-=Martina's Point of View=-"What's wrong?" I heard Kian ask.He probably detected my hesitation after discovering that he was living on a part of the island that was considered dangerous, not to mention forbidden to anyone.I suddenly remembered the white wolf I had seen before. Yeah, it looked majestic and beautiful, but the fact that that creature was dangerous still remained, and now he was telling me that we would be going there."Are you sure you're really living on the western part of the island?" I asked once more."Yeah, of course, it should be right there," he said, pointing somewhere, and based on the place he pointed, it was definitely on the western part.After learning about those particular details, I finally managed to wake up from my trance, making me feel more nervous than ever.He didn't say a word after that, but I noticed that he was observing me with an unwavering gaze, making me feel flustered all of a sudden."Why do you look frightened? Do you think that I hav
-=Martina's Point of View=- I didn’t know how long I was gaping while looking at Kian; I was still trying to process what he just said, thinking that maybe I heard him incorrectly or maybe he said something differently, but whatever ransacked I did in my brain, the truth still remained. He knew who I was, and he knew that I was Zion’s wife! But how did he know about it? I wonder. “Why do you look so shocked? Is it a secret that you didn’t want me to know?" He asked, looking curious. “Of course not! If I wanted to keep it a secret, then I wouldn’t tell you about it,” I said. “Fair point,” he responded nonchalantly. “I was just surprised that you knew about it and acted like you didn’t know anything.” “Why? Do you want me to treat you differently? Would you like me to serve you like a peasant serves their master?” He asked. “Of co… course not,” I replied. I couldn't imagine if Kian started to treat me like those people in the castle; it also made me wonder if that happened, woul
-=Martina's Point of View=-I immediately covered my eyes with the first thing I grabbed, which happened to be my pillow. The rays from the sun were blinding me and trying to wake me up.I didn't want to wake up just yet; I felt like I had just slept a few minutes ago, and it would still be too early for me to get out of bed. I was planning to go back to sleep when I heard a shrill voice, finally waking me up."Good morning, Martina!" Annie exclaimed in her usual cheerful voice, irritating my ears and finally removing the dizziness I was feeling."Good morning, when did you return?" I asked while yawning."I just came back, maybe an hour ago," she said.I listened to her as she recalled the things she did during her rest day, and I just listened to her with a smile on my face. When she finally realized my silence, she looked at me with an apologetic smile."Sorry, I kept on blabbering the moment I arrived here; I haven't asked you how your weekend was," she said, looking guilty."It'
-=Martina's Point of View=-My hands are shaking while I look in disbelief at the video on Zeke's phone. I didn't think that after a month of not seeing my dad, I finally got the chance to see him again, even through the small screen of Zeke's phone.I could already feel my eyes watering from the emotion I was trying to contain, but I missed my dad so much that after a few seconds, the tears started to flow freely from my eyes."You can talk to your father, mistress. I will be just outside if you need any," Zeke said."Wait... is this a video call?" I asked."Of course," he replied, and after that, he signaled for the other people in the room to leave, giving me the privacy I needed.I thought that he was just showing me a recorded video of my dad, but it turned out that my dad was actually on the other side of the video."How... are you, princess? I cried even harder when I heard my dad's voice.He was still having difficulty speaking, but he had improved a lot since I last saw him
-=Martina's Point of View=-The following day, Annie decided to bring me to her hometown; she thought that since I was already free to visit the place, it was time for me to experience it. If only she knew that I had been there.After breakfast, we talked to Zeke about our plan of going to town and staying there for a couple of days, which he surprisingly agreed on.I thought I was only allowed to go to the town for a day, but I didn’t expect that Zion would allow me to spend a couple of days with Annie’s family."Can you believe it, Martina? We’re finally going to my town together, and you will be staying in my home for a couple of days. It goes to show how kind and understanding Master Zion is," she said."How about that?" I answered, trying to sound enthusiastic, but I knew I failed miserably. It was fortunate that Annie didn’t notice, as she was busy preparing my stuff.Until now, I still couldn’t help but feel guilty for thinking badly of Zion, and I really wanted to apologize f
-=Martina's Point of View=-When I stepped into Annie's home, I felt like I was treated like a princess. Her parents are such a lovely couple, but I think it was pretty much too much.They didn't allow me to move a muscle and either did it themselves or they would order Annie to do those things, which was quite simple.They kept on calling me mistress even though I already told them that they could call me by my name, or in this case, Tin, since we were still trying to hide my identity from the others."Are they really like that?" I couldn't help but ask when we were finally inside Annie's room, which is going to be my room as well.Annie's room is quite small compared to my room back in the castle and even my room at my father's place, but everything inside is chosen properly, maximizing the space."Not really, just with you, I guess, but you couldn't blame them since we admire Master Zion so much that having you as a guest, Master Zion's wife, is such a privilege and an honor," she e
