My Last And My Only

Chapter 132: Safe Place

The road grew quieter with every turn.

The city slowly faded behind them, replaced by rows of old trees whose branches stretched overhead like a tunnel. Sunlight slipped through the leaves in shifting patches, dancing across the dashboard.

Aiah looked out the window.

"I don't think I've ever been here."

Khae smiled without taking her eyes off the road.

"That's the point."

"So this really is a secret."

"A pretty well-kept one."

"You've officially made me curious."

"I noticed."

Aiah laughed.

"You've been saying that a lot today."

"Because your face keeps giving you away."

"My face?"

"You have a curious face."

"I don't even know what that means."

"It means your eyebrows do all the talking."

"They do not."

"They're doing it right now."

Aiah immediately tried to relax her expression.

Khae laughed so suddenly that Aiah couldn't help laughing too.

"You're impossible."

"I've heard that before."

"From who?"

"My professors."

"...That tracks."

A few more minutes passed before Khae slowed the car beside an old iron gate.

It wasn't locked.

She climbed out, pushed it open, drove through, then carefully closed it again before continuing up a narrow gravel path.

At the end sat a small hill.

Nothing extravagant.

Just a wide patch of grass overlooking a quiet lake. The water reflected the afternoon sky so clearly it looked like someone had poured blue glass into the earth.

There was an old wooden bench beneath a sprawling tree.

Wildflowers swayed gently in the breeze.

No crowds.

No vendors.

No loud music.

Only birds, wind, and the soft rustle of leaves.

Aiah stepped out of the car and slowly turned in a circle.

"Babe.."

"Hm?"

"This is beautiful."

"It is."

"You found this?"

"Yeah."

Aiah walked toward the edge of the hill.

The breeze lifted a few loose strands of her hair.

"It feels..."

She searched for the right word.

"...peaceful."