Ellaine woke up rather early. All through out the night, she was thinking about the things that her cousin told her. Should she be leaving now? Or must she stay?
Wearing a floral white maxi dress and a celadon colored coat, Ellaine strolled the beach waiting for sunrise. She wanted to see the beautiful sunrise, maybe one last time. She looked around, engraving the picture of the place in her mind. When she comes back home, she wanted to paint a picture of this place. It was a private island owned by the dela Vegas. She doesn't even know where on this planet the island was located at, but life here was rather peaceful and comfortable. Though only a few people reside here, she didn't lack anything since the day they first came here. The two mansions standing side by side housed sixteen servants in total, and their families live within the island, too. Food was not scarce, and the island also has WiFi. If only she has someone dear to share this peaceful life with, her days won't be so boring.
As Ellaine was walking along the beach, she felt the cold water rush to her feet. It was chilly, but it also felt good. As the first ray of sunshine hit the sky, she set foot on the water, slowly making her way to meet the waves. She only stopped when the water reached her knees, getting the hem of her dress wet and heavy.
"What are you doing? The water is cold."
Ellaine turned around to see who spoke. She was stunned when she found Vier standing there on the beach. She didn't notice him approaching.
"I'm just playing in the water. After all, I'll be missing this when I leave."
Vier was startled by her answer for a moment but he soon recovered and pulled Ellaine out of the water.
"The water is freezing cold. You'll get your legs numb." he said as he led her out of the water. "When are you planning to leave? My mother is indeed cruel to you, forcing you to stay in a boring place like this."
Ellaine sat on the white beach and played with the sand. Vier quietly watch her write and draw things on the white sand. She was silent for some time before she suddenly looked up to him with sad eyes.
"Vier, do you dislike me?" she asked straightforwardly.
"No. Why did you ask?" he replied.
Ellaine looked away after hearing his answer and stared at the rising sun instead. "You've been.... avoiding me." she murmured.
Vier pretended to not hear her and decided to change the subject. "When are you leaving?" he said, repeating his question earlier on. His response made Ellaine look more gloomy. Vier really wanted her to leave, she thought.
With a sigh, Ellaine hugged her knees.
"As soon as possible. It feels so sad to be neglected. I want to go back to Dan city and play with Arianna. I missed her so much."
At the mention of Arianna's name, Vier instantly felt anxious. He felt pity for Ellaine, but he can't allow her to meet Arianna. Not now. Not yet.
"So soon? Why don't you stay for a few days more... no! stay until christmas! It'll be lonely here without you!" he said, trying to coax her to change her mind. Ellaine found it strange. Why would he suddenly say that?
"Lonely? You obviously don't want me here! You can't wait to chase me away! You despise me so much that you don't even want to see me!" Ellaine blurted out, then covered her face with her hands. If she was to cry, she wouldn't want Vier to witness it.
With a sigh, Vier sat down beside her.
"I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. I was just feeling sorry for you. My mom sent you here to accompany me against your will. I thought if I try to get close to you, you would feel more burdened, and you would feel more obliged to stay with me."
Ellaine raised her head to look at him when she heard that.
"You're weird. Aren't you asking me to stay just now?"
Vier was speechless. How could he say that she's allowed to go anywhere except near Arianna? That would be more weird!
"Do you want me to stay or to leave? Just choose one!" Ellaine asked, feeling wronged.
Vier smiled.
"How about you? Do you want to stay? or to leave?"
Ellaine stood up and looked away.
"If you treat me well, then I'll choose to stay."
Vier followed suit. He stood up and put an arm over Ellaine's shoulders.
"Alright. I'll treat you good. Come, let me show you the best places in my island."
"Your island? How can you boast that much?" she said to tease him.
"It's really mine! Well, my brother owns half of it. You see those two mansions? That one where you're staying is mine. The one over there is my brother's."
Ellaine stared at Vier as if she was looking at a fool.
"What brother are you talking about? Don't you only have a sister?"
Vier laughed at her reaction.
"Well, stay with me longer and I will share more secrets to you."
***
Yago looked at his wristwatch. It's already past midnight now. Across him, Arianna sat lazily holding a glass of wine. Carl and Dianna only stayed until nine in the evening, while Arianna remained seated on her chair, enjoying a good amount of alcohol. At first, she was just quietly drinking, and even chased him away as she said she wanted to be alone. When he refused to leave her alone, she decided to just ignore him and keep drinking until she later gets drunk and started saying perplexing things.
"You know that line in a song... I wonder if it's true. Would he know my name, huh? What do you think?"
"If I die thirty years from now, would that mean I'll reincarnate to marry a fifty year old man?" she then laughed.
"I don't want to live longer. It's so lonely. This is my first birthday without him. When is he gonna come back for me? I miss him so much..." she mumbled. Yago silently listened to her and accompanied her, but when she suddenly started crying, he rushed to her side and hugged her tight.
"You reached your limit. I'll take you back to your room now."
When he didn't hear any reply from the woman, he picked her up and carried her in his arms. Being lifted up, Arianna stopped crying as she stared at Yago's face. She reached out to touch his cheek.
"Yago..." she whispered.