A few weeks had past and I felt healthier than before the incident occurred. For me, that was a big problem and I thought endlessly about how to appear less healthy. Perhaps, I should fake some illness or condition…What am I thinking? I sound like a crazy person…Today was supposed to be a big day because the doctor is coming to see me from the hospital. Feeling concerned for my safety, Lucien had arranged for the doctor to come see me at home rather than for me to go to the hospital. I guess with enough money, you could order for most things to happen. Since returning home from the hospital, which was almost a month ago, I have never left home. It wasn’t allowed. At first, I was depressed and dead bored and then I started to enjoy spending my days with Reiner. However, I was starting to yearn for my freedom once again. I mean, what will it take for me to step one foot outside of this property? “The doctor is here to see you, Natalia,” Reiner announced as he entered my bedroom. Ju
“Where are we going?” I asked. “Somewhere safe…” Reiner replied emotionlessly. “That’s what you said before…but where is that?” I asked again, feeling a little annoyed at how he’s evading my question. “You’ll see. Now, stop asking,” Reiner replied without a care. We were in the car together and Reiner was driving. After waking me up super early in the morning, right at the break of dawn, we got in the car and was on our way on our date. Although, I had no idea where we were going, I was glad to be outside the mansion. Not surprisingly, Reiner had packed up everything into the car and all I needed to do was dress up and get in. I’ve asked him countless times regarding our destination, but he had evaded all my questions. Since I knew that he probably won’t tell me, I decided to turn our conversation to discuss other things instead. I didn’t know where we were going but what I knew was that it seemed to be somewhere far away. We’ve been in the car for almost an hour, and it didn’t s
“Are you sure that it’s ok for us to be here?” I asked, still feeling unsure. “Of course. We’re not trespassing. I know the owner of this place. He’s…a good friend,” Reiner said to reassure me. Now that he mentioned it. I thought that someone must be living here to keep the place so well maintained. “Does he live here?” I asked, referring to his friend. “Why do you think so?” Reiner asked, cocking his head to the side as he looked at me. “The place seems very well maintained…” I replied softly. “Good observation. He doesn’t live here but I guess he’s nearby. If you’re lucky…or unlucky…you might run into him,” Reiner said, and I couldn’t tell what he meant by that. “I see…” I murmured. “Want to get changed? We’re going outside,” Reiner said. I looked down at the flowy dress that I was wearing, and I got his point immediately. I guess something more suitable for walking around in the forest might be better for the day that Reiner had planned ahead for us. “Ok. Please wait a mo
“What are we going to do with the fish? Will we eat them?” I asked, having mixed feelings about this. “I’ve packed lunch so the fish will be for dinner,” Reine replied as he busied himself preparing the fishing rods. I looked down at the clear water in the stream and I could see a few fishes swimming by. Seriously, I’m having very mixed feeling about fishing for them and then killing them for dinner. It’s true that I’m not vegan and I’ve eaten fish before many times in my life but I guess fishing for them and eating them feels a little different than if they were just served to me cooked on a plate. “Pay attention, Natalia. I’m going to teach you how to fish,” Reiner said as he came to stand next to my side. “Ok…” I murmured softly in response. …Clearly fishing wasn’t a thing for me and I had never expected that I would excel at such an activity. Not surprisingly, I was right. It was just boring, and I didn’t quite know what to do. Soon, I lost interest in fishing all together.
“Natalia…look this way,” Reiner said sternly.Curiously, I turned around to see what he wanted. Water splashed onto my face and the front of my shirt so fast that I didn’t have time to react. I silently thanked whoever invented waterproof eyeliner and mascara as I closed my eyes and felt the water run down my face. “Reiner!” I yelled his name as I reached down into the stream and began splashing more water his way. “What do they like to say? Something like…you started it?” Reiner said while laughing a little at me. The water felt so much colder on my face and body than it did when I touched it with my hand in the stream. The wind blowing against my face just made the water feel that much colder. I burst out laughing at the situation that we found ourselves in. Splashing water one each other like we were carefree children. It was so fun, and I felt so free just to be playing around with Reiner like this. I couldn’t remember the last time that I laughed this hard. Even if it was onl
It was always during these enjoyable moments that time seemed to pass by so quickly. Before I knew it the sun had already started to set. I looked up at the sky a little sadly, thinking that the day was already coming to an end. “You don’t need to look so sad,” Reiner said comfortingly as he wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders. “The day is coming to an end…time flew by too fast…” I muttered depressingly. “What are you talking about? This is when we start watching the sun set and once we’re done with that we’ll start a fire and cook dinner,” Reiner said before he flashed me a bright smile. I guess, the day was far from over after all. I thanked Reiner silently as I smiled back at him and hugged him back. We watched the sunset together side by side. The sky changed colored from blue to a mix of orange and pink and then to dark purple and finally it got dark as the sun dipped below the horizon. Reiner made a fire so that we could camp out under the stars. I watched as he st
“What makes you think that?” I asked, more shock at how he knew rather than how forward his question was. “It’s pretty obvious. You’re either in love with him or really obsessed with him…” the old man said. “Well…” I mumbled. “So, what do you like about Reiner?” the man asked. “I guess…everything…” I replied after some consideration. The old man’s eyes widened at my response before he roared with laughter. I watched him in wonder because I didn’t quite understand what it was that he found so funny. “What’s so funny?” I couldn’t help but ask. “Well, you ask me to tell you everything about him as if you don’t know anything about him. Yet, you tell me that you love everything about him. You’re a complex paradox, aren’t you?” the old man said while he tried to suppress his laughter. “Well, we’re not in that type of relationship,” I said softly. “I wonder. He never brings anyone with him. Let alone a woman…” the old man said as his eyes narrowed at me. “Don’t get my hopes up. He’
“I don’t feel any guilt or any sense of responsibility. Everyone has their own role to play, Reiner. You and me, we just played out role. The mission came with instructions and without the identity of the target. If the person paying doesn’t care who would get killed, then that’s none of our concern,” the old man said firmly. “I guess…” Reiner whispered. “Why do you think the mission came without a clear identity of the target? Because it doesn’t matter who gets killed. The purpose was to get rid of some secret documents. That’s it. In the end, the client achieved that, and they were happy. Done deal,” the old man said before snapping his fingers. “I know that,” Reiner replied coldly. The old man narrowed his eyes at Reiner as if he wasn’t convinced that Reiner understood what he was saying. The man sighed loudly before speaking again. “What are you going to do? Marry the girl?” the old man asked. “Of course not,” Reiner replied immediately. “Poor little girl is going to get he