Before noon, they reached Palawan.
They stayed at a beautiful first-class resort where modern cottages immediately grabbed Lana’s attention.
"Nice!" Lana heard Rodora exclaim.
Rodora, a regional manager like Lana, was a close colleague, only slightly older at twenty-eight.
“I might meet my Prince Charming here. Can I just stay and live here?” Rodora said, followed by a loud laugh.
Lana chuckled softly at Rodora's comment.
*****
Lana laid herself down on the soft bed inside the small cottage assigned to her.
Every regional manager had their own cottage for privacy, a great privilege of their company.
Later, Lana got up and pushed open the sliding glass door to the veranda. The view was beautiful.
A few meters away was a more elegant and bigger cottage with a white Land Cruiser parked in front.
"Whoever is there is very rich," she said, smiling.
Lana stood there for a while, quietly observing the beautiful surroundings. The light, fresh air caressed her skin, blowing her waist-length hair deliciously.
Suddenly, she felt like someone was watching her. She wandered her sight.
Her chest throbbed when she saw a face smiling at her from the veranda of the cottage with the Land Cruiser.
Perhaps noticing her reaction, he waved at her.
Lord, if this is just a dream. Please, I don't want to wake up!
The other side of her mind.
*****
Andrew watched with amusement as the woman beautifully smiled and waved at him.
She was so beautiful, with long black, straight hair. The cottage wasn't far, allowing him to take a good look at her face.
Perfect nose, round eyes; he couldn’t tell the color. Beautiful, shiny, fair complexion. Tall and a goddess-like figure.
"I like this girl," he said, standing up to talk to her, but was surprised when she suddenly entered her cottage. “Typical Filipina. Shy but I find her sweet, also,” he whispered.
Andrew shrugged, then went back inside his cottage, facing the open laptop on his bed.
He decided to go to this resort for a private vacation.
He had just finished the last TV series that lasted less than a year. Before starting another series with the young actress Amber Sanches, he wanted a vacation.
The resort had one of the more than twenty branches of the coffee shop he and his sister Samantha owned. Their parents built Scott’s Café when they were newlyweds.
Their father, William Scott, a British soldier, loved coffee, and their mother, Zenaida or Zeny, came from a family with a coffee plantation in Batangas.
His grandmother was a well-known actress in her youth.
His mother, beautiful as well, chose a normal life caring for their coffee farm. Their parents got married in the Philippines.
Their Dad chose it due to no divorce. A bitter smile tore from Andrew's lips at the last thought.
He understood his father. He also planned to marry in the Philippines but was unexpectedly taken away due to the interference of death.
Andrew shook his head quickly, erasing that bitter memory.
The first branch of Scott's Café is in Batangas.
Their parents left when they migrated to the UK. After two years in London, Samantha and Andrew returned to the Philippines to run their business.
It had been more than five years since then. Business is the course Andrew completed in London, making it easy for him to learn from his uncle Caesar. His uncle is now in Canada with his family.
He is busy with his acting career but can handle it.
"Don't you have any plans to get married? No one spends years with the women you're related to?"
Once, speaking to his mother Zeny on a video call, that was what she asked after news of his separation from Beth Cortez, the leading lady in his recent TV series.
“Ma, it's like you don't know about this kind of work; almost everything has a contract. So once a project is over, the relationship is over too. If you know what I mean,” he saw one of his Mama's eyebrows rise when she got the meaning.
"Do you mean that Beth is also one of the women who became your contract girlfriends?" his mother asked.
“Ma, I also became her contract boyfriend. Then, as far as I know, I was able to satisfy her, so everything is fair,” he explained, holding back a mischievous smile.
His mother sighed.
“Anyway, that's part of your job as an artist. You're just lucky, and you don't have to choose because you don't have a real-life sweetheart.”
At the last thing, his mother said Andrew smiled sadly.
"I would still prefer private than limelight, Ma," he replied confidently.
His mother smiled sweetly at him. "I know, that is why I'm so proud of you," what she said in her tone of voice.
