Avery and Caden stood shocked as the young boy fell on the sand dreadfully. His eyes were rolled to his head and for a second, they assumed he was dead. Avery held Caden’s hand tightly and Caden looked down at her and patted her hand.Just then, Andy and Janet came running.“Are you guys okay?”They paused when they saw the boy on the sand with his eyes wide open and foam dripping from his mouth.“We are fine.”Caden said with a little gulp and then walked towards the boy on the sand. Andy followed a second later. Janet looked at the entwined hands of Avery and Caden which never let go of each other, even when Caden walked towards the boy and then spoke.“We saw the boy coming in this direction with a knife and he looked a little unsettled. So we thought you might be in danger.”“For a second, I even thought he was going to stab us. But then he suddenly threw the knife into the sea before he ended up like this.”Caden said, checking the boy’s pulses.“He’s alive. We should take him to
The next morning, Avery got up, feeling more tired than usual. She wasn’t able to sleep properly because the sick boy’s image kept coming to her in her sleep. The way he walked up to them with the knife, his bloodshot eyes, and the dead stare before he threw the knife to the sea kept replaying in her mind.“Dammit."She cursed to herself as she kicked the sheets and woke up. It was still too early in the morning, probably around six or something. That may be why the sunshine had a very warm glow. It poured into her room. The sight somehow made Avery smile to herself. At least the morning was pleasant.She walked to the window and pushed it open, letting the sea breeze hug her. She took a deep breath and let it evoke her.She looked at herself, who was still wearing the same clothes from last night, when she headed out to meet Caden and the gang. She had been too tired to wash herself after all those incidents, so she had immediately hit the bed.Despite the sleep playing hard to get,
Avery and Janet stopped at a range of caves at the corner of the island. They didn’t intentionally mean to come there, but their walk had slowly led them to the destination.“Do you think this is the range of caves Khama was talking about?”Janet turned to Avery. Avery wasn’t entirely sure, and she didn’t even know the gears that were turning in her head were up for anything good, but she knew there was only one way to know.“I have no idea. But how about we go inside and see if this is the place that certain black magic started?"Janet laughed as she shook her head.“Do you really believe the cause of this is black magic?”She asked as they entered the caves.“Do I look like a stupid to you?”Avery questioned back with a mock gasp, and Janet smacked her in the arm.“Don’t be such a smarty mouth. I’m a person who believes in superstitions. So this isn’t impossible for me.”“Honestly? Do you wanna know my opinion?”“Shoot.”Janet said as she held Avery’s arm tightly right when a bat fl
Avery and Janet were panting heavily when they came out of the caves. Avery looked back at the entrance that led to the darkness. She was sure someone else was in there with them.“What the heck was that? Possibly not a ghost, was it?”Janet asked, looking back as well.“Whatever it was, I think we dodged a bullet. One more minute inside there, we would be murdered in cold blood.”Avery’s hands were trembling, but Janet held them in assurance.“I know what you’re thinking, and I know you’re right. We need to be careful. Just calm down now.”She said with a little smile despite trembling herself. That made Avery grin.“Look who is braver now.”“But you were the bravest when you pulled my hand and ran out. All I could feel was my knees going weak when I heard that sound.”“That proves not everyone has to be brave all the time. It’s okay to run and be scared at times.”Avery squeezed Janet’s hand as Janet looked at her gratefully.“We better go where everyone is. I don’t feel safe anymor
“Good thing he brought your phone back.”Andy commented as they finished drinking and placed their cups on the counter of the little booth. Avery just nodded awkwardly, her heart still beating from what had happened earlier.That man’s smirk was eerie. He knew very well Avery recognized him, and he knew precisely when Avery found his piece of cloth. That smirk was a warning. A warning that said he knew and she should be careful.“Caden. I need to speak with you.”She turned to him at once, thinking it was better to let him know about everything just when one of their colleagues came running to them.“Sir, Lara is here from the hospital, and the retreat is about to start.”Their eyes lit up at the mention of Lara, and Avery totally forgot about what she was going to say.“Is it something that can wait?”Caden turned to Avery as he spoke, his voice eager, and Avery nodded.“Let’s meet Lara first.”They hurried after the colleague who led them to the woman.“Oh, Lara.”Caden hugged her i
Avery was about to call Caden’s name when he disappeared into the cottages. Assuming it might not also be the best option to call his name as it seemed like Caden was being secretive, Avery just kept walking in the direction he disappeared.But only once she walked into the middle of the cottages, she realized how stupid she had been. These cottages were not the ones the islanders lived in, but more like the abandoned ones.She could feel the creepiness crawling into her mind as the atmosphere was a dead silence. There was not even the sound of a cricket. She was too far from any civilian, and even if something happened, there wouldn’t be anyone to help her.While she walked, she recognized a glass building in the distance. Her eyes squinted, trying to figure out what it was as she walked towards it.The chilly breeze coming from the sea at night sent shivers down her spine, and she took out her phone to use the torch, only to realize the battery was dead.“Dammit.”She cursed as she
