NATHANUsually people say that it takes a lot of courage to be where I was, but they were wrong. It takes even more… hell of a lot more… well, it takes every ounce of courage that a person ever had in his blood.“It will be fine, sir,” Daniel spoke as he pressed his hand on my shoulder.Finding comfort in his touch, I knocked. There was no doorbell! I looked around, everyone in the vicinity was staring at us. She was right, it was a small village, and a group of white men in suits looked alien in the area.The door opened and a man in his fifties was standing there.“Yes?” he looked a little taken aback at the sight of me and my three bodyguards. Three were with me in the front, but at least eight were lurking in the shadows. Daniel had insisted on taking more men with us, and judging by the area, he was right. Damn it, why was he always right?“Mr. Naaaathan,” I asked with folded hands. I had asked Jay, who was standing beside Daniel, how to greet Arya’s family, and I was right in d
ARYAWhen I woke up, I found myself in a room so luxurious that it seemed that I was not in a hospital but a five-star hotel.I sat up, there was a hint of pain in my torso, but it felt like from an old injury. How long was I out? I looked around, there was a bed adjacent to mine and it was unkempt as if someone was occupying it. A laptop was placed on it and it was clear that someone had just left it there. I looked out the window, we were back in Cape Town… back to land… back to real life.My phone was placed on the table next to my bed. As I picked it up to check it, I heard a voice filled with relief, “Ah, you are up…”I looked up, and a very tired but perfectly healthy Nathan was standing in the doorway.I smiled at his handsome face. He raced up to me and pressed his lips to mine. I pulled back and he groaned. “I saved you, I deserve a hearty kiss, at least,” he grinned.“You deserve a lot more, but just not with me, Mr. Anderson,” I croaked.He scowled, then spoke, “Are we bac
ARYAI could hear him cry, but it was as if my brain was shutting down. I could hear his voice, but it was from a distance. The pain in my body was insurmountable, but somehow, closing my eyes made it bearable.Knock! Knock! Knock!Someone was knocking… how?A new burst of pain spread through my body as I felt him take me in his arms. What was he doing? Trying to kill me?“Hold your breath,” I heard him shout.Why? I heard a lot of water gush inside the box, and I tried to hold my breath but I couldn’t. I felt water splash on my face for a second, then I was being lifted upwards. Someone was pulling me up.“We should leave before another wave comes in,” I heard a familiar voice.“Go…” Nathan agreed, holding me in his arms again.“How did she get hurt?” the familiar voice asked. And I recognized him, it was Daniel.“How are you here so soon?” Nathan demanded.“Promise to not kill me?” Daniel requested.“Go on,” I could hear a scowl in Nathan’s voice.“I knew that you would do something
NATHANI caught her as she fell in the box and pressed the button to close the lid. The lid started to close but with the pressure with which the water was gushing inside, I knew we were dead.“Arya,” I patted her face, but she was unconscious. I held her by her waist and pushed myself to the ‘drain button’. “Come on… close… damn it!” I cursed as I pressed the button.The water started to drain, but still more kept pouring in. Was something stuck in the door? A thin slit was still open and the water was falling inside rapidly. The outlet speed was much slower in comparison to the inlet. “Arya, wake up…” I tried to shake her, but she was unconscious. “Arya I need to close the door, please stand,” I tried to put her on her feet, but she was fast asleep. “Wake up…” I patted her again. The water had now reached to the chest level.“Damn it!” I cursed as I struggled to check what was blocking the door.The inflow of water was too much and I needed both hands to check.“Arya…” I gave her
NATHANI don’t know why, but I wanted to put as much distance as possible between her and myself. I feared what I would say if she asked me ‘Why’. Why did I feel this way? Why I was feeling betrayed? Why… How could I tell her that I didn’t want to let go of her? That the thought of another man owning her bothered me way too much. To think that after a few days, some other man would kiss her, touch her the way I did… the way only I should be able to… As I pictured a faceless man grabbing her bare body and having his way with her without her consent, my anger rose. I fisted my hands to temper my rage and walked to the cottage. I picked up my phone and walked out.I was moving to the opposite side of the island when I heard her shout.“Nathan…” she was calling my name.I stopped to see if she was hurt, would I be able to tell through her shout? “Nathan…” she called again. She was panicking. Of course, she was panicking because of my abrupt behavior. She was here for a fun week, a week
ARYAYes, I was committing sin, and I know that I would have to repent for that for the rest of my life. But well, the punishment does not change if we commit one murder, or two or a hundred. We only die once, and I wanted to live a hundred times before my timed death.“What do you want to do today?” he asked me the next afternoon. I was very sore… especially in places that I had never dreamed of.I pouted naughtily and he raised his eyebrows at me. I was wearing nothing but one of his t-shirts.“How many days are we here for?” I asked after a pause.He grinned. His demeanor was so casual now, I liked it very much. It was like he was at ease, in his natural environment. No mush-no fuss!“How many days do you wish to stay here?” he asked with a smile.I sighed as I bent over the kitchen counter and stretched, “Forever…” I moaned, my cheek pressed against the cold surface. “Oh, don’t do that,” he spoke, standing behind me and pushing himself.“Oh, I want to do everything in this foreve