Through Your Eyes — Chapter 19

SEAN'S POV

"What?" I froze for a while as I stared at her with my pulled up brows. I may not know him personally yet, but I had already heard about him as the brain behind the Martela Group of Companies.

"Yes. The young and handsome man is Eric Martela. His family owns universities in the big city. You know, he loved my Calla so much. He even provided everything she wanted, including her education. Yet, one day, she replaced him with someone more powerful than him."

"Do you think she can do it?" I held her gaze for a while, unable to believe my ears. Yet, she looked back at me straight in the eyes, wearing a sincere expression on her face.

"She grew up with me as her nanny. And ever since she was a child, she always dreamed of becoming famous and influential. I am afraid that her ambition would ruin her forever."

I felt sick at the confession of Madame Cynthia. I adored Calla at first sight, but her revelation sullied my impression on her. I knew I shouldn't judge her according to what I hear. Even hardened criminals are given the right to a fair trial. Yet, the way her aunt described her--that she gave up her relationship with Eric for someone more powerful, made me apprehensive about seeing her. Nevertheless, I still went to the beach that afternoon. I no longer had difficulty in finding the entrance because I looked for it ahead, after I left their house.

The sky above the horizon greeted me with its orange-crimson hues and streaks when I arrived at the place. The sea was already grey as the sun was slowly hiding behind the horizon. The whole surroundings reigned in total silence except for the dominating sound of the slapping waves across the shore. There was no one else around, aside from my bodyguards, who followed me on a separate car wherever I went and me.

As soon as the darkness wrapped the earlier colorful sky, Calla appeared at the entrance with still her white dress on. Without greeting me first, she threw herself at me, and soon, her shoulders rocked as she broke into a sob. I hugged her with lots of questions running in my mind. Why did she cry? What kind of life did she live after breaking out from Eric? Why did she trust me so easily?

When she calmed down later, I tried to talk to her and asked her some questions. I wanted to know the cause of her enigmatic behavior. Instead of answering me, she cupped my face, and to my shock, she drowned my lips in a deep and hungry kiss.

"Calla-" I tried to stop her, but her hands crawled to the hem of my shirt, pulling it out through my head.

"Calla-" I caught her hands again, but her kisses went wild until my will to resist from the temptation died down. With my dulled thinking process, my hands then found its way under her bodice until it fondled her full, soft peaks. Before I realized it, we were both stripped naked, and our hands and lips explored each other's private territories.

"Sean, you may wonder why I trusted you so easily. I have already seen you in magazines and TV programs. And I won't wonder why you are here. The rich and famous always spend their free moments in this paradise."

"Calla-" I tried to open up a discussion between us, but she raised a hand and covered my mouth.

"Don't speak. Don't ask anything about me except my name. I would never hold you responsible for what we are doing now. And don't ever get emotionally attached. You're not allowed to fall in love with me."

Calla was my first, and I must admit that the pleasure would make me find her again. I wanted more of her, as much as she likewise wanted more of me. In those seven days that I was there, I came to see her every night. I didn't mind my bodyguards anymore; I paid them anyway. Yet, I had to pay them twice the amount of their salary for exhausting them at night.

I wondered why Calla didn't seem to mind. What kind of a woman in her right mind would become insensitive to her surroundings, knowing that there were other men around? Even if she prohibited me from knowing more about her, the mystery I found in her made me seek a doctor's advice.

"It could be stress-related. Perhaps, she's into an illicit love affair.  Or probably, a certain life event triggered her to become sexually-compulsive."

"Is it an illness?" I asked.

She's a psychiatrist and a close friend of mine who first came to my mind when I got so troubled about Calla. I couldn't sleep, so I called her in the middle of the night.

"It's too early to say that. She may be just a liberated woman. You need to know the person better before we could jump into a conclusion."

"I see."

"Or, it could also be about yourself."

"Me?" I snapped in disbelief. Why did the blame shift suddenly on me?

"It looks like you're a stranger in the city and that the lifestyles of those city dwellers are something new to you."

Maybe she's right. I was too busy with studies and business that I did not have time to waste on women and parties. No woman seemed appealing to me until the day I met Calla. I didn't know what kind of spell did she cast on me that I got addicted to her. She was in my thoughts all day after taking our separate ways before the daybreak. My failure to persuade her to tell me about herself made me feel I was ineffective as a man. I was supposed to extend my leave from work until I would succeed. Until she would open up to me. However, she broke my plan.