It'll Come Naturally

"I'm just here for Brian," said Daisy curtly. Even as she saw his eyes welling up with tears, she was determined not to forgive him easily. There was no way she could forgive a man who hurt both her mother and her so much. "Sure, sure. He's upstairs at the moment." It didn't matter who Daisy came for. To Leo, as long as he could see her, everything else was minor details he could live with.

Despite frowning upon his wife's stubborn attitude, Edward did not try to say anything. He loved her no matter what, and if this was the only way she could cope for the meantime, he would be by her side to guide her until she was ready to take another step closer to letting old wounds heal.

"Happy birthday, Grandpa!" greeted Justin. As a child, he didn't know what was going on between the adults, and he didn't want to get involved in it either. Thus, he treated people the same way they treated him, regardless of their relationship with one another. "Justin. You look taller now. Come here, I have a gift for you!" Although Leo felt somewhat hurt by Daisy's distance, his young grandson's cheerful spirit uplifted him.

"What's that, Grandpa? Is it the telecontrolled aircraft that you promised me last time?" Justin ran toward him happily. It appeared like he was close to Leo, almost as though they frequently met up with each other.

"Go and check it. You won't be disappointed." Leo cherished the happy atmosphere with family around. Although Daisy didn't attempt to offer any kindness towards him, her presence was more than enough.

An inexplicable feeling arose within Daisy as she saw Justin getting along well with Leo while she walked away. Deep down, she couldn't blame her father so much as Justin was a sweet boy who could charm anyone around him. "Daisy, Edward," greeted Brian. "You're here!" With casual clothes on, Brian looked much more mature than he did a year ago. They seemed to fit him as he looked rather dashing now.

"Hey, Brian. You got more handsome." A bright smile appeared on Daisy's face as she said it. She hugged Brian affectionately, but not for long, as she was pulled away by a jealous man. Edward stared at the man with restrained fury. "Hey, Edward! Be confident about yourself!" Brian taunted. His eyes flickered playfully, eyeing Edward's stiff body in amusement.

"My confidence isn't what's questionable here," he said coolly. "I'm just taking care of my wife, and keeping her away from another man." Brian's relationship with Daisy was far too intimate for Edward's liking. Thus he often paid close attention and intervened before the other man could get what he wanted. In this case, it was the attention of his wife, Daisy. Edward made a mental note to be more careful of the man, particularly now that he was more powerful and charming than before.

"Don't talk to me as though I'm evil," chided Brian. "It's fine if you're not confident about yourself. I won't make fun of you." Then he turned away from him, and looked at Daisy, his voice completely changing to a more caring tone. "Come with me. I brought you a gift." To be frank, Brian let Edward's words pass from one ear to the other. He couldn't care less whether the man was jealous of him or not. Holding Daisy's hand, he led her upstairs with Edward hot on their heels.

"Really? A gift for me? What is it?" Daisy asked, following him calmly while ignoring Edward's scowl.

"Guess it." A cryptic expression appeared on Brian's face. Meanwhile, as Edward was ignored by both of them, he stood there and glared at the other man in the room.

"Well, I'm not really the best at guessing." Daisy rarely got gifts. Her world was often filled with cold weapons, and truthfully, they were the only things that she was interested in.

"Here you go! It's a Buck Strider 888. Short and sharp. You'll like it." It was a combat dagger. It looked like a normal knife, but it was extremely sharp. It would be of great help during a close quarters battle. With a sharp cutting edge, and a short body, the dagger could be hidden well without being noticed. It could also neutralize the enemies, and they wouldn't know what hit them.

"How did you get to take it into the plane?" asked Daisy, running a little bit out of air from so much excitement. "It's not exactly allowed!" Elated, Daisy had always wanted a short dagger exactly like that for self-protection during her assignments. But time hadn't permitted her to find a proper one, until Brian did her this favor.

"Well..." Brian trailed. "That's a secret." Brian could never admit that he used a friend's private plane on the way back. Otherwise, the details might become an issue, and she would likely not accept his gift.

"Anyway, thanks so much for this." She liked the dagger so much that she could hardly tear off her gaze away from it. Her eyes flicked with interest as she continued to be mesmerized.

"Come on! I thought it'd be something precious," Edward interrupted in a jealous tone. "It's just a dagger. I can get you as many of that as you want." He realized that he didn't care about Daisy's favor. She liked this type of things. A dagger excited her greatly, and he couldn't help but blame himself for not noticing her needs.

"Well, this is very precious," countered Daisy, feeling taken aback by what he said. "Speaking of which, you never give me such a gift. Try me." Although she was a hard-working soldier, she was still a woman who expected gifts from time to time. It didn't hurt to be appreciated every once in a while. Edward, however, rarely if ever at all spoiled her with gifts. In this particular aspect, he didn't do too well.

"I didn't think that you liked gifts." Yes, Edward truly thought so. In his mind, she could have everything that she wanted in the army base. It never occurred to him that perhaps, Daisy cared about these kinds of gifts.

"No, I like them. Just like any other ordinary woman." Daisy lifted her chin in annoyance, looking at him with passive-aggressive eyes. Edward decided it was time to wave the white flag.

"Okay. I'll get you lots of gifts later then, if you like them so much." When she looked at him that way, he just couldn't stand it. So he conceded almost immediately, and promised to give her gifts like she wanted. Anything, just as long as she didn't need to receive it from Brian anymore, But the man in question laughed at him. "Are you buying her vegetables? Lots of gifts?" questioned Brian. "Don't you know that less is more?" Having no mercy, Brian burst into fits of laughter as he teased Edward.NôvelDrama.Org copyrighted © content.

"That's none of your business," Edward said, gritting his teeth while glaring at Brian again.

"How typical of a rich man. I can understand it," said Brian mockingly. He took pleasure in seeing Edward's pissed off expression.

"Okay gentlemen," Daisy broke up their bantering. "Can't you two try to maintain peace? You always fight when you meet." If not for her intervention, the men wouldn't have stopped. They were a lot like Justin and Leena, who never got along well with each other. No matter how much they tried, they still wound up quarreling the moment they were in the same room.

"He started it!" accused Brian, feeling a bit wronged.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