Chapter 16 - Honeymoon (Part 2)

Angeline was mesmerized by the sight that was unfolding before her eyes. The blue sea as far as the eye can see, the birds flying above the sea looking for prey, and the small clouds scattered in the sky side by side with the sun sitting on the throne showing off its bright light.

The little boat they took to get to the island didn't even look like anything interesting at all.

Angeline was a little startled when David suddenly hugged her from behind. David did have a habit of interrupting Angeline's daydreams by wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

David kissed Angeline on the cheek gently from the side and rested his chin on her left shoulder.

"You like the view?"

Angeline nodded, making David smile with satisfaction.

"I just wanted to say that breakfast is ready." said David, making Angeline sigh softly. "What's wrong?"

Angeline turned to face David and put her elbow on David's shoulder, put her arm around David's neck and grabbed David's back hair slowly. "Next time let me prepare the food."

David briefly kissed Angeline on the lips. "Are you starting to dislike my cooking?"

Angeline shook her head slowly. "It's not like that. After all I am a wife, the wife should prepare food for the husband."

"Is there really a rule like that?"

"Not really, just a people's habit, maybe." replied Angeline, which sounded like a random answer.

"So, I have been forbidden to prepare food from now on?"

"Gosh, David, don't keep the conversation going. Anyway, let me prepare the food next time." replied Angeline. Angeline's expression made David want to tease her even more.

David brought his face closer to Angeline but his lips were held back by Angeline's index finger. "The food you prepared will start getting cold if we start kissing now."

"I can reheat it." replied David who brought his face back, but once again his attempt was thwarted by Angeline.

"But I'm starving."

Seeing his wife whining like that made David feel discouraged.

David exhaled heavily and chose to smile. In the end, David just kissed Angeline on the forehead and pulled her hand toward the dining table.

Angeline sat in front of a bowl of asparagus soup with a few slices of meat on top.

"What's this meat?" said Angeline after trying one full bite. Seeing Angeline eat it first before asking made David understand, the girl seemed really hungry.

"Duck. But I boiled it long enough in a pressure cooker to make it more tender."

Angeline nodded. Actually, she didn't know what a pressure cooker was. All she knew was that all the pots were used the same; to boil water and heat the soup.

"Don't tell me that you got this duck meat while hunting while I was sleeping."

David laughed, "Maybe I would say if you hadn't looked into the fridge yesterday."

"Oh, so it's duck meat? I thought some kind of expensive chicken."

Now David's laughter was getting more and more unbearable, making Angeline purse her lips. "Is my question that funny?"

"You can't tell which is chicken and which is duck, how am I going to let you prepare the meal later?"

"Hey, don't underestimate me, I often see my aunt cooking in the kitchen. My aunt is the greatest chef in the world, you know?"

David nodded slowly as he chewed the asparagus. "If your aunt is that great, maybe I will hire her at the Stockholm Corporation cafeteria to replace that Chef Juna from Indonesia."

"Of course, my aunt is peerless."

David smiled at Angeline's expression as she boasted of her aunt, making Angeline frown. "Why are you looking at me like that? Can't believe it?"

David shook his head. "No, I believe. Finish your meal, after this I will take you to somewhere."

"Looks like I'll just stay here." rejected Angeline quickly. This time it was David who frowned. "I don't want to bother you by carrying me every time I'm tired of walking."

"All right, then we'll just stay here."

"Sorry." said Angeline with a look of guilt. David only smiled sweetly back, making Angeline feel even worse.

But on the one hand, Angeline feels lucky to have a super caring husband like David.

In the end, they spent the whole day chatting. David sat back on the head of the bed reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles while Angeline lay back with David's thigh as a pillow and tilted her iPad to watch the fifth episode of Descencendants of the Sun, some kind of Korean dramas.

David finished reading the two chapters of his novel, slipped a bookmark on the last page he was reading and put the novel on the nearest table, while Angeline was still focused on her Korean drama.

