Eden's point of view

I must be going crazy.

Just now I found myself smiling just because I remembered Maya was sad to see me go, what the f*ck.

This was slowly getting out of hand, and why was the thought of Maya making my heart beat so fast.

My hands clasped my cheeks and I slapped myself hard on the face, "Snap out of this Eden!"

Something was wrong with me, I was going mental else why would I be laughing to myself when clearly, no one amused me. 

Besides, all of this nonsense would have ended if I had just gotten her to bed that night. By now, Maya would have been wrapped around my finger and not the other way around.

But then I went soft on her, aborting the whole plan and now I have to find another way to get her to be mine without being obvious or forceful.

The door to my office was pulled open and Liam, my shadow guard strode in with a serious face. The look on his face told me he had something important to relay to me.

Closing the documents on my desk I asked, "What is it?" eager to hear what he had to say.

"I've found him"

My brows furrowed in confusion with my intense gaze focused on him, "Found who?" 

"The driver"

I stood from my seat abruptly, a look of shock mixed with disbelief flashing across my face, "Where is he?"

"Just as we thought, he has been abroad all this while," Liam narrated, placing pictures of a man wearing a hoodie with dark clothes on my desk.

I took one, scrutinizing the face of the man who caused the misery of my father Eric. From the picture, it was obvious he had no idea he had been captured on a security camera since his face was not hidden.

In the other pictures, he had his face hidden with a hoodie and cap. He was quite vigilant judging from the way he adjusted the cap carefully to conceal his face.

"Though we don't know his exact location, with this we can track him down by checking out places he has frequented the past days since we now know his identity"

"You're right" I agreed with Liam, eyes still fixed on the photos.

"We need your orders to proceed with the plan since he's very smart and might figure out we are onto him,"

I smirked, " You're not going to do anything"

"Huh?" Liam was bewildered, "What do you mean we're not going to do anything?" 

"Exactly"

"But you've been looking for him for years and now you have the golden opportunity, you're going to throw it away just like that ?"

"We must be careful not to alert the enemy," I told him.

And by the enemy, I meant Adam.

After my father Eric had that accident, the culprit was found and jailed but my father could not be selected as the new family head due to his disability - the role needed someone capable and on his feet. So Adam was elected and inaugurated as the new family head instead of my father.

I grew up hearing the story of my father's sacrifice for his elder brother but I always had a feeling the incident was a setup. 

So I did my secret investigation and found out the culprit held in jail was a scapegoat. He was not the man who caused the accident and was merely used to accomplish an already laid out plan.

Though Adam was the eldest and the rightful heir to the title, no one chose him - not even his father, my grandfather - because he was too ambitious. 

Adam would, no scratch that, must get anything he wanted even to the point of hurting someone - he just doesn't care as long as he wins.

So all hands pointed to my father Eric instead, choosing him for the new family head and casting Adam aside. 

Compared to Adam, my father Eric was more compassionate though he could be really mean.

So when the accident occurred, everyone suspected Adam since he was the only one who would benefit from it. 

However, there was no evidence to support the accusation, so all mouths shut.

As the new family head, he held authority and power so no one wanted to get on his bad side, and judging from Adam's horrid nature, he would not hesitate to shut them up.

"You're going to give up on him like that after so many years of searching?" Liam asked in disbelief. 

The look on his face told me he wouldn't hesitate to smack me across the face if he could do so.

"Who said anything about giving up?" I asked Liam.

His head whipped up surprised, "What?" 

"Find a gang and affiliate with them, let them purposely cause trouble for him "

"And in the guise of chasing him down, we could always have our eyes on him without the fool knowing our true intentions until it's time to strike" Liam finalized.

 "Bingo" I acquiesced.

Awe glinted in Liam's eyes, "You're truly worthy to be the next family head" he praised me.

"Really?" I was surprised.

"Yes sir, you have the brain, charisma, and looks, what more could they ask for?"

"Exactly, what more could they ask for?" I mumbled absentmindedly under my breath.

"Sir, any other request"

My thoughts moved to Maya instantly, perhaps I should get her a bouquet of roses? 

Wait a minute, what for? Get well soon roses?

Gosh, this was so lame. I'll just seduce her my way with the cute smiles and handsome face.

I glanced up at Liam, "No nothing, you can leave"

"Sure" he bowed slightly and left.

Once he was out of the office, I let out a quick sigh. Why was Maya slipping into every one of my thoughts?

This was bad, it seems today I have to activate level two of my seduction handbook.

Step two: Keep her on tenterhooks.

After spending enough time with Maya tonight, I'll treat her like she was the only precious thing in the world.

After that, I would disappear for two days: during that period, there would be no calling, texting, or checking up on her in the hospital. It would be like I abandoned her completely which would elicit two results.

First: Maya would call me which means I was slowly gaining a place in her heart already without her realizing it.

Secondly: She would not call me which means I don't mean much to her - yet.

If the second one comes to play, I'll make sure to unite with her after two days. 

When she asks the reason for my abrupt disappearance, I would reply that it was a personal matter.

No matter how much she hassles me for an answer, I'll still claim it's a personal issue.

Then I would treat her specially again but this time, disappear for three whole days. 

This time, even if Maya is a vampire and has a dead heart, there was no way on earth she wouldn't be moved enough to call me.

And from there level three would be activated but that would be after level two was accomplished.

My phone rang, rousing me from my train of thought but I picked it up since it was coming from my housekeeper and had to involve Annabelle.

"Hello" I listened attentively to the message from the other side which caused me to frown when I heard the rest of the news.

"Send her home at once" I ordered her, ending the call. 

It appears that Isabella had once again tried one of her tricks and incited my daughter into joining her. That girl was a bad influence on my kid but Anabelle doesn't listen- she adheres to the girl like glue.

Once I was done with the pile of paperwork and settling some disputes with my artist, I headed back to the hospital to begin my plan.

But I was surprised to see Maya's grandmother when I arrived. Though we haven't met officially, it wasn't hard to recognize the woman after going through Maya's background.

Her arrival was not that shocking since she was the only one on good terms with Maya.

"Granny, you came" I welcomed her, switching on my flattery skills, "I now see where Maya got her beauty from" 

"You're not bad yourself young man" the woman laughed, straining her wrinkled face "You must be Maya's friend"

"Yes, I am," I said innocently, knowing Maya would not be delighted if I suggested more to our relationship.

"You can call me Eden" I introduced myself.

"Sounds like a good name" she chuckled, after assessing me with her thorough gaze.

"Alright you two have fun, don't mind me," she said, "As you can see, I'm having the time of my life with this little angel here"

"Yeah, it's obvious," I said, disbelief washing over me.

It was hard to believe that it was Niklaus' brat aka respecter of no man, that was sitting on the couch like an obedient dolphin and getting fed by Maya's granny.

That girl disliked strangers touching her talk more feeding her, was the world coming to an end?

I shivered, this was the most shocking scene in my life- aside from the time Maya nearly committed suicide.

I tore my gaze from the girl, focusing on Maya but was surprised when I saw her saturnine look.

What now? Why were women's problems so numerous and complicated?

I grimaced, "What's wrong?"

She pouted "Feed me" 

But that simple sentence made my heart miss a beat.