Chapter 180 - Crushing

Karmina stood, feeling a little dizzy from the wine that she drank. 

"Come on, you only drank a little." Alex told her. 

"Alex, I still have to take care of breakfast tomorrow. You two should enjoy it, okay?" Karmina left Gena and Alex. She felt so dizzy that she felt warm hands holding her. 

She just felt light headed but she made it to her room, and crawled to her bed. 

"I shouldn't drink." Karmina mumbled. She closed her eyes and started dreaming. "Henry…" she mumbled as she dreamed of Henry, her deceased husband. 

She was also drunk and in the same room, her husband undressed her, wiped her sweat off with a clean damp towel and dressed her up in comfortable clothes. She felt his kiss on her forehead and his love. She would try to wake herself up to give herself to him but he promised that it'll be tomorrow. She would wait for him until he's done washing up and sleep beside her. 

She woke up and her head felt like it was breaking and her stomach didn't feel right at all. 

"Henry," She called and grabbed this man's arm that smelled like her husband. 

"Shh," The man hushed and kissed her lips. "It's alright my dear." 

"Henry," She called again and started sobbing. "Is that you?" 

"Everything will be better." 

She thought that it was real but turned out to be a dream. Karmina opened her eyes and stared out the window. She looked around and it looked like their normal old room. The first thing she sees is their family picture frame. She and Henry. Then, there were also single photos of Harvey when he was young and there's also the adorable Johanna when she was a teenager. She sat up and found water at the side table. She reached it and sipped on it. 

She looked down at her clothes, it's the same clothes that she wore last night. She thought that her husband was alive. Like the usual thing that he does for her when she gets drunk. But it seemed like it was just a dream. Maybe she's desperate to have her husband alive. She still hopes that he's still alive. Her son turned out to be alive and then, there's also her brother-in-law who turned out to be alive and was protecting them all this time. It's not bad to believe and hope that her husband might be alive. 

A soft knock on the door interrupted her. She rubbed her eyes and went to the door. Alex has a tray of water, medicine and soup. 

"Hey, you sleep well." He smiled. "So, Gena and I cooked breakfast with our Chef." 

She smiled and reached the tray. 

"Thank you, Alex. I'll be down a little bit." 

"Don't worry about it. The chef already prepared half of the breakfast for everyone. We know that they might probably have brunch." 

"Okay," She nodded and put the tray on the table. 

"May I come in?" He asked. 

"Sure," 

He looked around and found a photo frame of her husband with her children. He knew that she missed him and they are still searching for Henry's body. There could be a possibility that he might be alive. 

"Is there a report about Henry?" Karmina asked as Alex went to the balcony and opened it. 

"I got no report. However, we found out that Jeremy Cha was working under the Charles Empire." 

"I'll kill that bastard soon." Karmina grumbled. Alex doesn't know what else Karmina could do but she will surely do it. "Why Charles' Empire?" She asked. 

"I'm sorry, Mina." Alex turned to her. "This might be because of Alessandro. Starting when our children were consistently together, Henry's company started getting problems. This is also a threat from Wendy's family. Her father was spoiling her, that's why." 

"It's not Alessandro's fault." Karmina said as she opened the foil of the hangover pill and drank it. "It's because of Wendy Charles. We should stop pointing it all to Alessandro. He's innocent. He's just unlucky to meet that psycho."

Alex stared at Karmina for a long time. He felt sorry about their family. He was partially responsible for what happened because of her son. 

"Mina," He called. 

She sipped on the water that he brought and looked up at him. 

"I~~I love you." 

Karmina thought that it was in a friendly way. 

"I know that I shouldn't say this. But, I liked you a lot." 

"Well, you are just confused." Karmina said. "We can't fall in love with each other, Alex. I thought you already liked Gena?" 

"Gena?" He creased his brows and chuckled. "No. She's entirely a friend." 

"Well, I can't fall in love unless it's my husband. I have responsibilities as a mother to my children." 

