The Villain's Wife

17

"Let's go?" Lisa rose from his seat when he realized that it was already past ten in the evening. He roamed his eyes around the empty temple before he noticed that Jennie was looking at him worriedly. "Even though this place had been abandoned, the lights from the lamp posts are still working. I would get someone to change the bulbs every now and then. You don't have to be scared," he assured Jennie with a smile.

"I am not scared," Jennie said before she got up from the bench. "It's quite late. Are we riding back to the resort on a bicycle?" Her hands were clutching the coat that had been draped on her before she finally decided to wear it properly. It was getting colder after all. She reckoned that Lisa wouldn't need the coat more than she did as he was a large hot-blooded male. Moreover, the man had given the coat to her!

He smiled when he saw Jennie wearing his coat. "Yes and no. We will cycle back halfway, then someone will come and pick us up and send us back to our villa."

"Alright." She nodded. Lisa was right, even though this place had been abandoned, it was also obvious that the place had been maintained somehow. For Lisa to take care of this place, it must be because this place held a very important place in his heart.

"Going down is going to be more difficult than going up. Do you still want me to carry you?" Jennie raised an eyebrow at Lisa's shameless words.

"No, thank you," she answered before taking huge strides past him towards the bamboo forest, taking the lead. The duo followed the stone path through the bamboo forest and it wasn't long before they reached the same flight of steps they had climbed up earlier. As they were going down, they could still catch a view of the lake and even the city below. From time to time, the duo would stop to appreciate the view. They knew they had reached the end of the long flight of steps when a huge gate greeted them, the same gate they saw when they first arrived.

Lisa went up to his bicycle that was parked by the gate and asked Jennie to get on the bicycle. Jennie complied and obediently sat down on the passenger seat behind Lisa. Just then her nose caught a faint scent. Slowly, she inched her nose towards Lisa's back as she breathed in his scent.

The scent on him was mild, like the smell of a morning dew. It reminded her of spring and summer. It smelled comforting and it warmed Jennie's heart. Once again, her arms naturally made its way around his waist, unaware of its effect on the man who was riding the bicycle. During the ride, Jennie had her eyes closed as she indulged herself in his warmth.

After a few minutes, Jennie sensed that the bicycle had stopped moving which prompted her to open her eyes. She immediately got off the bicycle without being asked to. "A buggy?" she asked when she saw a buggy waiting ahead of them.

"Yeah, well... We get to take in the magnificent view and breathe in some fresh air if we ride on a buggy. I figured you might like it..." he frowned, "Don't you like it? If you don't like it, I can ask someone to drive a car over. But that would be another twenty minutes wait if you don't mind."

"Oh, the buggy is not a problem." Jennie gave him a sincere smile. "I would love some fresh air."

The duo then approached the buggy. However, before Lisa could get on the buggy, the middle-aged driver stopped him. "Mr. Manoban, Mr. Ito said that he is coming here to meet you. So I am only here to fetch Miss Jennie," he said in japanese.

Lisa instantly furrowed. "At this hour?"

The driver nodded.

"No," Lisa declined immediately and assisted Jennie to get on the buggy before following suit.

"But Mr. Manoban..."

"Have you forgotten who is Riku's boss?" Lisa's words instantly silenced the driver. "Are you expecting me to wait for someone who serves me?"