Chapter 40

"You've really never been on a boat before?" Valdo looked at me, surprised.

I shook my head and held his arms tight, "No. You've seen where I came from." They weren't a lot of things to do in Alton. The most exciting thing was the annual carnival, and that was about it.

He laughed, "Sorry for laughing, but you have so many things in life to experience."

"Well, it's a good thing I married you then, ain't it?" I looked at him and smiled.

He chuckled. "You've got that right." he held my hand as the boat started to move. I took my eyes from his beautiful face and looked at the waterfalls ahead of us. It was truly breathtaking. The water absorbed the blueness from the sky. The sound of the water plunging down the mountain was calming.

I bent my head and looked on the water below us. The water was green, in contrast to the falls and it didn't look too deep.

"How deep do you think this is?" I asked curiously.

"It's over a hundred feet that's for sure."

"Has anyone ever tried swimming in it?" It was a stupid question, but it still managed to leave my mouth.

Valdo laughed, "Swimming? I doubt it, and if they have, then they need to get their heads checked out. The current in the water is strong, and they can die very easily. But then again there have been people who've intentionally dive in just to kill themselves."

I looked at the Falls sad, knowing that there must have been at least a thousand persons who've taken their last breath here.

Depression is hard, and it was something I had to deal with when I left Alton. A pregnant eighteen-year-old, all alone with only a few coins in her pocket.

I remembered my very first time out of Alton. I spent it at a neighbouring town's train station. I couldn't help myself from crying, knowing I was completely alone. When persons came up to me and asked if I was okay, I would lie to them and tell them I missed my train.

But life got harder the farther I moved away from the small town. I realised I had to come up with ways to earn money because food just doesn't come so easy. I tried looking for jobs, but owners were hesitant to offer employment without identification. Either they didn't believe I was eighteen or they thought I was an illegal immigrant.

They were days I went without food and some, where I just couldn't be bothered with life. I even tried to kill myself a few times by walking in front of moving cars. I even tried to jump off a bridge, but I just couldn't do.

Eventually, life got a little better, and I tried to cope, but the crazy thoughts didn't leave my head, at least not until I met Valdo.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

I looked at the Falls and sighed. "Life is hard. Many persons ridicule persons who commit suicide, but they just don't understand what goes through a person's head,"

He turned me to him and looked at me with concern, "Have you ever...?" he didn't need to say more, I understood his question.

"I've tried a few times," I answered honestly. It was nothing to be ashamed of. I went through a hard time, and I got over it. It made me stronger.

"Do you still feel that way?" his face held a small frown.

I looked at him and smile, "No. I'm happy now, but I get anxious sometimes."

"What's making you anxious?"

I lifted my hands and gestured around us, "This, you." I smiled up at him, "I'm afraid that this happiness that I'm feeling might only be temporary and that something might happen."

Valdo pulled me in a hug and gently touched my hair. "This is not temporary. You have a wedding ring to prove that." Even though we were both wet from the winds coming from the fall, the hug felt great. "If you ever need someone to talk to I'm here, your mom is here, my mom is here, and Kevin isn't bad to talk to either. We've all been through hard times, and that's why we need persons in our life to help us cope." He kissed my forehead and pulled away from the wet hug. He turned around to face the falls, "This is the best part."

"Wow." I murmured as I looked at the rainbow that was ahead of us. "I've never been this close to a rainbow before." The rain didn't fall much in Alton and when it did a little rainbow would be visible over the hill. I'd look at it until I faded away, mesmerised by its natural beauty. "Where is the pot of gold?"

"Don't you see it?" Valdo asked.

I turn to look at him because I was only joking. I shook my head, "No. I don't."

Valdo smiled, "He's standing right in front of you."

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. I gave my attention back to the falls, and the boat got closer to it. "I wish I could wake up to this view every morning; It's breathtaking."

Valdo came and stood beside me, "You get to wake up to this face instead. If it's breathtaking your looking for then, that can be arranged."

I blushed and kept my eyes on the falls, "And you said I'm the naughty one."

"I never said I wasn't naughty." He paused then moved closer to my ears, "I'm a certified freak, seven days a week."

I burst out laughing. We were heading down for breakfast this morning when a girl in the elevator's phone rang. Yes, you've guessed it. That was her ringtone. Valdo and I couldn't help chuckling when we heard it.

Every moment I spent with Valdo, I learned something new about him. Who knew this well-kept billionaire could be so funny?

"How do you even know that song?" It was the type of song I imagined a man like him singing or even knowing for that matter.

"It's all over Instagram. I've heard it so many times I guess it just stuck."

I looked up at him, "You have Instagram?"

"What? A man like me can't have Instagram?" he joked.

I shook my head, "No, it's just that you're a businessman. Fancy and stuff."

He chuckled, "I happen to love Instagram. I've even posted you on my page."

I raised my eyebrows at him, "No way. Let me see." I held my hand out, and he placed his phone in it. His phone didn't have a passcode, so it opened immediately when I pressed the home button. Instagram was on his home screen, so I didn't have to scroll.

"Wow, you have a lot of followers." He had over two hundred thousand followers, and I could barely even make it to a thousand. I scrolled up and looked at his photos. I smiled and clicked on the most recent. It was a picture of me stuffing pancakes in my mouth. I didn't even realise when he took this picture this morning. I scrolled down at the other picture, which was a picture of us kissing at our wedding, with the caption, 'my forever'. I blushed and returned his phone. I'll find his profile later and looked through.

"What's yours?"

"Jakobia.com, My profile picture is the only thing I have up. I haven't got an exciting life like yours." I deleted all my photos when I left Alton. Most of my pictures where of me and William and I didn't want to be reminded of that asshole.

"We'll make exciting memories together." I smiled at my husband.

"Can you send me our wedding photos? I'll post my favourite one and show off my handsome husband to all my followers."

He chuckled, "Oh, so you just wanna brag about my good looks?"

I grinned, "That's not the only thing I wanna brag about." I murmured then wink.

"It's way too early for you to be tempting me."

"I thought you said, and I quote, "I'm certified freak, seven days a week."

He laughed, "Yes, seven days a week but not twenty fours hours a day. I'm only human."

I shrugged, "I was here thinking I married Apollo's long lost cousin."

He burst out laughing, "You are something else. Where did I get you from?"

"The busy streets of New York City." I look up at him, "Btw, why were you walking that day?"

He thought about it before answering, "My assistant was off for the day, and so I had to get my coffee."

"Wow, so if he was at work that day, then we wouldn't even meet."

"Fate works in mysterious ways. We would have met, believe me." he took my hands in his, "Go on. We're going to head to Clifton Hills now."

"Where is that?" He answered by pointing at the Canadain side of the Falls. I giggled in excitement. This would be my first time leaving the United States. Even if it weren't an exotic island, the experience would still be exciting.

I held tight on Valdo's shoulder as we exited the boat. "How will we get there?"

He turned my shoulders and pointed to a bridge, "That's the rainbow bridge, our entry to Canada."

"There was must be crazy traffic on that bridge."

He shrugged, "There might be traffic."

I sighed, "I hate being stuck in traffic."

He smirked, "I can think of a few things we can do while we wait."