Zunnie sat quietly in the passenger seat of Alex's car. Her thoughts were jumping around her head like a candy-filled child in a bunny costume on Easter.
The moment Alex said he had a surprise for her, she couldn't contain her excitement. She had been guessing what it was and everything she mentioned earned her a small smirk from him.
"Alright darling, I give up. Tell me what!" She pouted, trying to look cute so he would give in to her cuteness.
"Ha-ha, nice try. What's the point of calling it a surprise if I tell you before you see it." Alex chuckled, amused that she was still guessing after fifteen minutes of driving.
"Oh, I know! You're taking me to Thai Eats for my welcome home meal..." She shouted.
"Honey stop guessing and wait. We're almost there. Put the blindfold on or you'll ruin the fun."
"Alright..." She said sounding dejected, but she knew she was not.
After what seemed like twenty minutes of driving, the car came to a stop. She wanted to peek, but she couldn't see a thing with a blindfold on. Alex got out of the car and she remained seated while he came to the passenger's side to get her.
A nervous Zunnie stepped out and let Alex carry her princess style. Her heartbeat became intense every step he took. It was so quiet that she could hear the continuous doom, doom, doom from her heartbeat, apart from the noise his footsteps were making.
Zunnie waited quietly, anticipating what would happen next. It was as if she was in a scary movie walking into the monster's trap. Yet a mellifluous and exhilarating sensation welled inside her and her hold around his neck tighten.
She was not aware of how tight she was holding Alex, but he suddenly stopped, gave a hearty laugh then said;
"Honey, you don't have to hold me so tight. Are you that excited?"
"Oh, I'm sorry..." She cleared her throat.
"I'm setting you down."
"Mhm…"
For a moment she felt as if her safe haven was gone when the warmth of his chest disappeared.
"D-Darling?" She called out softly.
There was no reply. She lift her hand to her eyes about to remove the blindfold, then suddenly felt his warm breath on her ear.
"Welcome home honey." He whispered as he removed the scarf over her eyes.
Zunnie opened her eyes and was amazed at what she saw.
"D-D-Darling, when did you...? She was so stunned, she could not find the words to say. She turned to him, her deep blue eyes searching his for a hint that this was just an illusion.
"Are you serious? We're going to live here? I mean this is just so amazing. Wow. Did you design it? Darling, I love it."
"This is only the outside honey, let's go inside." He flashed her a grin then took her hand.
When Alex opened the door, Zunnie almost fell to the ground in shock.
----------
On the other side of the world, something else was happening.
"Tami Rougé we know you're in there! Open up or we're going to break down the door!" A loud voice spoke as the pounding on the door grew louder.
Tami cowered in a corner in the bedroom and covered her ears. For the first time in a long time, she was truly afraid. She was terrified because she had no idea who persons on the other side of the door were calling out to her so viciously were, nor why they wanted her.
After she got her heart broken her brother convinced her to go on a world tour trip to mend her broken heart. He urged her to travel and forget about him and the pain her first love had caused her.
Tears began streaming down her face when she heard another loud banging against her hotel room door.
She wanted to get her phone to call someone, but she was too afraid to walk back to the seating room. Her teary eyes searched the bedroom for some clue but found none. The phone next to the bed had been disconnected. Tami felt hopeless. She turned to the door a petrified expression on her face and slowly and strode toward it.
When she reached the knob she pulled it open, trying to appear courageous.
"W-What the hell d-do, you guys w-w-want?" She was so frightened, she bit her tongue while stuttering.
"Mr. Zi would like to have a word with you back in Una City. Pack your bags we're going home!" The same voice calling out to her stated.
"M-M-Mr. Zi?"
"Yes, Alexander Zi; you do know him, right? Now pack your things and don't try anything stupid." A taller man with fiery eyes said to her, making her quiver.
"Oh; Do, do, you know why he wants to see me?" She asked nervously.
"Acting innocent, why don't you ask him that yourself…now go pack your bags, you have ten minutes."
They barged in and waited; eying her like a hawk hunting a prey, while she got her belongings.
Not wanting to anger them, she was ready before ten minutes. With her passport in one hand and her luggage in the other, Tami followed behind the two men and a third person, a woman she had never seen before, followed behind her.