Chapter 7：In His Arms

With him around, sleep eluded from her. The heavy rain was deafening enough, but her heartbeats were even louder. The man in her secret dreams was sleeping beside her! Why was he there? Could he have noticed she was gone and came over to look for her? This thought gave her a thrill. It couldn't be!

She was just a nobody while the rest were all successful in their carrier. And there was her best friend before that he would soon take into the altar of matrimony.

The word best friend stung her heart. It contained a poison that benumbed all its compartments. Whether she liked it or not, sooner or later, she would allow it an induced death. She could not go on loving him. She could not go on loving someone who was, in the first place, never hers. Her heart could not go on beating for someone whose own heart beat for no other than her best friend. Of all the people in the world, why would it be her best friend? And not her?

Yes, this was only a dream. When Anthon would wake up later, he would surely despise her for just who she was.

She was too inferior to understand that it was not about one's achievement that would draw a man's heart close to her. His eyes were on her ten years ago. Not, perhaps in her outward traits, but in the inner charms that define the core of being herself.

Anthon was just observing her while they were chatting in the cottage. He joined enthusiastically in the conversation and shared his own story while sipping through the wine cocktail the group was preparing. Jay's husband was there as well as Liz' s. They were all so caught up with the excitement of their conversation that no one else had seen the discreet exchanges of glances between Anthon and Jia. Jia was silent all throughout their talk, rarely giving her share of ideas. Her smiles were constant and gentle, but her eyes were deep and unreadable.

These were something about her that Anthon was curious about. Those were the mysteries he found in her. In every word that came out of her lips held wisdom, and every idea she rarely commend emitted intelligence. She moved gracefully and naturally, concealing all the craziness she did in her life.

Anthon understood her boredom when she left, and he knew she would rather immerse, instead, in the beauty of solitude somewhere in this beautiful haven. When everyone else got sleepy and returned to their respective cottages, Anthon turned to look for her. He missed this woman so badly but somehow felt she was too good for him. He felt she was far too intelligent that he had no right to cast a special affection for her. He dated with other women and got into different relationships but, somehow, none of them filled the missing pieces he only found in her. Not until that day, when he saw her again after many years, did he realized how drawn he was to her. And how much had he longed for her.

If telepathy was a real thing, then it could explain why he was able to find her soon. She was already asleep when he saw her inside the tent. She set it up inside a kiosk where the entrance was facing the horizon and overlooking the dazzling city below. The door was opened wide, so he sat down beside her, hoping she would wake up later. But with too much wine in his system, sleep overtook him and was soon fast asleep beside her.

Jia, on the other hand, was watching him firmly in the dark. She never anticipated this would happen. Her thoughts went wild that she imagined herself lying snugly in his arms.

In the next moment, he moved. She thought he would now wake up but he moved instead to his side and subconsciously placed an arm around her waist.

Horrified, she held her breath and did not move. She could almost hear her racing heartbeats. But then the warmth and the sense of security to be in his embrace brought her a sense of thrill and fascination. The pleasure of a dream fulfilled lured him into yielding.

Slowly, she allowed herself to enjoy these fleeting moments and decided to indulge herself in his warmth until she drifted back to sleep. Perhaps, it was the most beautiful sleep she ever had.