Chapter 57: Chapter 57

THIRD PERSON'S POINT OF VIEW

"Before I forget, say hi to Cleo!"

The smile on Garren's face faded in a flash. His son only mentioned Cleo's name... and he's already getting agitated.

The woman's strange effect on him is riling him up.

Cleo appeared on the screen and flashed a subtle smile, and God knows how much he hates how that made his heart prance.

Despite his nerves raging, Garren still managed to keep a stolid face.

His heart's erratic beating only ceased when he couldn't see her any longer, but deep within him, he longs to see her face even for a few moments longer.

"What the fuck?!" Garren internally castigated himself.

"Bye, dad! I'm going to prepare for school now! I love you."

He smiled at his son. "I love you too, buddy."

He washed his hands over his face out of frustration after the call ended.

He hates it. He hates how Cleo can stir an unsettling feeling inside him with the slightest thing that she does.

Suddenly, his mind took a trail down the memory lane to what happened last night. He could feel his entire face heating up just by remembering it.

Garren badly wanted to punch his face for behaving like a lunatic. But he couldn't help himself. The moment he saw her getting out of Lorenzo's car, it pushed him at the end of his tether.

The first time he saw Cleo with his cousin, he already felt like seeing red. It didn't sight right with him how she looked so happy with Enzo.

He hated how she was smiling at his cousin while she barely does that to him. It ticks him off.

That displeasure heightened when he saw them together at the mall. He actually didn't mind if Cleo made them wait, but when he saw her with Lorenzo, that's when his hackles rose, even though he's aware that their encounter was coincidental.

They became friends, and Garren loathes that. He has this vexing desire to keep Cleo hidden from him.

Garren thought all those peculiar emotions would go away if he just ignored them, but obviously, it went down the drain, because last night became his last straw. It felt like the string of his patience finally broke.

He didn't know why those things slipped out of his mouth.

Or perhaps he knows the answer; he just can't admit it to himself.

He brushed off those thoughts. He decided to leave the house because he wanted to steer clear of anything related to Cleo. He has to get back to his senses.

He left the house earlier than usual because he wanted to avoid Cleo. He knows she comes out of her room at exactly six thirty in the morning, so he left at six.

With the humiliating thing that he did last night, Garren has no guts to face her for now.

Consequently, he lied to Esther that he would be gone for a few days 'cause of business matters, when actually, he's on his way to have a vacation.

It's an impulsive decision. That's how desperate he is to forget Cleo. In fact, he even considered kicking her out of the house so he could finally set his heart at bay, but he knows that his son would hate him if he does that.

He pulled himself up from the couch and exited the office. He talked to his secretary for a while before finally leaving.

When he reached his car, he quickly suited himself and began driving.

He booked a three-day stay at a resort which is a couple of hours' drive from their town. The sun was already at its highest peak when he arrived at his destination.

It's an isolated island, perfect for the serendipity that he wants to revel in.

A resort staff assisted him through his villa. It looks nice, and the balcony upstairs is facing the ocean, which Garren fancies.

He resolved to rest for a while. He turned his phone off so he wouldn't have any distractions.

When afternoon came, he decided to go surfing. But as he's carrying the board to the deeper part of the ocean, memories flash before his eyes.

It was also the waves that witnessed his first laugh with Cleo. It was also the crystal blue ocean that heard the frantic thump in his heart when she genuinely smiled at him for the very first time.

The ocean was there to witness how he was captivated by her bright smile, something he hadn't experienced in years.

Garren slapped his face and dispelled those thoughts.

For the next hours, he spent all of his time moving along with the waves. He did all the surfing tricks that he knew. He made sure not to think of anything and just utterly submerged himself to surfing.

Fortunately, his plan was successful.

He also spent the afternoon ambling around the place alone, admiring its splendor and relishing the peace.

He's having the time of his life. His reason why he went there seems successful... he guesses.

When the night came, Garren went to the pub on the island to relax... not even minding that the last time he boozed, it ensued to a dreadful scenario.

When he stepped inside the place, the exuberant atmosphere greeted him.

He sat on the empty table and gave his order to the waiter, and it arrived after a couple of minutes.

He guzzled the glass of martini, and the hot sensation carved along his throat.

He's already on his fifth glass when he feels that someone is staring at him. He roamed his eyes around, and they eventually settled on the woman sitting on a table not far from him. When their gazes met, the latter smiled seductively.

Usually, he would spurn her, but he doesn't know what had gotten into his system and he wanted to return the same energy.

It's been a long time since he fucked someone, and he ruminated that it would help him steer clear of Cleo's strange effect on him.

Garren leaned back against the couch and returned her gaze. His lips curled into a grin when the woman exposed her chest intentionally.

He chuckled and muttered, "Damn, she's fucking hot."

He doesn't know her name, but that's no longer important. He just wants to heat up his bed tonight.