The same night after their team-building seminar, they ate dinner at the resort's restaurant. "Oh Lana, why are you so quiet?" Rodora asks when she notices her silence. "Since lunch, you've been like that. Why, don't you like your cottage?” she said in a teasing tone. Lana shook her head, then handed over the glass of orange juice and drank. “N-No Rodge, I'm just tired. I haven't slept yet,” she reasoned. Rodora nodded and then finished the food on her plate. “I'm going back to my cottage. I'm going to rest. You wanna come with? ” she asked her afterward. Lana thought for a moment and then forced a smile before she consecutively shook her head. "I'm fine, just go ahead," she said. Outside the restaurant, she parted ways with Rodora along with their other co-workers. Lana smiled, just waving them goodbye, then started walking around. She couldn't understand the nervousness she had been feeling since she found out that Andrew's cottage was next to hers. The young lady laughed sof
Past five o'clock the next day, Lana woke up to a noise coming from her veranda. Sounds of cutlery and plates filled the air, and after a while, the fragrant aroma of brewed coffee finally made her get up from bed. "W-What the ---?" Lana was stunned to see a delicious breakfast prepared for two people on the veranda.** "Good morning," Andrew said as he sat down, obviously waiting for her. "Let's eat," he said, standing up and leaning over to approach her. "W-What are you doing?" she asked then spontaneously complied with what the man wanted to happen. The young man's thick eyebrows rose. "Why, don't you want this?" Lana was stunned and then quietly watched what the young man was doing. From the way he poured coffee into her cup to putting syrup and butter on her pancakes. "Thank you," she said shyly, smiling at Andrew afterward. "You know what, I've only just seen eyes like yours," he said, staring into her eyes. Lana laughed softly there and then started eating. “Really? That do
That evening, the same day, Lana's workmates invited her to go to a bar. At first, she didn't want to go. Whether she admits it or not, all day long she has been thinking about what Andrew said earlier that they will meet again. And even if she didn't speak, she couldn't deny to herself that she was looking forward to the next things that might happen between her and the young man. At the thought, Lana's face quickly blushed. “The next day we will be returning to Manila. Don't be a killjoy, you are the youngest in our group but you are the most 'aunty' when it comes to behavior,” Rodora preached to her as they left the conference hall. Lana sighed. "I'm just tired, Rodge," she reasoned yet somehow it was true. “Of course, we'll just be there for a while. We can't stay long because the meeting is early tomorrow,” said Lerma, who holds Region Five. That was when Lana sighed again. "O-Okay, it's like I still have a choice," she said laughing. Lana just made dressing up easy. She w
LANA felt at her feet the red dress that Andrew had dropped; thereafter, he unzipped it. "I was right about your body," he said, gazing all over her almost naked figure. "You are a goddess," he said, touching her waist afterward. "Tell me, sweetheart, is this your first time?" Andrew whispered, bringing his face even closer to hers. Lana let out a violent gasp as Andrew's hands began to move across her. "Mmmmm, y-yes," she moaned again when she felt the young man remove the hook of her bra. "I'll be gentle, I promise," the young man said, putting his hands inside her lacy pants, which were the only covering left of her body. "Oh god, Andrew!" Lana exclaimed when she felt the young man's finger that now seemed to be teasingly touching the clitoris of her womanhood. "Do you want this? Is it wonderful?" The young man speaks in a tone that only she can hear, even though they are the only ones there. "Tell me, don't be shy," he continued seductively. Lana's whole body trembled so much
LANA is no longer in her sanity, while Andrew seems to be recklessly flirting with her femininity using his own mouth and tongue. She is aware that someone like the young man is certainly good in this aspect. But the feeling that she is the one that Andrew is making happy is something that she still can't believe. "Nice, you're so nice, mmnnn," she growled, then pulled Andrew's hair. The young man did not speak. Instead, he inserted his finger back in her entrance again and then started to move it in and out. At the same time, he again caressed her femininity with his mouth. “Oh god, you're great! You are so great! "Lana said that she even danced her own hip unknowingly, even though there was no music. “Oh, I can’t take it anymore, Lana.” When Andrew lifted his face, that was when their eyes met. Lana saw the flame of intense desire in his eyes. That's why her longing to be finally claimed by Andrew also intensified. "Get inside me, deeper, nicer," she said, pulling Andrew's nec
Four hours into the morning, Lana woke up and could not go back to sleep. The young lady smiled and then stared at the perfect face beside her that was now sound asleep as he hugged her tightly. His red and thin lips. She never thought she would experience their kiss. But it happened. In fact, it was more than she had dreamed—more than anyone could have imagined she had experienced. Lana's face quickly warmed as she remembered everything that had happened to them last night. How Andrew claimed her. He made her feel the intense longing and happiness that she knew she would never feel with anyone again. “But our worlds are different. And whether I admit it or not, I have to wake up from this beautiful dream, for in the end I will not be hurt,” the young lady whispered, then stared at the handsome face of the man to whom she gave her virginity. That is true. What happened to them, she knew she would never forget. But she also had to admit to herself that what had happened would no
One month later... “Why did I notice that you weren't watching Andrew's new TV series? The story is good, so you should watch it,” said Mama Cecille one Sunday morning while they were eating breakfast. Lana shrugged her shoulders and then started eating. She also could not understand herself. The truth is that her feelings for the young man have not changed, except that they have intensified. And that started when something happened to them. Andrew turned all her fantasies about him into reality. But she also has to admit that she gets hurt whenever she sees Andrew and his perfectly handsome face, even just on TV. Lana secretly laughed at herself for that. She is a smart woman, but when it comes to love, like everyone else, she is a great fool. And that is something that she couldn't explain—how and why she feels like that? She knew for a fact that what happened between them that night was just a simple one-night stand. Something that is surely very common with Andrew and his wa
"What am I going to do, M-Mama?" Lana suppressed her emotion as she uttered those words. "Who is the child's father?" instead, her aunt questioned her. Lana felt resentment, not anger, in her Mama Cecille's voice. And that is the reason why all the tears that the young lady had been holding back have finally come out. "M-Mama, please," she protested, bursting into tears. "Does he already have a family?" Mama Cecille said, staring straight into her eyes. Lana shook her head. “Why don't you tell him the truth if he doesn't have a family? Will you let that child grow up without knowing his own father? Like your heartless mother did to you? ”Now her Mama Cecille is angry. "Who is the child's father? What is his name?" her aunt asked again after a while. Lana's head remained bowed as she continued to cry. "Answer me, Lana!" Cecille's voice was louder, so intense guilt engulfed the young lady's heart even more. "It's Andrew, Mama!" she replied between tears. Her aunt's eyes widene