Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Two Hours Ago, Lightfall Park

Hart closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he listened to the leaves rustling beneath his feet.

“Are you thinking of someone else?”

Hearing her voice, Hart opened his eyes and took in the sight before him. She sounded exactly like Milla, only sweeter. Her name was Waley, and she was an executive like him. When he had to leave abruptly that day for an urgent meeting, it was to discuss the cooperation between his uncle’s company and the company where Waley worked.

Since the face-to-face meeting with Jake, his relationship with Myra had taken a toll. But meeting Waley officially not long after seeing her on the road made him think twice about their relationship. No matter what, he didn’t think he could defeat Jake Yu.

Jake was young and capable, but it was his young age and the part that he was her childhood love that made him feel so negative about himself. Looking back at the days at Bali, he seemed to be weaving an impossible dream.

Yet, he didn’t want to let go of their romance so soon.

Waley wore a crop top with a long skirt that fluttered as the night breeze caught it at the park. From their lunch discussion at that expensive place, a place he would have never afforded bringing her to, to having dinner and KTV with Waley, just led him a step closer to her.

Milla? Myra? None of them were existent now. She drew him in to her, bit by bit. Had he knew her earlier, maybe he wouldn’t have taken that step with Myra.

Perhaps it was because Myra reminded him much of Milla. But Waley now cut the cake, being the one between them who resembled Milla more, yet stood out in her personality. She was smart and capable, a first-degree honours student and meticulous in her work. But it was the way she looked at him that made him lost within her eyes.

“What are you thinking about?” she poked him coyly. He smiled at her and leaned over the bridge, watching the clear waters.

“A friend of mine made a wrong decision. He met an attractive girl during her vacation, but now he feels they aren’t suitable. He doesn’t know how he should break the news to her.”

Waley pursed her lips seductively as she took a step closer to Hart, running her decorated fingernails over his collar. They had a few glasses earlier, but her breath smelled of sweetness rather than alcohol to him. He watched her plump rose lips move.

“Of course, have you heard that short-term pain is a better fate than long-term pain? I shouldn’t need to state the obvious. Your friend knows what he is doing,” she winked at him flirtatiously.

“Unless, that friend is yourself.”

He denied her claim outrightly, insisting on his words earlier to her that he was single. His heart stung slightly with a small pang of guilt, but like she said, he knew what he was doing.

Because of their incompatibility, should he end things quickly with Myra?

But if he didn’t, what was the point of them leading their so-called love story without a good ending?

“Waley, I…”

She was a woman who made him stutter so much, because it was the first time he had ended up so shy. With Myra, he wasn’t afraid. He sought to impress, and got her body easily. She was less of a challenge. But the more he walked down that perceived ‘journey of happiness’ with her, the more he felt like a fish out of water. With Waley, he felt free.

No words left his mouth when she just stood on tiptoe and surprised him with a kiss on his lips. She was a superb kisser and he felt himself swooning for her almost immediately.

But why did he feel like he was with Milla once again? Brushing aside his absurd thoughts, he kissed her back ferociously like a tiger.

“Not out here, Hatta,” she objected, pushing him and breaking their kiss. “Back to the car, silly.”

He chuckled at the redness spreading across her face. So, this superwoman knew what it was like to feel shy?

“As you wish, my queen.”

She blushed harder. “I think it would be most appropriate to call me Waley.”

He followed after her like a loyal dog. Once they were back in the car his uncle lent him for work, the kiss resumed at full force. Another fact disturbed him. If she was indeed Milla, she should have a birthmark in a small butterfly-like shape on her waist. There was only one way he could find out. He should lure her to somewhere quiet for him to find out.

If he did, would he be considered cheating on Myra?

He didn’t want to think about that. He needed answers, just as he thought, rather wrongly, that Myra was Milla.

This time, he had to find out for himself if Waley wasn’t Milla. At all costs.

……………………

“Erm, Hatta?”

A tap on his shoulder made him realise he was daydreaming.

“Could you send me home?”

He looked down at her brilliant curves, up to the gaping neckline of her dress. They had kissed for quite a bit, and her lips were a bit swollen now.

“Sure, why not?” As a man, he knew the tricks. She would invite him into her humble abode, and then…

And then, he would find out whether she was Milla.

As he turned the key in his ignition, Hart didn’t notice the devious smile on Waley’s face. His uncle, along with Waley’s boss, tasked him in taking this newcomer around for a day to celebrate their cooperation. Waley’s boss, Eduardo, liked this older and loyal man. He was tired of seeing fresh graduates and entry-level employees in their early twenties in charge. Hart was almost thirty, making him the perfect fit in his mind.

Eduardo wanted someone accountable and willing to work overtime for the project. Hart, with null family commitments and his working history of driving long hours to the next city with his uncle, as well as the frequency of his overtime work, impressed him.

Hart gasped when he saw Waley for the first, no, the second time. He immediately recognised her as the girl on the road. In no way could this be real, he thought.

But it was, and he had her right in his arms. He trusted her to keep their affairs to herself and not jeopardise their working relationship.

After an hour of a long drive, he finally arrived safely at Waley’s comfortable-looking apartment. It was a large six-roomer and she stayed alone.

He felt glum when he walked her to the door. It was getting dramatic. Lightning even cracked the minute he paused outside her door.

“I had no idea you were so rich,” he muttered, although he was sure Waley had heard him.

“Staff quarters,” she laughed as she dragged him inside after tapping on the door with her keycard to allow them entry. The inside of the apartment was spick and span. The spaciness made him feel she wasn’t living alone.

Waley guided Hart to the sofa and left shortly to pour him a glass of water from the pantry. He observed her as her skirt seemed to climb up her thighs slightly, revealing more than he had expected. He took a deep breath and attempted to cleanse himself of his dirty thoughts.

It was thundering.

“Hatta.”

He faced her as she sat next to him, stretching her hand out to offer him a glass. “I’m thinking, it’s getting late and the weather won’t get any better. Why don’t you stay and accompany me for a bit?”

He smiled casually. “I don’t see why I shouldn’t. It’s a Friday, after all.” He finished the water in the glass in one-go, setting it down on the coffee table.

She reached for the remote control to turn on the television, but another sudden crackle of lightning startled her. She began to tremble.

“Hatta, I’m scared.”

Two could play in this game. She continued with her pretence, and Hart would quell her with his skirt-chasing tricks. In his youth, he had ended up in many women’s beds, pleasing them to the extent that they kept harassing him.

“Why don’t we head down to your cave, now.” He swallowed, thinking how shameless he was, but acted like a professional. His aim was just to check her body for that birthmark, but what he did to her was already seduction. It made him feel a lot worse, but he just cast down his dignity and followed her into a room.

Green. It had been Milla’s favourite colour. He ignored his guilty conscience and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her tenderly.

It wasn’t going to end well, he knew. But he had to know. Soon, they were entangled with each other, forgetting the noisy thunders that were triggering her ‘fears’.

Wait, it sounded familiar. Wasn’t Milla also afraid of the thunder? And he had even laughed at her.

Now, all the more he needed to know if she was Milla. She didn’t object to him removing her clothes, doing the same to his.

But before he could take a good look, she switched off the lights.