How's the story so far, Amores?

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SABINA's POV

I kept on tossing and turning on my bed, couldn't sleep at all. Even though I've been trying since a while ago, I just couldn't. My mind was still active, full of what happened earlier today; not the bad news that my mother told me but about Xzavier.

"For goodness' sake, Sab, you should sleep now! It's getting late already!" I reprimanded myself like silly and closed my eyes to try to sleep but it was futile. I sighed in defeat and then opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling.

"What's happening to you, Sab?" I bit my lower lip as the events at the waterfalls earlier today replayed in my head once more...

"Oh, God. I think, let's just go back. The guards might catch us. I don't want you to get in trouble, especially that you're not one of us." I couldn't hide my fear.

"Just trust me, Ina. There's no guards here, I assure you that."

"How come you sound so sure? I live near this place but I don't even know if there are any guards lurking around this area."

He chuckled. "That's because you've never been there."

"And what about you? Have you been there?"

"Of course. That's why I know that there are no guards there." I chewed on my bottom lip and looked at our intertwined hands. It was my first time holding a man's hand and it felt totally different compared to a woman's hand for some reason. He felt so strong yet his touch was full of gentleness.

We continued on trekking for a couple of minutes more before we finally arrived.

"Welcome to paradise!" I got pulled out of my trance-like state when I heard his voice. I looked around and gasped in awe. I've never thought that this place would be this beautiful. Well, I already knew that it was beautiful just by looking at it from up there but seeing its beauty in eye level was different.

The water cascading down from the majestic waterfalls looked magnificent and was as clear as day. There were many wild flowers around and they were breathtaking. The chirping of the birds combined with the sound of the gentle breeze of the air and the waterfalls was so relaxing.

"Wow! This is beautiful, Xzav..."

His forehead crinkled. "Xzav?"

"I mean, Xzavier." I corrected. I didn't know what came over me for calling him that. To my surprise, he smiled.

"I like the sound of it. You should call me that from now on." Before I could answer, he pulled me by the hand and led me towards the water.

"Let's swim?" He asked as he let go of my hand and started taking his shirt off.

"I don't have any change of clothes." Just like the first time I ever gazed at his masculine body; a sudden scorching heat surged within me, leading me to temptation.

"Hmmm...Too bad. The water temperature is just right and it feels good to the skin." He threw his shirt to top of the big rock nearby before pulling his shorts down and did the same thing to it. I bit my lower lip as my body started feeling hot all over.

After reading the black book, I already knew that I shouldn't stare at him right now but my traitorous eyes felt like they have a life of their own.

God! He's really a well-built man and I couldn't stop myself from gawking at him. Then, my cheeks instantly went red when I noticed something down there. Is that what they call erection? Oh, my. I didn't expect it to be this big...

I couldn't describe what I was feeling. I suddenly felt thirsty and hotter than a while ago.

"You're doing it again, Ina." His voice sounded husky.

I blinked innumerably. "H-Huh?"

"I said, you're doing it again."

"Doing what?" I queried innocently.

"Staring at me like that. You did the same when we first met and the effect on me is still the same. You're giving me a hard time, Ina."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I admitted with a small voice. He closed the gap between us and then gently touched my cheek.

"You're so innocent. Normally, I dislike innocent women but you're different for a reason I can't comprehend. You're too innocent and I'm afraid that I might tarnish that innocence if I continued on being with you." His touch on my cheek felt so gentle and nice that when he pulled his hand away, there was a sudden feeling of emptiness that grew within me.

He turned his back on me. "I'm going to swim. If you changed your mind, just come and join me." He was about to dive into the water when I spoke.

"Until when are you going to stay here?"

"Why? Too excited for me to leave?"

I shook my head right away. "No. I just want to see you again." I chewed on my bottom lip. I suddenly felt embarrassed. I've never said that to anyone until now and I didn't expect it to be embarrassing.

He looked surprised for a second or two before he smiled. "Don't worry, Ina. You'll see me more often because I decided to extend my stay here. I still have something important to do."

"Really?" I felt giddy of the thought of him extending his stay here.

"Yes. I hope, you won't get tired of seeing my face though."

"I don't think, I will ever feel that way." I admitted and that seemed to please him.

"Very good." He then dove into the water and I just remained on my spot, watching him swimming expertly.

"The water temperature is so nice! C'mon, Ina! Come join me!" He coaxed with a loud voice so that I could hear him. I swallowed hard. There was an invisible force pulling me towards him that I couldn't control...

Shortly after that, I found myself joining him into the water.

I don't know what's with Xzavier but everytime I'm with him, I forget about my worries and there's nothing but happiness. He makes me feel these strange feelings that I've never felt before and I'm eager to learn more about him...

I got out of my deep thoughts when I heard a knock on my door.

