CHAPTER 5

I woke up drenched in sweat. I noticed that the two electric fans weren't working. And because of that, I remembered my new life. I scratched my head in frustration!

I ended up with this kind of life. I simply cannot imagine waking up every day with this horrible situation. It's just not for me. I hope my dad could fix this as soon as he could.

It's so early, but I'm sweating so much right now. No air conditioning, right?

I left my room. I wanted to wash up and brush my teeth, knowing that the water pipe in my bathroom was still broken.

I approached Mom in a sulking matter. I'm rotten spoiled, so what? This is not the life I was accustomed to. Then, when I saw what was prepared on the table for breakfast, it was my last straw!

"Mom! What is this? No air conditioning? No shower room, no walking closet, no pool! Mom, I don't think I can handle this kind of life. Let's just go back to Claybourne! I will die here!” I complained nonstop but my mother just stared at me in disbelief.

When I begged her again that we would just go back to Claybourne, she just

She just stared at me with those sad pairs of her eyes and those stares made me feel guilty. I wanted to act like a fine lady with a mature way of thinking but I didn’t think I could pull it off!

"Fine! Don't be sad. I'll endure it, but promise me that everything will go back to how it's supposed to be. Promise me, Mom!"

I begged her because if my life would continue like this, I might explode. I couldn’t even think about tomorrow! Like, what would I do in the countryside? Then, I heard Martha speak.

"Alice, accompany Miss Krystal to the water pump," she instructed her daughter.

I saw her face again, the girl who emits that typical aura from the countryside. I couldn’t do anything about it. I just grabbed my hygiene kit and went to the water pump, or whatever it was.

Then, together with Alice, we went to the back of the house, and I saw what the water pump was. Is it some kind of water pump? Whatever! As long as the water would clean and I could freshen up.

"Hold your cup so you can wash your face and brush your teeth," she said to me with a smile that was about to tear her lips apart.

I smiled at her with the same awkward smile from last night. "There's not even a faucet," I whispered to her.

I started doing my typical routine, and after washing my face, I gently patted it dry with my towel. We went back inside to have breakfast. I only had light bread and hot chocolate every morning. A strip of crunchy bacon would do as well. I took the crumbly bread.

"What is this?" I asked with a grimace. Where's my usual bread?

Martha spoke up. "Oh, dear, try this salt bread that we prepared for you. We found out that you like bread!"

I didn’t want to be rude. As I've said, I have a soft spot for older people. So I gave Martha a small smile and took a bite. It tasted fine, even this chocolate drink made with pure chocolate. It wasn't bad after all!

After eating, I tried browsing my social media accounts on my phone but failed miserably. I knew that the internet speed here in the countryside was extremely slow, but I had no idea it could be even worse than this.

So, I decided to just return to my room. I just lay on my bed and let out a sigh. I missed my city life, and I wondered how Dad was doing. I hope he was doing fine, as well as my brother. I didn’t want to continue blaming Dad because he was also a victim but the situation was really grave, and again, I found myself crying for the nth time.

I didn’t want them to see me being weak and crying most of the time especially when Mom was around. She was also struggling and because of our situation, she couldn’t eat properly. She was worried and sad as well. Then, I realized that the only thing I could contribute right now was to stay quiet and not complain about everything in Clayland!

For a moment, I wished that this miserable state of ours wouldn’t last for too long. Then, I heard a knock on the door.

"The door is open," I said with an indifferent tone.

The door opened, and Alice came in. She had a smile on her face again. Why was the girl always so happy? If I grew up and woke up in this countryside, I probably wouldn't be as happy!

"Um, hello?" she greeted me, seeming a bit shy. Now, of all times? I thought we were getting closer.

"What do you want?" I asked her. She seemed confused and took out a dictionary.

"Please speak slowly. I didn't get it right away," she said.

"Seriously? Fine, what did you come here for?" I asked her.

She seemed nice. She seemed to remember something.

"Oh, right! You looked so impatient. Maybe you just want to go for a stroll?"

I gave her a skeptical look. "Where are we going to stroll in this boring place?"

She confidently spoke up. "For your information, there are many beautiful places to visit here. Some of them may be off-limits, but nothing's off-limits if no one finds out, right?"

Smells like an adventure and trouble but I stood up and said, "I'm listening, where is this place you're talking about?"

"At the famous waterfalls in our area,” she replied. “Do you know that Logan’s family has a lot of properties here? They are the wealthiest here in Clayland, Krystal and they owned half of this place. Do you know that they own a majestic waterfall here?”

“So, how are we going to visit this place if it’s private?”

“We will ride a bike, then hike a little, then we will be there,” she replied.

“I don’t know how to ride a bike, Alice,” I told her.

“Then, you can hop on my back,” she said enthusiastically.

Together, we went downstairs, and out of the house. Alice retrieved the bike and positioned herself on it. Then, she gestured for me to sit on the back. "Miss Krystal, you look sexy, but you're quite heavy," Alice complained while pedaling.

"Excuse me, I'm not heavy, and stop calling me 'Miss.' Just call me by my name, okay?" I told her.

"Okay, Krystal! We're almost there."

She parked the bike, and I got off. There was a tall fence in front of us. What was I thinking when I decided to come along with this girl?

"How are we going to climb over that wall, Alice?" I asked the girl.

"Why do you need to climb when you can just go through?" she said, revealing a hidden hole amidst the thick bushes. Very clever.

"Are you sure we won't get caught here?" I asked her.

We're still far from the waterfalls. My heartbeat was racing so fast out of excitement. Maybe this idea wasn't bad after all.

"Don't worry! They are too busy to get lost in this place!" she assured me.

We reached the waterfall, and I eagerly set down the backpack I brought with me. I took off my clothes, revealing my mature body. I already have curves, and I can be proud of my physique.

"Wow! You look so sexy! You could be a model!" Alice said.

I was only wearing a swimsuit. I went into the cold water. Then, I heard Alice ask for permission to pee by the side.

It's fine with me. It feels so good to frolic in the water. Finally, I could relax.

I dived underwater and resurfaced, not realizing that there was a well-built and handsome man standing in front of me, almost naked in his boxer shorts.

"What the hell?! Pervert!" I exclaimed in surprise.

"Wow!" he said, impressed with what I blurted out. "Am I the pervert now?" he asked disbelief in his voice.

I hugged my body. "Who else? It's your eyes that are perverted! I might gouge them out!" I threatened him.

I mean, I'm used to wearing a swimsuit. I love going to the beach and island hopping, so showing my body was not a problem for me since I'm confident in my physique.

But it's a different story when I'm in a two-piece swimsuit with a complete stranger in an unknown place! But then, when I stared into his face again, my eyes widened in shock that he looked so familiar.

“Oh, God!” I exclaimed as soon as I realized where I met him in the past. The man before me was Logan, the one I had fun with in a hotel that night. But, why did he act as if he didn’t meet me before? Was I just an ordinary face who was willing to have sex with him before?

"You know what? I can sue you for trespassing. Do you know that this place is private property? How did you even get in here?" he reprimanded me.

I started to get nervous. I gulped. I felt cornered and didn't know what to say. Where was Alice when I needed her? The woman just said she would look for a spot to pee but what’s taking her for too long?

"Why? Who are you? You're also here! Can we just swim in peace?"

He smirked. "I'm Logan Lopez. The soon-to-be owner of this place."

I froze as I realized I would be in great trouble!