NOVPUBWith the GPS guiding us, I took the opportunity to review the contract I had snapped a photo of earlier.
What caught my attention was a stipulation explicitly stated by my supposed husband, ruling out any sexual relationship between us. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment, which surprised me - shouldn't I be relieved instead?
Perhaps it was because I hadn't been the one to set that boundary, emphasizing that our arrangement was purely contractual and devoid of intimacy.
Nonetheless, discovering this clause did offer me some reassurance, suggesting that my contractual partner was, at the very least, an upright and principled individual.
I continued to study the contract till my eyes settled on my supposed husband's signature.
I noticed that it was initialized with a distinctive "H".
I spent the next minute trying to guess his full name: Harry? Haydin? Habib? I ran through various possibilities and had to stop myself from asking the man who came to pick me up, questions about the Mr. H of a person.
Just as I moved my gaze to another section of the contract, the car came to an abrupt halt, jolting me forward. Thank God for seatbelts.
I glanced out the window, wondering if we had arrived at our destination, but to my surprise, we were still in the middle of the road, surrounded by towering trees that seemed to stretch up to the sky.
"Why are we stopping?" I asked, eyeing Cole as he got out of the car.
He walked around my side and opened the door. I remained seated, with my hands clutching the seatbelt.
"We won't be needing the car at this point." he curtly stated while patiently waiting for me to get down.
I hesitated, then released my grip on the seatbelt and stepped out of the car.
"Right this way," Cole said, pointing to a narrow path beside the road, overgrown with thick bamboo trees.
A shiver ran down my spine as I hesitated, trying to appear nonchalant by checking my phone's map. But to my dismay, the network had vanished entirely.
Cole stood a few feet away, his arms crossed behind his back. "You'll have better internet access once we reach our destination," he said, his eyes seeming to gleam with knowledge.
I felt a surge of unease, wondering how he knew I'd lost my signal.
Just how many people has he brought here?
"Come with me," Cole said, already walking towards the pathway without checking if I was following.
As we reached the entrance, he dropped something on the ground and walked past it, expecting me to do the same. I hesitated, then stepped over the object, and suddenly found myself in a completely different environment.
I turned back to see a shimmering portal-like circle, revealing the car parked by the roadside we had left behind. But only for a few seconds. The object Cole had dropped – a pearl – flew back into his hand, and the portal disappeared.
I stood there, stunned, trying to process what had just happened.
"Miss..." Cole began, but I halted him with a warning finger.
"Stay away from me," I warned, trying to create some distance between us. Cole's expression changed to one of surprise, and I wasn't sure why.
He should be as shocked as I was. People can't do shit like this, unless some scientists have been able to tap into some voodoo that I haven't heard of.
And yet he looked at me like I was the crazy one. Well, he's the crazy one for acting calm.
I on the other hand tried to rack my brain on how we had vanished from the road to this breathtakingly beautiful environment.
As I slowly took in my surroundings, Cole interrupted my reverie. "I know you have questions, but we must hurry."
I turned to him, my words tumbling out in a rush. "What did you do? What kind of trick is this? How did you...?" But Cole was already walking away, descending a pathway that wound into the distance.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!" I yelled after him, frustration etched in my voice. Cole's only response was to tug his hand into his pocket, his pace never faltering.
What was I thinking, following a stranger into the unknown like a lost puppy? Clearly, I'd left my common sense in my other pocket.
A low, menacing growl in the distance snapped me out of my thoughts.
Maybe it was high time I chose the bear, I muttered to myself.
"That's not a bear," Cole let out still not breaking stride.
When the growl echoed around me again, but this time it felt close by, I snapped out of my stupidity, and I took off in a sprint, chasing after Cole. Because, priorities: don't get eaten.
We'd barely walked for two minutes before a sleek car pulled up, and Cole gallantly held the door open for me once again. I slid in reluctantly, wondering if all this chivalry was just a precursor before I get devoured.
Before I knew it, the car glided to a stop in front of a stunning villa, its grandeur making my unease grow.
Cole opened the door for me once more, his actions a stark contrast to his otherwise stoic demeanor. Despite his reserved nature, he moved with the quiet confidence of a gentleman.
He led me into the opulent mansion, but I didn't bother admiring the lavish decor, my mind preoccupied with the uncertainty of the situation. As we entered the living room, I noticed a man standing with his back to me.
As he turned to face me, our eyes locked, and mine widened in surprise. If my memories were correct, this was the same man I'd bumped into at the lounge. Unlike our previous encounter, when he'd looked stunned, he now appeared visibly annoyed, his nerdy glasses unable to soften his scowl.
Just then, the door swung open, and I turned to see who it was, only to be shocked again. My gaze settled on the man I'd seen in pink boxers, and my mind struggled to keep up with the unexpected connections.
