United

الفصل 23

I woke up bright and early the next morning. The beautiful sunlight shining through the windows. I look all around the room and frown when I see no trace of my supposed husband.

I sigh and get ready for the day. I take a quick peek at my phone and smile. I think I'm going to go do some sightseeing, while Leandro's not here. He wouldn't care, anyways. I walk to the bathroom and take out my braids, beautiful beach curls appearing. Fitting.

I brush my teeth, do my business, and walk back to the bag to find some clothes. I find this white dress with a puffy sleeve and a stomach cutout. I quickly slide it on, and look out for any of my scars to peek out. When I'm in the clear, I grab some strap-up sandals, some gold post earrings, and my matching necklace.

I walk out of my bedroom, and as I walk to the living room space, I notice Blake. 

"Hi, Blake. I was thinking since I'm not needed, that I could hit the beach?"

"Of course, Ma'am. Let me inform the other guards first and then we'll go. Would you like to eat first?"

"Um, I can eat afterward? I'm not quite hungry right now" He nods and pulls his phone out. I smile, and make my way to the room, to grab my belongings. My notebook, pen, phone, book, and sunglasses. I also slip in some sanitary wipes, and some sunscreen.

I walk out, and I am shocked to see 5 other guards, excluding Blake. He emerges out of the hallway with a little smile on his face.

"We can leave now if you'd like"

"Uhm, yeah, but why all the guards?"

"We are simply here for your protection, Ma'am" One of the guards talk, and I nod, feeling conflicted. I don't trust many people, especially men in general. I don't like feeling confined into a little space, or by people. I'm quite claustrophobic, because of my trauma, and it pisses me off that I can't be more open about the issue. But you can't blame me. Most times I told someone about what happened to me, and they take advantage of it.

I shrug off my gut feeling, and we start moving out of the hotel room. We walk through the lobby, and Many wandering eyes zero out on me, trying to see who I am, but the big, buff guards around me prevent them from doing so. We walk out of the hotel and walk towards the beach.

"Uhm, you guys don't have to accompany me. I'll just be sitting by the water." They nod, and I make my way to the turquoise waters. I snap a picture of the skyline and take the cloth I brought with me. I lay it on the sand, and take in the smell of the beach. It's such a joyous experience.

The memories of my first time at the beach with my mother come to the surface of my mind. Instead of pondering on it, and getting hurt, I chose to write about it.

When I'm done, I put my notebook to the side, and take my sandals off. I'm only going to dip my feet in the water. The water ripples around my feet, and I smile. It's crazy how even the simplest things make my heart content.

I continue splashing the water around me, joy filling my heart to the brim. After a few minutes, the sun starts hitting, and more people start populating the beach. I pick up my things, and head to the group of bodyguards.

"Everything okay, Ma'am?"

"Yep. I'm ready to go, to lunch perhaps?" Blake nods, and he signals for me to follow him. I do, and the rest of the men move with us. We walk alongside the beachline, heading closer to the pier. After a few minutes of walking under the hot sun, we get to the pier that has a restaurant mounted on it. 

The bodyguards are all spread out on the outside, and Blake and I are the only people going in. We get a table, and we get seated at one of the tables that have an overview of the beach. We order some traditional greek food, and Blake's phone starts ringing as soon as the waiter walks away.

"Hello?" I expected him to walk off and go answer his call elsewhere, like Leandro.  But he stays put, leaning back on his chair. I shrug it off and take out the novel I started about a month ago. Gosh, I haven't sat down and read normally in a long while. I read around 15 pages when the staff comes back with our orders. I thank them and smile.

I put my book on the side of the table and dig in. Blake ends his phone call and looks at me.

"Apparently, Mr. Marsai wants to talk with you"

"Alright, do we go now, or-"

"No, you can finish eating" I nod, and go back to clearing my plate. I only make it about halfway through the plate before I start getting full. I force myself to continue eating since I look so bony. All of a sudden, a repulsive feeling makes its way through my throat, and I dash for the nearest bathroom, already expecting this.

I throw my guts out, and when I finish, I rinse my mouth, still avoiding looking at myself in the mirror, or more specifically, my own eyes. That'll simply remind me how much I look like my mother. I open the bathroom door and come face to face with a concerned Blake.

"Are you okay, Ma'am?"

"Yes, I'm alright, and no need for formalities, Blake. Simply address me as Lunae"

"Alright, Lunae. Would you like to finish your plate, or leave?"

"Uhm, leave, if that's okay with you?"

"Of course. This way" I start walking to our table, and look at my half uneaten plate. I feel so ungrateful to be wasting my food, but I can't anymore. I shake my head softly and grab my belongings. We walk out of the restaurant when Blake pays, although I insisted to pay. The whole way back, I was building arguments about how he should have let me pay. 

When we finally walk into the elevator, without the rest of the guards, I begin.

"You should have let me pay. Why? because I can pay, and I'm the one that made most of our food go to waste"

"Even if you didn't, I would have still paid, Lunae."

"Wel, that doesn't mean that you get to pay-"

"You two seem cozy"

Hi! this is NOT a bodyguard who falls in love with the client type of story. Lunae's going to end up with Leandro, Leandro just has to let himself feel an emotion first. I'm also warning you that this is in fact a slow burn, which means that I can drag it however long I want, but I won't, because I love my readers.

Dioné Valentine, Out!