FORBIDDEN TO FALL IN LOVE

33. Taking Heart (2)

"Sister Joan," Valeda made a sound as soon as they arrived near Joan.

Joan, who was busy flirting with one of the women, turned to Valeda. "Well! Look who showed up?" he shouted in his own voice.

The women, who were Valeda's cousins, certainly did not need to ask who Joan meant. Some of them looked at Valeda with amazed eyes, while the rest very clearly threw a look of disdain at Valeda.

"So this is the man who conquered your stone-like heart?" ask Joan.

"This is Daniel. My girlfriend" replied Valeda.

Joan smiled mockingly, looking at Daniel from head to toe. Daniel thought Joan would insult him. However, Joan stretched out her hand. "I'm Joan" he said.

Daniel shook Joan's hand. "I'm Daniel. Greetings," replied Daniel soberly.

"What have you offered Valeda until she wants to be your slave, Daniel?" ask Joan.

"Nobody is a slave among us" Daniel tried to speak as calmly as he could.

"We're in a healthy relationship, where we're mutually beneficial" Valeda said.

Joan still smiled mockingly. The radiance of his eyes that humbled Daniel, even Valeda could feel. "Val, after our argument at home last month, you suddenly have a boyfriend. It was a bit strange to me" said Joan. "ah! I remember how I became fond of sweet girls. I 'tasted' once, then hooked."

Daniel's eyebrows are wrinkled. For a moment, Daniel was able to catch what Joan meant, but he stopped arguing and waited for Joan to explain with his own mouth.

"How many times have you slept together, until my brother is hooked on you, Daniel?" ask Joan.

Daniel catches Valeda's shoulder before Valeda knocks Joan out in public.

"Val, you yourself know now, how good it is to be in bed, right?" joan said while giggling amusedly. "Not to be too serious! You are still young. Try a few more men, before you decide on your choice. Men like Daniel have a lot on the market. If you want to find the 'good', I can introduce you to some."

Daniel took a deep breath when he saw Valeda's face flushed with anger. "Sister-" Daniel stopped. "Ah, I guess people like you don't deserve to be called 'sister'. Well, Joan," Daniel asserts at the end of his sentence, "if you like playing girls and sleeping with them, do it!" Daniel threw a smile at Joan. "Indeed there are some girls who lose their minds when they see your handsome face. But, even though Valeda is your younger sibling, she is different. He has principles. Maybe that's what made him successful earlier than you."

"What did you say!?"

Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "I hear, the company you lead has been phK some of its employees. I'm discussing with Valeda whether to buy the company, or wait for news of how Mr. Suherman's second son ruined his own father's dream."

"You!" Joan pointed to Daniel right in front of her nose.

Daniel shook Joan's hand. "Keep playing around like this, Joan," whispered Daniel. "Then, it's easier for me to prove to Valeda that I'm useful in helping her succeed."

Joan advanced quickly and pulled Daniel's shirt collar. Some of the women behind Joan were startled, shrieking softly, afraid that there would be a fight between them.

"I didn't expect that your patience would only be this long," Daniel provoked again. "No colleague would ever want to work with your company again."

Not yet Joan answered, a hand pulled Joan's hand until it was out of her grasp. "What are you doing, Joan?" a well-built man was standing next to Joan. His muscular body was clearly imprinted on the sky blue shirt he was wearing.

"You don't have to interfere" said Joan. Regret still rules him.

"It's a dinner Papa made. If you break it, you're just like trash!" answer the big men.

"Deliver!" Joan brushed the man's hand. "You're as annoying as Valeda's girlfriend!" joan said, then passed from before Daniel.

"What did he do to me?" Daniel was even grinning, as if not feeling the tension that Valeda felt a second ago.

Valeda looked up, looking at the big man who was still unmoved near Daniel. "Sir Alex, that's what it was."

Daniel looked at it. "Thank you for breaking us up" Daniel said. Daniel knew right away that it was Valeda's first brother. His face was very similar to that of Mr. Suherman. "Sorry I made a fuss here. My name is Daniel."

"Have we met before?" ask Alex.

Valeda turned to Daniel who was silent. The same question Mr. Suherman had asked before. Valeda begins to think that Daniel has met his family before.

"Maybe we're on the road?" answer Daniel.

Alex scratched his un-itchy chin. He looked at Daniel for a moment, then shook his head. "No. If it were just papasan, I wouldn't remember your face."

"Sister Alex has a good memory of remembering faces" Valeda said.

Daniel was silent. Valeda caught a strange expression from Daniel. He did not want to continue this conversation. There was something Daniel was hiding from him.

'As long as it doesn't hurt me, it seems okay. He's also an ordinary human being who has secrets of his own, ' Valeda thought.

"Sir, don't talk about it" Valeda mediated. "At least now I've officially introduced my girlfriend."

Alex glanced at Valeda. "Take your girlfriend well. I don't care how kasmarannya you. If he makes a problem, you also have to solve it. Don't be so siding."

"Not to be told, I will take care of what needs to be taken care of" Valeda replied.

"Don't be arrogant" Alex said. "You're as greedy as Joan and Lucas."

Valeda laughed lowly. "I didn't take anything from Alex. I only gave you one company, because that's what Alex deserves."

"Does being at the top make you forget yourself, Val?" Alex crossed his arms in front of his chest. "After all, you will only be a housewife like Mama. Your success is only temporary and will change hands."

"That kind of thinking keeps you from growing, sir," said Daniel. He accidentally doesn't call Alex his sister. That call was too familiar at the moment. Daniel is also unlikely to mention Alex by name directly, given the age of those seven years adrift.

"What do you know about that, Daniel? You just got into this world. Your world is not the same as ours" Alex said.

"At least, my thinking is more open and I realize there are a lot of talented women in this world. It's a pity if you get rid of women with all their ambitions if you still think like that."

Valeda smiled at Daniel's defense. He liked how Daniel praised him for working hard, instead of rushing him to find a companion. Even though Valeda knows that Daniel said it because they are under contract, it still makes Valeda's feelings improve.

Alex looked at Daniel and Valeda in turn. "I don't understand what kind of relationship you have" he said. "For me, there is no high place for women. They are just supporters. You'll understand what I mean, Val. No matter how hard you try, you're finally just a display for your future home."

"Valeda wouldn't be a mere display if it was with me" Daniel replied.

Valeda knows that Daniel's words actually want to make Valeda not feel upset because his own brother demeans him. But Valeda also felt sadness. He was sad because it was just pretend.

***