She didn’t wait and hurriedly scurried to a side of the living room. She turned around and found him coming after her with a predator look. It was the same look she witnessed when he was following her in the Emerald Hotel the first day. She didn’t know much about the house, and her survival instincts took her to a hallway. There were several doors there and one of them was the most huge one. She emptied one hand by pushing the potatoes in her mouth and opened the door. It seemed like a garden. Without a backward glance, she had stepped into it. Marwick's laughter filled the hallway as he saw where she was heading and followed her into the garden, enjoying the chase. River had taken off the slippers and was running bare feet on the soft grass, feeling the coolness under her feet. She glanced back to see Marwick gaining on her and giggled, picking up her pace. "This time you can't escape me, Bella!" he called after her, his voice filled with amusement. River turned to face him, a

As Marwick leaned in to kiss her, River's heart skipped a beat. It was a tender and unexpected gesture, leaving her momentarily breathless. Before she could fully process the sweetness of the moment, they heard Gerald's voice behind them. "I guess you should have told me this, silly," Gerald teased behind them, and River saw Marwick groan and close his eyes. It was clear that Marwick didn't have any plans for Gerald to find this. Maybe because Gerald was getting to know more than what Marwick intended to allow. She felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment as she pulled away from Marwick, trying to regain her composure. This was the second time today that Gerald caught them kissing red-handed. "Gerald, it's not what you think," she stammered, her voice betraying her own emotions. Gerald looked at Marwick, "Something fishy. Huh. What's going on here?" he asked, his tone playful. "Who are you, man?" he had a teasing grin on his face, and it was making Marwick more defensive. He sigh

River had to face disappointment because of Gerald’s call. She was about to have this romantic and intimate moment with Marwick until he gave him the idea to take her along. She finished the cold dinner with Marwick and stood up from her seat. “Won't you have more wine?” he offered her and tried to divert his gaze when she stretched up her arms and gave a good show of her belly button. “Nah. I am too excited to have anything,” she dropped her arms to her sides and offered him, her hand. “Excited about what?” “Going to Africa! Gerald just told you that we both should go there. And I also find it practical. It's so sweet of him for sending us there, together.” “Gerald is NOT sending you there, River. He just gave a suggestion!” “Oh, I see. Still!” she forced an overly cheerful grin, “We need to do a few preparations, Marw!” she said before pulling him up. Marw? Did she just call me… She was overly excited while walking to her room, holding his hand. “There is so much to do.” Sh

Marwick saw her walking ahead of him excitedly and he could not contain the smile. She seemed so excited and so full of life that he did not know how to control his desire for her. The worst thing was she already knew about it. She was aware he was keeping her at a distance. She had felt the burning desire when she was sitting on his lap. He had had his fair share of flings too. But the guilt after marrying her didn’t let him enjoy his life. His close ones kept telling him not to take it on his heart. But he couldn’t do it. Those azure eyes behind the veil kept haunting his nights. The little she-devil was taking advantage of him. She wanted his closeness, his touch. “F*uck!” he cursed under his breath. Just thinking of her was enough to make him hard. “Oh, good, God” he heard her voice laced with enthusiasm when they entered the villa his company had rented for them. “This is so beautiful!” she came to him running for a hug and all could Marwick do was wrap his arms around her.

River was in high spirits when she returned to the cottage. When she left home Jeff was on her tail but since they had returned River was holding Jeff as if they were old friends. Greta raised her brows when she saw them coming while laughing crazily. “You are funny,” Jeff said and picked up an apple from the kitchen island. “I need to go to Marwick and bring him down. He must be working in his room,” River said before stepping on the stairs but had to stop when she heard Greta. “Mr. Garner is out for some office work. He said to tell you specifically to have dinner without him,” As expected River felt disappointed. On the plane, he was so friendly and then after she requested him to take his hand up, he just chuckled in reaction and kissed her temple. Was he avoiding her? “Sure, Greta. Of course, he is here for work. We can’t expect him to waste his time here.” She didn’t let his absence get to her heart. They ordered a large meal, and she enjoyed Greta’s and Jeff’s company. T