Just when Vivian turned to face the man who was running toward her, he already reached her and he threw his arms around her body and held her tightly.
"Why did you leave me by myself?"
His voice was trembling as tears welled up in his eyes, trying his best to hold it in.
Vivian's body went stiff.
"God damn it! Thank god you're still alive."
Sweat was running down Ivan's body. Breathing heavily as he was trying to catch his breath.
Vivian could tell that Ivan was feeling relieved right now. Why is that? They're not even real couples.
The villagers put their tools down.
"Miss Vivi, do you know him?"
The elderly woman's voice brings her back from her deep thoughts.
She gently pushed Ivan's body away from her as she whispered "let go of me now. Let's talk inside."
Ivan slowly loosened his arms around Vivian's body.
He was taken aback when he noticed many people were staring at them. He didn't notice anyone before. All he could see was Vivian.
Vivian turned to face everyone.
She let out her most charming smiles "Everyone this is Ivan." Then she turned to Ivan "Ivan, these people are the villagers that I mentioned before."
Ivan looked at her in confusion. She never told him that there was a village or villager living in the mountain.
After a few seconds, Ivan played along.
"Hello everyone. My name is Ivan Da. I'm Vivian's…."
Before Ivan could finish speaking, Vivian cut him off.
"Husband. That's right. He's my husband. The one that I mentioned earlier."
Vivian spoke up nervously before Ivan finished speaking as she interlocked her fingers in his.
'Husband….. She introduced me to the people as her husband.'
The anger, anxieties, sadness in Ivan's heart washed away in a blink of an eye after hearing Vivian's words.
He couldn't help but let out a little smile on his handsome face.
"I see. He must've missed you a lot since he came running all sweaty like that."
The villagers could see how much the man loved vivian.
When he was hugging Vivian, he looked like he was holding something dearest, precious that he had lost.
"Haha! Right?" Vivian let out a laugh.
"We won't bother you anymore. We'll leave you guys alone. I'll have someone bring him some new clean clothes."
"Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. And I'm sorry for bothering you guys at this late hour."
"No worry."
After picking up the boxes from the ground, they started leaving one by one.
Just as everyone walked past the both of them, the mid-age stopped beside Vivian as she whispered teasing in Vivian's ear "Since he's hand, big and tall, he must've done a great job in bed for you to marry him. Right? No wonder Rory didn't get a chance."
'Rory? Who's that? Is he her lover? Is that why she came here? To see him?'
Vivian's face turned bright red after hearing the woman's words. Trying her best to calm her heart that was beating crazily down.
The image of them having sex kept flashing back in her head.
"Don't stay up too late. Make sure you guys take plenty of rest."
She walked away as she winked at Vivian.
Ivan could hear every single word that the mid-age woman whispered in Vivian's ear since he was standing next to her.
After everyone left and there's no sight of them, Vivian let go of Ivan's hand.
Vivian starts walking inside the house "let's talk inside."
Ivan followed after her.
When they were both inside, Vivian turned to face Ivan "what are you doing here?"
"I told you that I'm coming to you."
"Aren't you going to my mom's house?"
"I never said that."
Just thinking about it, Ivan was right. When they were on the phone earlier, he said he's coming to her. She mistook him and thought that he was heading to her mom's place.
"How did you find me? I'm sure there's no signal from here."
"Track your phone."
Ivan gave her a short answer.
"And?"
"When I reached the end of the road and found houses, I asked around and they told me your location."
"Sighs…..I see."
Not long after, the mid-age woman brings clothes, food, water, and blankets for Ivan.
After Ivan showered and ate, they were ready to go to bed.
"Let's take a rest. It's getting late. Plus, we have to wake up early tomorrow morning."
Ivan was just standing there staring at her.
"What now?" Vivian asked curiously.
'Why did he just stand there? Ah….. it must've been because of the bed here. Because he's not used to sleeping in a place like this.'
"I apologize. You'll have to make do of this tonight. You might have back aches when you wake up."
Vivian remembers that the first time she slept on the hard carpet that was made of bamboo, she had a hard time getting up.
"Or you can go back first. I'll explain to everyone when morning comes."
