Chapter Forty-three

Emery

''Thank you,'' I say before making my way out; bumping into Evelyn who has a cheeky smile on her face. The way she smiles, shows that she knows something.

''Came to delete the footage from last night?'' She grins.

My eyes meet her blue ones—rolling my eyes in annoyance as soon as I understand what she meant. Yet, she continues to tease me about it; laughing and poking onto the side of my waist, immediately making me push her hands away due to being ticklish.

''Hello to you too, sister.'' I walk away, purposely bumping onto her shoulder, earning myself another laugh from her; realising that she's going to keep on following me around for a few more minutes, teasing about last night—no regrets, though.

''At least you had fun last night, even after the event but hey, no worries. Your dirty secrets are safe with me,'' She continues to chuckle, slightly making my cheeks heat up in embarrassment as a few servants pass us.

''There are no dirty secrets, okay?'' I stop walking.

Evelyn flips her hair to the back, ''I told you, Emery. You should've talked about this with mother—getting your own place with Emma. Mother will understand that you need a little privacy with your wife, eh?'' She winks.

I use my index finger to push her head to the back, so that she'll actually leave me alone but no. She's still here, following me like a lost puppy. I don't even know how she found out about last night because we were being careful, but then again, she's everywhere. She might've passed down the hallway and heard everything but I don't care, honestly. Yet, she's got a point.

''You're in my way, Evelyn.'' I sigh, deeply.

''You need your own place. Period,'' She shrugs.

My eyes continue to look deeply into hers; wanting to seek for answers, ''Why are you so eager about me finding a place of my own? I have one in Melbourne and are you planning to take everything in my office? My stuff?'' I ask her, purposely saying it casually.

My eyebrows furrow, not understanding why she'll be moving out; there's nothing wrong at the palace. Why would she want to move out? What would mother think of it and how would mother react?

''Why are you moving out?'' I ask, eyebrows furrowed.

She crosses her arms, ''Once I get married, I'll be living with Andrea. Of course, I'll visit frequently,'' She replies, stating the obvious. She can't stay here once she has gotten married to Andrea; she'll have her own duties as a wife, probably as a duchess as well.

Then, that's when it hit me. Evelyn's right; privacy is all I need with Emma, since we're slowly together—we'll be able to actually act freely, when it's only the two of us. We don't have to worry about anyone else and that's what we both need. So, I have to thank Evelyn.

''You're kind of right. I'm going to ask mother about that, in fact, I'm going to ask her about that now,'' I grin at her which causes Evelyn to join me, following me as we both walk towards mother's office—knowing that she has a meeting at the moment but, eh.

Once I've reached her office, I push the door open, surprising the amount of people inside but I pay no attention as I smile widely, ''Mother, there's something that I have to ask and I hope that you can spare me a couple minutes?'' I ask, waiting for her respond.

She looks around, at the people surrounding her.

''Um, of course. Fire away,'' She smiles, back slightly.

''I'd like to ask if it's alright for Emma and I to go on our honeymoon? Actually, we're going on our honeymoon right now and if you'd allow me to do so, I'll go upstairs and pack our stuff,'' I speak, quite fast as Evelyn's mouth open wide beside—not really expecting me to ask about going on a honeymoon, she expected a house.

Everyone in the room keeps quiet, only turning to look at my mother; waiting for her to answer. The look on their faces show how they're asking for her to agree so that the meeting can go on while I leave for the trip.

''Where do you plan on going, Emery?'' She asks.

''Bali,'' I answer without hesitation, making her frown.

After a few seconds, she starts to clear her throat before answering my question—after fixing her glasses on the bridge of her nose, ''Alright, you may go.'' She says.

Just like that, everyone in the room starts to agree; letting out breaths of relief. I excuse myself after smirking at my sister, making my way out of the room and up the stairs—wanting to tell Emma.

Without further ado, I push the door open, startling the maids and Emma, herself as she looks at me in confusion and wanting to know what's gotten me this excited. She raises an eyebrow, ''Is everything alright?'' She asks.

''Yeah. Pack your bags because we're going to Bali,''

The maids stare at with wide eyes before quickly entering the walk-in closet, taking out Emma's luggage. I, on the other hand, continues to look at her; seeing that she's chuckling, her cheeks heating up, somehow.

''Why the sudden surprise?'' She asks, slowly.

''I want to spend time with you, alone,'' I answer.

All of a sudden, she has her arms wrapped around my neck as I place both of mine on her waist; smiling down at her as she does the same. The way her eyes are bright with happiness, it's making me happy.

