Chapter 14: CHAPTER 13

It was eleven o’clock in the evening when I woke up. The whole house was quiet, the only sounds were the faint hum of the wind and the rustling of leaves outside. My stomach growled, so I had no choice but to get up.

Before going downstairs, I headed straight to the bathroom to take a shower. I wanted to ease the heaviness in my body. Proobably from the six-hour trip earlier. Even though I had slept during the ride, I still felt exhausted.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, I noticed the kitchen light was on.

Who could still be awake?

As I entered, I saw Aeros sitting quietly at the table, holding a cup of coffee. He glanced at me briefly. Our eyes met for a moment, but I quickly looked away.

I didn’t speak to him. I went straight to the counter, got some food, placed it on a plate, and sat across from him.

“Ma’am, you just woke up too?” he asked, breaking the silence.

I nodded. “Yeah. I got tired from our six-hour trip.”

He gave a faint smile. “But you just slept during the ride.”

I shot him a sharp look. “It’s exhausting to sleep during a trip, you know. Happy?”

He immediately lowered his gaze. “Sorry.”

He focused back on his coffee while I continued eating.

After a few moments, he spoke again. “Your dad called me. He was asking how you’re doing.”

I paused. “You should’ve told him I’m not okay.”

“I told him you’re doing fine.”

I rolled my eyes. “Tsk. You’re really on Dad’s side.”

Silence settled between us.

“It seems nice to live here,” he said, glancing around the kitchen.

“It’s boring here in the province,” I replied quickly.

“You don’t like quiet places?”

“I don’t like being far from malls and bars.”

He chuckled softly. “Ma’am, do you want to take a walk by the beach?”

I looked at him. “What?”

“If you want to stroll by the beach now.”

“You go ahead.”

“Come with me.”

I sighed. I didn’t know why, but in the end, I agreed. “Okay.”

He smiled sweetly. A smile that seemed to have its own light in the darkness of the night. “Thank you.”

After we finished eating, we went outside together. The beach was part of their property, so we didn’t have to go far.

We held hands as we walked along the sand. The moon was bright, its reflection shimmering on the water. The cool wind gently brushed against my skin.

I sat where the waves could reach me. The water slowly lapped at my feet.

“Let’s swim,” he suggested.

I shook my head. “You go ahead. The water’s cold.”

He smiled and shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

Under the bright moon, in the stillness of the night, I could hear my heartbeat louder than the sound of the waves.

Aeros took off his T-shirt and shorts. Only his boxer shorts remained as his covering. I swallowed several times when I saw how beautiful his body was. His broad chest was exposed right in front of me.

“Shit. His body is amazing.”

I watched him as he swam in the sea when suddenly he seemed to be drowning.

“Oh, shit!”

I ran to save him. I swam toward him, and when I managed to grab him, he suddenly pulled me close.

“Aeros.”

He smiled. “Thanks for trying to save me.”

I pushed him away. “You weren’t even drowning.”

“I just wanted to know if you cared about me.”

“Do whatever you want with your life!”

I was about to swim away from him, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him.

“Aer—”

I wasn’t able to finish what I was about to say because he silenced me with a kiss.

His kiss was so sweet that I responded with even more passion. We didn’t mind the waves crashing against us. When a strong wave hit us, we were thrown toward the shore. The two of us laughed, and afterward we chased each other along the beach.

“I’m coming!” he shouted.

I kept screaming while running, but he caught me. We fell onto the sand, wrapped in each other’s arms.

“Aeros…” I whispered.

Aeros stared at me. “Lilith.”

I closed my eyes when I saw that he was about to kiss me. Nothing had ever felt as good as when he kissed me. I kissed him back again, and then Aeros carried me to the cottage. He laid me down on a bamboo lounge chair.

He held my face while looking at me. “Lilith…”

I pulled him by the nape and kissed him again. His kiss grew more passionate. I felt his hand slowly moving along my thigh.

Suddenly, he stopped. “I’m sorry, this isn’t right.”

I held his face as he looked at me. “You love me, don’t you?”

“I love you.”

I smiled. “I love you too.”

I kissed him again to let him know I was ready for whatever he might do.

I wasn’t wrong, because I felt his hand gently caressing my chest.

“Ohh!” Our clothes were soaked, and with the cold breeze adding to it, it still wasn’t enough to extinguish the heat between us.

