He looked at her little sister having her episodes in the bathtub that was catering her bare body. Her episodes came in the form of panick attack, out from nowhere, her expression became icy and rigid as she clutched her own fists as a dim thought which she struggled to comprehend echoed through the midst of her blind panic.

"Dannah" He called to wake her up from the chaos inside her. He was the single person in this world who had seen this side of her—her episodes, her delicate shaky side and he knew no matter how intense it turned out, it always subsides in a matter of time. This time, his call woke her up and ended her sudden onset of anxiety.

"I'm fine Dee" She acknowledged, as she stretched her body back to loosen up a bit. However, as she stretched up her arms, the bruise in her left shoulder came obvious in Darryl's sharp eyes.

The sight of it made Darryl gritted his teeth.

"What's this?" He asked as he advanced to grab her shoulders. In just a second, Darryl was now cowering before her, holding her shoulders up above the foamy water to confront her.

"Nothing…" She answered trying to retrieve that part of her body where a purple welt resides.

"Dannah did you went to see uncle Franco again?" Darryl rasped and stared at her dimly. She felt and explosion of pain from his grip yet she did not winced.

"I just went for a visit, that's all" She lied although she knew he can't be easily be convinced.

"How many times I have warned you to stop seeing the man…" Darryl said angrily as he stared at her for a long time, she barely breathe—hoping her brother will just buy whatever lies she fed in to him blindly. She had high regard for her brother, but there's just something in this world she had to keep hidden from him if she wanted to succeed with her goals.

His brother is the Lagdameo heir–he always have a place in the future and their family. But she isn't, so she had to make a place for herself because a girl like her had no value on their own, even how pure the Lagdameo blood is running to their veins.

Her brother will never understand how it felt to have no place at all.

So he will never understand her purpose.

"Brother it's nothing, it's just an a normal bruise I got from my own clumsiness" She took a deep long breath and squared her shoulders, hoping he the famous Lagdameo heir will just slipped what he had seen easily and soon forget about it.

Finally Darryl dropped her arm in exasperation. Yet the anger remained in his voice "This is nothing. Dannah. For once, why can't just listen to me? The man is dangerous!"

Of course Darryl knew the man. Franco Lagdameo, his father's sibling is a high ranking general in country. Although his profession seemed to be a n.o.ble task for the government, many claimed that the man has and underground shady business and many were suspecting that such business was integral to the success of L Empire. Darryl thought the term "L Empire is ruthless" that people had branded his family was because of Franco Lagdameo's reputation.

"I know what I am doing!" She retorted, her voice rising. "Dee, I am not a little girl anymore. Stop treating me like a baby!"

"I am not treating you like one. I'm just protecting you from what's out there. And Dannah, trust me when I say the man will do you no good" He warned, fury was rising at the back of his neck but he chose to contain them.

"I don't need your protection…" She glared before his brother who was ready to get head on with her.

They stared for a long time, each eyes protruding the other, trying to get a glimpse of each other's intentions.

"Dee, please. I didn't come here to argue" She said and deliberately withdrew her eyes away from him "I came here to see you"

Darryl shook his head and tried to suppress his rising anger. Of course she came to see him, and the last thing he would wish was for them to argue the entire time they were together.

"Fine, Dannah. But please, consider my plea for once" he settled but Dannah knew this conversation will not end here. She knew her brother and understood the fact that he wanted nothing in this world but to keep her away from the chaos of the aristocracy.

However, she didn't want to kept away, she wanted to meet the battle head on. She is a Lagdameo after all.

"Okay" She answered to shut their arguments away although she had no plans to succ.u.mbed to his requests.

"Finish your bath and have the stylist dress you up for an afternoon tea. We have guests" He said and head out for the door.

"Dee?" She called before he left the door.

"What now?" he asked as he turned back to the girl still soaked in her tub.

"For the nth time, my name is Samuelle" She reminded him. She had told him many times how she hated the name Dannah and wished fervently she had been not given such name.

"Your name is Dannah Samuelle" He emphasized, totally shutting down her request "I prefer the first than the last. But I can keep calling you baby if you insist"

"hmmp" She gasped in protest of his threat and rolled her roguish green eyes at him as he left.

'Dear brother, how could you be that smart mouthed' She thought to herself as she pressed off a b.u.t.ton to make the water running in her bath warm again.