Tangled By Fate

Catherine looked at him and stated, "Vincent, I have a suggestion. Will you hear me out?"

Looking at her serious expression, Vincent straightened his back. "Sure, what do you want to talk about?"

Catherine explained, "I was thinking if I could advertise your resort to my colleagues. They work really hard and they need to relax. If you have packages to offer for groups, I'd like to help you."

Vincent's eyes grew bigger. He wasn't expecting her to help just like that.

Soon, a smile reached his lips and his blue eyes. "Yes! My family and I will be forever grateful for your kindness, Catherine." He repeatedly bowed and thanked her,

Catherine was overwhelmed by his formal gesture. "Hey, stop that. We are acquaintances, remember?"

Vincent's eyes were filled with gratitude. "How can we be just acquaintances after your help? Let's be friends. It's easier to take a friend's help than taking help from an acquaintance."

Catherine paused. She was hesitant since their relationship was quickly changing. 

They met just yesterday and became acquaintances in the evening. The next day, at noon, they became friends.

'Are we too fast? Then again, it's hard for men to take help from women. Their pride hurts. Furthermore, there is no problem with just being friends. It's not like we are heading to the temple to marry tomorrow.'

After thinking about the pros and cons, she smiled back. "We are friends then."

Vincent was holding breaths. He exhaled loudly when he heard her answer. It was as though he was nervous thinking she might reject him.

"Thank you. I was a bit scared that you might say 'no' to me thinking I'm too brazen. I hardly had any friends since I'm too busy with the resort. I don't want to ruin anything we built so far."

He was sitting on her left side and his right hand was over her left hand.

Catherine reached out her right hand and touched his hand that was holding her other hand.

Vincent was a bit startled but didn't move. He patiently waited for what she wanted to tell him.

She told him, "There is nothing to destroy. Vincent, don't think about too much when it comes to friendship. It'll ruin everything. Friendship gives people hope and peace. All you have to do is go with the flow."

"That's how it is. All right, I won't think too much into it. I promise." He squeezed her hand. 

He could sense her warmth transferring to him through their joint hands. He started to feel warmer.

'Did the temperature rise? Why am I feeling so hot?' he wondered.

After breakfast, Catherine took her backpack and went out. Before leaving, she slipped the letter she wrote for Veronica under her door.

She wrote something confidential. Thus, she didn't want to hand it to Vincent to deliver.

In front of the resort, she was standing with Vincent to bid him farewell.

"Are we meeting soon?" he tenderly asked.

She couldn't look him in the eyes. His eyes seemed to hold too many emotions. her face grew red.

She replied, "I'll try managing some time to come here."

He stared at her and then gently whispered. "I'll be waiting."

At that time, a gust of wind blew past them, making Catherine's curly blonde hair dance in the wind.

She squeezed her eyes shut as a strand of hair hit her eyes.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Vincent holding her unrestrained hair lock in between his fingers. 

His thumb comfortably rubbed her golden locks. 

Afterward, what he did, made her speechless.

He raised the strand of her hair close to his mouth and kissed it.

After that, he mumbled, "I'll miss you. So, come back quickly."

Catherine turned into a stone. 'What just happened?' She couldn't process the action she just saw.

Her heart started racing. Her face was completely red by now. 

She had no idea how to react when she was feeling like this.

Vincent noted her reaction and chuckled. He mischievously grinned and mentioned, "You did tell me to go with the flow, remember? I'm just doing what you told me. You cannot blame me for this."

Afterward, she practically ran away. She had no idea when she reached the valley. 

She hired a local carriage and came back to the capital city.

She took a shower when she reached the Magic Tower. It helped her to calm down her heart.

'I can't believe he kissed my hair,' she thought. She covered her face when she recalled the incident. 

Later, she headed to Ovior's room.

As soon as she opened the door, she found him with Felix, Merlin, Darius, Zinnia, and Ironin. Their expressions were somber.

She hesitantly asked, "Are you having a meeting? Should I come back later?"

Ovior gestured at her to come inside. "You came earlier than I thought. Join us. You need to know what Felix and Arthur found out."

"That's why I'm here," Catherine commented.

------------------

Back in the mountain resort, Veronica finally woke up. Her eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes.

As soon as she opened her eyes, the orange sun greeted her through the window. She saw yellow, orange hues illuminate her room. 

'What time is it?' she wondered. Looking at the strange colored sun, she concluded, 'It must be afternoon. I can't believe I slept a whole day. But, why did I sleep that long?'

When she tried to get up, she realized the reason. her whole body jolted in throbbing pain. Her joints were screaming how sore they were.

"Nng!" she whimpered pitifully as she wasn't prepared for this outcome. She couldn't breathe properly.

She lowered her body and sensed something warm and hard under her. The bed was a lot softer and cooler than this.

She moved her head and looked down only to find Arthur under her body.

She finally noticed their position. Arthur was lying down and she was hovering over him. Her breasts were pressed against his chest and her legs were straddling him.

That's when she recalled what happened last night.

'Oh, my goodness!'