Before I knew it, I was no longer wearing any clothes. Aeros hovered above me and began kissing my neck.

I bit my lower lip. “Aeros!”

I slid my hand down to the sensitive part of his body.

“Lilith… says stop.”

Instead of stopping him, I held his face and pressed it against my chest. That became the signal for us to go even further.

“Ohhh!” I arched my back as I felt him licking and sucking on my breast.

I tightened my embrace around him.

“A–Aeros!” I moaned.

I could no longer stop Aeros from what he was doing. I reached for his boxer shorts and pulled them down.

We were both naked. Aeros continued making love to me until he gently parted my thighs.

He looked at me. “Say stop.”

I shook my head. “I’m ready.”

He kissed my forehead, then slowly entered me. I saw the shock in his eyes.

“You’re a virgin?”

I nodded, groaning in pain.

“Sorry!”

He was about to pull away, but I wrapped my arms tightly around him. “Go on.”

I slowly moved my hips.

“Okay, I’ll be gentle.”

I bit my lip as Aeros moved slowly inside me. What my friends said was true, you don’t really feel pleasure the first time. I just wanted it to be over.

“Ohh, Lilith!” Aeros groaned.

I felt his movements quicken. He held my breast as he thrust into me.

Gradually, I began to feel a tingling sensation. “Oh, harder!” I urged.

I cried out loudly as Aeros pushed deeper. Moments later, we both reached our climax.

Afterward, Aeros kissed my forehead. “I love you.”

It felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over me. I couldn’t fully process that I had given myself to Aeros.

“You’re such an idiot! Why did you give yourself to Aeros? This is all just a bet, and your body wasn’t supposed to be part of it!” I whispered.

We rested for ten minutes before heading back to the mansion.

“Ouch! My thighs hurt!” I complained when I woke up at ten in the morning.

Just like my daily routine in Manila, I took a shower and brushed my teeth before leaving my room.

I was still going down the stairs when I heard loud voices outside. I went straight to the kitchen to eat.

“Lilith, good thing you’re already awake,” Aunt Linda said.

I gave her a small smile. “Good morning.”

“Your cousins are outside. Go join them and eat as well.”

“Okay.”

I went outside to see my cousins. The first thing I noticed was Aeros and my cousin Bena happily talking at one of the tables.

“Lilith!” Cora called out.

I gave her a fake smile. “Hello, Cous.”

I frowned when Aeros and I locked eyes.

“Lilith, how are you?” Cora asked.

I combed my hair with my fingers. “Still beautiful as ever.”

“No one can beat your beauty,” Cora replied.

Well, good thing you know that.

“Lilith, we borrowed your driver for a while. He’s so handsome. Too bad he already has a girlfriend,” Bena said.

I secretly rejoiced. Good thing she didn’t say he was single.

I smiled. “Thank you. How about you, how are you?”

“Busy with business, but happy because we’re going to have a baby.”

“Wow! Congrats!”

“Ma’am Lilith, please eat,” Aeros said.

“Thank you.”

I was startled when Aeros scooped some food onto my plate. “Ma’am, please eat.”

My face turned bright red at what he did, especially since my cousins were watching.

I glared at him. “Don’t be sweet to me,” I whispered.

“Why not?”

“Just don’t be sweet to me.”

“Okay.”

He stepped away and continued talking to my cousins while I resumed eating.

“Aeros, can you accompany me to the barangay later?” Bena asked.

I discreetly glanced at Aeros.

“Why, Ma’am Bena?”

“Don’t call me Ma’am Bena. Just Bena… or maybe love.” She laughed.

My eyebrow slightly lifted at what I heard. Just try it, Aeros.

“Alright, Bena.”

“I only just appreciated my name when you said it. Can I call you ‘mine’?” Bena said giddily.

“What are we going to do at the barangay?” Aeros asked.

“I’ll just check if my grocery donations have reached the people in this barangay.”

I rolled my eyes. “So pretentious,” I muttered.

“Okay, I’ll go with you.”

Annoyed, I didn’t finish my food and went straight back inside the house.

“Damn it! Why did he agree?!” I said once I was inside my room.

I tried calling Aeros to stop him, but he wasn’t answering.

“So annoying! He better watch out!”

I locked myself in my room, and even though they called me several times to bond with my other relatives, I didn’t go out. I couldn’t control my irritation, especially knowing that Aeros was with Bena right now.