CHAPTER 41

BENJAMIN opened his eyes when he heard knocks on the door. With half-lidded eyes, he sat up and found himself alone in the bed. He knotted his forehead and looked around for Caroline, but she couldn't find her.

"Dad?" He heard her daughter from the outside of the room. "Dad, are you there?"

Benjamin stood up, wore his shorts, and went to the door. Anastacia's furrowed eyebrows welcomed him when he opened the door.

"Did you just wake up?" she wondered. "It's just past eight."

"I just took a nap," he said and looked outside. "Did you see—"

"Aunt Caroline?" Anastacia cut off. "I'm also looking for her because dinner is ready."

The lines in Benjamin's forehead deepened. "I'll go down in a few minutes."

Benjamin closed the door when Anastacia left. He turned to the bed and noticed that Caroline's bikini was still on the bed where they made love a while ago.

"Maybe he's in the toilet," he said and walked towards the bathroom, but before he could reach the door, he heard Caroline's voice followed by giggles from the veranda.

Benjamin walked towards the half-closed door of their room's veranda. He could now clearly hear what Caroline was saying.

"Hey, Lucas, I thought you'd follow me here?" Caroline asked.

Benjamin paused upon hearing the billionaire's ex-boyfriend of Caroline. He stepped forward and peeked behind the door. He found Caroline at the corner of the veranda, wearing a white bathrobe seductively while talking to the phone.

She smiled and laughed at whatever the guy from the other line told her. "You said that you'll fetch me here with your private plane?" she giggled. "Silly—"

Benjamin went back inside their room. He can't take to hear their conversation. Benjamin can't believe that Caroline was now talking with somebody else after what happened between them just a while ago. He's a fool to believe in her. Caroline was a heartbreaker, and he's been warned by it. Benjamin must admit, he thought Caroline was different from the other woman that flirted with him before. But he guessed he was wrong.

Aren't you happy that you're my first? That question from her echoed in his mind. Benjamin knotted his forehead while putting on his clothes. He noticed Caroline's bikini disarrayed on the bed.

But why she's doing this to me? He asked in his mind as he heard her giggles from the veranda. For how long has she been talking with Lucas?

He shut his eyes upon mentioning the billionaire's name. That Lucas was way better than him. He's a bachelor and a billionaire. Benjamin shook his head, a billionaire… and I am just a barista.

*

Caroline's brows drew together when she heard the loud shutting of the door. She opened the veranda's sliding door and looked inside the room. Benjamin wasn't in bed anymore.

"Why he didn't call me?" she asked, brows furrowed.

"Who didn't call you?" she heard Lucas asked from the other line.

Caroline looked around the room. Their bed was still unmade, but Benjamin's clothes weren't there. "Maybe he didn't know that I'm at the veranda..."

"Who?" Lucas asked.

"Maybe she's talking to Benjamin, you idiot," Caroline heard Hyacinth commented from the background. "Hey, Caroline! We'll be there later—"

"You wish," Lucas cut off. "Caroline, if something bad happened to you, call right away, okay?"

Caroline chuckled. "Don't worry, Tim. Benjamin can fight for me."

Lucas smirked. "Is that so?"

Caroline just laughed before she put down her phone. She went inside the room and lay on the bed, where she shared a steaming moment with Benjamin. She can still smell his musky scent on the bed covers.

"Oh, Benjamin..." She ran her hand to her stomach, down between her legs. She moaned when she reached her center. "I can still feel your hardness inside me—"

A loud knock on the door interrupted Caroline in her wet daydream. "Aunt Caroline?"

She sat up and closed her bathrobe quickly. "Yes, Anastacia?" She went to the door and opened it hesitantly.

"The dinner is ready," Anastacia said with a smile. "Nanay Dolor says that you cooked our dinner today."

"Y-yeah..." She wasn't sure if what she did in the kitchen a while ago could be called cooking. "Where's—"

"Daddy?" she asked and laughed. "He's downstairs. The two of you are looking for each other."

"He looked for me?" she asked, brows furrowed. "Then, how did you know that I'm here in our room?" Our room… The words echoed in her mind like the sound of lapping waves.

"I saw you at the veranda," she said and scratched her head. "So it means, when I went here a while ago and called dad for dinner, you were just at the veranda?"

Caroline nodded. "I was just talking on the phone."

Anastacia knotted her forehead. "How come that dad didn't know that you're there?"

After Caroline changed in her casual clothes, she went down to the dining. She found Benjamin preparing the plates on the table while Nanay Dolor placed the bowl of dishes in the middle of the dining large dining table.

"Wow," she said with wide eyes as she approached the dining table full of different dishes. "You cooked all of it, Nanay Dolor?"

Nanay Dolor shook her head. "Mario cooked Kare-Kare—"

"It's the best Kare-Kare in Bohol, Caroline," Mario proudly said. He ushered her in one of the chairs. "You will forget your name after tasting my dish."

She chuckled. "Really? Then, let me try it."

Benjamin smirked. "Try everything."

Caroline's brows raised. She looked at Benjamin, but his attention was on his daughter Antonette. Did I hear it, right? She asked herself.

"Did the two of you fall asleep? I was waiting for you to return in the kitchen," Nanay Dolor asked her. "Caroline?"

"Huh? Ah…" She looked to Benjamin for help, but to her dismay, he wasn't looking at her! From Benjamin, Caroline shifted her gaze to Nanay Dolor.

"I thought you retired in the bed early," Mario asked her as he occupied the seat next to her. "Anyway, where do you wanna go tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" She looked at Benjamin again, hoping that he'd turn his eyes to her. "I don't know…"

"Then, let's go to Chocolate Hills—"

"Can I go with you, Tito Mario?" Anastacia excitedly asked. "I wanted to see the chocolate hills—"

"Anastacia, we can go there on ourselves," Benjamin interrupted. His voice was cold as ice. "Don't be a nuisance to others."

Caroline froze in her seat. Her heart started to hammer inside her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe. No… she said in her mind as her lungs cried for air. Her hands clutched on her bohemian skirt tightly until her knuckles turned white. She heard the familiar small voice inside her head again. I have to leave you…

"But, I want to be with Aunt Caroline—"

"It's a family trip, Anastacia," Antonette cut off with a roll of her eyes. "Don't be silly—"

Caroline suddenly stood up, getting all their attention. "E-Excuse me…" she said and ran outside the house.

***