Chapter 12: Chapter 12

For the past four days since Violet and Devlin kissed, Elora always tried to hide the gleam in her eyes or stop her humming when she and Violet met. But it can never conceal the obvious glee written all over her face. And it irritated Violet to the bone.

Devlin, on the other hand, remained unaffected. They barely exchanged words even in the privacy of their bedroom. Violet tried to reprimand him for kissing her when it was not on their plans, but he just shrugged it off like it was nothing.

But it was not nothing for her! It was her first kiss, for god’s sake. It was supposed to have been a once-in-a-lifetime, fireworks exploding, one foot off the ground moment that she should have shared with someone she loves.

“Just forget about it, Violet! It’s pointless wasting another second thinking about it,” she told herself.

“What are you on about now?”

Violet looked up to see Devlin perched by the doorframe, one eyebrow raised.

“Just thinking of ways to kill you.”

His lips turned to one side. “Can you set that for next week? Because tomorrow we’re flying to my private island. My birthday’s coming up. Day after tomorrow, in case you don’t know. We’ll stay there for five days. And I have guests coming.”

She wanted to ask if she can skip the celebration, but he already left. He’d probably be happier without her there anyway. But Devlin probably thought Elora would be mad if she didn’t come, so he asked her. A loud sigh escaped her. She got up and grabbed her suitcase.

There are a lot of things Violet finds beautiful in this world but in her mind, only a few can rival the ocean. With the wind whipping your hair, the smell more inviting than perfume, and the electrifying roar of the sea, they make the simple action of looking over the waters feel magical. Like something wonderful is going to happen.

She picked up her sun hat and went out the glass doors. It definitely doesn’t hurt to have loads of money if it can buy you this.

Violet spent an hour lying down at the bench by the beach, engrossed in the book she started reading yesterday. Suddenly, a shadow loomed over her. It’s probably Devlin, came to issue a command yet again so she ignored him. She already flipped through three pages but no voice reached her still. She put her book down and peered up at the man standing a few feet from her, looking at the sea.

“Hello?”

The man turned his head to look at her. “Uh… sorry I didn’t introduce myself. You were reading and I didn’t want to disturb you. Guess that didn’t work out. Sorry.” He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled shyly.

The man looked familiar, Violet thought. He had the greenest eyes she had ever seen. His eyes opened wider at the same time she remembered where exactly she saw him.

“Liam, right?”

“Violet?”

They both uttered at the same time, and laughed.

“What are you doing here?” Violet asked, uncrossing her legs to stand up.

“My friend invited me here.”

Violet hid a look of surprise. “Your friend?”

“Yes. My friend owns this island. His name’s Devlin.”

Violet groaned. “Ah. I see.”

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m surprised at how small the world is.”

“Wait, you know Devlin?”

“Yeah, unfortunately.”

His eyes crinkled at the corners. “Why is that?”

Violet raised her hand to show her wedding ring. Devlin asked her to wear it before they went to Elora’s house. She forgot to take it off now that Elora is no longer around to police them.

“You’re married?”

Violet almost thought he sounded disappointed. “Yup.”

“He’s here too?”

“Of course. He invited you.”

“Wait, you’re married to Devlin?! You’re the girl he was forced to marry?”

Violet cringed at his words. Forced and marry in the same sentence could reduce anyone to shame.

“The one and only.”

“You don’t seem the type to marry for money.” He looked strangely at her.

“I thought so too. But please don’t judge me too hard if you don’t know what it’s like to live on the other side.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sure you had your reasons. It’s just… surprising. When we met, you seemed like a shy, sweet girl.”

“And your perception changed because I married Devlin?”

He closed his eyes for a second. “No, that’s not what I meant. God, I’m just making this worse, aren’t I? I’m sorry. Can we start again?”

Violet just stared at him for a few seconds, wanting to make him squirm a little. When she felt him getting uncomfortable, she nodded. “Sure.”

A loud exhale slipped from his mouth. “Great! I’m so glad to meet you again, Violet.”

“It’s been a surprise, but it’s really great to meet you again too, Liam.”

They stared at each other for a second and looked away at the sound of giggles approaching.

Summer and Devlin are walking towards them, Summer’s arm looped around Devlin’s. Devlin looked back and forth between Liam and Violet. Then he focused his attention on Liam.

“Glad you could make it, Liam.” He pulled Summer’s arm off him and gave Liam a bear hug.

“Of course. Wouldn’t want to miss your first birthday as a married man.” Liam laughed and playfully shoved Devlin in the chest.

Devlin glanced briefly at Violet. “Don’t remind me.”

“You’re a lucky man, Devlin.” Liam looked back at Violet and smiled.

Devlin raised his brows. “Do you two know each other?”

“We do, actually. We met last week.”

Summer cut in and flashed Liam a sweet smile. “Nice to see you again, Harper. Thought you’d permanently settle overseas.”

“I planned to. But grandpa asked me to come home.”

“I see. Hello to you too, Violet.” Summer walked over to Violet’s side and touched her arm. “I’m sorry for what happened last time. I told Devlin it was just a misunderstanding.”

Violet pinched her nose to stop the cuss words from crawling out of her mouth. “Uh-huh.”

Devlin frowned down at Violet, clearly not liking her cold response towards his girlfriend. They could both go to hell, she thought.

A rowdy group walked out of the beach house and bolted towards them. “Devlin! Happy 28th birthday, my man!”

Violet took a step back, ready to run towards the safety of her room. Summer is already too much to handle. What if all of Devlin’s friends think her a disgusting gold digger and make snide remarks all throughout their stay? She sent a silent prayer to the universe to give her strength.