"Where's Laura?", Charmaine asked. When they finally get to the entrance, they realized that only Drei and Luke were there. Laura was not around.
"Oh! Auntie already went in with uncle Liam!" Luke replied. "Let's get in, too!"
Charmaine was stunned for a moment. Did Laura invited Liam to come? "Who's Liam?",Leo asked beside her.
Charmaine shrugged her shoulders and glanced at her husband. "Remember when I told you Laura already found a new boyfriend? That's Liam." she told him. Leo thought for a while and then nodded. Luke however stared at his mother with a confused expression. Didn't he just introduced them to each other? They are together already? Behind the child, Andrei was more perplexed. Liam... the man who swore never to date anyone after the death of Chloe is now together with Charmaine's sister in law? How did that happen? His eyes darkened at the thought.
"Larson, this is my son, Luke. You'll accompany him today." Leo told his friend.
Larson glanced at the little boy and he looked back at him. Why can't he remember Leo telling him anything about babysitting a child? And he said this little guy was his child? Well, they do resemble each other! So was the reason why he rushed to marry his unwanted fiancee because of the child? He had so many questions at the moment, but they all disappeared when his eyes pan somewhere else and he caught a glimpse of the person standing behind the little boy. It was that person! "And that's Andrei over there. He's Charmaine's friend." he heard Leo say.
"It's you!", he exclaimed.
Andrei glanced at Larson with a nonchalant expression. He sure doesn't recognize the guy but he looked familiar. Did he already meet him somewhere?
Larson smiled and approached his target. Leo asked him to distract a guy while he goes on a date. Was it this person? Then he's in for an interesting day! "We bumped into each other inside a shopping center once. You look like a Korean boy band member so you're easy to distinguish." Larson said as he put an arm around Drei's shoulder.
Andrei frowned. "Is that a compliment or an insult?" he uttered.
"It's a compliment of course! I can't believe you're going to be my date today! Don't you think we're fated?" Larson joked. "Just kidding. We should get going or we'll miss all the fun."
Charmaine glanced at Leo who was standing quietly beside her. Did he plan all this? But why Larson? He's a womanizer!
***
"Where do you want to go first?" Leo asked after all of them have entered the theme park. Luke and his two guardians walked ahead of them and headed towards the kiddie rides first.
Charmaine stopped on her tracks and turned to Leo. With a solemn face, she just shook her head. "I don't know. You're afraid of heights." She replied. Even if Leo becomes generous enough to accompany her on a ride, how could she enjoy it knowing full well how awful Leo must be feeling!
Leo thought for a while and then pulled her. "Then let's try something safe." he uttered.
"Like what?" she asked with a baffled expression. "Where are we going?"
Leo looked at her face and smiled. "The ferris wheel." he replied.
The ferris wheel, he said. After standing in the long queue, it's finally their turn but Leo couldn't smile anymore. He thought the ferris wheel is one safe ride that would make him looked cool but he looked like a fool instead as he crouched on his seat. The floor was made out of glass and he can see everything underneath as their carriage slowly rises from the ground. He didn't want to look but he couldn't take his eyes away until his vision lost focus and he started to become dizzy. His eyes involuntarily closed as his heart started beating fast.
Leo knew he just messed up his date and was about to apologize when he suddenly felt someone holding his hand. He opened his eyes and found Charmaine sitting beside him. She smiled and pulled him to her embrace. "It's alright. I'm here with you. You're safe." she whispered.
How humiliating. The way she treated him as a child was both shameful and comforting. He didn't want to admit it but he did feel helpless at the moment. "I'm not a kid." he protested.
Charmaine loosened her embrace and looked at the man's ashen face. "Yes. Of course you're not a kid, or how can I marry you?" she answered before leaning closer for a kiss.
A kiss. Leo didn't know a kiss could be so powerful that it can take all his anxiety away. Charmaine's lips tasted so good that he started to forget where they were. He began putting his arms around her and pulled her even closer to enjoy that precious kiss. One that is so hot Charmaine was thankful only the floor was transparent and not the walls surrounding them.
Charmaine chuckled as she gently pushed Leo away after a long while. "Congratulations. You just survived your first ferris wheel ride." she jested. The carriage suddenly stopped afterwards. It was their time to get off.
"Seriously? Can't we go for another round?" he asked.
***
"Tell me the truth. Was that your first time riding a rollercoaster?" Liam asked the woman who was listlessly sitting on the bench beside him with her eyes closed. She just finished throwing up and she really felt awful and at the same time mortified! She can't believe she just showed Liam yet another ugly part of herself! He must think she's one very stupid woman!
Liam stood up after not hearing a response from Laura. She covered her eyes with her palm as she sensed him walking away. Suddenly, her self esteem came crashing down. She can't blame Liam if he decides to leave a shameful woman like her alone. Maybe this is the same reason Ivan didn't learn to love her after all those years. She just isn't worth their love.
Laura sat there motionless for a few minutes as she still feel nauseous. She felt her palm getting wet with tears but she kept her eyes covered with it. She continued on her self-pity for a while more until she felt someone occupy the empty space of the bench just beside her. Great! Another person to witness her pathetic state!