“They probably won’t set this on fire, would they?”Avery asked, making Caden chuckle nervously. They were walking deeper into the greenhouse, taking soft steps forward.“As much as you make sense, I would rather believe they won’t. The greenhouse can be seen on the beach, and if this is on fire, everyone there will rush here. Won’t do any good by gaining attention to their hideous places."“Mm... true. At least we won’t be dead. Even if they come tomorrow and free us pretending we just got trapped here by an accident and ask us questions, there isn’t much we know, anyway.”“Exactly. So..."Caden turned to Avery and interlocked his fingers with hers.“... don’t worry too much.”Avery nodded with a smile. She was feeling warm as Caden was worrying about her. All throughout her lifetime, no one really cared about her.She had an older brother, and he took his bachelors in marketing, and then he did his Masters. Her brother then got a white-collar job and ran up to an executive post, whi
The two shadows lingered longer than they should have. If they were to open the door, they would have already.Avery and Caden looked at each other, puzzled, before their eyes widened. It could be some locals passing by, and they might be able to help them out!Avery and Caden rushed out from behind the tree and started to walk towards the door. They were cautious and ready to run at any time, but taking the risk was worth more than staying an entire night in a greenhouse, which might be set on fire anytime.But as they walked closer, two familiar voices filled in their ears.“Andy?”“Janet?”Caden and Avery said simultaneously before they looked at each other, happiness overflowing. It was really them!“I’m sure they are somewhere around. I saw them coming in this direction clearly.”“You sure you’re not drunk and imagining things? Why would Caden and Avery even be at this eerie place?"Janet rebuked, but just then, Caden banged on the door.“Ah!”“Fuck!”Janet and Andy cursed as the
Avery and Caden walked out of the meeting room to meet Andy and Janet out of it. The two of them were grinning from ear to ear.“Everyone seemed pleased going out of the meeting room, so I guessed everything went all right?"Andy asked, and Caden hummed.“Everything was perfect, but I wonder who told the executive board about me and Avery.”“Oh c’mon man, everyone was wondering where the ever so dutiful CEO disappeared and I had to give answers.”Andy brushed it off as he patted Caden’s back, and Caden just huffed, making Avery and Janet stifle their laugh.“So you are flying in a few hours?” Janet asked, and Avery nodded.“Yeah, in exactly two hours. Speaking of which, I should probably head out to get ready.”“How about the four of us grabbing a coffee before that?”Andy asked, and Avery nodded as the four of them started to walk to the cafeteria.The cafeteria was buzzing with the little chats of crews in Aurora Airlines, and everyone fell silent when they saw the CEO approaching.
The moment Caden and Avery got down from the car, they could see Janet briskly walking toward them.“Good morning.”She greeted cheerfully as she walked toward Avery and patted her back.“Good morning, Janet.”Avery greeted back. Acknowledging Avery’s greet with a nod, Janet turned to Caden and smiled, who looked apologetically at her.“Look, Janet. That day, I think--”“Forget it, Mr. Caden. Let’s focus on the upcoming meeting. This is Avery’s first meeting with the executives, and I need to brief you two about it.”Happy about the fact that Janet had already let go of it, Caden smiled and gestured for her to continue.Caden started to walk with Avery by his side, and Janet followed as she summarized everything up.“Avery is the second female in Aurora Airlines to attend an executive meeting.”She carried on, and that was when Avery asked, feeling a little proud of herself.“I’m sorry, but may I ask who the first is? I’m curious.”“Lara.”Caden replied shortly, and Avery’s heart swel
Avery and Caden were on their way back to the office after the little escapism they had for a day. Caden drove, humming a little song while Avery checked the emails Caden had got in order to aid him with the work he missed. “You receive this much of emails a day?” She gasped as she opened each of them and read the important notes in them for him, and Caden looked at her briefly as he asked, “How many emails are there?” “Eighty-one.” “That’s actually better. There were days I received over a hundred and fifty emails. Most of them were from companies asking for partnership and some from events asking for sponsors, but it still meant I had to go through each and every one of them.” “Damn. Can’t Janet do what I’m doing for you right now? Like read the emails and tell you what’s important?” “She can, but there is so much she can handle. She is already having a big workload. We can take another employee, but I don’t feel it’s worth it.” “I get it.” Avery muttered just when her phone