"Why did you always push me away? Do you dislike my companions and presence that much?"
"Sighs…. Why did you say things like that? I don't hate it. If I do, I won't ask you to hold me when I sleep with you."
"Then why did you run away and why did you want me to leave after seeing me?"
"Hold on! I'm not running or forcing you to leave. I just want to clear my head for a few days and I'm worried that if you sleep on the hard floor, your body will get sick."
"I see. I thought you hate me being around you."
'What made him think that I hated him? Has he gone insane after coming all the way up to the mountain?'
Shaking her head, she lay down on her back as she stared at the ceiling.
Ivan walks up and lays down on his back, with one arm under his head next to Vivian.
Closing his eyes "Who's Rory?"
Vivian turned her head, looking at Ivan in surprise "how do you know him?"
"From earlier." His eyes were still closed.
'He heard it earlier? That means he heard everything that aunt Zara whispered earlier.'
Vivian was so embarrassed that she wished she could dig a hole and hide there.
She was glad that Ivan's eyes were closed. If he sees her flushing face, she doesn't know how to react.
Turning her head back as she's looking up to the ceiling.
"He's one of the villagers. I think he's around in his mid twenties. I'm not sure. I never ask."
'So she's into younger guys."
"Is he handsome?"
"Of course! All the younger women in the village are always trying to get his attention anytime they see him. You can say that he's the most handsome guy in the village."
Without hesitation, Vivian answered Ivan.
'So he's the most popular guy here. Is she one of those women? Seeing what the mid-age woman said earlier, Rory had feelings for her.'
"What about you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you like him too?"
"Who doesn't? Everyone here likes him. He's smart, handsome, kind, funny, strong, hard working, etc…."
'I do like him, as a friend. I think the only man I'll ever like as a man is you. But I won't say it out loud. If I do, it'll be even more painful when you leave me one day.'
Before Vivian asked Ivan to pretend to be her boyfriend, she found out that he had a fiancée.
When she asks him to be her boyfriend, she doesn't care much about it since they're just going to pretend for a few days. Plus, she doesn't have any romantic feelings towards Ivan.
After that, she'll just tell her mom that they broke up and use the break up as an excuse for her wanting to be alone and sort her feelings out.
So that her mother will leave her alone for a while and not set up blind dates for her anymore.
But, she started having little feelings towards him after spending time with him.
When Ivan confessed his feelings towards her, sadness filled her heart. She didn't say anything because she can't accept his romantic feelings since he already has someone to spend the rest of his life with.
If he was single, that's another story. But he isn't.
So how could she be with someone who already has someone else in his life!
She can't be a homewrecker can she?
And she didn't mean to have sex with him again and again.
How would his fiancée react if she found out that the person she's going to marry was sleeping with someone else.
Of course she must be so heartbroken.
Just thinking about it made Vivian's chest tighten with sadness.
She shouldn't have had sex with Ivan. She had sex with him not just once but three times.
Vivian couldn't believe herself. She slept with someone's fiancée, in her own bed.
When she saw the sadness in Ivan's face, she couldn't help but end up kissing him. Kisses led them to do something that they shouldn't have.
That's why she said 'let's do something that they might regret later' before she had sex with him.
She's right. She did regret it. She regrets everything that she had done with Ivan in her bed.
'If I put myself in his fiancé's shoes before doing something, I wouldn't regret it this much. No woman will want their man to sleep around with another woman. Since he gave his first time to me, it looks like he hasn't had sex with her yet. She must've been someone dearest to him. That's why he hasn't had sex with her before they got married.'
"I see. Now go to bed."
"Sighs! What a life." Vivian was in such deep thoughts that she didn't hear what Ivan said and she ended up saying out loud about what's on her mind.
"What?" Ivan opened his eyes and looked down on Vivian.
Ivan's voice brings her back from her thoughts "huh?"
"What do you mean by 'saying what a life?'"
'I said what's on my mind out loud? I must've gone insane.'
Shaking her head lightly "Nothing. Forget about what you just heard."
"Ok. If you say so."
"Good Night."
"Night."
Both of them keep their hands to themselves and fall into deep sleep. Since they were having a long day, they sleep soundly till day breaks.