Immediately we entered the car and began to leave the building, a loud sigh escaped me and I happily inhaled the fresh air. I never wanted to be in a place like that again, and I felt glad of my current status, even if it was just temporary.A sense of gratitude also washed over me, because no matter how much my birth parents and adoptive parents struggled, I never had to live in such a horrible place and I got to inhale fresh scented air everyday.My mind moved back to the woman we had seen before we entered the building, as well as a pre-teen girl I noticed as we rushed down the flight of stairs. She had seemed hungry, so I subtly raised a dollar bill and dropped it in the ground for her and I would never forget how she grinned at me and slowly walked forward to pick it up.These people were having it rough, but unfortunately I could not help everybody no matter how hard I tried. But there and then, as the car drove back towards the hotel, I made a vow to push through with studying
When we got out of the elevator on our floor, Cole put a hand on the wall and trapped my body within his as he looked into my eyes."I did not tell Kiera anything like that." He gritted his teeth and tapped his feet as he waited for my response, but I just pressed myself further against the wall and folded my arms."Are we going to talk about this here?" I asked hesitantly, and he gave a single nod and continued to pierce me with his gaze. In return, I rolled my eyes and gave an exasperated sigh."Okay. Fine. I believe you," I agreed and then held up a hand. "Why are you so determined on making me believe you?"His gaze faltered and stopped at my lips for a second before he leaned backward and ran a hand through his hair. "Because...I lo–you know what? It doesn't matter." He turned away from me and swiped his keycard across the door lock. "Believe what you will."I shook my head and called his name when I entered the suite behind him. "Crystal is inviting us to stay at Zach's resort i
Cole left the suite ahead of me to tell the hotel staff that we would not be back for two weeks, which I knew to them meant checking out. I was sure that by the time wecame back–if that actually happened–this rooms would be occupied by other people.I looked around the room and walked over to the window, but the fishes I usually saw playing around were not there but instead, a larger fish swam lazily few inches away from the window. I marevelled at the blueness of the water again and stepped out of the room.Staying in this suite for two weeks had opened my eyes to the beauty of the world as well as the weirdness of my marriage and husband. I did not want to admit it to myself, but I was scared of being in a room alone with Cole. The way he looked at me sometimes scared me, like I was an object to be chained up.A call from him came in through my phone and I quickly left the room and went upstairs. He was standing beside the hotel reception with sunglasses covering his eyes as he lean
"Camp here? In this car?" I repeated just to be sure I heard right and he nodded swiftly. I tried to think back to the moments before we left the hotel, maybe he had drank something before I came downstairs."Look, I have no other idea. The map does not show a hotel or even an inn for miles along this road, and besides, we won't have to stay till night," Cole tried to assure me just before he grinned mischievously and added, "Probably."I sighed loudly and opened up the can of soda I had brought along, in case I felt thirsty on the trip. Beside me, Cole reclined his chair and started to fold his arms in a resting position before I tapped his thigh."Are you trying to sleep?" He rose his head and gave an affirmative response, while I shook my head. "What if something happens to me when you are sleeping?"He shrugged and pointed behind us. "The guys are watching us, so don't worry." He made to resume the lying position, but I tapped him again. "Is this what you mean by camping?""Not ye
As we approached The Trinity BnB, a group of teens walked out of the place with a basketball and some books between them as they gestured wildly between them. Cole and I stared at each other for a moment and shrugged as we parked inside the compound and sized up the place.It was a white pristine one story building with its name written boldly across the top walls. A neatly tiled floor with a small blue roof at its top was filled with plant pots and animal sculptures. It led to a single blue door positioned at the centre of the building which had a signpost that read open, and surrounded on both sides by large open shutter windows.Two other cars, a Sedan and a Ford, were parked in a straight line and faint voices emanated from inside as well as the smell of fresh bread. The place appeared to be in top condition, and my eyes moved to the silhouette of a man trimming the shrubs beside the building.After a moment, Cole motioned for us to move inside so we stepped out of the car and ins
I watched subtly, a hand still above my eyes, as Cole's feet moved towards where I sat on the bed. He stopped in front of me and stretched out his hands as he leaned sideways. I instantly recoiled back and stared up into his face. "What are you doing?"He picked up his bag beside me and only chuckled softly in response to my question. I dropped my hands and watched as he quietly removed some clothes from his bag and stepped back into the bathroom. A few moments later, he came into the room again wearing only a black knicker with its matching vest.Before I could protest for him to wear something more decent, just like I was, he left the room and I heard the faint outlines of his men coming from the other room. A yawn escaped my mouth and I frowned at the door, mentally giving Cole sixty seconds to join me before I dived in.He came back inside soon after with a bottle of wine in his hands alongside two glasses and I shook my head. I had never seen Cole miss a day of alcohol in the all
My alarm chimed at exactly five a.m the next morning, and I sighed loudly as my eyes blinked open and adjusted to the dim light. Tiredly, I rubbed my aching forehead and remembered when the owner of the place had informed us that the lights automatically lowered in intensity at midnight. I started to get up when my ears picked up a soft whirring noise above me, and curiously I raised my head to look, but it instantly made contact with Cole's chin. He groaned loudly but just turned his head to the other side and continued to snore, while I gazed at our positions in surprise.Somehow the pillows I had put to separate us were strewn across the floor and his hand was under my back, while mine was on his chest. I quickly withdrew it, as well as my legs which were thrown comfortably in top of his, but the force nearly threw me to the ground if not for the fact that my body was still pressed against his side, and his body heat already passing onto me.I scooted towards the edge of the bed an
An hour and some meaningless conversations later, we arrived at the docks leading to the island where two men and two boats were waiting for us. Cole and I quickly entered one while his men got into the other, each captain making small introductions of themselves before they began to drive us to the island. As the second boat came up slowly behind us, I turned to him. "Cole, why do you still need your men here?"He looked at me for a moment and then put a hand over his eyes as he tried to look into the distance as the silhouette of a small land came into view. "I don't, actually. But they need to know this place, so later on, I'll send them back," he explained and put an arm over my shoulder again. By this time, it was a gesture I had already become used to, even though my heart still fluttered whenever he did it.Soon the resort came into view and my mouth dropped open in amazement. Palm trees were lined up from the entrance of the island down to a point I could not see. Just like ev