"Knowing Luke, I knew he would have definitely be unwilling to let go of the piece of the pie that is almost in his mouth, which how the election. And usually in that kind of situation, his brain tends to work a whole lot faster... which brings you into the equation."
"And according to my knowledge, there is a probability that he would remember your existence and that you were also a member of that gang and in the end, mention it to his father. They would then be thinking along the lines of tempting you to switch to their side possibly with the position of the leader. Of course, this is also due to their personal belief and mentality, that everyone or everything has a price", A sneer appeared on Ryan's face as he said this. Those pair of father and son are always thinking everyone are power-greedy like them and could not resist its allure.
Meanwhile, Dan gaped dumbfoundedly at his words as he wondered out loud.
"They really dare to think of anything! Me? Switch to their side and betray you? Haha! There must be f*cking be too much water in their brain!"
Although he didn't really hate them because in the end, they hadn't really done anything to directly harm him while he had lived there, except from Mr. Anderson's indifference and some little tricks from Luke. He still had no good feeling towards them, in fact to him, there were no more that just strangers who just so happened to be related by blood to him!
However, if someone else was present here, he or she would have found their conversation strange as Dan had taken Ryan's words as if that was really what had happened!
And the scary part of it was that the conversation that had taken place over at the Anderson's had indeed been along this lines!
This was also a large part of the reason why Dan, Justin and others (which included both Ryan's subordinate and his enemies/rivals) found him scary!
His grasp of the human psychology was absolutely exceptional and he used it in predicting their future actions and thoughts!
But wait..
Dan seemed to realise something from Ryan's words as he fixed his gaze on him.
"Does that mean that I am.. bait?"
However, Ryan just threw him a faint glance that seemed to say. "That just occurred to you?"
"F*ck!", Dan cursed out loud as he read the blatant disdain in his eyes.
Yet, Ryan just had to throw out a sentence to shut him up.
"What? Don't wanna listen to the plan you had personally ruined?"
Dan instantly quieted down as he was indeed curious and Ryan no longer bothered with him when he saw him no longer making a din. He then continued saying in a flat tone.
"I had planned to have you pretend to accept proposition and slowly lure them to believe that everything was going according to their plan. They want you to oust me and take over my position and I also indeed planned to disappear from their sight. And when they see that, they would be lured into a false sense of security and would start slipping up unconciously in your presence since they would by then believe that you were firmly on their side."
"I wanted you to use that opportunity to gather direct evidence of their involvement in the underworld because as you know, they have been extremely cautious in their dealings with the underworld. But now...", He rubbed his aching temples when he got here.
Those plans had all turned to be for naught!
In fact, since he encountered the first wave of assassins, he had sensed that something had gone awry with the plan. However, he had had no time to dwell on it and could only adapt to the situation and think of something else.
It wasn't until Dan had asked that he finally had the time to wonder what had gone wrong.
He had taken everything into consideration but failed to consider if Dan would miss the appointment!
In the end, he couldn't resist his curiosity and asked Dan why he had failed to go to the Anderson's. However, listening to him saying that he had indeed left for the place but had ended up meeting the woman he had been pining over mid-way, he suddenly had no idea what to say.
This fellow was really...
Ryan stood up and stride towards the door in one swift and smooth move, fearing that if he stayed another minute in his presence, he wouldn't be able to resist the impulse to beat him up.
And probably due to his guilty conscience and also because he could sense the current murderous aura around Ryan, Dan knew that the best thing he had to do now was to remain silent, a result of countless lessons.
But just about when Ryan already had a leg out of the room already, he remembered something and shouted at his back.
"Hey! So what is the new plan?"
However, Ryan acted like he heard nothing and shut the door cleanly behind him, cutting off Dan's words.
....
F Nation
The Preston's Home, Selena's Bedroom.
Selena sat in a daze on her bed as she stared outside at the scenic view though her mind registered nothing. Her mind drifted to the conversation with Nathan almost a week ago.
She still remembered the shock she had felt the moment Nathan had asked if she knew about the marriage alliance between their families, implying that he would be the one marrying her.
But even when she knew that he, a prince in the real sense of the word might likely be her future partner, she still couldn't bring herself to feel any joy or excitement.
She only felt panicked. Because maybe in the depths of her heart, she still held hope for that person, stupidly believing that he would once again appear in front of her.
And although, she had told Nina the other time that if her family needs her to fulfill the marriage alliance she would do it but now that it seemed to be coming true, it was like her worst nightmare coming into fruition!
Nathan who noticed her shock and lake face looked remorseful as he apologised sincerely.
"I am sorry. I was too impatient but I really had no idea that you haven't been informed about it."
He also had no idea why he behaved so out of character today. Was it because she was just right to his liking and he wanted to tie her to his side faster?
Nonetheless, Selena was in too much of a shock and panic to acknowledge his apology. This made Nathan frown slightly at her absent-mindedness but in the end, it amounted to a sigh as he stood up.
"I think I should get going." 
His movement in standing up finally made her snap out of her thoughts and looked up at him. Hearing his words, she opened her mouth and tried saying something polite to try and make him stay but in the end, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.
Not even if it made her seem rude.
Being in his presence at this moment only made her feel super awkward and moreover, she needed more time to digest this news that was like a sudden bolt of thunder on a sunny afternoon.
This was because although she had always known that this marriage alliance existed, taking into consideration that none of the members of her family had told her about it, she hadn't really taken it seriously.
So when someone who just so happened to be her to-be prospective partner mentioned this to her, it made it dawn on her that this affair might really be happening and soon for that matter!
Taking a deep breath, Selena hid away the thoughts in her head and stood up as well, getting ready to escort Nathan out, however, the moment they turned around she heard the servants welcoming someone and for some reason, she had a bad feeling about it...