Lila felt her face get hotter and her stomach twirl; she would have never thought that her first kiss would be stolen in this way and in front of all the people with their flashing lights and camera shutters directed at them. Levi finally pulled away and turned to the press. She forced a smile to climb her face. She knew that Levi had only kissed her because they had to put on a show for the paparazzi and both families would be elated to see that they were handling the situation well. Now nobody could call the marriage a lie.
They moved from the airport to the hotel suite that Daniel had prepared for them, Lila felt the need to act as if she were on vacation after all; everything had been prepared for them, and all she needed to do was settle in.
As they walked to the room, Lila felt relieved to know that other people were on the island with them; she wondered what Levi felt seeing other people walk the island too. The staff finally helped them roll their bags in and after getting tipped by Levi, they left the room.
Levi inspected the room; he knew that he had to apologise for kissing her but he did not know how he was supposed to bring it up with her. He cleared his throat and shuffled from feet to feet.
"Your dad really went all out," she murmured when she noticed the decorations that the staff had put up. Daniel must have told them that it was a honeymoon and for that reason, they must have set it up to set the mood between them. Lila knew that now that they were behind closed doors, nothing else would happen. Her mind wandered to the kiss they shared and how intense it felt to her.
"Yeah, he did," Levi replied. He knew that this was his window and that if he missed it, it would just be a mistake that would linger in the air between them. "About the kiss earlier," he began clearing his throat.
"What about it?' she asked in a high pitch and almost pinched her side for reacting that way.
"I am sorry for kissing you without notice; I wanted to give the reporters something to talk about."
"It's okay," she said as she shook her head. It had to be okay. "You were only following the orders of our parents and I understand that," she replied and he pressed his lips together as he nodded gently. "Next time, a little heads-up would have been appreciated." As she said it, she could not believe she was giving him the licence for the next time; there was nothing she could do about it. She had stepped into this mess and she would not be the one to make it scatter first.
"I am still sorry all the same and I'll keep that in mind," he said. She shuffled and then moved to the door.
"I'd like to see the resort," she said and she was out of the door before the words could be out of her mouth. She needed to clear her head and remind herself that everything between both families was a contract; they hated themselves too much to become an actual family and the kiss—the kiss was only an act. An act they might need to keep up with.
As she stepped out, Levi was sure that she was still mad at him. After all, the first contract they signed stated that there was to be no form of physical interaction between them, but now that everything had changed, she was thrown into an act of acting friendly with him. He could understand his anger; he was just worried about her.
She got down from the elevator and went to the back; there she saw that the spot was a popular honeymoon destination spot. "Mr. Beauont really is so business-minded," she knew that he was using them to solve two problems at once. Their being there on their honeymoon was going to stop the rumours but at the same time be an advertisement for the resort. She had begun so she was determined to give a good show until the end.
A man in a flowery patterned shirt and shorts—the kind you see in the movie—approached her with a huge smile plastered across his face. "Care for a drink?" he asked. She knew it was alcohol, even though she did not know how strong it was. She nodded and took a glass, sipping on it before throwing him a thanks with a smile.
She continued walking around but for some reason, it felt as if she was being followed. She tried to ignore it but the feeling was strongly imprinted in her mind for a long time. She knew it could be a paparazzi; after all, they were there to give the media a field day of their lives.