''You have quite a lot on your mind,'' She smirks.

Emma head straight into the walk-in closet, helping the maids to choose her outfit; since, we're going to Bali, she will need a lot of appropriate outfits on the island.

Packing is easy but when it comes to unpacking, it's hard. I've never asked the maids to pack or unpack for me because I feel like, doing it myself. It's something that I'm capable of doing so—I'd rather do it myself.

''Arrange a flight to Bali tonight,'' I say to one of my mother's assistant, he would always arrange these kind of things; just like how he arranged one when Emma and I went to Greece, so far, he planned it well.

''As you say, Your Highness.'' He nods, walking down.

''Right. Now to pack my bags,'' I mutter to myself before choosing different clothes, from different colours and brand but mostly casual clothes—easy enough for me to change. We'll be going on our honeymoon, it'll be better simple especially when we're going to Bali, Indonesia.

Once I'm done packing, I have my luggages being brought downstairs by my mother's assistant as I take my passport, my wallet and my phone—not wanting to leave anything important or it'll ruin this trip. I want it to be almost perfect so that it'll be memorable enough for both of us.

I've booked a one-bedroom villa at the Alila Villas.

Uluwatu, Bali. That's our destination.

I turn to see Emma walking down the stairs in her pair of skinny jeans and loose blouse; she looks comfortable. She has a scarf wrapped around her neck, incase she gets cold while we're on our way to Bali. It's a long flight, almost like going to the other side of the world, which is true.

''You ready, love?'' I ask, smiling and she nods.

Evelyn and mother are busy kissing us goodbye, saying for us to have lots of fun there and a safe trip. We'll be able to have fun, alright. That's a confirmation. I want this trip to be for the two of us, since we're sure about our feelings, there's no need in holding back from love.

We are free to act as lovers because we've confessed.

There's no turning back or saying no to one another because we love each other—this honeymoon, our second honeymoon, in Bali, is about trying to experience it all. No more holding back or trying to accept. We've come to accept so it's time for us to be free.

We might not have the privacy like others but we'll be able to make one; a private life or our own. No securities or cameras or even reporters getting in our way because this whole week is our week, we want it to be cherished.

I love my wife more than I love myself and that's not just crap saying because that's a true fact. I've never come to actually realise that I've finally loved someone more than I could ever expect because I've never wanted anything too serious in my life yet now I want it to stay and always be mine, she will always be mine.

Bali, Bali, here we come.

And we're here.

Couples tend to go on vacations or honeymoons here. They say that they bond well; in a place like this. Where they're far from anyone else and just close to one another.

''Welcome to Bali,'' The receptionist says as she welcomes Emma and I, the others immediately help with our bags as we enter the villa—we're both mesmerised by the beauty of the villa and by the view, it's absolutely beautiful.

''This is the villa that you've requested,'' She says.

''It's beautiful,'' I reply, thanking her and she smiles.

''Enjoy your stay!'' She says before exiting the room, leaving Emma and I all by ourselves to watch the view, the beauty. I continue to look at her as I put down the bags that I have been carrying, seeing that she's on her way to the glass windows—mesmerised by the exact view.

She lets out a breath of relief at the sunset.

I, lean the side of my body against the wall as I look up at the sky—wanting to see the worth of Bali. We will spend a whole week here and I don't want to miss a single thing. I'd want to remember everything and go through it all.

''I'm glad we're here,'' She mutters under her breath, ''I've never thought that I'd be here in Bali with anyone, really. Not even with myself,'' She chuckles, slightly.

My lips curve up into a smile, ''How come?''

''No reason.'' She replies before staying quiet.

Just like that, I peck onto the side of her cheek before entering the bedroom; taking my clothes off, getting into the bathroom to take a shower. After an extremely long flight, it'd be best to take a nice hot shower. It'd be better if I'd take a bath but I just want a quick sensation.

I look at myself in the mirror once I'm done, seeing that my cheeks are a little bit red due to the warmth. As I step out of the bathroom, I head straight towards where Emma was standing before I took a shower to find that she's no longer there nor is she in the bedroom.

I turn to see that she's at the private cabana, sitting in her pair of bikini—watching the night sky. There are lanterns surrounding the cabana which naturally makes her look beautiful without her even realising.

Without further ado, I immediately change into a pair of shorts and shirt before heading outside, straight towards her

Without further ado, I immediately change into a pair of shorts and shirt before heading outside, straight towards her. She turns to look at me with a smile on her face; instantly leaving me smiling back at her.