"Yes, you do. But give yourself a little break. Your children are already adults and few of them could kill." He approached her and kissed her forehead. "I want you to always be happy." 

He then left the room, leaving Karmina confused. She also liked Alex, but not in love. She looked down at the hot soup. 

<><><><> 

She never thought that he would wake her up early just to run. She's not good with any cardio but seeing how Ian sweat a lot and topless made her want to look at it more. The time that they reached their cottage, their breakfast was already settled by the personal chef of the family. Lots of fatty foods. Her mouth watered seeing meat again. She gasped when he smacked her butt. 

"You are doing well." He chuckled and dragged her to the bathroom. The couple make love under the shower. That's when Tracey felt that she's completely drained and hungry. 

She only put a robe on and went to the terrace to eat with him. She started putting fresh seafood and more rice on her plate. She eats slowly to digest it fast. He was also eating and feeding her more with more seafood and meats. 

"You are getting plumper." He said and admired her cleavage. She glared at him and kicked him under the table. 

While they were busy eating, a man came up with them wearing a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ian asked coldly. 

"Well, boss, send me here. He said that you can take a break so I could protect Miss Tracey." 

"That asshole! I told him that I'll take care of it." Ian grumbled with those furious eyes. 

"Okay," Chameleon raised his hands. "And my boss's sister hates you, still." 

Ian looked at the main house where his niece was spying them with binoculars. 

"Tell her that I hate her too." 

"Hey, come on! Just let it go, man." Leon said calmly. 

"We are having our breakfast, leave now." He commanded. Chameleon sighed and waved at them. Then, he winked at Tracey and left. 

"What was that?" Tracey asked. 

"Nothing." 

"That doesn't look like nothing." She said and eyed the handsome man. 

"Well, my niece wanted him to protect you instead." 

"Oh," She wasn't shocked at all as she took the crab stick and licked the sauce then bit it. "What's stopping you?" 

"I am afraid that you are going to fuck him too." 

She stopped eating, as she felt like she'd been called a slut right there. She bit her lip hard, as she felt those painful knots on her stomach and that heavy feeling on her chest. That's when Ian noticed that he said it wrong. 

"That guy is a playboy~~" He tried to explain. 

"I know that." She grumbled and sipped on her drink. She stood and left. 

"Tracey!" Ian called and quickly followed her. Last thing he knows is that she's tearing and she went directly to the bathroom. "Tracey, it's not what I mean. I just~~I just want you for myself." He exhaled and went to the drawer to take the key. He unlocked and watched her washing her face. He reached her waist and hugged it. "I'm sorry. I really~~it's not what I meant." 

She sniffled and wiped her face. 

"Let's go back and eat." 

"Go and eat." She mumbled. "You should also stop following me around. I can take care of myself from here." 

"Oh, baby. Don't say that." He said softly. "I said I'm sorry and I really mean it." 

She sniffled and turned to him then she punched his chest. 

"Stop saying you are sorry!" She hissed at him. 

"Hey, I was just pissed off. I didn't mean it that way. I only want you for myself! That's why I said it. I shouldn't care on who you fuck or you want to fuck! But I do now!" 

She started sobbing and kept punching his chest. He lifted her and carried her like a baby. Her legs wrapped around him and so was her arms. 

"Baby, stop crying now." He mumbled and stroked her back. He was stupid for saying words. He was still that insensitive man who lost his first love. Now, he doesn't want this girl to hate him. He just cares so much. 

Once she's done crying, he takes her back to the table on the terrace and feeds her. She still forced herself to eat a little and one thing to coax her is to say good things. 

"I'm sorry." He said again and kissed her cheeks. "I'm yours now. Okay?" He's gambling his life, his body and his heart for this girl. He didn't care about ego or pride now. Seeing her cry because of him made him feel guilty and a bad guy. "I'll take you out for a bazaar near here. Do you like that?" 

She nodded and received more kisses from him.