Every now and then David gently stroked Angeline's head, she really didn't like to be disturbed when she was watching something.

Angeline finally took off her headset and put the iPad she had been using for watching dramas next to her and then looked up at David who was smiling at her. "Tired of waiting for me?"

David brushed Angeline's hair, "How many times do I have to say that I never get tired of everything about you."

"You have nothing to say?" Angeline asked, making David curious.

"What do you want to hear?" David replied with another question. Angeline got up from her sleeping position and sat right in front of David.

The look in Angeline's eyes made David realize that there was some doubt there.

"Say, what do you wanna ask?"

"Actually ..." Angeline stared at the stitch marks that were far from neat, all over David's body. Obviously not the work of a surgeon. "Where did you get these stitches?"

"I sewed it myself."

Angeline was silent, her sad eyes made David smile faintly. Maybe it's time for Angeline to find out who he really is. "Don't you want to know why I stitched up these wounds myself instead of going to the hospital?"

"I promised not to ask about your past, unless you tell it yourself."

David smiled sweetly. "Come here."

Angeline approached and now the girl was leaning sideways on David's chest. David kissed Angeline on the head to calm her down a little.

"I lost my family since I was eight years old as a result of the civil war that occurred during that time. My parents died and my older brother was taken by a secret government organization to train to volunteer for war. And since that day I have had to live depending on myself."

David stroked Angeline's head lightly, which was still resting on his chest. "I did whatever an eight year old could do to stay alive. Fighting over leftovers with people much bigger than me, stealing anything I could steal at the risk of losing my life at any time."

"Until finally I was adopted by someone. He was ... the most feared mafia at that time."

Hearing this made Angeline open her eyes very wide.

"His name is Hendrick Brasco, someone who is very cruel, but very loyal to his friends. And since then, I walked a very dark and bloody path."

Angeline didn't dare to interrupt. Hearing the word 'mafia' made Angeline tremble, the girl was caught in the midst of fear, but David's being too kind to her now made the fear lessen.

"At the age of twelve I received my first mission, which was to kill a conglomerate. A fat man who likes to **** underage boys. I cut his neck with a small knife just as he wanted to **** me."

Angeline swallowed hard. She couldn't imagine what David was saying. Too terrible.

"And this is my first wound," David pointed out the stitch marks that were near his left wrist. "I got this from the wife of someone who I took his life for betraying Hendrick Brasco. She swung a kitchen knife which I failed to anticipate. As a result, my flesh was torn, almost hitting the bone. And that's the first time I was taught how to sew a wound myself."

"Most of the wounds I received were from bullets, because I'm quite good at close combat so I rarely get hurt because of that even though I have to fight ten people at once."

Angeline was still listening to everything David said. The girl was speechless, didn't know what to say.

David goes on to tell about how he spent his teenage years covered in bullets and blood. All the sad and scary stories make Angeline feel confused. Earlier she was terrified, then she felt sad about what her husband had to go through.

"Everything felt so dark. For years I felt like an undead, walking on dark roads without knowing where I was going. Until I finally found a light ..."

David stopped his story, instructed Angeline to get up and look back at her. Still haunted by fear and pity, Angeline looked back into her husband's eyes. The look in David's eyes somehow made Angeline's fear disappear. Only a sense of comfort is felt.

"A light that makes me feel no longer alone on this dark road. And that is you. You are the only light that makes me have a purpose in life again. When I really lost my way, you came and changed my way of looking at this disgusting wolrd."

David stroked Angeline's head gently and smiled. "You are my light, Angeline. And I swear, no matter how many bullets there are in my body, as long as I can breathe, this breath will protect you."

Angeline could not hold back her tears. David did not stop her, because it was clear that they were not tears that represented pain. "Why me?"

David did not answer her, he just kept smiling at Angeline, the only woman who became the light of his life.

Angeline, the woman he loves.