Bella POV
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Bella groaned when the first beam of light hit her face. A sudden flash headache surged at the back of her head. She wearily stood up and trudged to the fridge to take a glass of water. The hangover felt like a balloon under her cranium, slowly being inflated, pressure mounting. She splashed cold water on her face just to feel refreshed as she felt exhausted.
"Good morning Mrs. Trevor." The petite lady assigned by Austen to take care of her greeted her delightfully.
"Ugh… my head bangs."
"Let me get you some ice." She walked towards the door.
"Where is Austen?"
"He went for skydiving this morning. I'm sure he didn't want to disturb you."
"Of course." she gave a short Pan Am smile.
Bella's façade was locked with despair of her being completely wasted in front of Austen the night before. She thought about what she had confessed to him.
"I think I'm beginning to like you," she recalled.
"He didn't even reply," she muttered. "Oh no, I must have embarrassed myself."
"Mr. Trevor wants you to join him for skydiving today." She came back with ice wrapped with linen and gently placed it on Bella's head.
"Thank you. But I'm scared of heights." She shivered at the thought of it.
"I'm sure he knows that."
"I'm just going to stroll around the island today. You can accompany me."
A few hours later, Bella came out of her suite with Gracie the staff assigned to her.
"I hear you declined my invitation to skydive with me, you bruise my heart baby." She looked up to see Austen with a smirk on his face.
Did he hear what she said the night before? Was he offended?
Did it make him uncomfortable? Was he just trying to be nice so she wouldn't feel bad? Thoughts sprinted through her mind as she stared at the jaunty helmet Laid on his head.
"Baby, you know I'm scared of heights. Don't pretend you don't know."
"Do you want us to go to fihalohi island then?"
"It's fine, go have fun. I'm just going to be with Gracie today. She has a lot to show me today. Right, Gracie?" she turned to the petite woman right beside her.
"Yes, Mrs Trevor. We are going to tour the island today."
"Alright then if you insist. Love you." He pecked the sweeping bangs on her forehead.
Pretending in public just got more tricky. Bella could not place her hands on why he was being sweet just after she had admitted her feelings for him. Was it a game to him? Had she become a part of his game?
"Love you too." She smiled brightly and waved at him as he walked away.
"Your husband is so sweet. I wonder why people carry stupid rumors."
"I know right?"
They stride around the island, promenaded around the beach. Laid on the mat and sunbathed. Apart from the one-sided feelings she had started to grow for Austen and her hang out with his ex. Everything about the trip was exhilarating. She was as happy as a sandboy.
She took pictures and updated her social media. She began to trend as bloggers reposted her pictures.
"Look it's Mrs. Trevor!" She turned to the direction of the voice to see a couple with a tripod stand and camera. They ran towards her.
"Omg, Mrs. Trevor it's a great honor to meet you. I'm Claudia, this is my husband Peter. We are YouTubers!" She grinned from ear to ear.
"You mean Claudia and Peter? I know you, I'm a fan! I love your vlogs." She squeezed Claudia into an embrace and shook hands with Peter.
"You make so much content here, one would think you're a local here."
"We are!"
"Omg, your accent! You don't sound Maldivian at all."
"Well, that's cos we lived in the United States for 20 years before moving back here."
"Right!" She chuckled. "That makes a lot of sense."
"I just want you to know that I support you 100 percent. I do not think you're a gold digger. And Austen loves you so much." Peter affirmed.
"Thank you! I don't get the fuss about it. I'm not the first person to be married to a billionaire."
"I feel it's just jealousy. Who wouldn't be jealous of you? Even I am."
"What?"
"Honey, just joking. I love you so much." She squeezed a kiss on his cheeks.
Bella beamed with delight as she watched them. "You guys are so sweet together. I can't believe I'm watching you live." She grinned wide.
"Why don't we make content with you while you're here?" Claudia asked.
"I don't know. What would I say?" Bella shrugged.
"Just follow our lead."
"Okay."
They set the camera on the tripod stand.
"On today's episode of our travel vlog, look who we found, Bella Austen!"
She waved at the camera, chuckling.
"I'm Elated to meet you in person too! You guys are a dream!"
"Omg, You flatter me."
"It's true, I'm a big fan!"
"No kinder word has come from a humble celebrity like you."
"I know right?"
"I know you guys must be asking, where's Austen? He's skydiving and Bella here is scared of heights. But since we can't get a hold of Austen right now, let's hear from Bella. How did you meet your husband."
"Well, we met while I was coming from the mall, he almost hit me with his car because I wasn't looking while I crossed. I'm just so happy that I didn't meet my death but I met my love." She giggled.
"Aww, that's so sweet."
"Yeah, he helped me with the groceries that had already toppled all over my body. Then the love story started."
"Did you know he was a billionaire right there?"
"I didn't recognize him. That was a near-death experience, Claudia."
"When did it occur to you that he was who he is?"
"On our first official date."
"I can imagine!"
"Did that make you love him more or you weren't moved?"
"Who wouldn't be moved haha. Austen is a very sweet soul. He loves me and I love him even that's all that matters, don't you think?
"Absolutely. Love knows no bounds. So for the girls saying Why Bella, Have you seen this beauty?" Claudia asked.
"You flatter me." She giggled.
"I know love when I see one. And the latest couple in town is in Love, and you should be jealous, cos it's absolutely beautiful."
"Thank you for gracing our vlog, Bella."
"It's a pleasure."
"Come on we have amazing places to show you. I'm sure you have no idea about this place."
"You are right, it's my first time visiting this island."
After vlogging, they toured around the island with Bella. They took her to Bodu Hajara in Addu city.
"One of the great things about the Maldives is that with over 800 of its 1190 islands deserted, it isn't that difficult to find some private paradise," Claudia stated jauntily.
"Here, you'll have no problem creating your very own 'Robinson Crusoe' experience. OK, so Mr. Crusoe didn't have a butler service or an array of gourmet cuisine, but being surrounded by nothing but the Indian Ocean in all directions, will no doubt make you feel like you're the only one left in the world." Peter added.
"It's so beautiful. I could spend a whole day here, away from everyone." Bella enunciated the words slowly with the corners of her mouth raised as she breathed in nature.
After their evening at the deserted island, watching the love birds frolic around. They offered to take her to the underwater bedroom to spend the night but she declined.
"I think I need to get back to Austen, he'd be worried by now, thank you though. Today has been one of my best days here!"
"I kept looking for you Bella. Didn't know you were going far." Austen stated as soon as she slid the key card on the door and opened it.
"Austen, you would not believe who I met today! Claudia and Peter. They are my dream couple. I watched them love each other live in front of me, I hung out with them. We went to Hajara, they even offered to take me to the underwater bedroom. They are the atlas of this place!"
"You are excited."
"How did you spend your day?"
"Skydiving. I didn't meet anyone special so I was anticipating to come back to the hotel. On the other hand, you forgot I existed."
"At least you had fun."
"Wasn't all that fun without you watching me?"
"You wanted me to watch you?" she grimaced.
"I thought you liked me."
"Okay, I'm going to get some sleep now." She trod directly into the bathroom.
Austen chuckled. "Those are two different things!" He yelled after her.