Leanna by Miu

"Wow . . . *munch . . . You should . . . *slurp . . . see your . . . *munch . . . face," Zoe said between chomping her food.

I sat beside her, ignoring her remarks as I was busy gasping for air after I finished cooling my body in the salty water.

"I don't know why you're so desperate to hide your relationship with Cain Fay." Zoe licked her fingers and burped before looking at me. "You could have saved yourself some troubles if you have been open like Estela."

She pointed her finger towards Cain, who was sitting not far from us while his eyes never left me.

I blushed and retracted my gaze.

Wait, where did Estela and Zhander go?

"Don't those flies irritate you?" Zoe jabbed her finger at Cain's direction again.

I noticed countless women were whistling, trying their hardest to grab little Pluffy's attention who was beside the cold man. But the little furball ignored them all. Like his master –– the furball's undivided attention was on me like any moment now, he would bolt in my direction me if not for Cain's tight hold on him.

"What . . . *huff . . . are they . . . *huff . . . doing?" I asked between breaths.

"Since Estela is hard to befriend with, they think that the other way for Cain Fay to notice them is through hairy little squirt."

I shook my head and laughed a little.

"Honestly, though, why keep it a secret?" Zoe asked.

I sighed and locked my gaze forward.

"I want a peaceful life, for him and me," I answered, which made Zoe's eyebrow arched.

"Haven't you realized it yet? Even you keep it a secret, from the start, your life was never peaceful to begin with. So what's the use of keeping it a secret?"

. . . Ah!

My eyes widened at the realization.

That's right!

Even without announcing to the world about our relationship, from the beginning, because of those rumors, my life was indeed far from peaceful.

I stared at Zoe, eyes wide as they could stretch, and the girl smirked right back at me.

"Where are you going?!" I asked when Zoe stood and was about to leave.

"I'm going to date myself."

"What? I thought we're going to do some fun things together?"

"Girlfriend, I know you wanted to do fun things with him instead." Zoe winked and waved her hand. "Let's meet up in the hotel later when it's time for the party."

"Wha––Zoe!"

I called, but the girl was already meters away.

I gulped when I felt Cain's presence beside me. Then something warm landed on my shoulders and found that the man draped my cover-up on my body.

My cheeks felt warm as I resisted the urge to glance at him. I forced my attention on little Pluffy, who was now jumping on my knees, wagging his tail.

"I'm sorry . . . ," Cain whispered.

Thump

What? Why is he apologizing?

"I couldn't restrain myself. I know you wanted to keep our relationship . . . private."

Knowing that he was just beside me made me conscious.

"Leanna . . ."

I gasped when his tone turned pleading. I wanted to look at him, but my body was paralyzed, unable to move the moment his pleading voice caressed my ears.

"I'll go back to New Haven and won't disturb you anymore."

. . .

. . .

W-what?! No!

I was lost in the smoothness of his voice that it took me a while to register what he said. When my body finally moved, I faced him, but he was already walking away with little Pluffy.

He still had this overpowering air around him, but somehow, I was lonely as I stared at his back. His shoulders slumped as his head was low, and my heart tightened.

CAIN!

My voice echoed, shocking everyone, making me the center of attention.

I didn't care.

I didn't care anymore!

I bolted to him and hugged his back. His muscles tightened beneath my hold. I knew he was stunned at my sudden move.

"Don't go . . . ," I whispered.

". . ."

"Leanna . . . , there's a private island not far from here. Do you want to go . . . together? Just the two of us . . ."

His happiness was contagious, and I smiled and nodded.

I let him go, and Cain held my hand.

Like that, we walked hand in hand, side by side in front of so many dumbfounded crowds –– lost in our reality.