After walking for a while and feeling her head clear a little, she headed back to the room. She knocked at first but when the door was not attended to she used her key card. She was lucky she had taken it with her or else she would have been stranded outside for no reason. She got into the room and began to wonder where Levi had gone. She heard the shower turn on and then off and the toilet door open.Levi emerged with a towel tied around his waist; he stood stunned in horror. "I did not know you had gotten back in," he said, going to his luggage and picking out something to change into. He went back to the bathroom and changed before coming fully clothed. She had tried not to peek at his abs when he stood shirtless before her and now that he wore a shirt standing in front of her, her mind was still thinking about it. She moved to the bed area and discovered there was only one bed."There is only one bed?" Levi voiced her concern. She turned to him and nodded. Where are they supposed
"Are you okay?" She could tell that he was having a nightmare with the way he jolted out of sleep and sat up. He stared at her for a while before throwing off the covers on his body. He picked up the phone on the nightstand before making his way out of the room. "Where are you going?" she asked but he did not stop or think of responding to her. She watched him leave.She was worried if he was okay because it seemed like the nightmare was something intense. She decided that she would stay awake till he came back just to be sure that he was fine. She only realised how long she had been awake when the sun peeked through the blinds on the window. She got out of bed, and heading into the bathroom, she washed her face before coming back to bed. She sat at the edge of the bed wondering if he was doing okay and not just roaming about the resort aimlessly. She wondered if he was embarrassed to come back but she was more worried with time passing.She thought of calling him but she did not know
Lila took a deep breath as she put her hand on the handle. She knew that there would be tonnes of chaos going on behind closed doors. She wondered if she would alone have to bear the shame of Levi not showing up. She opened the door and to her amazement, a swarm of people rushed at her. They were taking pictures of her as she tried to walk into the room.She felt a hand on her wrist trying to pull out of the crowd of people that swarmed her and finally, she was out and able to catch her breath. "Hi," the peppy girl said, her green eyes twinkling at her. "I am in charge of you for today; if you come this way you can get your make-up and hair done," she added as she pointed in the direction of the studio door."Oh," she wanted to ask the girl some questions but decided against it. She kept quiet and followed the girl; wouldn't it be weird to ask this random girl about her husband's whereabouts? As soon as she entered the studio, her eyes landed on Levi, who stood out from everyone there
She knew that with his reaction, she could not stand being in the room with him. She was just trying to be kind, and it landed her with a slap on the face. It was not her business to think about what was happening to him, this was his life and she did not care how he chose to live it.There were a lot of things to see and do in the resort and having a me time did not seem too bad at all. She wandered off hoping that by the time it was time to get back to her room, she would not have missed her way. She could not shake off the feeling of being watched by someone. It was as if the person was following her every move. She decided to try to corner the person and see what they wanted.If it was paparazzi as Levi had said then they should take the pictures and go away, as if they had not taken enough already. She pretended to turn into a corner hoping that she was right and the person following her would do so that way she could hold them and see who they were and what they wanted.As soon
Lila finally got to the door of her suite; she entered and found Levi walking on his laptop. As soon as she entered, he lifted his eyes to her and then back to his laptop. She was grateful that he did not speak to her; she did not want to talk to him as well. He was part of the reason she was angry.She sat on the bed with her phone in her hand, scrolling through social media. The picture of them kissing came up multiple times and each time she scrolled away in annoyance. She hated the entire situation and the way it was toying with her personality."Lila?" She wanted to believe that her ears were playing a prank on her because there was no way Levi would want to talk to her after the stunt he pulled from last night. Instead of responding to whatever he said, she kept to herself and fastened her eyes on the phone in her hand. "Lila?" he called again, this time his voice louder than the first time."What is it?" she asked, her voice harsh. She did not lift her face from the phone to lo
"I am definitely going to be in big trouble," Lila let out as she watched the man who had just taken a picture of her and Jasmine in a heated argument run away. "My parents are going to kill me and talk about how I keep trying my best to ruin whatever they do," she murmured as she began to pace the floor. "Oh my goodness! What on earth have I done? What have I done?" she did not like the way things had played out.Before she could open her mouth to say anything else, she watched Levi go in the direction the man had gone, without thinking she followed behind him. She did not know what they were doing but she knew that they had to get the man to delete everything he had taken, even if it meant bribing him. She could not allow her name to pop up on the news for something negative again. Her parents and his parents were going to hound them both for trying their best in just one week of marriage to destroy both names all at once.She ran a few more meters and then stopped at the sight of L