Her eyes are looking straight into mine as I sit near her, face to face, so that it'll be easier for us to actually just talk and have a proper conversation because I don't know how long I'll last only talking if I sit next to her.

''Feel better?'' She raises an eyebrow, playing with the tips of her fingers as she continues to look at me.

I smile, ''A lot better honestly,''

''I can tell just by the look on your face,'' She replies, ''I took a swim earlier while you were showering but then I realised that I could just sit here for hours without feeling bored,'' She mutters under her breath, her voice sounded sincere as she looks at the sky—showing how she meant it.

Then, she looks down at me, ''Thank you, Emery.''

My eyebrows furrow, ''For what, love?''

''For bringing me here. I'm glad that it crossed your mind. I needed to be somewhere else—to escape the pain. Maybe, just a few days off of reality and being happy, I'd be able to recover. So, thank you,'' She smiles, her eyes shining.

I'd take her anywhere in the world if she wants me to. It doesn't matter if it's in Southeast Asia or even the Middle East because I'll take her there—as long as she'll be happy, sincerely happy, then I'd do it all for her.

''Anything for you,'' I mutter with a smile.

We keep quiet for a few seconds before she begins to break the silence by clearing her throat and starting another conversation, ''Since we're here, just by ourselves, I think it's best if we get to know each other more. We can count this as a date; where we are on a vacation,'' She says.

''Of course.'' I nod, in agreement.

She continues to look at me; more like staring.

''When was your first time?'' She asks, making me furrow my eyebrows in confusion; not really understanding her question. Yes, there are a lot of first times that I have experienced so, she has to be more specific.

''My first time what?'' I raise an eyebrow at her.

She smirks, ''Okay, I'll just be straightforward with you. When did you lose your virginity?'' She asks.

This time, I am left chuckling. Not by the way that she is extremely comfortable about this but by the fact that she wants to know when I lost my virginity. Not really a fun story to tell my grandkids but sure, maybe one day.

''Wow, where to start?'' I joke which causes both of us to laugh, it seems that we're finding this as funny, ''Well, it's not really an interesting story, let me be honest with you. When I lost my virginity, I wasn't young nor was I old but I'd lost it when I was eighteen, in Australia,'' I mutter.

Her eyes widen, ''In Australia?''

I nod, ''Well, during my teenage years, I was mostly with a bodyguard, almost all of the time. So, there wasn't really a chance for me to sneak around and have sex,'' I smirk and I see that she's enjoying about this, ''But, hey, it was okay,''

''You lost your virginity to a foreigner?'' She chuckles.

''She was a girl I met on campus,'' I shrug, smiling.

''So, she knew that you were a virgin? Was she older?'' Emma continues to ask. Actually, I don't really mind telling her this because she's my wife and we have to know almost everything about each other; wait, there's no almost. It has to be everything, we'll be spending our lives together.

I try to recall back the memory, ''Yes. She knew that I was a virgin and yes, she was older than me. She taught me things that I never thought I'd knew and you should really thank her because if it wasn't for her, I'd be lame,'' I joke.

''Oh come on, what about your friends?'' She asks.

''Eh, they talk about sex all the time. I guess that's when I had realise that I was actually only looking to sleep with someone because I didn't want a serious relationship. That was when I met Hannah and the rest is history,'' I shrug, not really wanting to continue the topic about Hannah.

Emma nods, only looking down at her hands.

''What about you? When did you lose yours?'' I ask.

''When I was in high school. I was probably seventeen. Remember when I told you that I had a boyfriend? Well, he was my first. I wasn't his first, obviously but hey, he was kind of a good guy, he was alright,'' She replies, ''Since we were dating, it became like a normal thing for us,''

''Yeah, lucky him then,'' I roll my eyes in annoyance.

Actually, just pretending to be annoyed. Whatever happened and whatever that we had gone through when we were younger, before we met, it's all history. I know that. Yes, we had slept and been with different people, but that was before we met, before our marriage.

All of a sudden, I find her nearing me as she sits on my lap, her arms around my waist before looking deeply into my eyes—her lips are seductively curving up.

''What matters most is that I'm all yours now,'' She says.

My lips immediately curve up into a smile as I place both of my hands on her waist—feeling her skin due to her wearing a bikini, exposable enough.

''And I'm all yours, too,'' I breathe out.

She leans in to kiss my lips, softly and passionately.