Chapter 4: The Secret Garden

"Giovanni stepped out of the party for a moment as he felt suffocated by the crowd and the tension from Cassandra and Cindy's greetings.

"Sigh... It's hard to be handsome," Giovanni said, while caressing his cheeks.

Cindy's face turned sour when she saw what Giovanni was doing in front of the fountain.

"What the heck?!" Cindy cursed, unable to hide her disgust.

Giovanni stopped touching his face and dramatically gazed up at the sky, feeling that being handsome in this world was burdensome.

"I only have one heart," he said dramatically, making Cindy wince.

Cindy just rolled her eyes as she walked towards Giovanni. "Hi, Giovanni!" Cindy greeted, showing off her perfect set of teeth.

"Uh, hi again, Cindy," Giovanni stuttered, still unable to forget what happened earlier.

"Why are you acting awkward? We're going to be family soon, Giovanni. You'll be my soon-to-be-brother-in-law," Cindy said, grinning and lightly punching Giovanni's shoulder.

Giovanni awkwardly smiled and wiped his shoulder where Cindy had punched him. "How long are you going to stay here?" he asked, changing the topic.

"Well..." Cindy trailed off as she sat down by the fountain.

"I don't know," Cindy said, smiling sweetly.

Giovanni felt uncomfortable, sensing two different personas from Cindy tonight. "Giovanni, why don't you sit with me? I know you're tired of standing all night," Cindy said, patting the space beside her. "Sit down," she repeated, and unconsciously Giovanni followed her command.

"Don't be shy around me. It doesn't suit Giovanni Monforte, the confident and handsome youngest of the Monforte Group of Companies," Cindy said, moving closer to Giovanni.

Giovanni blushed and avoided looking at her. "Giovanni, do you remember the secret garden we used to visit when we were little? We haven't done anything tonight, and it's getting boring. Want to visit it tonight?" Cindy asked.

"The Secret Garden," Giovanni murmured, remembering the secluded place they used to frequent.

"I think that's okay," Giovanni answered, making Cindy grin.

"Then come on," Cindy said, standing up and pulling Giovanni's hand to make him stand and follow her away from the fountain.

Meanwhile, Cassandra was searching all around the ballroom for Giovanni but couldn't find her fiancé.

"Where is he?" she asked herself, scanning the room.

"Where's your fiancé?" someone spoke behind her, and it was Hugo, the eldest of the Montreals.

"Brother," Cassandra greeted him with a forced smile.

"Why are you here? Why aren't you with Daddy?" Cassandra asked, trying to divert the conversation.

"You're not answering my question. Where's your fiancé?" Hugo pressed, annoying Cassandra as even she didn't know where Giovanni was.

"Oh, Giovanni is just getting some fresh air," Cassandra answered simply, furrowing Hugo's brow.

"Getting some fresh air? But it's starting to rain outside now. Maybe he's already inside the mansion. Find him for me; I want to talk to him. Man to man, after all, he's marrying my beloved sister," Hugo said before walking away from Cassandra.

Cassandra gritted her teeth, annoyed at Hugo's attitude, and continued searching for her fiancé in the mansion.

Meanwhile, Cindy and Giovanni found shelter under a tree, avoiding the rain.

"Ugh... This was a bad idea; we should've waited to see the secret garden tomorrow with Cassandra," Giovanni said irritably, feeling annoyed as he was soaked despite running to avoid the rain earlier.

He glanced harshly at Cindy, who was also drenched, her dress now revealing her undergarments. Giovanni looked away to resist the temptation.

'You have a fiancée... You have a fiancée,' Giovanni chanted in his mind, making the sign of the cross and praying earnestly.

Cindy frowned at Giovanni, who was praying with his eyes tightly shut.

"What the heck!" she exclaimed.

"Giovanni," she sweetly called his name, moving closer to him.

"I'm cold," she said, pretending to tremble from the cold.

Giovanni's face reddened as he looked at Cindy, who appeared seductively alluring.

"E-Excuse me! Move away from me!" Giovanni hissed, pushing Cindy slightly.

"Ouch! Giovanni, I'm cold; I need body heat!" Cindy said dramatically, moving closer to Giovanni and clinging to his arm, wrapping her arms around his.

"Move away," Giovanni said hoarsely, trying to push Cindy's arms away, but she persisted, clinging tighter. After ten minutes, Giovanni gave in to Cindy.

"You're so stubborn!" Giovanni said, resigned to Cindy's clinginess.

He let Cindy cling to his arms as he looked away, feeling her warmth against him.

'Heck! So soft,' he thought, feeling as if he had been splashed with red paint.

"Do you remember the times we played together? We used to run around this part of the garden when we were young," Cindy said dreamily, leaning on Giovanni's arm.

"I can't remember," Giovanni replied, making Cindy raise an eyebrow.

"Oh, wow!" Cindy retorted sarcastically.

"Well... I seriously can't remember. How old were we when we played in this garden? Two? Five? See, I can't remember because we were too young—"

"Eight years old. We were eight years old at that time, and we played here until we were twelve," Cindy interrupted.

"What?" Giovanni reacted out of disbelief.

"But it's okay, at least I can still remember it," Cindy sweetly said as she faced Giovanni.

"Do you remember the time when we were also drenched due to the rain? We also desperately found a tree for shelter, and guess what... This is the same tree that we used before," Cindy said, reminiscing. Giovanni faced Cindy, feeling a sudden sexual attraction to her. He felt hot and thirsty, as if he wanted to kiss her right now. It's raining hard, and no one can see them. Those were the thoughts running through his mind.

Like a magnet, the two of them got closer and closer, and before Giovanni knew it, he was leaning in to kiss Cindy. When the thunder struck, Giovanni officially kissed Cindy on her lips. Cindy closed her eyes, welcoming the kiss from her ex-fiancé.

Giovanni kissed her fully on her mouth, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer, while Cindy's arms wrapped around his nape.

Maybe due to the droplets of rain and the wetness they were experiencing, the scene was slowly getting out of hand. Giovanni slammed Cindy against the tree as he kissed her again on her mouth and down to her neck. Cindy wholeheartedly welcomed every kiss from Giovanni traveling on her upper body. Giovanni unzipped Cindy's gown because the rain was now pouring harder, and he was confident that no one would see them. He couldn't stop anymore. Having sex under the rain was totally hot for both of them. The raindrops running from the tree leaves and dropping onto their bodies made their skin feel more sensitive to each other's touch.

Giovanni kissed Cindy's neck down to her collarbone as Cindy's gown fell to the ground. Giovanni raised Cindy's left leg and pushed himself in the middle.

"Hmmm," Cindy let out a soft moan as soon as Giovanni touched her soft breast with his left hand, massaging it and then squeezing it lightly. Giovanni moved away from Cindy as he looked at the seductive, drenched woman in front of him.

"What?" Cindy asked, acting shy.

Unconsciously, Giovanni unzipped his pants and took out his member. He kissed Cindy again, but this time it was a soft kiss. Cindy was shocked by the softness of Giovanni's kisses and couldn't do anything about it. While kissing her, Giovanni slowly inserted himself inside Cindy.

"Ahhhh... Giovanni," Cindy let out a long moan, calling his name.

Giovanni didn't answer her call; he just started to move inside her. Every move he made made him groan because of the hotness he was feeling right now.

Cindy automatically hugged him as he thrust into her, resting her chin on his shoulder and forming a wicked smile on her lips.