Lila already felt like a third wheel between both of them. She tried to slip away and was glad that between the chatting and the hysterical laughter from both parties, none of them noticed her. She walked a few steps when her eyes landed on the man who had clicked those images earlier. "Levi!" She called out to him at once.He hurried to her side at the urgency of the call. Unable to say anything, she pointed in the direction of the man and instantly he chased after him with Lila on his tail. By the time she met Levi, he was holding the man by the collar. "Oh, good. You caught him," she said, realising that she was not as fit as he was. He had run faster than she had, yet he acted as if he had taken a stroll in the park. She took a moment to calm herself down before raising her head to speak to the man. "Why did you take the picture of me and my friend arguing?" She was unsure if her grammar was correct, but she had a greater need to delete the images than speak correctly."I mean, y
"It's impossible that the reporter backsides us after collecting money," she said after the words left her mouth; she knew she had fucked up. "So you knew about this? You knew about this and you did nothing?" Eleanor asked."We did something; we offered him money to delete the pictures," Lila explained. At the time all of this happened, she believed that they handled it properly but now she knew they did not. "Did he delete it in your presence?" She asked angrily. "No but...""Oh my goodness, how foolish. Just so you know both your sisters would never make such mistakes. You have been barely married two weeks and yet we have constantly had to try to take your name off the news two times already." "It's not like I wanted it to happen this way." "Then how did you want it to happen? What were you thinking? Arguing with Jasmine out there in the open?"Lila wanted to tell her mother that none of this would be happening if they were not hounding her like a dog. If they had trusted her
"And you..." Lila trailed off in response as she was expecting him to say something."Wait, what?""You were speaking, and then you trailed off. It felt like you wanted to say something and changed your mind midway," she said."I don't know what to make of this," he replied with a frown."Make of what?""You and this conversation, it's frustrating with you.""Frustrated with me?" She scoffed and crossed her hand over her chest. "What on earth is that supposed to mean?" Levi looked at her, and her face was screaming a demand for an apology. "Well, explain?" she said when he stayed quiet, rubbing his lips together."One moment you are cold as ice, and the other moment you are very hot. So hot it is kind of scary," he replied."I don't get it." She was not usually slow, but his words strung together were not making any sense to her at all. She was hot and cold? "Are you writing a poem?" she asked. If this were any other situation, she might have laughed in his face that he was saying a b
Lila went back to the room and bade her father farewell before she left for the manor. She wondered how her life with Levi and her family was going to be. Her mother had to stay with her dad in the hospital, and her sisters were in their own homes, which left her alone in the house with nothing to do. She knew that her mother would frown on her having her cousins or friends over, so she was left to her thoughts all by herself. Since the honeymoon period was still extended, they could not go back to work just yet.By the time she got into the room that night, Levi had chosen a side of the bed and was already sound asleep. She did not want to bother him, so she silently got changed and slipped into bed. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, and her eyes only came open by the next morning.Levi had told her that he was a morning bird, and she was not surprised that he was not in bed when she woke up. She did her morning routine and went down to get something to eat. The sta
Lila left the room after a while. She was feeling overwhelmed and seeing her father like that was not great for her either. She took a stroll, finding the coffee shop in the hospital She was grateful for it as she felt tired and needed something to keep her awake. She ordered some black coffee and sat down to sip on the coffee while watching the doctors and patients walk around the place. She had been still for a long time, just occasionally filling her mouth with the warm, bitter liquid. After a while, she felt someone sit beside her, and she could tell it was a familiar presence. She looked, and it was her mom sitting close to her. She mentally prepared herself for whatever it was that her mouth was about to say. "Are you okay?" Eleanor asked, Lila slowed and turned her head to her with a confused expression. There was no doubt that her mom loved her, but the way she acted every time was something she could not wrap her mind around. "Yes, Mom," she replied. She had to admit that
