Day Twelve…
~~*****~~
Veronica was surprised at how Nathan reacted. This was not what she expected to see from him. Instead of impressing him, she pissed him off further.
'Why is he getting worked up?' Veronica thought to herself, biting her lower lip. She almost teared up from disappointment.
She didn't know what she did wrong. Nathan became so grumpy for no reason.
With her misty eyes, Veronica grabbed her halter dress and put it back on. She didn't want to anger Nathan.
Meanwhile, Nathan fell silent for a moment when he noticed the hurt expression on Veronica's face. He overreacted a while ago. He was thinking about Abigail when he suddenly burst out, yelling at Veronica to wear her clothes.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you," Nathan apologized with his neutral tone. He was still being considerate of Veronica because she was Monica's sister.
In fact, because of her connection with Monica, Veronica was confident that she would win Nathan over. She thought that she had a great advantage because she was Monica's sister and they had strong similarities and resemblances to each other.
But unknown to her, Nathan would never choose her because she was Monica's sister. He didn't want to betray Monica by getting romantically involved with Veronica. He would never do that to her. This only meant Veronica was expecting the opposite.
Veronica just smiled faintly when Nathan apologized to her. At least, she was consoled as Nathan toned down a little bit. She also felt touched since Nathan said that he didn't mean to yell at her.
"It's fine, Nate. Let's continue eating," Veronica said, trying to ease the awkwardness.
Nathan just simply nodded his head. But his brows were still drawn together as he scolded himself inwardly. He was not supposed to think about Abigail but she kept on popping up in his mind.
The two just continued eating silently. Nathan only tasted a few rolls of gimbap. He already lost his appetite. In the end, they didn't finish all the food.
"Nate, let's walk and tour around the beachfront," Veronica invited him.
Nathan hesitated for a moment. His clothes didn't fit for this 'walk on the beach'. But seeing her pleading eyes, Nathan agreed to follow her.
Veronica smiled inwardly when Nathan followed her. She felt happy sharing this little moment with him. Veronica had the urge to hold Nathan's hand but she didn't have the right to do that.
'Someday… I will walk here with our entangled hands.' Veronica thought to herself.
The two explored the beach front and reached the spot with crowded people. Veronica felt proud when some people glanced at them with admiration. She assumed that people were thinking that she and Nathan were a couple.
"Let's take a rest first." Veronica tugged Nathan's sleeve, motioning him to sit down on the sand. They were under the coconut tree. The tree served as their shade.
Since Nathan didn't feel like walking any further, he sat down next to Veronica, his eyes scanning the beachfront.
They had been there for just an hour but he was already bored. He wanted to go back to the hotel. He was not enjoying this.
When he was about to tell Veronica that he would like to leave, his eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar figure from a distance. Nathan strained his eyes into the distance where he spotted someone's familiar.
Nathan blinked, trying to concentrate on the person who was inching closer and closer to them.
Nathan sucked his teeth and cussed under his breath. 'Damn. Why am I seeing Abigail here?'
Nathan thought that the person was just the result of his imagination. There was no way Abigail would be there in Country F. She was currently enjoying the company of Stephen and Kathleen somewhere in Country M.
He couldn't understand why he kept seeing Abigail. Was this an illusion or a daydream? Nathan stood up and focused his eyes desperately on the person who looked exactly like Abigail.
The crease on his forehead deepened when a pair of emerald eyes met his blue eyes. Then his heart suddenly skipped a beat when the woman flashed her charming smile as she waved at him.
Nathan blinked, still trying to figure out that his eyes were not fooling him. He even closed his eyes and shook his head, erasing Abigail in his mind.
Veronica just looked up at him with puzzlement. "Nathan?" She called his attention. "Are you okay? Is there something wrong?"
Nathan didn't respond. When he opened his eyes, Abigail's figure was still visible in his view. Nathan clenched his fists, feeling annoyed. He felt like Abigail was driving him nuts.
Meanwhile, Veronica also stood up and followed Nathan's line of sight. Her eyes widened as soon as she recognized the person who was walking towards them.
She was wearing a white cropped button-down shirt, halter black bikini top, and denim mini skirt partnered with sandals. She used a scarf as her headband.
"Abigail? What is she doing here?!" Veronica blurted out in annoyance. She was not able to control her voice so Nathan heard her.
Nathan turned to Veronica with a baffled expression. Did he hear it right? Veronica mentioned Abigail's name! Did it mean… she was also seeing Abigail right now?
After looking at Veronica's face, Nathan shifted his gaze back to Abigail. He was stupefied as he realized that he was not imagining things. Abigail was there!
Badum! Badum! Badum!
Nathan felt like his heart began to run wild inside his chest. It raced even faster as Abigail was inching closer and closer to them.
'Why is she here? I thought she was with Kathleen and Stephen?' Nathan still couldn't believe it. He stood frozen in his spot and it seemed that the things in his surroundings were in slow motion.
The woman in his mind since yesterday suddenly appeared in front of him!
After a few seconds, Nathan's feet reflexively moved on their own accord to meet Abigail halfway. He just found himself walking toward her.
With just three large strides, Nathan closed the gaps between them. He was now standing in front of Abigail. He was not able to conceal his emotion. The surprised look was still written all over his face.
Thud!
Abigail hit Nathan's chest as soon as they got closer. That punch snapped Nathan out of his baffled state.
"How dare you leave me in that hotel without saying a word?" Abigail confronted him right away. The smile on her face already disappeared. She pouted her lips and crumpled her face as she looked straight into his eyes, asking for his explanation.
Nathan opened his mouth only to close it again. He didn't know what to say. He also felt guilty for leaving her alone. It was too late for him to realize his mistake.
"Hey, Nathan Sparks… tell me honestly. Did something happen between us that night? Did we have sex?" Abigail was very outspoken and straightforward, making Nathan speechless.
His jaw dropped and he gazed at her with complicated emotions on his face. He didn't know how to answer that. Of course, something did happen to them, however, the two of them didn't go all the way because Abigail fell asleep.
'Fuck! I'm the only one who can remember what happened between us.' Nathan didn't know whether he should feel glad or disappointed about this.
"Did you spike my drink?!" Abigail added, although she already knew that Nathan made her drink a truth serum. Thanks to Bam-Bam's information. But Abigail still wanted to scold that naughty fluffy winged creature. He should have warned her first to prevent Nathan from making her drink that serum! But he didn't do it!
Nathan remained silent. And for the first time, Abigail saw him getting flustered like this.
'Damn. Why does he look so cute and charming? Is he blushing or this is the effect of sunrays to his skin?' Abigail chewed on her lower lip. She had to urge to pinch Nathan's cheeks.
"I–" Nathan stuttered a little so he cleared his throat before continuing his words. "Cough! Cough!"
"Nothing happened between us," Nathan declared, but he looked down, avoiding her eyes.
"Are you sure?" Abigail was still not convinced as she eyed him suspiciously. She raised her eyebrow.
"Why are you here?" Nathan asked her a question instead of answering her. He tried to maintain his composure and hide his guilty look.
"To see you!" Abigail promptly responded with her nonchalant voice.
Nathan: "..."
Badum! Badum!
Nathan was at a loss for words. He could feel the drumming of his heart. For some unknown reason, his grumpy mood dissipated into thin air the moment he saw Abigail. And her words surprisingly had started to affect his emotions.
Then a certain memory flashed back in his mind.
[ "You are so handsome. I wanna kiss you." ]
Now that Abigail was standing in front of him, Nathan couldn't stop himself from recalling the passionate kiss they shared together.