Avery and Caden were coming back to the hotel from the pebble path that led them to the forest. They were hand-in-hand, and soft chuckles filled the air. “I want to come to this place again. You are right. This provides a wonderful escape from reality.” Avery said as she clung on to Caden’s arm, and Caden just picked up and twirled her around, her white dress twirling with her among the lush greenery. It was getting late at night when they returned, and the lights of the hotel were on, making them feel like they were in heaven. “This place is so beautiful, Caden. I will never get tired of saying it.” Avery said as she shuddered to the cold wind that blew across their bodies, and Caden immediately hugged her, making her giggle. “I’m glad you like the place, sweetheart. Now, this can be our little escape space whenever we want some rest. I’m glad I could share this place with you.” “And I’m glad you found me worthy enough to share.” Avery stood on her toes and kissed Caden’s chee
Avery giggled as Caden carried her back to their hotel room in his arms.“Caden, put me down. What if someone sees us?"She covered her face on Caden’s chest; her laughs get muffled in him, and Caden kept smiling widely.“So what if they see Avery? People should know already that this is how people in love look like.”“More like how much people in love stinks. Have respect for the single community, and this is so embarrassing!”She was still giggling, though.“Really? But why do I have a feeling you love this? Because I don’t think you will be laughing this much if you didn’t like this.”Caden’s face leaned down to Avery’s before booping his nose on hers, and Avery blushed prettily as she booped her nose back on Caden before hiding her face on his chest again.“That is how I cope with my embarrassment.”She declared, and Caden shook his head at her antics. By now, Caden was already used to Avery’s subtle shyness for the little things he was doing, and he was living to see those reacti
Caden and Avery were dipped in the hot water bath. Their towels laid on the tile somewhere at a distance as their naked bodies rubbed against each other. Caden was back hugging Avery by her waist, leaning to the edge of the water bath, and Avery had the back of her head placed on Caden’s shoulder with her eyes closed.The steam of the hot water evolved around them as the yellow lanterns added a dim lighting, making them look cinematic. Caden’s hands on Avery’s hips slowly strode toward her hips and started to caress them, making Avery let out a soft whimper of pleasure. They had finally explored each and every nook of their bodies ever since they met for the first time, and both of them couldn’t have asked for a better experience. It was like they were two pieces of a puzzle that matched perfectly with each other. “Caden...” Avery said, her words almost lost in her breath. Caden’s fingers were slowly massaging Avery’s hips, and she had to bite her lips to hold back a moan.“Hm?”E
When they entered the room, the air was heavy with the scent of fresh flowers and the subtle scent of essential oils. The large windows invited Avery to look at the breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains and the distant sun, whose rays didn’t seem to reaching the top of the mountain they were in even though it was noon. Avery walked toward the window, with her heart on her sleeve, still unable to process the beauty of what she was seeing. There was a well-mowed lawn below with all kinds of mountain flowers in different, vibrant colors. A stone pathway was leading to the lush greenery of the forest, signifying that it was open for exploration. Beyond those lush green trees was the majestic mountains with clouds touching the peak. The play of the sunlight over those mountains just created a wonderful scenery as if painted on a canvas. “Caden, look at this. Is this even real?” Avery gasped. She didn’t turn back to Caden because she was too enchanted to take her eyes off from wh
Caden had driven Avery to the most beautiful hotel she had ever seen in her life. She had actually thought such picturesque hotels only existed in films. Though Caden had initially called the place a restaurant, it was actually a luxurious hotel on the top of a mountain.The hotel looked like an ethereal painting with delicate woodwork and vibrant colors, which gave the real vibe of a Thai hotel with the lush greenery in the background. As the couple stepped out of the car, the cold mountain breeze hugged their bodies, carrying the sweet scent of the mountain flowers and the pine trees.Avery was in total awe as she stared at the scenery.“Caden, this place is amazing! How did you even find it?” she asked, her voice filled with admiration.Caden grinned. This was what he wanted to see on Avery’s face. Pure joy, surprise, and glee. Caden would trade anything to keep those expressions lasting on her face and it filled his heart with pride that he was the reason she was smiling like that
Andy was in the middle of a meeting when Caden called him. But knowing his best friend, Caden and because the CEO’s call was more important than anything else, Andy went out of the meeting room to answer it.But when he heard about what had happened between Caden and Janet, he immediately ditched the meeting and went in search of Janet. The meeting was with the executive board so other than the major decisions, the discussions could be carried on without him.Andy was restless. How could Caden talk to Janet like that? When the woman always tried her best for him and when she was literally in love with him, how could Caden do that? Especially when Caden knew that she loved him. At least he should be careful about her feelings, shouldn’t he?But then again, knowing Janet, Andy knew she might have crossed the boundary and urged Caden. Which was not respectful either. Andy just let out a low, frustrated scream as he ruffled his hair, annoyed.He had been searching for Janet all over the b