As Lila showed Levi around the house, she could not help but get this chilly feeling from him. She wanted to ask him questions, but she was not sure what kind would be appropriate for him, so she kept them all to herself. After they had identified the room they would have to stay in, she turned to him."Are you sure this would be okay? We can tell my mom that this won't work and go back to the house, where we would have separate rooms.""It's fine," he said as if they were in an argument."I might be wrong, but I get a feeling that you are mad at me. Did I do something wrong?" She asked, trying to cast her mind back to when she started feeling the coldness from him, but nothing stood out to her."Nothing," he said like a child who was sulking about being denied some candy. Suddenly, it clicked in her mind that he was probably missing Fiona after all; they had to leave so quickly that they had no chance to say goodbyes. Knowing that was why he was all moody was hurtful to her, but she
"It's impossible," Lila shook her head; it made no sense for her mom to ask her to move in with them. She was planning on keeping all the distance with her parents until the one year elapsed. Her plan was simple, and now her mom had somehow found out the plan and was ready to ruin it."That's what I said, but the bags," Elizabeth said as their eyes followed the staff carrying them in. Lila knew that asking them to stop was pointless; if she wanted to change anything, she needed to speak to her mom first, and then they could take the bags back to the car for her. "What are you going to do about it?" Elizabeth asked because she knew how difficult it was to resist their mom; she was persuasive and could get you to do anything she wanted to."Don't worry," Lila said, shaking her head. She did not have a plan, but she was sure that there was no way they would end up staying there. There was enough room to house about three families comfortably, but still she could not bring herself to thin
Although Eleanor had given Lila and Levi a week more to stay, she called them to hurry back. A private jet was sent to bring them back to the city. Lila wondered what could be wrong and the reason why they had to hurry back. She felt a bad feeling in her gut, but knowing that her mom was a straightforward person and would tell her if something was wrong immediately, she knew that her mom probably changed her mind after sleeping on it all night.Levi had agreed to leave the island as well without asking any questions. Lila could not understand why he acted that way. If she were the one on the receiving end, she would have asked a ton of questions that might send the other party into frustration. He packed up his bags and was ready to leave for the airport before she could do the same.They left the hotel and headed to the airport for the plane ride. Levi was quiet, and Lila could not understand it because they had agreed to be friends, but he seemed cold to her. Maybe she had misunders
Although Levi had told her to rest up, she could not bring her mind to do that; she needed to know what he was going to do and how he was going to do it. She also wanted to know how her father was, but she knew that calling him or her mother was pointless as Eleanor would refuse to tell her anything. She knew that her sisters were the only way to go and since Elizabeth was more mature, she was the one she decided to call first. Elizabeth did not pick up so she tried to call Victoria and it was the same case. She concluded that they were probably in the hospital and they did not want to pick it up in front of their parents. She kept on thinking of how she had ruined her father’s dream of getting Skyline just because she wanted to feel comfortable. Her father’s words rang in her mind as she paced in front of the bed. ‘You can sacrifice a little comfort for great gain,’ he always said to her, and she could see that it was true. She should have never been considered enough to turn down
As soon as Lila walked into the room, Levi could tell that she was not the same woman he had left behind. Something must have happened. She looked sad and angry at the same time. She did not acknowledge his presence; instead, she moved to one of the couches and sat silently. Levi wanted to ask her what was troubling her, but he was not sure if she would appreciate the efforts or even tell him what was wrong. He waited a few minutes for her to come forward by herself to tell him what was wrong but nothing happened, leaving of her to speak She sat still, looking ahead. "Lila?" he called because the silence was killing him. They had just resolved their differences and agreed to be friends, and that meant they could rely on each other. She slowly turned to him with her eyes sad and wet. He moved closer to her and bent so they were on the same level. "Are you okay?" he asked. She opened her mouth to respond to his question, but the words never got out of her mouth, and tears flowed down
A woman came to address all of the couples who had shown up. After speaking at length, she asked them all to come back the next day, as that was when the competition was going to begin. After that, she disappeared, and the room began to clear out. Weaving through the crowd, both of them found their way out of the place."I can not believe that I am doing something like this," Levi said as they walked to the elevator."We already wrote down our name and attended the first meeting. I don't think there is any need to not believe it anymore," Lila responded. She also could not believe that she had willingly tried to put herself in the eye of the public but all she could think of was the prize attached to this.Her phone began ringing in her hand, and somehow she feared it was her mom. She looked at the screen and felt a burning, bitter sensation rise up her stomach as she stared at it. It was her mom, and she never once had a good conversation with her mom over the phone. It was always so