-=Martina's Point of View=-I tried to remove the hand covering my mouth, but it was no use, so the only thing I could think of was to hit him in his most vulnerable spot, which is his crotch."Woah, there tiger, I still want to have children in the future," the man behind me said.I was so shocked when I heard that very familiar voice, and a few seconds later, he finally removed his hand from my lips and decided to face me.I was so stunned while looking at his handsome face that I didn't think that I would be seeing him here."Sorry if I startled you. I just wanted to surprise you," he apologized, the sheepish grin on his lips making him look adorable."It's alright; what are you doing here anyway?" I asked."I actually saw you earlier, but you were with a group of girls, so I couldn't approach you right away, and I decided to wait for you, and fortunately you came out alone just as I was hoping for," he explained.So that explained the peculiar feeling like someone was watching my
-=Martina's Point of View=-"What's wrong, Martina?" I was awoken when I heard Annie's voice, and when I looked at her, I saw a genuine concern written on her charming face."Nothing; I was just thinking something," I replied while avoiding her gaze.We were already having our breakfast, and they decided to wake me up once everything had been prepared.I didn't realize that I actually fell asleep when I lay down in bed next to Annie, but even in my nap, my dream was still filled with Kian, and now, even in front of the food that Mrs. Thomas prepared, my mind is still filled with my talk with Kian a few hours ago."Mom told me that you stepped out earlier; did you go anywhere?" She asked just curiously, but even though she wasn't insinuating anything, I still felt guilty."I just decided to step out for some fresh air," I answered."Oh, okay, but I wouldn't suggest that you go out alone during those hours. I mean, don't get me wrong, our place is safe, but we cannot be too sure since t
-=Martina's Point of View=-The beating of my heart began to beat faster as I could finally see the island from afar."Wait for me, Zion," I silently said, feeling the sorrow and longing of a woman who was away with the man she loved.Ever since I left Nancy's province and experienced that bizarre and mysterious event, bits and pieces of my previous life memory came back to me, but not enough for me to know everything, but enough for me to know that I was Esmeralda and Zion is the man I loved during that life.I remembered telling him from my previous life that I would remember him whatever happened, but I betrayed him since I didn't even recognize him and worse I thought of leaving him.I felt so ashamed to see him again, but my desire to be with him won me over, and I promised myself that I would never leave Zion again.While looking at the island, it felt like some invisible hand was pulling me closer to the island as if the island recognized me, and I recognized it as my home, Zio
-=Martina's Point of View=-I kept feeling this ache ever since my visit to that place, and as I awaited our arrival back at my dad's place, this ache was getting more intense."Can you tell me what's really going on, Martina?" I heard Nancy ask."Nothing; I just needed to go home," I answered.Before, when I thought about home, I always referred to my dad's house, which had been my home ever since, or at least before Fionna and her daughters arrived, but now, when I thought about home, I couldn't help but think about the island and Zion's mansion.The pain I felt intensified when I thought about Zion. I couldn't help but feel guilty knowing that he wasn't feeling well when I left him after I found out the truth.I felt ashamed of what I did; yes, it was shocking to learn the truth, but I promised Zion, or rather Zion, that I would love him forever, and yet, in the first instance of the test of our love and my faith in him, I disappointed him.I could still feel Nancy's gaze on me fro
-=Martina's Point of View=-It has been ten minutes, but still, nothing happened. I was really expecting something to happen considering that I came to this place without my full consciousness.I stood up from the big rock where I was sitting, waiting for something to happen, but it didn't."Esmeralda..."I tried calling her name; maybe there was something that she wanted to tell me, but even after uttering her name in the air, still nothing happened."Esmeralda!"This time, I yelled louder, but after holding my breath and waiting, nothing peculiar ever happened.A bitter smile appeared on my lips when I realized how much of a weirdo I may be if someone found me there.Imagine a guest wandering in this part at this hour. People may think that I actually lost it, and they would probably send me straight to the asylum if I told them how exactly I came here."Anything?" I thought to myself when another ten minutes had passed, and when still nothing happened, I took a deep breath and fina