Garren took off his jacket and opened the first three buttons of his polo shirt. He sneered when he saw her biting her lips sexily, swayed by the bold move that he made.

She stood up from her seat and walked towards his table, her eyes still glued to him.

"Mind if I sit here?" She asked in the most seductive tone as she stood in front of Garren.

The latter smirked, and without any preamble, he pulled the woman to his lap.

"Let's stop beating around the bush and start this, shall we?"

Garren's hot breath fanning her neck made her giggle.

"Ohhhh, what an impatient man. What about we play first, hmmm?"

His pants tightened when the woman began grinding her hips. That made him more excited. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'll fuck and make a moaning mess out of you," he whispered and gave a kitten lick on her neck.

The liquor is starting to have an effect on his system, intensifying his libido.

However, the grin on Garren's lips abruptly vanished when he saw someone. He swallowed a lump while looking at the person he's seeing right now.

"What the hell?!" He screamed inside his head while intently looking at Cleo, who's also staring at him.

His heart pumped out of his chest when Cleo raised a knife and flashed a sinister smile.

His blood ran cold and instinctively pushed off the woman sitting on his lap, making the latter groan in pain.

Garren just threw her a quick glance, not even bothering to check on her, before looking back at the place where Cleo was standing earlier.

But this time, he didn't see anyone. There's not a single trace of Cleo...

"W-Where did she go?"

He cast an anxious look around, spotting Cleo among the crowd.

He blinked countless times. Even so, he saw no one. There is no Cleo nor a knife.

Then it dawned on him...  All of that was just a hallucination. He's being delirious that Cleo is there, menacing to kill the woman he's about to have sex with.

"What's the matter with you?!" the woman grumbled.

Garren was brought back to his senses. He looked at her dead in the eyes.

"Leave."

She frowned. "W-What?"

"Are you deaf? I said leave!"

She threw him an incredulous glance and scoffed. "Go to hell, you jerk!"

Garren paid her no mind, but he's glad that she's already left. He sagged back in his chair and chugged down the martini in one gulp.

He went to that island to forget Cleo and the strange feeling she elicited in her since the day he can't remember... and now he's in despair because the universe doesn't seem to agree with his plan.

Everything in that place reminds Garren of her.

He blew a fuse. He stood up and treaded towards the bathroom. He opened the faucet and soaked his entire face with the cold water.

Garren looked at his reflection in the mirror and couldn't help but heave a deep sigh.

He couldn't recognize himself. He looks frustrated and lost in his own thoughts. The last time he was like that was when the Montreal Avionics received a legal complaint that almost jeopardized them.

For the past years, it has always been the company that has caused his stress and frustration.

It never crossed his mind that a time would come when a woman would be the reason of the catastrophe in his head.

That ridiculous thought made him laugh... a frustrated one, needless to say.

"What have you done to me, Cleo? What did you do to make me feel this way? You're plaguing my senses too much."

Garren stayed in that comfort room for a couple of minutes, having an internal altercation with himself.

When he went back, instead of going to his previous seat, he walked to the bar counter and ordered a glass of Vodka and quaffed it right away.

He was enjoying the silence when suddenly, the woman beside him began crying.

Garren ignored her, even after her cries became louder and she began talking in a slurred voice.

"I-I'm so stupid, you know," the woman muttered. "I'm so fucking stupid." She turned to Garren, but the latter didn't even shoot her a glance.

He doesn't give a damn about anyone as long as their existence doesn't concern him.

"I already saw the signs. I fucking saw the signs that I already love him, but I ignored them because I was afraid."

Garren was planning to turn a deaf ear to the drunk stranger, but once she said those words, for reasons he can't fathom, his heart skipped a beat and he just found himself looking at her.

His face crumpled at seeing the miserable state of the woman. Her face is streaked with tears, and her hair is disheveled.

"I always feel safe around him. His presence alone is enough to make my heart race but also put me at peace. I feel the happiest when I'm with him. And that annoying feeling that I feel every time I see him with other girls."

A despondent smile ran across the woman's lips. She laughed bitterly.

"For years, I was confused why I feel all those emotions. And by the time I realized I was madly and deeply in love with him, it was too late. He's no longer in love with me."

Garren felt a lump obstructing his throat. There's a certain emotion growing in his chest after hearing her story... fear.

He feels afraid. No matter how much he tries to shrug off that emotion, he's terrified. He suddenly pictures himself in the same desolate situation as her.

and he absolutely doesn't want that.

Garren recalled the reason why he decided to take a short break from everything— he was supposed to get back to his old self and steer clear of Cleo's odd effect on him. But the universe doesn't seem to agree with his plans.

He puffed out a heavy breath and closed his eyes for a certain moment, and when he opened it, he came up with a reckless yet ironically certain decision.

"Fuck that plan, might as well figure out what this damn feeling is and deal with it."