded her head in approval. "That sounds perfect. Let’s be good partners, Mr. Parker." She held out her hand and he reached out to shake it. However, he didn’t let go immediately.
"Mr. Parker." She called him while shifting her gaze to their still joined hands. When she got no response from him, she returned her gaze to his face only to find him looking right back at her.
"I like it more when you call me Davian." He stated before he finally let go of her hand and leaned back in his chair. "How about we talk about some serious stuff now?"
"Sure." Grace was more than happy to talk about the serious matters with him. Since they were now partners, there was a lot they needed to talk about, discuss, and plan.
"How long are you planning to stay here?" He asked while picking up the wine bottle to pour more wine for the two of them.
Grace accepted the wine glass as she answered, "Eighteen months."
Her answer clearly surprised him because she noticed how he stilled right before taking a sip of his wine. But it didn’t last for long as barely a second later, he continued as if everything was alright. He took a sip of the wine before asking, "Why such a fixed period of time?"
"To be honest there’s no actual reason. I just thought a year and half will be enough for me to prepare my next safe base." Grace answered as she sat her wine glass down on the table.
"Are you talking about the Starfall Isle?" Davian asked as he caught up with what she could probabaly be talking about.
Nodding her head slowly, she answered, "That’s right."
A serious look took over Davian’s face as he watched her for a moment before finally asking, "Grace, is there something you are hiding from me?"
"What do you mean?" She asked, trying her best to stay calm and not show just how taken aback she was with his sudden question.
Davian took another sip of his wine before he spoke, "You have been behaving weirdly these days - suddenly killing Daniel, closing your base, collecting endless supplies, and buying an island. Also what’s going on with all the extra installations within your and your team’s apartments? Can you really make me believe that all these things are normal."
He didn’t brought up the matter of how she actually made hundred thousands of supplies disappear into thin air, leaving it for another time.
Grace’s fingers tightened around the stem of the wine glass as she contemplated on how to handle his questions.
Her inner turmoil didn’t go unnoticed by Davian and he reached out to cover her hand that was holding the glass. The contact made her look up at him as he spoke, "You can trust me, Grace. At least, you should try to."
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She took her time to gather her thoughts, and thankfully, he was patient enough to not urge her to answer his questions. When she opened her eyes, she had already made up her mind on what to tell him.
"What if I told you that I somehow know that a huge disaster is coming our way? That these earthquakes and rain... they are just the mere beginning and things would only worsen from now. Will you believe me?
"I do." He answered without any hesitation. But what really surprised Grace was his way of answering as he said - ’I do’ and not ’I will’.
"I do believe you." He repeated before asking, "What I want to know is how you find out about this?"
This time, Grace didn’t really have an answer as she couldn’t tell him the lie she had been telling others all this time. Because with how much power, wealth, and connections he had, it was impossible for Davian to not know if a secret about upcoming disaster was being discussed within the higher level of government.
"Since you already trust me, do you really have to know where I find out about this information?" She asked a few moments of silence later.
It was a futile attempt at making him give up on the matter, but just as she was expecting, he didn’t. "It’s important, Grace. What I seek is a strong bond between us that is built on trust and loyalty, not on secrets and lies. That’s why I want you to share at least some of your secrets with me if not all."
"You won’t belive me if I will tell you this secret." She whispered in a voice that was barely audible.
There was silence following her words, and she wondered if he had finally decided to give up. But then she heard the last thing she was expecting to hear from him.