"My dear, are you asleep already?" I heard my mom ask from outside my door. I bit my lower lip. I suddenly felt a little guilty.

When I came home from the waterfalls, she tried to talk to me but I impassively declined her attempt and just went straight to my room. I didn't even eat dinner. But now, she came. Well, I kinda expected it already because knowing my mom, she couldn't sleep kwoing that everything wasn't okay between us, especially that it was her fault.

"My dear, can you please talk to mom?" I could hint the sadness in her voice and that's it. I couldn't ignore her after all. I got up and then opened the door.

"Mom, why aren't you sleeping yet? It's late already." I saw that she was holding a tray full of food.

"I-I was just worried. I know that you're already hungry so I brought you food." She came in and then placed the tray of food on my small study table.

"Eat, okay? Don't miss your dinner." The sadness in her eyes got me. She was about to march her way out of my room when I sighed in defeat and spoke.

"Mom, tell me. Did you ever intend to marry me off to Father Nicolas?" She turned around and faced me.

"Of course, not! Never! Your happiness is the most important for me and I would never put you in a situation that could potentially hurt you."

"Then, why were you so against my desire of leaving this place? Ever since I was old enough to understand about our situation, I've been vocal about it to you. But you did nothing but to discourage me. Now that the cat is finally out of the bag, isn't it better for us to leave this place as soon as possible?"

Fear flooded her face. "I wish, it's that easy, my dear."

"I know it's next to impossible, mom, but isn't it better for us to at least try? I don't want to marry Father Nicolas!" My eyes watered. I really felt trapped and didn't know what to do in order to get out of this place.

"Maybe we can try to talk to Father Nicolas and the other leaders about this. I'm sure, they will take your feelings into consideration." I looked at her in disbelief.

"Mom, wake up! Do you really think, they will?! Why do you still have faith in them after they're practically forcing you to marry me off to Father Nicolas?!"

"Because I don't have a choice! I don't know what to do anymore! I don't want you to end up like Sammy—" She gasped after blurting that out and that took me by surprise.

"What do you mean, mom? What does Sammy got to do with this?" She raked her fingers through her hair and I noticed that her hands were shaking.

"N-Nothing, my dear. It's already late. Eat your dinner before it gets cold." She then cupped my face and kissed my forehead. "Goodnight, my dear. Mom loves you." She then whispered before going out of my room as if a ghost was after her.

I was left there on my spot, confused.

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The next few days after that was surprisingly calm and no one ever came to talk to me about the marriage or anything. My mother has been obviously avoiding the topic by pretending to be busy. I grew more frustrated with each passing day but whenever I'm with Xzavier, my problems seem to disappear.

Yes, we've been meeting secretly at the falls everyday this past one week and as the days go by that we're together, we grew more closer to each other.

It felt like we've known each other for so long and the happiness I that I'm feeling whenever we're together is indescribable. I've never felt this way before and I got addicted to this feeling.

In every minute of the day, he's always on my mind. It's as if my day wouldn't be complete without seeing and being with him and that became our daily habit.

Thankfully, no one has ever caught me sneaking out of Safe Haven because I've been extra careful.

"Where are you going again, Sab? You've been going out often lately." My mother inquired when I was about to go out of the door.

"I'll just go get some wild berries, mom." Well, it was partly true. She heaved a sigh before approaching me.

"Tell honestly me, my dear. Are you going to meet with that man again?" My heart raced as I averted my gaze.

"Mom..."

"I know that you've been sneaking out of Safe Haven to meet with him." I bit my lower lip and then gazed back at her.

"A-Are you mad, mom?"

She sighed. "I should get mad at you for not telling me about it but at the same time, I couldn't because I noticed how happy and lively you've become ever since you met that man. I've never seen you happy like this before and I don't want to take your happiness away from you.

"But I can't help but to get worried at the same time. You know that what you're doing is against the law of SFH and if they catch you meeting with an outsider, a man at that, they're going to punish you severely. You know that Father Nicolas has already marked you as his future wife." I could see the fear in her eyes.

"If only your father was here with us. Nothing of this sort would happen. It would be easier for us to solve our problems." Her voice cracked. My heart ached for her. I could tell how much she misses dad but couldn't do anything about it.

"Don't worry, mom. I'll always be here for you. As long as we're together, we will surely solve our problems for sure."

She touched my cheek. "If your dad was here, he wouldn't be happy knowing that you're secretly meeting with a man." She then heaved a sigh. "But at the same time, if he sees how happy you've become, he would eventually understand just like me." That made me smile.

"Thank you for being so understanding about this, mom." I hugged her. "One day, we'll be able to leave this place. I promise you that." She didn't respond but I could tell that she was full of doubt and fear about it.

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How's the chapter, Amores?

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