C5: Decisions

She took a deep breath and listened to the sound of the sea to calm her feelings.

“Myra, you just got to know him… you don’t know his background or who he actually is, he’s a local from an island you went to for your vacation. He could be after something else…” 

“You don’t want to be a replacement for someone of his past, do you?”

“And you just got betrayed by Jake… are you out of your mind for accepting someone else so quickly?”

“When your social visit pass expires, you have to leave anyway…”

Her inner voices were screaming inside her. She bit hard on her lips and turned to face him as he released her from his warm hug.

“I… I can’t…”

She watched as the positive look on his fair face turned to disappointment. She felt so sorry for him, but she knew, deep in her heart, he had done much for her and given her so much consolation. She remembered the passion of their kisses and how they had come together in the nights. 

Hart had pleasured her so much that while their bodies were entwined together, she could not have anyone on her mind but him. They had fit together so well as if they were made for each other.

In addition, she had sensed a connection between them. His conversations never bored her. And he was such a gentleman, unlike Jake...

“Your eyes tell me otherwise.”

“There are so many reasons I can’t, Hart. I won’t be here long. We don’t know each other that well, too. Hart, there are so many others-”

Not allowing her to reason further, Hart stopped her with his mouth. Crashing his lips against hers, he held her against him strongly. She found solace in his kisses, as usual, returning his zealous kisses with curious kisses of her own. She didn’t care what was happening and if there were people around. Fortunately for her, there were none. They were all alone in a fascinating haven. 

The sky was darkening. Above them, a multitude of colours presented themselves in the sky, but they were too obsessed with each other to notice the beauty of the sunset. He pressed harder against her, fondling her lovingly. She felt dizzy and consumed by desire. The warmth of his large body enveloped her tiny self.

He stopped, allowing her some space to cope with what was happening. She inhaled and exhaled repeatedly, looking down at her clothing to realise she was still in an orderly manner. But the unexpected kiss had taken her places. 

“Eyes are the mirror to one’s soul,” Hart whispered, breaking the silence between them. “But I will not force you if that’s what you have in mind.” He knew her eyes had already betrayed her heart, but since she had her reasons, he would just let her have her way for now. He would not press on, but he was adamant that she would accept him as long as he tried harder. Maybe she just needed more time after a failed attempt at love.

Myra remained silent. Why was it that this man had such power over her that her body was responding immediately to his touches? To say she did not have feelings for him was such a lie. But what did she want from him?

From a one-night-stand, she had turned to companionship. She was only planning to pay him to accompany her for a night, but the next morning, she could not bring herself to leave the warm bed, ending in a steamy “breakfast in bed”. After she had washed up and finished the meal he had cooked for her, he had offered to send her back to the hotel. Instead, she declined and asked for him to accompany her for a while longer.

Not only did they end up staying in bed together the whole afternoon, they even had several conversations on relationships and life. It had not occurred to her that he was nine years older than her, because she felt incredibly at ease with him. But like Sierra often said, age was merely a number.

Today marked the third day they were together, and for no reason. 

They enjoyed the remnants of the beautiful sunset with his arms around her, basking under the sunlight that was about to diminish. 

“Hart, how was Milla like?”

He swallowed hard before answering her. “She was sweet and reserved. But you and she have some similarities. The way you pout and play with your hair…”

She recalled vividly how the stall vendors had been looking at her weirdly. Then, Bibik Ina had called her “Milla” from behind.

“But she died three years ago.” The tone of his voice was filled with sorrow. “I had a dream about her, asking me to move on. But something about you draws me to you.”

He played with her hair, combing it with his fingers. Myra had always been a sentimental person. Hearing his genuine words about his late girlfriend made her wonder if he was seeing her as a substitute since she resembled Milla in some ways. However, his misery broke her, and she inched closer to him, laying a soft kiss on his lips. Part of her wanted to nullify his pain, although the other part didn’t appreciate becoming a replacement.

“I see you as Myra. I know you’re not Milla,” he revealed, staring into her eyes. “I just want to start a new story with you, Myra. Milla will be in my heart.”

She embraced him as hard as she could. Was there such a thing as fate? Perhaps fate was giving her another chance at love, even if it was short-lived.

“Can you help me forget him?” she whispered. It didn’t take him a single second to give her his answer.

“Give yourself a chance to experience love again, Myra. I don’t know if you believe in fate, because I do. Our meeting has to be fated. I didn’t take that route very often. Just on that day.”

She sighed. “That day, you offered to take me not because you were a private-hire taxi driver. Neither were you doing things for money.”

He laughed. “You said you wanted to pay me for accompanying you for a night, but now it’s the third day since and I haven’t got my payment. In fact, I’ve even lost more.”

She blushed at his words. “Hey, I’m sorry…”

He placed a paw on her little palm. “You don’t have to pay me anything, Myra. Fact is, I have a few businesses here in Bali. Don’t worry, they’re legit. If we have the chance, I’ll bring you over for a look.” He told her about his bar, The Dream and how he had been supplying materials and doing some designing jobs for some companies in Asia. 

Since moving out of his father’s place, he had sought ways to achieve his own financial independence. One of the sources of the funding of his businesses’ startup had been Milla’s savings. He vowed to repay her through her aged mother in due course. If only she had lived to see the day he would succeed. By now, he had almost finished paying up all his financial loans with the banks.

“What about you, Myra?”

She explained that she was a second-year university student in hospitality, which was her purpose as she was her father’s only heir. She would inherit her father’s hotels when he retired. 

“So, you’ll be here until…”

“For a month.”

“That’s our precious time.” 

She smiled and said to herself in her heart, “Perhaps, this way is better for all of us. Jake has his new Belle, and I will have to move on anyway. Once my vacation ends, I’ll be back to being Myra Yang back home, and all I have from Hart is just a sweet dream.”

“I heard there is a hidden cave on this beach,” Hart said, staring at her hopefully with a positive spark in his eyes. “Do you want to explore the beach and look for it?”

Myra hopped excitedly, not believing her good luck. “Yes, Hart, I do!!”

Hart helped her to her feet from where she was sitting on the hard rock. The moment she stood up, she quickly straightened the bottom of the new dress she was wearing, pulling it down as it was slightly raised. He lifted a strand of hair from her forehead affectionately and pushed it back.

She scurried barefoot on the sand, giggling excitedly like a schoolgirl. Hart smiled to himself as he thought of how he would be pretending very hard not to know the location of the cave, when in fact he knew the place like the back of his hand. He would have to try harder to make it a little more realistic.

“Ah!”

Hearing Myra shriek, he stretched his arms in front of him as she tripped and fell, catching her neatly as they rolled on the pale beach.

She smiled and accepted her fate. Yet, they were not ready for what was next for them.