-=Martina's Point of View=-I awoke to the crowing of roosters, and as I looked out the window, I observed it was still dark. When I looked at the clock, I saw that it was only five o'clock in the morning, still early for me to wake up, however when I was about to go back to sleep, I was disturbed by Nancy who was already wide awake.I didn't even notice her waking up and leaving the bed."Good morning!" She said in a loud voice making me grimace."Could you keep it down, it's still early and I still wanted to sleep," I murmured."No, Martina, five a.m. is already considered late in the province because almost everyone wakes up around four and Mom told me to wake you up for breakfast," she added, and she didn't leave me an opportunity to go back to sleep as she pulled the sheets over my eyes."You're really ruthless," I said, which she just laughed at.I had no choice but to force myself out of bed, and before leaving the room, I decided to do some stretching first, to remove the slee
-=Martina's Point of View=-I awoke early the next morning, surprised that I hadn't dreamed of Esmeralda and Kian again. I hoped I wouldn't dream about them any longer.Who wants to dream about anything irrelevant to them, even if the woman in the dream happened to look like you and the man you love is always with her?I probably stayed in bed for a few more minutes before deciding to get out, and the first thing I did was double-check that I had everything I needed. Last night, I organized my belongings for my trip with Nancy, going to their province and going to that place.It probably took me about ten minutes to finish inspecting my bags, and then I started getting ready.I took a quick shower which probably lasted for fifteen minutes, and after drying myself with the towel in my bathroom, I walked naked back to my room and wore the clothes I had chosen earlier which was a pair of blue shirt and faded jeans with my favorite sneakers.I was putting on my shoes when I heard a knock
-=Martina's Point of View=-"What do you mean it's not real? Are you saying that my wedding ring is a fake?" I asked in disbelief."Unfortunately, that is right, miss. It may look real, but upon closer inspection, I confirmed that this isn't made of real gold and diamonds," he said.He continued his explanation, but to be honest, the details slipped my mind as my focus wandered. However, a feeling of suspicion washed over me as I spotted them exchanging secretive glances."Could it be?" I thought to myself."Well, there you have it; you heard it from the expert; your ring was indeed fake, and just as we agreed on, you would go out with...""Actually, I wanted to have a second opinion," I suddenly said, cutting him off."Come on, don't be a sour loser," Benz said."Perhaps I am, or perhaps the test results were incorrect," I said nonchalantly."Are you telling me that I tested your ring wrong?" The employee of the shop said indignation was written on his face."Yes, but was it wrong to
-=Martina's Point of View=-The following day, Dad decided to return to work, but before leaving, he made sure to share breakfast with me first."What do you plan on doing later?" he asked."Nothing much; I was planning to just stay at home, or maybe I could just go out and buy something," I said."Okay, if you wanted to leave, you could use the car instead of commuting; it's much more convenient that way.""Okay," I said.I planned to ask Nancy to drive me just in case I decided to go out; we could also buy the things we might need once we leave tomorrow. Speaking of Nancy, she continued addressing me as her mistress, and I didn't stop her anymore, since, in a way, I kind of missed hearing that. When I heard her calling me that, it made me feel like I was still in the castle.I walked with Dad and watched him leave, and when I could no longer see his car, I decided to look for Nancy so we could talk about our plans for tomorrow.I found Nancy in the kitchen; she was busy cleaning the
-=Martina's Point of View=-While gazing at Mommy's grave, I couldn't help but reminisce about the joyful memories we shared, but it didn't take long for the pain of her loss to resurface once again.I yearned to take advantage of this time to release all of my bottled-up emotions and let my tears run freely, but the fact that Dad was behind me kept me from doing so. I didn't want him to see my tears again, knowing that it would only add to the burden of grief he was already carrying after losing Mom and having been in an accident."Sorry, Mom, if I only got to visit now. I miss you, and Dad misses you so much," I said in a gentle voice.I felt my dad putting his arm on my shoulder as if he were giving me the comfort I needed because I really do miss Mom.After that, there was quiet between us; there were moments when words were unnecessary to express our emotions, and this is one of those instances.I was talking to Mom in my head, and when I caught a glimpse of Dad, I knew he was do
-=Martina's Point of View=-I didn't know how long I was asleep, and I didn't plan on waking up yet; however, I was woken from my sleep by a continuous knock on the door."Next would be Annie's voice," I thought to myself, but I was confused when I didn't hear Annie's voice but instead someone else's."Martina, are you awake? Your dad is waiting for you," I heard Nancy say, so I immediately opened my eyes.I awoke in the familiar surroundings of my room back in our old house, rather than the castle room I had become accustomed to. It occurred to me that I had left Zion's castle after discovering the truth."Martina?" I heard Nancy calling my name again."Yeah, I'm awake; just give me five minutes," I answered, and after that, I heard her footsteps.I took a deep breath and tried to remember everything that happened. I couldn't believe that it had only been more than twenty-four hours since I left the castle, and I couldn't ignore the sadness in my chest.I genuinely missed everyone on