The Lost And Forgotten Memories

      Two days later. At the moment, it’s about two in the afternoon. Peter is walking in the city in this sunny and warm weather with the doggy Sammy and keeping him on the leash. The dog behaves quite quietly and follows the man obediently, but if something gets his attention, he tries to break free. There are so many places to look for or sniff something here. Bright green grass, trees of different heights, small plants, clean asphalt, clean air, and a nice tweet from the birds that cannot stay in the same place for more than two seconds. Green mountains are seen somewhere far away and literally fade away in the blue sky, in which there are no clouds. Many different paths lead to different places in this territory, and lovers of running, walking, and having a picnic can do this. Fewer people are walking in these amazingly beautiful places with a slow, quiet step alone, with someone else, or with their pets, as they enjoy the way the shoots of the bright sun are caressing their faces tenderly, and the slight, warm wind does not let them get hot and tickles their skin nicely.       Sammy being definitely delighted by what surrounds him has the pleasure of examining everything he sees. But at some moment, the retriever sharply turns aside, pulling Peter after him while he follows him with a tired sigh. The blond has to wait for a few seconds for Sammy to examine and sniff something on the ground. Then the dog loses any interest in it and pulls the man after himself again.       “Heel, Sammy,” Peter says quietly, pulling the leash on himself. “Heel, I said. Nice, good boy.”       After taking some distance, Peter walks by the girl leading a very sympathetic labrador on the leash. Likely, a girl because the dog is wearing a pink dog collar. Sammy turns on the cute doggy sharply and starts to bark loudly and wag his tail energetically. The labrador also turns on him and barks back, as if she is trying to say something. But the girl pulls her by the leash several times and takes her away determinedly, while her pet whines quietly. Peter shakes his head with a shy smile, and Sammy barks two times.       “Hey, buddy, you liked the doggy?” Peter asks, squatting down and yanking Sammy’s ear.       Sammy confidently barks two times in a jump and starts to snuggle his nose in Peter’s face.       “Aw, buddy…” Peter laughs shyly. “Of course, I would’ve let you talk to the doggy. But the girl didn’t want it. Though, her doggy definitely liked you. She wagged her tail so hard when she saw you.”       Sammy whines quietly and inclines his head.       “Okay, don’t worry, Sammy, we’ll find you a good doggy,” Peter promises confidently, running his hand over Sammy’s hair. “Moreover, you’ve lately turned on other female dogs too many times.”       Sammy barks quietly, wagging his tail actively.       “I get it, buddy, I get it,” Peter smiles mysteriously. “You’re growing up…”       Peter slightly fixes Sammy’s collar.       “Okay, we’ll talk about your mating later,” Peter says confidently and gets up. “Now let’s find a good place, so you run very well.”       Sammy barks again loudly and happily and pulls Peter after him, but he cannot go further because the leash is holding him down.       “Hey, hey, man, how many times do I tell you that you must follow me?” Peter resents gloomily. “Not vice versa! Sammy! Heel! Who I say! Samuel!”       Sammy barks again in a jump, but lets Peter lead him. The man chuckles quietly and keeps going somewhere, holding the leash in one hand and putting the thumb of the other hand in the pocket of his jeans. He smiles slightly, as he enjoys the great weather and silence around, sometimes fixing his black-framed glasses, which he is now wearing. He meets different people and dogs, which Sammy meets with a quiet bark, and sees that many of them are driving bikes, scooters, and roller skates, thinking that he would not mind having a race in the whole city.       Being busy with his thoughts and enjoying the harmonic singing of multiple small birds, Peter does not notice how he ends up in a spacious, unpopular place where green grass is growing and a tiny river with crystal clear water is flowing.       “That’s what we need!” Peter says with a slight smile, looking around quickly, and moves his eyes to Sammy. “What do you think, Sammy? Do you like it?”       Sammy barks confidently as if he says he likes being here.       “Okay, pal, let’s play then,” Peter suggests.       Peter quickly unfastens the leash from Sammy’s collar, finally setting the dog free. And while the man wraps it up and puts it in his pocket, the dog starts to run around the whole territory as fast as possible and sniff every centimeter of the ground. He runs around for a few seconds before he runs to Rose, takes one of his bandages on his hand with his teeth, and pulls it.       “Hey, don’t tear my bandage,” Peter laughs shyly, trying to get his hand out of Sammy’s grip softly. “You’ve torn one. You hear me? Stop! Stop! No! Sammy!”       Sammy leaves Peter’s wristband alone and just starts to bury his nose in his hand. And then, the dog pulls a black-red rope out of the pocket of his jeans.       “Oh, you could let me know you wanted this rope,” Peter says tiredly.       Peter takes the rope that Sammy is literally attracted to, grabbing its bundle, and starts to pull this thing on himself, while the dog tries to take it away so hard.       “You won’t get, boy, won’t get!” Peter exclaims with a sly smile. “The rope is mine! Mine!”       Every time Peter successfully takes the rope from him and runs aside, Sammy resents loudly and enters this game with a greater passion. He manages to get a victory over the blond multiple times and take the rope that he bites for a few seconds with a quiet groan. But later, he, wishing to do a bad thing, runs to the man and strikes him down with just one push on the chest. That’s why Rose falls down and lets the rope go. And while the blond gets up, the dog takes the desired reward and tries to tear it with his teeth.       “Hey, it wasn’t honest!” Peter protests and moves sharply some strands of hair off his forehead. “Hear me, bandit? You can never do it without your jokes.”       Two seconds later, Peter gets up and shakes some dirt off his jeans.       “Okay, give it to me now,” Peter says and takes a step toward Sammy with his hand pointed up, while the dog jumps back sharply with a quiet bark, holding the rope with his teeth. “Sammy, can you hear me? Give it now!”       Sammy refuses to do what he is asked about and keeps wagging his tail and staying in the same place.       “So, I guess someone wanna get no doggy treats and spend a whole day with Jess,” Peter puts his hands on his hips with a sly smile. “At home of your beloved and imitable Jessica. A whole day. Whole, day, Samuel. You imagine, how cool is it!”       Sammy looks at Peter as if he tries to say, “Hey, everything was so good!”       “You’re afraid of Jessica…” Peter nods confidently. “Yeah, I know she’s a little sharp and rude sometimes. But trust me, that girl is very good anyway. She wouldn’t be my friend if she was bad.”       Sammy makes a weird sound and inclines his head.       “Don’t you agree?” Peter wonders and yanks Sammy’s ears. “Huh, buddy? You don’t just know her. Jessica is very good. She just needs a man. A good, decent man, who would love her and conquer the heart of Ms. Taylor.”       Sammy makes no sound and keeps staying in the same place with the rope in his teeth.       “Okay, let’s talk about it later. Now, give me the rope that you stole with no shame. Give!”       Peter tries to take the rope from Sammy, but the dog jumps back with a quiet growl.       “So, you refuse!” Peter wonders. “Okay! Let’s do it more harshly!”       Peter grabs the rope with both hands tighter and starts to compete with Sammy again. But sometimes, the man weakens the grip and succumbs to the dog that uses it and pulls him on himself.       “Okay, okay, fighter!” Peter gives up, raising his hands. “You won! Won…”       The happy Sammy barks loudly, puts the rope on the ground, and moves his eyes to Peter, looking at him amicably with his tongue out. The man takes the torn victim of the dog, which starts running as fast as the wind from one side to another, barking loudly, and jumping.       “Oh, man, how much energy you’ve got!” Peter shakes his head.       Peter puts the rope in his pocket and comes to Sammy, who ran at some distance and got busy with something. But then the dog runs away somewhere again, as if he is going to make Helene’s sweetheart run after him.       “Where did you run? Will you make me run after you again?”       Sammy stops sharply, turns on Peter, barks loudly, and looks at him, as if he is trying to call him. The man moans quietly and runs to the dog, which makes him catch himself. But even if Rose has good physical data, it’s hard enough because the doggy runs like a hurricane. However, Peter considers it a way to distract himself and have an unplanned workout, spending a lot of time running after Sammy that does not definitely feel any kind of tiredness.        “Hey, how long are you gonna make me run after you?” Peter asks loudly with a little heavy breath. “Huh, Sammy? I didn’t plan a workout today!”       Using the fact that Sammy slows down at some moment because he pays attention to the bird flying near him, Peter catches the dog and hugs him tightly from behind with a sly smile on his face.       “Gotcha!” Peter pronounces happily and growls quietly, as he scratches Sammy’s hair. “The bandit’s been caught! Caught! Ar-r-r-r…”       Sammy barks loudly, jumps back from Peter, and runs somewhere.       “Sammy!” Peter exclaims. “Sammy, come back now! Who I say! Samuel!”       Peter follows Sammy but loses his tracks immediately because the dog hides somewhere.       “Sammy! Sammy, where the fuck are you? Bring your ass here! Hear me, you, restless creature!”       But a few seconds later, Sammy gets out of the thickets, holding a small, straight, thick stick in his teeth.       “Oh, here you are!” Peter chuckles kindly and puts his hands on his hips. “So, what did you find? Do you think I’ll play with you?”       Sammy, looking at Peter with puppy eyes, whines quietly as if he begs him to play with him for a while.       “Okay, you won!” Peter exhales sharply, lowering his hands. “Gimme the stick!”       When Peter takes the stick, Sammy jumps two times with a loud, happy bark. The man throws the stick at quite a long distance, and the dog runs to where it was thrown immediately. A few seconds later, he finds it, grabs it with his teeth, and gives it to the blond, who throws it as far as possible again. Then the same thing happens multiple times. At some moment, Peter starts to turn the stick in his hands or hide it behind his back but pretends that he threw it, runs to other sides, and waves such a desired thing in front of the dog’s nose.       “You won’t catch, won’t catch!” Peter exclaims with a sly smile, wrapping around Sammy and teasing him with the stick. “It’s my stick! You won’t get it!”       Sammy tries to take the stick in a run, but Peter raises his hand just in time and starts to run with a kind chuckle. The dog starts to chase him with a loud bark, seeing just one thing that does not want to end up in his paws because of the guy with gorgeous wheat-blond hair. At some moment, he thinks of nothing better than stopping suddenly and looking at Peter closely, while he notices it and turns on him.        “So, Sammy, you got sick?” Peter teases with a sly smile. “Decided to confess my win? Are you giving up?”       Peter teases Sammy with the stick for a little longer, but the dog keeps staying in the same place, wagging his tail energetically.       “So…” Peter wants to say with a sly smile, coming to Sammy slowly but confidently with his head proudly raised. “Since you refuse to fight, I confess my victory with pleasure. And the-e-e-en…”       But Peter does not speak his mind because Sammy uses the fact that the man loses his vigilance and sharply takes the stick out of his hand.       “Hey!” Peter resents, opening his mouth. “You, deceiver! You deceived me!”       Sammy, holding the stick with his teeth, wagging his tail energetically, and looking at Peter innocently, jumps happily two times.       “Okay, come to me now,” Peter says quietly. “I’m gonna have a serious talk with you. Come on, come on, bonehead, we’re gonna have a talk of two men.”       Peter comes to Sammy confidently with his head proudly raised, but the dog jumps back sharply and starts to run from one or another side. The man has to run after the dog again because he definitely loves teasing him and having fun in such good company. And he does not let him even think about something bad, knowing how hard the last few days have been for his owner and her boyfriend. The dog chases Rose with no tiredness for a long time and agrees to play by pulling the stick that the man tries to take with a sly smile on his face.       “C’mon, buddy, come on,” Peter encourages with a sly smile. “Show me everything you can.”       Some time later, Peter manages to take the stick from Sammy and shakes it in front of the dog with a sly smile. But the next second, the dog barking happily stands on his hind legs, stretching himself out, and throws his weight on him. And when Rose falls, Sammy puts his front paws on the man’s chest, presses him to the ground, nuzzles his face, and licks his nose for some time.       “Hey, Sammy!” Peter exclaims with a slight smile. “Sammy, get off me! Sammy! Okay, stop! Stop, I say!”       Although stops washing Peter’s face, he keeps pressing him to the ground with his paws and barking loudly.       “Hey, I’m gonna have a dirty t-shirt because of your paws,” Peter says confidently and glances at his t-shirt. “It’s dirty now!”       After snuggling Peter’s face for two seconds, Sammy steps back from the man, who sits up slowly and, exhaling slowly, looks at the dog.       “Oh, buddy, although I’m a well-trained man, competing with you is impossible.”       While Peter fixes his hair and tries to catch a breath, Sammy puts his paw on the man’s lap, looking at him closely with his tongue hanging out.       “You know, I’m getting a little tired,” Peter notices, bending his leg at his knee and letting his hand down from it. “You exhausted me, man. It’s like I ran a whole cross…”       Sammy barks quietly again and nuzzles Peter’s cheek, making him smile and wish to pet the dog’s head and yank his ears.       “Aw, Sammy, the thing I love you for is the fact that you make anyone smile, even if they have a bad mood. Really, buddy. You made me forget what the lads and I experienced a few days ago.”       Sammy whines quietly with sadness in his eyes, as if he is showing his sympathy.       “It’s okay, buddy, don’t whine,” Peter smiles shyly, scratching Sammy’s hair. “We’ll get over it!”       Peter yanks Sammy’s ears and moves his sad eyes to his hands.       “But the problem with Daniel makes me sad. We still try not to meet when we go to the hospital to visit Terrence. He's mad, and I don’t wanna come because I might make it worse. I don’t wanna fight with him. And I wanna solve this question as soon as possible. But I don’t know how…”       Sammy whines quietly again and puts his face on Peter’s laps, while the man scratches his neck, as he sits on soft and nice-to-touch grass.       “To be honest, I thought that the situation would be much worse. That he would kill me right in the hospital. But everything would’ve been worse if I’d decided to lie and find excuses. Anyway, I think I did the right thing by telling the truth and confessing my cowardice. Maybe… It will help me someday… The guys did understand me… So, there’s a chance that Perkins will.”       Sammy makes no sound and listens to Peter closely with sadness in his eyes, while his face is put on his laps.       “I did the best thing that I could do,” Peter says thoughtfully. “I told the truth, recognized my weakness, and heard the words about being a cowardly bastard. That’s fair. I can deny nothing.”       Peter exhales slowly and looks at what surrounds him with a sad look.       “Anyway, I’m sorry for Daniel. The problems at shows, the attempt, amnesia… That foreigner… The unwanted betrayer… A breakup with the girlfriend… The charges for mocking me…”       Sammy makes a quiet sound, while Peter just pets his head.       “Buddy, do you think there’s a chance that his problems will be solved?” Peter asks thoughtfully, moving his eyes to Sammy. “Will Anna forgive Daniel? Will she get off the man, who beats her?”       At first, Sammy whines and then barks confidently.       “I’ll be very sorry if they break up…” Peter sighs quietly with sadness in his eyes. “I always liked their couple. I was sure that Perkins made a good choice. I don’t even know if he could find someone to be better than Anna. That girl is just a gem! Beautiful, smart, wonderful housewife, caring, and she takes care of her… Oh…”       Sammy backs quietly, puts his paw on his lap, and nuzzles his cheek, which he later licks.       “Is this a hint that everything’s gonna be fine?” Peter asks with a slight smile.       Sammy barks, takes one of Peter’s wristbands with his teeth, and pulls him on himself.       “Should I run after you again?” Peter shakes his head with a kind chuckle.       Sammy starts to amuse Peter by rolling on the ground, barking happily, and showing himself from all sides.       “Oh, Sammy,” Peter laughs shyly. “How funny you are…”       After rolling on the ground for some time, Sammy shakes the dirt off quickly, takes the stick again, and looks at Peter closely.       “Okay, okay, man, I got it,” Peter raises his hands up and gets up quietly. “C’mon!”       Peter takes the stick from Sammy’s mouth and throws it as far as possible. The dog runs to the one shortly, takes it, and gives it to the man. At some moment, Rose starts to tease Sammy and run from one side to another, making the dog work hard to get the desired reward. Time flies too fast during the play and makes him forget about any problems. But later, Peter understands that he got a little exhausted and wants to take a break. While Sammy runs around the whole territory as fast as a bullet, the man stops at some moment, doubles over, and leans on his laps with both hands with a heavy breath. Being suspicious, the dog also stops, turns around, and barks loudly, as if he calls him.       “No, Sammy, stop!” Peter raises and crosses his hands with a heavy breath. “I’m done! Run here alone if you want, but I need to have a rest. I can’t run after you all day.”       Sammy barks quietly, not moving his eyes off Peter.       “Sammy, don’t mock me!” Peter puts his hands on his hips. “Just because I have good physical data, it doesn’t mean I could be running after you for hours! I’ve run after you as fast as a hurricane for nobody the fuck knows how long!”       But Sammy keeps barking determinedly.       “Oh, okay, okay. Let me have some rest, and I’ll play with you again. At least a few minutes, to catch a breath.”       At first, Sammy whines quietly, but then starts to sniff something on the ground.       “Excellent,” Peter smiles slightly. “But don’t run away too far. You don’t want Helene to kill me if something happens to you. Right?”       Sammy barks loudly and goes aside, starting to run from one side to another with a loud, happy bark as fast as a bullet. Peter chuckles quietly and watches the dog for a few seconds before he looks around the whole territory, sees a high tree, and comes to it slowly. He sits on the soft, bright green grass and leans on the tree with his back and the back of his head, closing his eyes with a fast heartbeat and a heavy breath. Rose looks at what surrounds him with interest and notices that this place is truly gorgeous and quiet with a slight smile on his face. And later, he takes his black smartphone and white headphones, which he connects and puts in his ears, looks at the song list, picks up one, and starts to listen to it, leaning on the tree with the back of his head. The big tree’s sticks are bent so that they literally cover the blond, letting him stay safe and saving him from the shots of the hot sun, while he shakes his head and clicks his fingers along with the music with his legs bent at his knees.       Meanwhile, Sammy runs everywhere as fast as a bullet, barks happily, jumps a lot, rolls on the ground, and plays with everything he sees. The dog may get interested even in the smallest insect that he touches with a paw, bites a stick with a quiet groan, and pulls it with him. And at some moment, he starts to chase a dove that flies here by chance but leaves immediately. The dog literally forgets about Peter, who is sitting under the tree as quietly as a mouse and singing along with a song. But some time later, he slows down with his tongue hanging out. Not because he gets tired, but because something gets his attention.       Somewhere far from here, he sees a dark-haired man with a noticeable bristle on his face, who is slowly walking on the asphalt path, including his head, and keeping his hands in the pockets of his black, denim waistcoat. Sammy quickly recognizes the man as Daniel, who looks super sad and is not happy even with such a beautiful place. He watches the man for a few seconds, and then he quickly runs to Perkins with a quiet bark. At first, he does not react to this, but because the bark is too persistent, the man moves his eyes to the dog and stops after he recognizes this dog with thick but dirty hair.       “Sammy…” Daniel pronounces thoughtfully. “Sammy! Is that you, fluffy?”       Sammy wagging his tail happily with his tongue out brings his face to Daniel, who pets his head with a slight smile.       “You recognized me, huh?” Daniel pronounces amicably and runs his hand over Sammy’s hair. “Me too, buddy…”       Sammy enjoys the caress for a few seconds, and then Daniel thinks about throwing a bottle of water and scaring Sammy too much after getting enraged by the fight with his friends.       “Hey…” Daniel pronounces quietly, looking at Sammy guiltily. “You… I’m sorry about scaring you when throwing the bottle of water. I swear I didn’t want to scare you… It happened…”       Sammy makes no sound and just looks at Daniel with sadness in his eyes.       “I wasn’t me, you see. I was turned against the guys. But trust me, I’m very sorry about it. And I’ve already asked the guys for forgiveness. So… I want to apologize to you. I don’t want you to be afraid of me and be mad.”       Sammy barks confidently two times.       “Aren’t you mad at me? Please, Sammy… Forgive me… I promise I won’t do this anymore. I shall give you a treat. What do ya think?”       Sammy barks again and gives a paw to Daniel, who shakes it with a slight smile, scratching the dog’s neck after he squats down.       “I’m sorry, boy,” Daniel apologizes with sadness in his eyes. “Sorry… I’m very sorry…”       Sammy makes a quiet sound, nuzzles against Daniel’s face, and licks the tip of his nose.       “Thanks,” Daniel exhales with relief. “So, we’re friends again.”       Sammy jumps slightly, wagging his tail energetically, while Daniel scratches his hair with both hands.       “Hey, whatcha doing here? Are you walking here with Helene?”       Sammy makes no sounds.       “No, not with Helene?” Daniel frowns. “Peter?”       Sammy barks two times loudly and turns his head aside.       “I see. But why doesn’t he play with you? Why do you run here alone?”       Sammy tries to explain everything to Daniel, barking constantly, running in circles, jumping, and sniffing something near himself. But then he lies on the ground and looks at the man amicably with his tongue hung out. But Perkins thinks the dog is just having fun.       “Wow, Sammy,” Daniel laughs shyly. “I didn’t know you were so funny.”       Sammy keeps barking for a few seconds and runs after his tail multiple times.       “So, buddy, didn’t someone play with you enough?” Daniel says with a shy laugh. “You want more?”       Sammy whines quietly and inclines his head to agree with it. Daniel shakes his head with a shy smile on his face and pets the head of the dog wagging his tail and yanks his ears softly.       “Hey, where’s Rose now? Will you show me?”       Sammy barks loudly and runs somewhere, while Daniel follows him immediately. A few seconds later, the dog brings the man to the right place, and Perkins sees the familiar blond, who is still sitting under the tree, examining something on his phone with interest, shaking his head with the rhythm of the music, and clapping on his knee, while the cold wind is caressing his skin tenderly.       “So, he’s having a rest…” Daniel pronounces thoughtfully. “Listening to music and singing…”       Daniel looks at Peter better, frowning slightly and crossing his arms over his chest.       “Hey, is he wearing glasses on the head? He didn’t use to wear them…”       While Daniel watches Daniel and thinks about whether he wants to come to him, Sammy runs to the man, holding a stick in his teeth, and barks to get attention. But Perkins does not react to this and keeps watching the blond, who is enjoying his favorite music in his headphones.       “It’s time to stop being silent,” Daniel says confidently. “We’ve gotta sort everything out once and forever. We can be silent forever, but it won’t solve the problem. So, I’ve gotta do something.”       Sammy tries to get attention again by barking confidently. And then Daniel moves his eyes to him, after all.       “What’s up, buddy?” Daniel asks with a slight smile. “Huh! You want me to play with you?”       Sammy barks confidently, looking at Daniel closely with the hope that he will play with him much longer than Peter.       “No problem, buddy,” Daniel shrugs and takes the stick from Sammy. “So, Sammy, go! Show me everything you can.”       Two seconds later, Daniel throws the stick at a long distance and goes aside. Sammy immediately runs to where the thing that he liked gets thrown and gives it to the man, who does the same thing again, thinking it would be a good way to have some fun and try to forget about his problems with Anna. And the dog tries to help him and chases Perkins, who is not a fan of sports but runs after him on the large territory with pleasure.       “You won’t get it, you won’t!” Daniel teases loudly, pulling the stick on himself. “The stick is mine! Get off!”       Some time later, Daniel manages to take the stick and starts to tease Sammy, waving it in front of him with a slight smile.       “C’mon, fluffy, try to take it!” Daniel encourages with a sly smile. “C’mon! Here’s the stick! Take it!”       Sammy tries to take the stick away from Daniel with a loud bark, but the man does not let him do it, running to different sides and chuckling quietly when the retriever meets failure.       “Sammy, c’mon! It’s not very hard! I would take the stick if I were instead of you!”       Sammy barks two times and jumps high to take his prize, but Daniel raises his hand and clatters quietly with a sly smile.       “Go, boy, go! Give more effort! Turn on the hunter mode! Come on, Sammy, come on!”       Daniel teases Sammy with the stick for a few seconds, waving it in front of his face before he starts to run away with a quiet laugh.       “Try to catch me if you can! Look, your prize is running away! Running! Oh, oh, oh! You’re losing it!”       Sammy starts to chase Daniel, but he grabs the stick with his teeth a few seconds later and pulls it on himself with a quiet growl. Then they start to pull the stick, walking in circles and trying to get what they are fighting for. At some moment, Peter believes he hears someone’s voice and the dog’s bark. Frowning slightly, the man stops the music, takes his headphones off, and sees how Sammy takes the stick from Daniel and runs aside, while Perkins starts to chase him. Although Rose gets tense enough when seeing Perkins, he is happy to see him having a lot of fun with the dog. He decides not to show himself and just watches what’s happening from afar. A few seconds later, Daniel throws the stick far enough and looks around, while Sammy looks for his reward. He looks at Peter a little tensely, while the blond moves his eyes aside, watches him for a few seconds, and comes to him confidently enough, being determined to solve the current problem.       “Growing your ass while the dog is busy?” Daniel asks.       “Sort of,” Peter shrugs. “I see you decided to shake up.”       “I could not refuse when Sammy looked at me sadly with the stick in his teeth.       “What about your success?”       “Variable. But my opponent is powerful. And very toothy.”       “Right.” Peter glances at what’s behind Daniel’s back. “But you better watch out.”       “What?”       “Look back.”       But Daniel does not react because Sammy runs to him quickly and, standing up on his hind legs, pushes the man so that he cannot keep his balance and falls to the ground with a quiet whoop.       “Hey, what is this?” Daniel wonders, sits up slowly, and moves his eyes to Sammy looking at him innocently. “Huh, Sammy?”       Sammy just barks quietly, still looking at Daniel innocently with his tongue out.       “You don’t play honestly,” Daniel says confidently. “Attacking your opponent from behind is a mean violation of the rules. If you attack, do it so that you are seen.”       “It’s worthless to explain it to him,” Peter replies, bending his legs at his knees. “He keeps doing it. He attacks someone from behind and dirties their clothes with his dirty paws.”       “Judging the tracks of dog paws on your t-shirt, he’s marked you,” Daniel laughs amicably.       While Peter looks at his t-shirt with the bright tracks of dog paws, Sammy whines quietly, closes his face with a paw, and inclines his head, as if he tries to say he is very ashamed.       “Okay, bandit with ears, run here for a little longer,” Peter says confidently. “I haven’t had enough rest.”       Sammy, wagging his tail energetically, takes the stick with his teeth, and looks at Peter or Daniel, who gets up at this time.       “Hey, I ain’t gonna run after you all day long!” Daniel exclaims. “I am tired!”       Sammy whines quietly with pity in his eyes and inclines his head slightly.       “Okay, man, give us some time,” Daniel says quietly, petting Sammy’s head. “And then one of us will play with you. Okay?”       Sammy barks confidently two times: he does it quietly at first and then loudly.       “Wonderful!” Peter exclaims. “Clock’s ticking!”       Two seconds later, Sammy runs away as fast as the strong wind and starts to sniff every centimeter of the ground with interest, while Daniel shakes his head with a shy smile on his face.       “How does he get so much energy?” Daniel wonders, turning on Peter. “Does the fluffy keep a special diet?”       “Likely, the endless source of energy,” Peter assumes thoughtfully and chuckles kindly, wrapping his headphones and putting them in his pocket as well as his phone. “Or we’re just getting older…”       Daniel doubles over and leans on his knees with both hands for two seconds, trying to catch a breath. And then he comes to Peter, sits down next to him, bends his legs at his knees, and lets his hands down from them.       “We’ve gotta talk,” Daniel pronounces quietly. “And you know about what.”       “I know,” Peter nods, looking at his hands. “But I’ve got nothing to add.”       “I can’t be silent that your act is disgusting. I did not think you would do that.”       “Yeah… The act of the mean coward…”       “What you told made me disappointed in you. Very disappointed. I’m hurt that you, seeing how one bastard was mocking my girlfriend like that, did nothing.”       “I did it from cowardice. The fear that I couldn’t deal with him. I wasn’t sure about my power and didn’t know if I could deal with that dangerous man.”       “But you could at least try!”       “I could, but I did not. A fear was stronger.”       “If you don’t want fear to get control of you, you should curb it like a horse and go forward, even if something drags you back.”       “I know.”       “I’ve always despised those, who treat girls badly. In my childhood, I was taught not to hurt them and especially not to beat them. For me, those things are a ban.”       “You say it like I support those things.”       “But your act says different things!”       “No, Daniel, that’s disgusting to me,” Peter replies confidently. “Yes, maybe, I insulted girls in anger. But I’ve never beaten them. I’ve never done what that bastard did.”       “The most disgusting thing in this situation is that you didn’t help the girl. The weak, unprotected girl. It would’ve been okay if it had been a man. But that was the girl. My girlfriend.”       “When hiding behind the car, I hated myself for my cowardice. When the guys heard it, they expressed their contempt and disappointment. But they found the courage to understand me. Telling the truth was the best thing that I could do.”       “But it wouldn’t have made you better.”       “I know. So, I count on nothing.”       “I barely held down when I heard how you behaved toward Anna. I had to make many efforts not to hit you. Strangle you right there, in the room.”       “But now you’ve got a chance.”       “What?”       “Do it now,” Peter suggests, looking at Daniel without emotions.       “Are you serious?”       “Absolutely. Hit me. And actually, do anything you want to me.” Peter moves his eyes to his hands. “I will accept it… Because I deserved it…”       A tense silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which Daniel thinks about something, looking gloomy enough, and Peter, keeping his legs bent at his knees, looks at his hands.       “So, what are you waiting for? Nobody will stop you! Even Sammy. He will be just barking and running around. Now you’ve got a chance to say and do anything you want. I don’t care about what’s going to happen to me…”       “Maybe, you don’t care,” Daniel says quietly, looking at his hands. “But I do care!”       “What?” Peter sharply moves his widely open eyes to Daniel.       “I will not do this,” Daniel also moves his eyes to Peter. “No hits, no insults…”       “Stop, dude. Do what you should. I’ve gotta pay for my cowardice.”       “But you will be excused thanks to your honesty.”       “Daniel…”       “No, Peter! I will not beat you. I will not and do not want.”       “But why? You wanted it so badly!”       “Because I’m not better.” Daniel, bending his legs to his knees, looks into the distance. “I can’t blame someone after I’ve made tons of mistakes.”       “No, I don’t believe it,” Peter shakes his head. “I don’t believe that you accepted what I told you so easily.”       “I didn’t accept it,” Daniel says quietly. “And I am still disappointed and resented.”       “And…”       “But I value your honesty.” Daniel moves his eyes to Peter. “You hid nothing and explained everything honestly. You found no excuses. You didn’t lie. You didn’t resent when you got charges.”       “I repeat, it was the best thing I could do.”       “And you did it. To confess your weakness, you should be very courageous. For a man, it’s a hit on his balls.”       “Right…” Peter nods and looks into the distance. “That was super hard… But If I’d found excuses, my situation would’ve gotten worse.”       “I’m glad you understand it.”       “Listen, I’m really very sorry about what happened,” Peter expresses regret, moving his eyes to Daniel again. “I didn’t want Anna to suffer. If I’d been braver, I would’ve done my best to protect her. At least, I would’ve tried. I wouldn't have cared that I could give my life.”       “I believe it,” Daniel pronounces with a slight smile and puts his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “I believe you didn’t want it.”       “If everything happened now, I wouldn’t stand aside. After the fight with such a dangerous man like Wainwright, I fear nothing.”       “And then, you showed a very good side of you.”       “Let’s think I was struggling with my cowardice and discovering myself. Everything I could do. But everything I didn’t know before.”       “Can I count on you if I have to deal with that bastard and save Anna someday?”       “Undoubtedly,” Peter nods confidently. “This time, I won’t be hiding.”       “Glad to hear it.”       “Anyway, forgive me for acting like a coward and not helping Anna. I’m very sorry…”       “It’s okay, Peter,” Daniel waves a hand. “What’s done is done. I don’t wanna come back to that. I don’t wanna fight with anyone. I’m sick of this.”       “It makes me exhale with relief,” Peter cracks a smile.       “And you don’t be mad for calling you a coward.”       “It’s okay. That’s what I am. What I was. Or what I am. I dunno!”       “Okay, buddy, let’s make our relationship worse,” Daniel says confidently, clapping Peter on the shoulder. “Yes, that was bad, and I’m resentful. But you confessed everything honestly and realized that it was the best thing for you. And I appreciate it.”       “I will no longer disappoint you.”       “I hope.”       After sharing a slight smile, Daniel and Peter share a homely handshake, hug each other amicably, clap each other on the shoulder or the back, and step away.       “Hey, why are you sitting here?” Daniel asks. “Sammy is running a hurricane, but you’re listening to music!”       “I ran after him for more than half an hour!” Peter exclaims. “I don’t have to go a fitness club because a walk with this eared guy can replace a full workout.”       “I distracted myself a little and got much better. I’ve lately been too lazy… I’ve been only sitting at home, eating, sleeping, and spilling at the ceiling.”       “And I don’t wanna do anything,” Peter exhales slowly.       “All these events got me exhausted…” Daniel confesses, watching Sammy walking in circles or biting the stick with no pity and touching it with a paw.       “Not just you. All of us have the same condition.”       “But I understood that I’m not a home person.”       “Hey, did you come here in a car?”       “Nope, I decided to walk on my feet. I have nothing to do, but I don’t wanna stay at home. Since the others are busy, I’ve gotta do something.”       “I don’t know about the others, but Raquelle is surely at the hospital with Terrence.”       “She looks better now.”       “Why shouldn’t she? Terrence is getting well and gonna be released soon. So, Raquelle has nothing to worry about.”       “Yeah, as the doctor said…”       “I hope we’ll come together and play something. I’m missing everything about the band’s work…”       “I’m missing it, too,” Daniel sighs with sadness in his eyes. “The last time we played as a band happened at our last show. But it’s been a lot of time since that.”       “Have you played guitar at least once?”       “Yup. Two or three times. But now I’m gonna play often.”       “I haven’t played drums since the last show and miss my babies so badly.”       “It’s okay, we’ll start to work soon,” Daniel expresses hope with a slight smile. “Terrence turned out to be a tough man and is ready to get out immediately.”       While Peter and Daniel talk, they sometimes watch Sammy running and acting like a baby and barely hold down their quiet chuckles and slight smiles, seeing everything he is doing.       “Hey, why isn’t Helene with you?” Daniel asks. “Why do you walk with Sammy, not her?”       “Helene’s working now,” Peter replies. “And when she works or is busy somehow, I watch Sammy with pleasure. If I have a free time, of course.”       “You know… I’ve known her for a long time, but I still don’t know where she is working.”       “She’s a research assistant in the institute… Experiments, chemistry, biology, science, etc…”       “She likes science?”       “Yeah, chemistry and biology are her, so to say, passion. Helene even has a diploma from the university.”       “She knows what has always seemed very hard to me.”       “You were bad at not only chemistry and biology,” Peter chuckles kindly. “For example, you still can’t count numbers.”       “Yes, yes… My grades were awful.”       “I imagine how upset your parents were.”       “Definitely.” Daniel bends his legs at his knees and lets his hands down from them. “My grades were terrible, and my behavior was far from the best…”       “Oh, yay,” Peter chuckles quietly. “A cool boy that would be a nerd and study well…”       “I didn’t really care about lessons and what teachers said. I went to school just to have fun with my friends. And after Cassidy’s birth, it became the place to run far from her loud shouts. The guys and I had a lot of fun… And we gave a fuck about the lectures of my teachers and parents about how to behave.”       “Get it…”       “We were young… Stupid…” Daniel falls into silence for two seconds, shaking his head with a slight smile. “Those times were cool… But there are things I regret now. That I’m a little ashamed.”       “I was deprived of these moments in childhood… Because I had nobody to play the fool with. I was brought to the corner so that I couldn’t even think about it. But now I’m making up for lost time. And I’m not ashamed of behaving like an idiot. Because I’m having fun.”       “Oh, honestly, I don’t wanna have fun. I wanna piss everything off to the fuck.”       “Do you wanna give up without a fight and let things take their own course?” Peter wonders.       “What can I do? My case is hopeless!”       “Listen, old man, you really let yourself go…” Peter moves his sad look to Daniel after watching Sammy sniff a small piece of the ground with interest. “What kind of depressed mood!”       “I know I don’t look good,” Daniel says in a lower voice and runs his hand over his two-week bristle.       “Damn, I can’t believe you’re ready to give up so easily. You’ve always been a strong man! You’ve experienced so much, but now you wanna literally hang yourself.”       “Even if I try to do something to make amends, it doesn’t mean I will be forgiven,” Daniel exhales slowly with sadness in his eyes.       “It’s never a shame to lose after a long and cruel fight. It’s a shame to give up without even trying. The one, who tries to reach just something, is already strong enough.”       “Of course, I’ll try to do something. But I don’t hope for anything. I can believe in a miracle as much as I want, but I’ve gotta think soberly.”       “But we all understand that you’d never do it at your wish. You didn’t wanna betray Anna.”       “Yeah, but how do I explain it to her? Anna is pretending that she doesn’t hear me! I’m knocking at the locked door that will never be open to me!”       “She’s hurt, Daniel, too hurt. You know that any cheater loses people’s trust.”       “I know, Peter… I deny nothing and told the truth about how I cheated on her.”       “Try to imagine yourself instead of her. What you would feel if you saw her kissing another man.”       “I’d strangle him with my own hands.”       “So, she wanna strangle Blanca. Anna wanna strangle Blanca as well as Raquelle wanted to erase Rachel from this world when Terrence was snuggling her.”       “I still can’t believe I went so far.”       “Don’t rush, wait for a while. Give Anna time to get cool. Girls may be mad for a long time. Some people remember offenses for years. While you forget, for example, how you didn’t wish her a happy birthday, she’s gonna remember it for ten more years.”       “I’d do anything for her to forgive me.”       “Maybe, Anna understands everything at the bottom of her heart and wanna give you a chance, but he refuses to confess it ‘cause she’s obsessed with the offense.”       “Anna has always said she’d forgive many things except cheating. Even despite her love for order and cleanliness, she could sometimes close her eyes to my clothes thrown on different sides or a mess in the kitchen. We could argue about many things, but we always reconciled. However, after my betrayer, I may not wait for the same thing to happen.”       “Nevertheless, many people forgive betrayers. MacClife, Sr., is an example. He also cheated, but Raquelle and he are together. Yes, maybe a lot of time was gone before they forgot everything. But the guys gave each other a chance. And got no regrets.”       “For MacClife, it was something like a role in a movie. The storyline said he should’ve played love with Rachel. But in my case, it was real…”       “Don’t forget about the events when you cheated.”       “It doesn’t matter. The betrayal happened. So, I betrayed.”       “Don’t give up, buddy. Don’t bury your hopes of getting her back. I’m sure that Anna still loves you. It’s impossible to forget your love for someone for a short time. But if that girl is jealous, she’s not indifferent to you. If Seymour gave a damn about you, she wouldn’t even move her eyebrow when seeing you fucking someone.”       “It’s hardly my case…” Daniel says nothing for two seconds, looking into the distance. “Hardly…”       “Blanca had some goals if she wanted to get you attracted to her so badly, not caring that you don’t know and love her.”       “I don’t know about the goals of that liar, but I swear if I see her again, she will have to regret it. I shall make Blanca pay for the lie. I don’t know how, but I will not leave it unnoticed.”       “Anyway, not everything is lost,” Peter says confidently. “Just think about the MacClifes, who came back to their girls even after all the serious conflicts and charges.”       “Their problem was a lack of attraction to each other. And a reluctance to be honest.”       “Amnesia is guilty in your case. You cheated when you didn’t know what you were doing. It can be understood and excused.”       “Amnesia or not, but I did a disgusting thing… Not only Anna. But also all of you.”       “Yeah, you were a brainless asshole. But on the contrary, we knew everything would come back to its right places if you remembered everything.”       “I was madly lucky I excused myself for my friends and got their forgiveness.”       “Someday, Anna will understand you.”       “Even if nobody had known about my betrayal, I wouldn't have been silent. Even despite a great wish to keep it secret and pretend that everything was good. I was always honest with Anna and never lied to her. And I don’t wanna lie now.”       “I believe she could appreciate your honesty. There’s a chance to avoid the worst things if you confess everything and show regret.”       “That’s why I didn’t strangle you after your confession about not helping Anna.”       Daniel and Peter pay attention to Sammy barking loudly, still running from one side to another, and biting the stick with his strong, sharp teeth.       “Anyway, you can’t just sit and do anything,” Peter notices. “Anna won’t appreciate it. Maybe, that girl won’t confess it now, but she’s gonna love the fact that you’re trying to prove your regret.”       “I shall put my relationship with her in second place,” Daniel replies thoughtfully. “I will think about how to save her from that bastard. Even if we aren’t together, I will feel quiet if I know that nothing threatens her, and nobody dares to hurt her.”       “Now you can just talk to her parents and explain the situation.”       “And I definitely need your help.” Daniel moves his eyes to Peter. “Would you tell them everything if I asked you?”       “No question, dude!” Peter shrugs. “Just let me know, so I’m ready!”       “Thank you…”       Peter says nothing and just smiles slightly. Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, after which Sammy being tired and breathing heavily comes to him and Daniel. The dog lies on the ground and yawns nicely, while the men chuckle quietly and shake their heads.       “Oh, look, who’s come to us!” Peter says with a slight smile and yanks Sammy’s ears. “Sammy, what’s up? Your charge is gone?”       “I think this dog is so tired that he won’t survive the second round,” Daniel assumes with a quiet chuckle.       Sammy barks quietly, rolls on his back lazily for two seconds, lies on his stomach, and puts his face on his paws folded together.       “Hey, don’t dare to lie down and have a rest, boy,” Peter says cheerfully with a slight smile. “You and I will go home. On our legs and paws.”       Sammy makes a quiet sound that expresses his disagreement with this perspective.       “Yes, yes, Samuel, your paws,” Peter says confidently. “And nobody’s gonna take you in their arms.”       “Listen, let’s go to my home?” Daniel suggests with a slight smile. “The way from here is not very long.”       “Your home?” Peter specifies.       “While Sammy has a rest, you and I talk with a bottle of beer.”       “So what, Sammy?” Peter moves his eyes to Sammy breathing heavily. “Will we accept Daniel’s invitation?”       Sammy looks at Peter questioningly, wagging his tail amicably.       “It would be a short way. And when you have a rest, you and I will go to my home and wait for Helene.”       Sammy barks confidently two times, looking at Peter and Daniel amicably.       “I think he agrees,” Peter says with a slight smile.       “Deal, then!” Daniel clicks his fingers. “Since we have nothing to do, and the guys left us, we have to do something.”       “Huh, we’ll do without them!”       Peter gets up with a kind chuckle and shakes the dirt off himself. While Daniel does the same, the blond takes the leash from the pocket and attaches it to Sammy’s collar. At this moment, his glasses fall off his head and end up on the ground, but Rose takes them and quickly cleans them of dirt.       “Hey, Pete, since when have you worn glasses?” Daniel frowns slightly.       “Actually, I wear them rarely,” Peter confesses. “Only when I need to read or look at something that is far away. One day, I wanted to try lenses, but I almost became blind. I had a terrible allergic reaction. My eyes were red and hurt strongly.”       “Myopia?”       “Yup. I had bad vision before, but rarely used glasses and just squinted my eyes slightly. But now my vision has gotten a little worse.”       “How long have you had bad vision?”       “Since childhood. But it wasn’t as bad as it is now. And my vision got worse after I was in the hospital. The consequence of the condition that I had for a long time. The doctor warned that something would happen. So, I got worse vision.”       “You were lucky that you recovered quickly. Sometimes it takes months or even years.”       “I got a wish to live when I heard that my sympathy for Helene was mutual, and my friends were ready to help me,” Peter smiles shyly.       Peter finally cleans his glasses from dirt and puts them on. Daniel looks at the blond better and nods confidently with a slight smile.       “Hey, you look good!” Daniel notices. “Glasses don’t usually make people attractive, but girls would obviously love your look.”       “Helene was delighted when she saw me wearing glasses for the first time,” Peter confesses shyly.       “Fans are also gonna be delighted with the blond drummer wearing glasses. You should post a couple of photos of you wearing glasses on Twitter or Instagram. Add fuel to the fire.”       “I shall think about it.”       “Or better post a photo of you wearing glasses and being shirtless. Girls would have hysteria. They literally pray to the half-naked you.”       “Aha, and Helene would kill me,” Peter replies funnily. “She’s a little jealous.”       “May girls see what they lost and be jealous of your cutie.”       “Well, as you suggested I tease the fans, you’ll have to pay.”       “Relax, Rose!” Daniel claps Peter on the shoulder. “Nothing will happen to you! Girls will admire the treasure, and Marshall will feel proud that she got the one.”       “M-m-m, I think I know who I’d blame for hacking my accounts in case I wanted to post a couple of photos of me wearing glasses and being shirtless,” Peter smiles slyly.       “If you don’t want me to post something spicy on your Instagram account, I advise you to change your password.”       “Change yours if you don’t want me to send a couple of photos of you being naked on my phone and leak them to your fans.”       “C’mon, post everything!” Daniel chuckles kindly. “I’ve got nothing to be shy of! I also have a gorgeous body. Not worse than yours… I have a beautiful face… Not just as pretty as Edward MacClife’s face… And I’m a more handsome guy than Terrence MacClife himself!”       “Fans will decide who they consider their Apollo.”       Daniel says nothing and just shakes his head with a shy smile on his face, and Peter starts pulling the leash attracted to Sammy.       “Sammy!” Peter exclaims. “Sammy, get up now! Stop lying! Get up, I said!”       Sammy makes a quiet sound, definitely not wishing to get up and planning to enjoy the shots of the sun a little.       “Don’t even hope, eared lazy boy, I won’t carry you in my arms,” Peter says confidently. “You’ll go on your paws as well as we will walk on our feet.”       Sammy barks quietly again, looking at Peter with sadness in his eyes.       “Get your ass up, I said! Samuel! Don’t pretend to be deaf!”       “Hey, boy,” Daniel squats down in front of Sammy with a sly smile. “If you’re a good boy, a prize will be waiting for ya. I have some dog toys at my home. Or maybe, I’ll find something tasty for you. For example, a piece of meat…”       Sammy looks at Daniel questioningly, listening to what he says closely.       “My word!” Daniel raises a hand with his palm turned on Sammy. “And if I have no melt, I’ll go to a store and buy a piece for you.”       Sammy licks himself two times after hearing the words about a piece of melt, barks quietly, and sits up slowly.       “Damn, Sammy, let’s go…” Peter sighs tiredly. “Are you gonna stay here ‘till the evening?”       Sammy stays in the same place for a few seconds, but then he gets up on his paws and shakes some dirt off himself sharply. After Daniel and Peter look at each other with sly smiles, they turn around and go where they need to, while the retriever follows them obediently.       “Yeah, this boy is ready to sell his soul for something tasty,” Daniel notices with a slight smile.       “Tasty food is his weakness,” Peter notices. “If he could, he would eat all the dog food. And sometimes Sammy asks for a big piece of meat or something else that people eat. Especially when someone sits on a table.”       “How he could resist! When there is an amazing smell in the air, your stomach is gonna grumble.”       “Agree, but this doggy must be kept in good shape.”       “Keeping him far from the refrigerator and closets with food that he could open is the most important thing,” Daniel chuckles kindly.       “We have to watch him. But Sammy is a smart dog. If you hit him on the ears or the nose once, he doesn’t check out what he must not examine.”       Sammy going a little forward barks quietly, looking at Peter or Daniel. On the way, the men may pet him, scratch his hair, or yank his ears at a different time. Then the dog wags his tail energetically and uses any moment to play the fool and amuse the friends, who laugh shyly and say something to him.       

***

      Meanwhile, Raquelle is spending her time in the hospital with Terrence. She tries to help him get well as soon as possible and distracts him from everything that has happened lately. Because it’s lunchtime, the man is currently eating what he got some time ago on a plate.       “Hey, what are you doing?” Terrence laughs shyly, while Raquelle tries to feed him with a fork. “I’m not a child and can feed myself!”       “I just wanna take care of you,” Raquelle shrugs with an innocent smile. “Besides, you haven’t gotten well! And to get well soon, you should eat very well.”       “Oh, I do feel great! Much better than two days ago. And I’d leave right now with pleasure. But the doctors mind it and say that I must stay for some time.”       “Wait for a while, my sweetheart. You’ll go home soon.”       “I can’t wait…” Terrence exhales slowly. “I wanna go home so badly… My sweet home, where my precious diamond is waiting for me.”       Terrence tenderly caresses Raquelle’s cheek with a slight smile on his face, making her smile shyly and caress his hand.       “And I’m sick of lying on this bed. My whole body hurts.”       “Take it, Terrence, take. And be nice to do what I say. C’mon, open your mouth! Open, open!”       Raquelle tries to feed Terrence with a fork for the second time. But at some moment, something falls on the plate with food, and the girl laughs shyly.       “Okay, okay, I won’t resist anymore,” Terrence chuckles kindly. “Arguing with someone to be more stubborn than a donkey is worthless. But don’t make a mess here. Otherwise, they’re gonna think there is a pig here.”       “Okay, my beloved piggy, I’ll try,” Raquelle laughs shyly.       “I am not a piggy!”       “Sorry, I forgot… The pig named Terrence MacClife.”       “Decided to mock me?”       “C’mon, open your mouth! Stop talking!”       Raquelle feeds Terrence with a fork after the third attempt, holding the hand under the fork not to muck anything.       “Not, not what I love,” Terrence shakes his head. “Neutral… Tasteless…”       “C’mon…” Raquelle pronounces confidently and tastes what she sees on the plate. “Not so bad. Maybe, salt is missing, but it’s good.”       “Not only salt is missing but also many other things.”       “Oh, MacClife, you’re so fussy… You got used to the best and forgot the taste of simple food that all people eat.”       “I just don’t like what they cook in hospitals. One more reason why I hate them.”       “Shut up and eat, or you’re gonna be hungry. You won’t get different food.”       “I know…” Terrence exhales sharply. “I have no choice.”       No matter how much Terrence dislikes the hospital food, he decides to eat it as soon as possible, sometimes drinking orange juice.       “This juice is the tastiest thing from what I see on the plate,” Terrence says confidently.       “Yeah, nice,” Raquelle agrees as she shrugs with a glass of water in her hands. “Almost the same as the one we drink at home.       “At least something is tasty.”       Terrence offers Raquelle to eat something from a fork at some moment. She agrees to do it and wipes her mouth off with a napkin that she takes from the plate.       “Hey, I thought about something that happened when I was in the hospital,” Terrence confesses.       “So, did you find the hospital food terrible a long time before girls pronounced you Apollo?” Raquelle laughs shyly.       “No… I just had a terrible doctor… A woman… She made me eat everything to the last crumb. She was ready to kill me when I left just something. And the case is not only that the food was much worse. I was just fed up and didn’t want to eat anymore. The pieces were too big. However, I was afraid of that woman so much that I barely ate everything. But sometimes I did some tricks: I either gave my food to my roommates or threw everything somewhere carefully and showed an absolutely clean plate. I ate what I could eat and hid the other part.”       “And weren’t you caught?”       “Nope. I could hide the tracks.”       “But why were you there?”       “I got sick strongly. I had a high fever and a cold for a few days. Mother was curing me at home, but some time later, she called an ambulance, and I was taken to the hospital.”       “Flu?”       “Sorta. But I was getting for a very long time.”       “You know…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “A similar story happened to me when I was in the hospital as a baby.”       “And what happened to you?”       “All the same: a fever, a cold, and a cough… Grandpa called an ambulance on the third day.”       “You were made to eat?”       “Yeah. Even if I didn’t want to, I had to eat. But you know that I’ve always eaten not very much: a couple of spoons before I’m fed. The doctor always said I should eat well to get well soon. But seeing that I ate too little, she thought something wasn’t right with me.”       “Yeah… It was hard for you.”       “Right…” Raquelle runs her hand over her face slowly. “But that’s good I didn’t spend too much time in the hospital. Otherwise, I would’ve always felt bad after overeating.”       “I get it…” Terrence pronounces with a slight smile. “On those days, I was also dreaming of getting out of the hospital. I was ready to die from a high fever and terrible weakness, but at home, in my bed… And eat as much as I want.”       By this moment, Terrence eats everything and wipes his mouth with a napkin, while Raquelle takes the plate with empty plates and puts it on the bedside table.       “Now I also wanna go home as soon as possible.”       “Now hospitals aren’t what they were then,” Raquelle notices. “They got much better.”       “I don’t mean I feel bad here, and my doctors are evil and disgusting. Vice versa, I’m lucky this time. My doctor is very good and treats me well. I just wanna lie on my soft bed, take a shower, put on my clothes, and get enough sleep…”       “Soon, sweetie, wait.” Raquelle puts her hand on Terrence’s knee and caresses it softly. “The doctor says you’re getting well fast. It means you’re gonna be released soon.”       “I dream about it,” Terrence hugs Raquelle with a slight smile, letting her lie down next to him, presses her closely to himself, kisses her forehead tenderly, and puts his hand on her cheek. “And I wanna be with you more frequently…”       “It’s mutual,” Raquelle pronounces with a slight smile and caresses Terrence’s cheek tenderly, while he presses her to himself, and one of her hands rests on his chest and sometimes runs it over the one. “I wanna fall asleep in your hugs so badly… I’m used to it so much… To someone, who says nice things before a night, hugs me, and warms me up…”       “I hope we’ll be together soon,” Terrence expresses hope in a little lower voice with a slight smile.       “Can’t wait…” Raquelle gives Terrence a cute, short kiss on his lips and looks at him tenderly with a slight smile on her face. “I’d go crazy if I didn’t have a chance to be next to you.”       “And I wouldn’t have been back to my close people soon if you hadn’t been near me.”       “I completely understood it.”       “I’m making sure that I’m so lucky to have you,” Terrence says with a slight smile and caresses Raquelle’s head. “It’s so nice that you take care of me and worry about me…”       “And I’m lucky to have you,” Raquelle smiles tenderly. “I doubt that someone could be more perfect than you.”       “I know, babe.” Terrence touches the tip of Raquelle’s nose with his nose with a wide smile, runs it against the one, and looks into her eyes. “You won’t find a more perfect man.”       “I mean not only the fact that you’re handsome.”       “I know. I meant everything. Everything about me, Terrence MacClife.”       “Yeah…” Raquelle laughs shyly. “Hard case…”       “Be proud of getting a treasure like me. Anyone could’ve gotten it, but three was only one lucky girl. Who naively thought she’d be able to resist me.”       “I thought you’d take off your crown, at least for a while. But you behave like a king, even on the hospital bed.”       “As I’ve recently told the guys, a king remains a king even on the hospital bed. A true king.”       “Oh, my gosh…”       “Yeah…” Terrence pronounces in a lower voice and looks at Raquelle better with a mysterious smile, noticing that she looks perfect in a green blouse with open shoulders and light two-layer sleeves that amazingly fits her dark blue skinny jeans. “You’re so beautiful today… This shirt fits you so well.”       “Relax, pretty boy. Until you leave the hospital, don’t even think about it.”       “Sorry… I’m very sorry that I’m not able to give you all my love.” Terrence slowly runs his fingertips over the curve of Raquelle’s neck. “But I wanna relax so badly… I want you to show me everything you can…”       “Gosh, MacClife, get well and leave the hospital first,” Raquelle laughs shyly. “And then, you’ll think of sex.”       “In my fantasies, you’re making all my wishes come true obediently.” Terrence leaves a couple of tender kisses on the curve of Raquelle’s neck, breathing in the smell of the soft skin on it. “And I bring you to the top of the world…”       “No, don’t dare…” Raquelle pronounces with closed eyes in a little shaking voice. “Don’t dare to do this right here…”       “Just a little…” Terrence runs his lips over all the parts of Raquelle’s face and the curve of her neck and leaves a tender kiss on the front of her neck. “You give me the strength… I’ll get out of here sooner.”       “Okay, Terrence, stop…” Raquelle laughs shyly and tries to step away from Terrence softly. “We’re in the hospital… People walk everywhere.”       “Don’t ya wanna test a new place to make love?”       “Thanks, I haven’t gone crazy yet.”       “You didn’t care about people when you wanted sex right on the airplane.”       “The heat of your sexy body got obsessed with my mind.”       “Okay, as my baby is shy, I won’t insist,” Terrence promises with a sly smile, runs his fingers through Raquelle’s loose, straight hair, and lets his fingers through it.       “Don’t worry, honey…” Raquelle pronounces in a low, quite tempting voice and grabs Terrence’s face. “I promise when you’re back home, we’ll have an unforgettable evening. Or night. We’ll see it.”       “And all my wishes will come true immediately?” Terrence asks with a sly smile.       “For me, your word is a law, my lord.”       A bright fire appears in Terrence’s eyes, and he hugs Raquelle around the shoulders tightly with a wide smile and puts his free hand on her cheek, while the girl keeps her hand rested on his chest.       “Well…” Raquelle smiles mysteriously. “If you want it so badly, you can kiss me.”       “Only kiss?” Terrence rounds his eyes.       “Now this is the only thing you can count on.” Raquelle brings her face closer to Terrence’s face with a wide smile and runs her thumb over his lips, feeling the smell of the orange juice that he recently drank. “Though, I don’t insist. If you can hold on without my kisses for one week, it’s okay.”       “If you, bitch, keep provoking me, I’ll piss everything off much earlier,” Terrence replies in a low voice, caressing Raquelle’s cheek with his warm, soft hand with a feeling of slight dizziness and a fast heartbeat, while his muscles tense from her breath that is burning his skin.       After looking into Raquelle’s eyes closely and moving his eyes to her open, puffy lips, Terrence leaves a short kiss that makes her heart top. And when he gives her a more continuous one, the man can hear the lady’s quiet, sensual moan. The lovers feel how the wave of caressing warmth is spreading all over their bodies, forgetting about being in the hospital for a while and focusing only on their feelings. However, they decide not to go too far and step away a few seconds later, not letting the fire of passion burn up. They look into each other’s eyes with tender smiles, while the man moves some strands of hair off her face, and the girl slowly runs her hand over his chest.       “Listen, Raquelle…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully, folding his hands in front of himself. “I’d like to talk to you about something… That’s very important…”       “Oh, yeah…” Raquelle replies hesitantly, pursing her tense lips and sitting up. “Sure… I’m listening to you…”       While Raquelle gets very nervous because of realizing that her confession about losing the child and being silent might make Terrence get so mad that he would like to leave her, the man looks at the girl confidently for two seconds.       “We’ve talked about something weird that has been happening to you many times. But when I asked you about it, you said everything was fine. Though, it’s not true…”       “Listen, Terrence, I…” Raquelle wants to say hesitantly, locking her fingers tightly and starting to breathe a little heavily.       “My sweetie, you’re afraid that I won’t understand you or will get angry for nothing. I won’t hurt you and will take anything you say.”       “I know…”       “I see something is torturing you… But I can’t help you. Though, your happiness is the most important thing to me. If the problem is me, let me know it, don’t be afraid. I should know what I do wrong and how I make you sad or scared.”       “Sweetheart…”       “I’m not your enemy. We aren’t strangers to each other. If you don’t like something, tell me.”       “No, Terrence!” Raquelle shakes her head with her widely open eyes. “The case is not about you!”       “But what’s wrong? What has been bothering you since the trial of Uncle?”       “Why you…”       “I know that it all started then. But I noticed it after the trial ended. We all started to come to ourselves slowly, but you were too worried anyway. I could find an excuse for your behavior during the trial, but now it’s a guess to me.”       “Yeah, but you see…”       “You scare me, Raquelle.” Terrence takes Raquelle’s hands softly and folds them together, looking at the girl with pity in his eyes. “You’ve cried so much lately that I’m starting to worry about you. Many people understood that there was something that was killing you inside. And some people saw your groundless tears. Yes, we can’t be happy and smiling all the time. Sometimes we need to cry and get sad for some time. It’s okay! But permanent tears and a broken state is a sign of anxiety, honey.”       “Terrence…” Raquelle pronounces with pity in the eyes.       “It’s like you’re pretending to be happy and literally thinking of killing yourself.”       “No, no, I ain’t gonna kill myself…” Raquelle shakes her head. “My gosh! Why do I need it? How could I kill myself when I have so many people, who love me?”       “And so many people that worry about you.” Terrence caresses Raquelle’s cheek and raises her face by the chin because the girl looks down guiltily. “Everybody says your condition makes them anxious.”       “I know…”       “Tell me what you’re worried about,” Terrence says with sadness in his eyes and caresses Raquelle’s wrist softly. “As we’ve decided to get married, we should survive any happiness and sadness together.”       “I know…”       “It’s okay that you say nothing to the others, but I’m not a stranger to you. I’m your fiancé.”       “Beloved fiancé.”       “I wanna help you, darling… I wanna stop worrying about you. I want you to stop crying at nights and faint from nightmares.”       “I’ve fainted just once. But you say it as if you find me unconscious every night.”       “It doesn’t matter. I just want all of this to end. I want you to open yourself to me and let me help you. If you suffer, I do either. Your pain is mine. Your happiness is mine. If you feel bad, I feel bad, too.”       “I know, Terrence,” Raquelle pronounces quietly and caresses Terrence’s cheek tenderly. “I feel all the same…”       “Sometimes I think I’m on edge. But the thought that you might destroy yourself without me makes me hold on. I know you need me. As well as I need you.”       “Yeah, but…”       “Please, Raquelle, let me know how I can make you happy,” Terrence begs with sadness in his eyes. “Seeing you like this hurts me.”       “Honey…”       “I wanna see a smile on your face and a gloss in your eyes again. I want you to be more alive. You’re always tense. Even when we make love, you keep thinking of something terrible. And… I feel uncomfortable, too.”       “No, that’s not true. Making love with you always gives me pleasure.”       “Let’s just discuss it, solve it, and forget it as soon as possible.”       “Terrence, let’s not talk about it now,” Raquelle says quietly, with sadness in her eyes, taking Terrence’s hand.       “So, does something make you worried?” Terrence concludes.       “Please, honey… You need to have a rest.”       “Don’t worry, I feel good enough,” Terrence replies confidently. “And I’m gonna feel absolutely quiet when I know your secret and make sure you’re fine.”       “Don’t think about me, sweetie. Now you need to think of your health.” Raquelle runs her hand over Terrence’s hair, understanding that she cannot avoid the confession of her miscarriage but wishing to play time as much as possible.       “But, Raquelle, you’ve avoided this talk for too long,” Terrence frowns slightly. “Don’t you think it’s all too much?”       “Not now…” Raquelle pronounces with a strongly shaking voice. “Later…”       “You can’t lie to everybody that you’re okay forever. Your friends, relatives, and others see that you aren’t fine. And we want to know what’s going on.”       “I know, but…”       “Open yourself to me, sweetheart. Stop scaring me and making me guess. I wanna make everything clear.”       Raquelle’s eyes run from one side to another, and she is shaking slightly at the thought of how Terrence would react if he knew what she is hiding from him.       “Are you afraid of me so much?” Terrence asks quietly with sadness in his eyes, grabs Raquelle’s face, and caresses it tenderly. “Why, Raquelle? Why? I won’t do anything bad to you!”       “No, no, Terrence, I’m not afraid of you!” Raquelle pronounces with a heavy breath, opening her eyes widely.       “I promise I’ll accept everything, understand you, and try to help if I can.”       “I know, sweetheart…”       “But why are you locking your heart away from me? Why are you torturing yourself with nobody knows what?” Terrence puts his hand on his heart. “I can’t watch you crying alone, suffering and grieving. I’m hurt! I’m in despair! The others are witnesses!”       “Don’t do it, Terrence…”       “Maybe, you want something, but you’re afraid to ask?”       “The only thing I wish for is you to leave the hospital and be healthy.”       “But what’s wrong, then?”       “Nothing…”       “Share your sadness with me, honey.” Terrence tucks a strand of Raquelle’s hair behind her ear, while she inclines her head and tries to hold down her wish to cry. “Don’t make me a monster.”       Feeling like she is pressed to the corner, while she is chased by a dangerous person, Raquelle breaks down and starts to cry bitterly at the realization that her fears are about to come true.       “Raquelle…” Terrence softly pronounces, hugs Raquelle tightly, presses her to himself, and caresses her head softly. “C’mon, my girl?”       While Terrence kisses her on the top of her head, Raquelle puts her nose on his shoulder, folding her hands in front of her.       “Hey, why are you crying again? Baby, what’s happening to you? Will I have to be worried about you forever?”       “Not now…” Raquelle makes a quiet sob. “Let’s talk about it later…”       “But when?”       “When you leave the hospital…”       “Is that something terrible?”       “Yes, terrible… Very terrible…”       “What does it have to do with?”       “I’ll explain everything later…” Raquelle steps back from Terrence slowly and, sniffing quietly, wipes tears off her face. “I promise I will tell you everything when you leave the hospital… Even if it’s gonna be super hard.”       “What if you wish to avoid the talk again?”       “No, no, I swear…” Raquelle takes Terrence’s hands and gets the courage to look into his eyes. “I will tell everything… I’m sick of keeping silent, and I must tell you that. But I want to do it when you leave the hospital.”       “Will you explain everything?”       “I will. I promise.”       Terrence exhales slowly and thinks about something for a few seconds, while Raquelle caresses his cheek softly and sniffs quietly at times.       “Okay, you won,” Terrence says quietly. “We’ll talk about it after I’m released.”       “Thank you…” Raquelle thanks quietly.       “But remember, I’m no longer going to close my eyes to what’s happening. I need to know everything! Did you get it?”       “Yes, yes, Terrence, I got it,” Raquelle nods confidently and sniffs quietly. “You’ll know everything on the same day…”       Terrence looks at Raquelle shaking slightly and being a little scared for two seconds, hugs her again, and presses her close to himself, caressing her head and back and kissing her temple tenderly. While she has her arms wrapped around his neck and runs her fingers through the man’s hair on the back of his head.       “It’s okay, sweetie, don’t cry,” Terrence says quietly and kisses Raquelle on the top of her head. “It’s okay… I’ll accept anything you’ll say.”       Two seconds later, Terrence kisses Raquelle’s temple tenderly, holding the back of her head with his hand, and squeezes her in his arms much tighter. The girl presses herself to his chest with closed eyes, understanding how her heart squeezes at the thought of what’s going to happen when the man knows the truth. And some time later, someone knocks at the door of the room, making Terrence and Raquelle step away from each other. The door opens, and Anna shows up on the doorstep hesitantly, looking around scarily as if something horrible is waiting for her here.       “Hey, Raquelle,” Anna waves her hand shyly.       “Anna!” Terrence says with a slight smile. “What a surprise!”       “Terrence? My gosh! You’re awake!”       “As you see.”       “Come in, sweetie, don’t be afraid,” Raquelle suggests amicably. “I’m alone here.”       Anna hesitates for two seconds, closes the door, comes to Terrence and Raquelle, and greets them by hugging them with pleasure and sharing an amicable kiss on the cheek. While Terrence, seeing her for the first time, gets horrified by the terrible condition of this girl.       “Gosh, Terrence, I’m so happy you’re okay,” Anna says amicably. “You scared all of us.”       “I know,” Terrence nods with a slight smile. “But I’ve apologized to the guys.”       “And how do you feel?”       “Good. I’d leave the hospital now, but I’m not allowed. They say I should stay here for one or two days.”       “Well, you look like the one, who’s getting well.”       While Terrence smiles shyly, folding his hands in front of him, Raquelle looks at Anna closely and understands how her heart is bleeding when she sees this girl in such a terrible condition.       “By the way, we didn’t see you after the day Terrence woke up,” Raquelle notices with sadness in her eyes.       “Erm, yeah…” Anna sighs heavily, looks around the whole room, and sits hesitantly on the bed in front of Terrence and Raquelle. “I got some things to do…”       “You left so suddenly and said goodbye to nobody.”       “I know…” Anna pronounces hesitantly, looking at her hands and fingering over nervously. “I’m sorry about not warning…”       “It seems like you’re ignoring us on purpose. As if we did something bad to you.”       “Me?” Anna rounds her eyes and takes Raquelle’s hands. “No, friend, c’mon! Don’t say that. I don’t ignore anyone and didn’t get mad at anyone.”       “But… You… Broke any contact with us so suddenly that we… Started to think that the problem was about us.”       “No, the case is not about you, guys. It just happened.”       “By the way…” Terrence pronounces hesitantly and bites his lip slightly. “You’ve changed… Too much…”       “Everybody says it…” Anna tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t know… I… I don’t almost look in the mirror.”       “Don’t you wanna tell us something? Maybe, there’s something we don’t know?”       “Erm…” Anna says nothing for two seconds and starts to speak in a low voice: “What I should tell! I guess you already know what your pal did.”       “Yes, I know everything,” Terrence nods with sadness in his eyes. “The guys said… And he confessed it.”       “Excellent! I won’t have to repeat it.”       “Anyway, I’m really sorry about what happened.”       “Don’t be,” Anna pronounces in a low voice. “I’ll survive it somehow…”       “Maybe, you should talk to him?” Raquelle asks carefully. “Just because you decided to leave Daniel doesn’t mean he left you.”       “We have nothing to talk about, Raquelle. I saw and found out enough to make conclusions.”       “He’s sorry about what he did.”       “I don’t care about his regret.”       “You should decide to end your relationship together.”       “I don’t want to have anything in common with that man. Perkins and I are over.”       “We completely understand your feelings, but please, don’t make a decision so quickly.”       “I’m not going to go back to the betrayal. Who swore his love and loyalty for such a long time. And that asshole kissed a fat elephant before my eyes!”       “Please, don’t forget that he didn’t remember you when he cheated on you with that girl,” Terrence notices with sadness in his eyes. “The foreigner pretended to be his fiancée.”       “Don’t excuse him, Terrence. You know that his act is disgusting.”       “Of course, I know. And he knows that we all judge him. But Daniel understands that he made a mistake.”       “He understands nothing!” Anna throws gloomily. “He only thought of getting into bed with that fat gal!”       “Here’s my advice, honey: give him a chance. Daniel would do anything for you. That man is waiting for your claims.”       “I ain’t gonna give him any chances. As well as I’m not gonna forgive him.”       “But you’re suffering without him!” Raquelle exclaims.       “He will not come to me after a fat cow licked him from head to foot!”       “We understand that you feel hurt. But please, remember about the events when it happened.”       “I don’t care about the events. The betrayer happened, and I saw it! I didn’t find it out from someone. I saw that stinker kissing a certain bitch with my own eyes.”       “But you’re unhappy! Without his love and care!”       “Not at all! I have my dad and mom, whom I can always ask for help if I need it.”       “But you do really need help. Daniel’s help. He’s the only one to be able to save you from what’s happening to you now.”       “I don’t need his help! I do not!”       “Listen, Anna…” Terrence pronounces softly with sadness in his eyes and takes Anna’s hands. “We all see that you’re suffering not only because of his betrayer but also because of many other things. Raquelle is absolutely right. Daniel is the only one to be able to protect you. He knows everything and is ready to help.”       “I’m suffering only because of his betrayer,” Anna lies hesitantly.       “Not, friend, that’s not the truth. You know what we mean.”       “No, guys…” Anna pronounces hesitantly in a shaking voice, recalling her meeting with Peter at the shopping center. “Why do you think I need help?”       “Listen, darling, we understand that you’re afraid of that man,” Raquelle replies softly and confidently. “But trust us, you’ve got nothing to be afraid of next to us. We’ll do our best to protect you.”       “Did Peter tell you about him?”       “Yup, him,” Terrence nods. “Peter said he saw you with the man that he disliked immediately.”       “Erm… Yeah…” Anna cracks a fake smile. “That’s Julian… I… I’ve known him for ages… He’s the brother of the guy, who my parents wanted to marry me off.”       “Maybe, you’ve known him for ages, but you shake with he’s near you. Peter said you had been more or less open at first, but when Julian came, you changed. You sharply became silent and agreed with everything he said.”       “No…” Anna pronounces hesitantly. “No, that’s not the truth. It seemed to Peter… He got it all wrong…”       “That man might be very dangerous to you, friend,” Raquelle says confidently, caressing Anna’s hand. “If only he didn’t do anything horrible to you. I mean, we’re sure you should stay far from him.”       “No…” Anna moves her eyes down and looks at Terrence and Raquelle scarily. “That’s not true. Julian does nothing bad to me… No… He’s… G-good…”       “Please, Anna, don’t destroy yourself,” Terrence begs with sadness in his eyes. “That man considers you nothing! But if you keep speaking to him, you’ll do everything only after his permission. You’ll become someone like his slave, or much worse.”       “No, Terrence, why do you think so?” Anna wonders in a shaking voice, while her scared eyes run nervously from one side to another. “Julian r-respects me…”       “You know that we’re right,” Raquelle says confidently.       “Don’t worry, guys. Julian is very good… He… Loves me…”       “Yeah, he loves… He’s likely a sick man. Who has considered women creatures without rights since childhood and thinks he has a right to treat you as he wants.”       “He’s just trying… To distract me… From the thoughts about that betrayal, Daniel… Julian knows what happened and tries to help me.”       “Is the way he treats you a wish to help you?” Terrence wonders. “Is this some kind of love?”       “Julian loves me. He’s said it many times. And he knows I can’t answer him back. But if only you knew how much I want it. I wanna… Love him.”       “No, Anna, don’t even dare to fall in love with him!” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “If you do it, you’ll make a great mistake.”       “I made a mistake when I fell in love with Perkins and agreed to date him. My father and mother were right when they said that this man wasn’t my partner. I should’ve listened to them and gotten married to the one they found decent.”       “Gosh, I can’t believe it…” Raquelle shakes her head. “I don’t believe you say it. That’s not what my friend Anna would say!”       “Hey, do your parents know you’re spending time with Julian?” Terrence wonders.       “Of course, they know,” Anna replies. “Father adores Julian and approves of the fact that Julian and I spend time together. He says he’s the only one to help me come to myself. I didn’t listen to him at first… But then… I realized he was right…”       “Damn, I can’t believe it…” Raquelle shakes her head.       “And he says he’d be very happy if we got married. I… I hope… I shall make his dream come true in the nearest time.”       “What?” Raquelle and Terrence pronounce with horror in their eyes and look at each other.       “No, Anna, you went crazy!” Raquelle gets horrified. “You can’t do this!”       “Why can’t I?” Anna pretends to be surprised. “I am an adult girl and can decide how to live.”       “That man will destroy you! He’s already taken control of your life. But if you’re married to him, he will get loose. Julian will do anything he wants to you. Do his best for you to have no one to ask for help. And you won’t be able to get divorced. He’ll threaten for you to stay. He’ll press on all your weaknesses. And if he tells your parents a heartbreaking story, they will stand by him and criticize you for not appreciating such a wonderful man.”       “C’mon, Raquelle, don’t dream up,” Anna smiles tensely. “I ain’t gonna be with the one I barely know. I’ve known Julian since I was a little child. My parents know his father and late mother very well. They know… What’s better for me.”       “They don’t know Julian and see what that man really is! He’s terrible! Dangerous!”       “That’s not the truth!”       “Julian is mocking you!” Terrence notices a little louder with horror in his eyes. “He treats you like a doormat. It can’t be obviously called love!”       “Gosh, why do you think so?”       “Peter saw it!”       “He saw nothing!” Anna shakes her head sharply. “It seemed to him! Moreover, Julian told Peter we dated and wanted to marry. But I confirmed everything and said it was true.”       “No, Anna, don’t dare to think about it!” Terrence gets horrified and takes Anna’s hand, looking at her with pity in his eyes. “If you keep speaking to that man, we’ll lose you. That man won’t let you speak to anyone but him. Julian will mock you in all possible ways, and you will get slaps him for any of your actions.”       “Stop, Terrence…”       “Listen, darling, we understand that you wanna get Daniel outta your head and try to replace him with another man. But I’m begging you, don’t make mistakes that you will pay a high cost for. It would be okay if you met a decent man, but that stinker will destroy you.”       “Julian is decent. Yes, maybe, he is not so tender and sentimental, but it doesn’t mean… He’s bad… Vice versa… That man is very careful… C-c-ar-r-ring… L-l-loya-al…”       “You know, if I had such a ‘caring’ man, I’d prefer hanging myself,” Raquelle replies confidently.       “You’re all dreaming up.”       “Please, friend, change your mind!” Terrence begs with pity in his eyes. “What we know about that stinker is enough for us. We know that Julian insults you, humiliates you, treats you like a doormat, and beats you shamelessly.”       “Julian doesn’t b-b-beat me…”       “He does, Anna, he does. That man got you so terrified that you shake at any sound. As if you’re afraid he’d come and start to beat you and pull you by the hair again.”       “N-no, that’s not the truth,” Anna pronounces in a shaking voice.       “Peter saw that man beating you,” Raquelle confesses.       “It’s a lie,” Anna tries to lie in a shaking voice. “Lie… Peter lied to you!”       “Peter has no reason to lie,” Terrence replies confidently. “We know him well. That’s not the man, who would lie and hide something from his friends.”       “But this time, he lied! Insolently lied! And I don’t understand why,” Anna sniffs quietly. “No… I know! He disliked Julian! He wants me to be with Daniel and can’t accept the fact that we broke up. That’s why he says these things.”       “We all want you to be with Daniel. Yes, he cheated on you, but he didn’t do it on purpose. Our friend just became a victim of that girl. The Spaniard, who wanted to get him married to her to stay in the USA legally. She’s an immigrant that lives here illegally with her family.”       “I don’t freaking care who that cow is! May she live in Perkins’ house and serve him! I will live my own life! Which will no longer have a place for that betrayer!”       “Okay, okay,” Raquelle says quietly. “If you don’t wanna be with Daniel, we won’t make you. But for God’s sake, don’t mess up with Julian. I’m even afraid to think about what’s gonna happen if you become his wife and give birth to his children.”       “And if your father knows who you got in touch with, he won’t let you be with Julian,” Terrence adds.       “You should get out of the hellish circle before it’s too late.” Raquelle shakes her head. “Or your whole life will consist of attempts to please him all the time and fear of provoking him. He’ll also make you truly believe that you’re guilty of everything.”       “Remember, Anna, you don’t deserve it. You are a human. The human that has a right to their own emotions, feelings, and opinions. No woman must be beaten. Even if she’s the worst bitch in the world.”       “It’s okay, guys,” Anna says in a shaking voice with a scare in her eyes and puts her hands on her heart. “Don’t worry about me.”       “We just wanna help you.       “I… Just need some time to come to myself… And open myself to Julian… I’m… Not ready to open my heart… And… I’m guilty of making him mad at times.”       “No, friend, don’t say it,” Raquelle shakes her head. “We really wanna help you. God shall not let that man beat you too strongly, so that you’re close to death. I wouldn’t be surprised if he already gave you some traumas that you’re hiding. You aren’t used to this behavior. Yes, your family was harsh to you, but nobody ever beat you.”       “Please, stop believing Peter,” Anna begs with pity in her eyes, breathing a little heavily. “He lied to you to turn you against Julian. Rose will never accept the fact that I left Daniel. He will defend and whitewash his friend ‘till the end.”       “Please, Anna…”       “But even if he saw something…” Anna glances at her hands. “It wasn’t me. Just a similar girl with red hair. Yeah… He confused me.”       “Sorry, Anna, but we don’t believe you,” Terrence says confidently. “That man terrified you so much that you’re afraid to say a word. But we don’t judge you and get mad. Though, that man will treat you terribly anyway, even if you’re invisible. He just likes mocking the weak girl.       “We don’t want to lose you because of that man,” Raquelle says with pity in her eyes. “We don’t want you to disappear again and ignore our calls and messages. You disappeared for a long time and just showed up.”       “You know that I love every one of you with all my heart and will never ruin our friendship.”       “We love you, too,” Terrence replies softly. “And we wanna help you. We’re worried about you and wanna know you’re happy and healthy. If we can do something to save you from the mockeries of that man, just say it.”       “I’m fine, guys,” Anna lies quietly and hesitantly. “Really…”       “No, Anna, not fine.”       “I’m just worried because of that betrayal, Perkins. At first, it was very hard, but now I feel much better.”       “You think we’ll believe you?”       “You should believe me. Believe that I’ll forget that stinker. That my heart will have no place for the one, who betrayed me. That Julian will help me and… I will give the love that he deserves. And… Maybe, he will be more tender and opener next to me.”       “Don’t you see that Julian makes you feel worse? And he will never change. He doesn’t need your love. He needs a ball. The ball that he could kick until it deflates and breaks.”       “You have a very bad opinion about Julian.”       “Next to Daniel, you were always shining with happiness and were a very brave and sassy girl. But when you got in touch with Julian, you started to be afraid of everything. Look, you’re shaking and fingering over nervously. And you’re about to bite your lips to blood!”       “I need time. I will be okay soon.”       “Gosh, Anna, do you really like this life? Or are you trying to prove something? Prove that Daniel means nothing to you? Are you ready to doom yourself to suffering and forget about the real you?”       “Stop, Terrence, please.”       “You don’t wanna confess that you need help,” Raquelle says with sadness in her eyes. “The protection of your father, Daniel, and your friends. Though, we’re ready to help you. Just let us know, and that stinker will pay for what he’s done to you. If we prove he’s guilty of violating you, prison will impatiently be waiting for him. I don’t doubt that Mr. Johnson won’t refuse to help.”       “No!” Anna rounds her eyes. “Don’t ask Mr. Johnson about anything! Don’t blame Julian for what he didn’t do.”       “But, Anna…”       “And stop believing Peter! He either lied to you insolently or saw someone to be similar to me.”       “You’re insulting Peter,” Terrence notices with sadness in his eyes. “You wanna make him a liar.”       “Because he’s really lying! He wanna slander Julian and praise Daniel!”       “Anna, please…” Raquelle pronounces with despair. “Don’t withdraw yourself… For God’s sake…”       “It’s hurtful for all of us to see you like this,” Terrence adds with sadness in his eyes. “And know you’re in a danger.”       “Don’t worry, sweeties…” Anna says hesitantly with a false smile, softly caresses the shoulders of Terrence and Raquelle, and takes both of them by the hand. “I’m okay.”       “You need it,” Raquelle says confidently and puts her hand on Anna’s hand.       “It’s very nice to know that you care about me. But not saying about the pain from the breakup, nothing tortures me. However, I’ll get through it. I will be happy… Next to Julian…”       “You’ll be burning slowly next to him. He’ll do his best to bring you to death.”       “It’s true, darling,” Terrence agrees. “We don’t wish you anything bad. And we won’t let you sign your death sentence and give yourself to that beast.”       “Maybe, Julian can’t express his emotions openly, but he’s always truly worried about me,” Anna replies in a little shaking voice. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t… Spend all his free time with me.”       “Anna, please…” Raquelle pronounces with pity in her eyes.       Terrence also wants to say something, but at this moment, the shyly smiling Frederick and Alicia, who is holding Amanda by a hand, enter the room.       “Hello, everybody,” Alicia says amicably.       “Hi, Aunt,” Raquelle smiles shyly. “Grandpa…”       “Hey, youth,” Frederick greets cheerfully.       “No, Auntie, it’s okay, you haven’t bothered us,” Raquelle replies quietly, shaking her head slightly.       While Alicia comes to Raquelle, hugs her, and shares an amicable kiss on the cheek and does the same toward Anna, Frederick greets Terrence, hugging him tightly and clapping him on the shoulder.       “Oh, yeah, you look much better today,” Frederick notices with a slight smile. “You used to be literally green!”       “I really feel much better,” Terrence replies amicably. “I can’t wait to be released…”       “Wait, dear,” Alicia says confidently, hugs Terrence, and shares an amicable kiss on the cheek, while Frederick does the same to Anna. “You’re gonna be released soon.”       “It’s very boring here when nobody comes here. I have nothing to do. I can only lie, sleep, eat, and check out my phone…”       “I don’t think you have to be bored because Raquelle is next to you all the time.”       “That’s what saves me,” Terrence nods with a slight smile. “Well, my friends and relatives don’t also let me feel bored.”       “It’s okay, Terrence, wait,” Frederick replies confidently. “The most important thing is that you are healthy.”       While Alicia and Frederick talk to Terrence and encourage him, Amanda comes to Anna, greets her, and answers her amicable hug.       “Hey, Amanda,” Anna pronounces with a slight smile.       “Hello,” Amanda greets amicably.       “How are you doing?”       “Very good,” Amanda replies with a slight smile. “But it seems like you are not… Judging your sad face…”       “Yeah, I’ve got some problems…”       “Are they terrible?”       “No… Not very much…” Anna cracks a fake smile. “But don’t worry. I’ll solve everything soon.”       “Are you also worried because of your beloved man as well as Raquelle was worried about Terrence?”       “Yeah… Something like that…”       After Raquelle hugs Frederick and shares an amicable kiss on the cheek, she comes to Amanda and squints down in front of her with a slight smile.       “Raquelle!” Amanda exclaims happily.       “Hi, Amanda,” Raquelle says with a slight smile. “I’m happy to see you.”       “Me too!”       Raquelle hugs Amanda happily with a slight smile, while the little girl answers her back.       “You’re so beautiful today,” Amanda notices.       “Thanks a lot,” Raquelle thanks and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.       “Listen, Raquelle, don’t you know who makes your friend sad?”       “Anna?”       “Is that the man, who constantly looked at her with sad eyes? I saw Anna turning her back on him when he looked at her!”       “That’s him, sweetie,” Raquelle sighs with sadness in her eyes.       “But why? What did he do?”       “Nothing,” Anna pronounces gloomily in a low voice. “That man and I just have to go on different roads.”       “Huh!” Amanda smiles widely. “I think I got it! Did you love each other? Yes?”       “Love is when two people love. But there’s no love between us.”       “I don’t think so! That man loves you! He looked at you as well as Terrence and Raquelle look at each other.”       “It seemed to you, darling,” Anna cracks a smile. “Terrence and Raquelle love each other, but that man and I don’t.”       “No, that’s not the truth. That man isn’t indifferent to you! I’m sure about it!”       “That man doesn’t need me. As well as I don’t need him. He made his choice, and I accepted it.”       “Did he hurt you? Gave you pain?”       “Yup,” Anna pronounces reluctantly. “He betrayed me.”       “Betrayed?”       “Sorry, but I don’t want to talk about it,” Anna moves her eyes to her hands folded in front of her. “It’s very hurt to me…”       “My gosh… I’m so sorry…” Amanda caresses Anna’s hand with sadness in her eyes. “But you shouldn’t ignore him. You should talk to him.”       “He knows everything. But I don’t want to talk to that man.”       “I’m sure he’s sorry about hurting you,” Amanda says confidently. “And he really wants to reconcile with you.”       “It’s impossible, Amanda,” Anna sighs heavily. “A betrayer of a person can’t be forgiven. Especially if it’s your close person.”       “But he did that for the first time. If it’s so, you can give a person another chance.”       “Not always. In order not to beg someone for a second chance, you should use your first one. But if a person doesn’t use it, the doors of the train close forever.”       “But that’s wrong! You should be able to forgive people!”       “I wish you didn’t know what it’s like to be betrayed. If it happens, you will feel very bad. But I don’t want you to suffer.”       “My mommy says that any person deserves a second chance after making one mistake. She believes everyone can do something wrong but has a chance to fix it. It’s like school: you get a chance to change your score for a test if you fail it.”       “You gave an example that doesn’t have to do with my case.”       “Please, Anna…” Amanda begs with pity in her eyes, caressing Anna’s hand softly. “Forgive that man… Give him a chance to get better. I’m sure he’s very good and kind. Anything happens! I know many guys that made mistakes but got a second chance.”       “I’m very sorry, sweetie, but it’s impossible…” Anna replies with sadness in her eyes, caressing Amanda’s head.       “You’re good… Don’t be vindictive. That’s bad.”       “You’re too little to understand some things yet. So, I can’t explain everything to you.”       “Please…”       “Amanda, darling…” Raquelle pronounces softly, comes to Amanda, takes her aside, squints down in front of her, and takes her hands. “Don’t bother Anna with questions. She feels very bad now. She’s suffering. Even if she says nothing.”       “But I wanna help,” Amanda replies.       “You can comfort her if you don’t ask her about what happened to her. Sometimes there are cases when you better be silent and just sit down next to someone.”       “But why doesn’t she want to give that man a chance?” Amanda wonders with sadness in her eyes. “He’s good! And he’s definitely regretting giving her pain. Why doesn’t your friend want to forgive him?”       “Anna’s just madly hurt and disappointed in that man. And when people are angry, they don’t wish to forgive.”       “So, will they never reconcile?”       “Why not? Anything might happen! I personally think Anna will think about everything and make the right decision when she calms down a little. Now she believes the decision has been made. But it actually must be decided by two people: him and her.”       “Then that man should apologize to her! Just say, ‘Please, forgive me!’ That’s all! She will forgive him! These words are magical and do a real miracle!”       “No, Amanda, sadly, not everything may be forgiven by just saying, ‘sorry,’” Raquelle sighs heavily. “Undoubtedly, the word ‘sorry’ is very powerful and magical, but if someone did a too terrible thing, it may not be enough to make amends.”       “Ah, I think I got it!” Amanda smiles widely. “It’s the case from a tale! A charming prince should save his princess from an evil person to get married to her and live happily after.”       “I could… Say so…”       “That man should become a price and save your friend. She’ll obviously forgive him after such a beautiful act.”       “Yeah…” Raquelle smiles shyly. “I think it’s possible… I can’t exclude that Princess Anna could appreciate the fact that Prince Daniel might save her from an evil person.”       “I can think about how to help the price to save the princess! I’ve read a hundred of tales!”       “You know, let’s think about it later. And if your mother and Terrence want, they will help us think up a tale with a happy end.”       “Okay!” Amanda exclaims happily. “I shall surely think up something! We’ll reconcile your friend and that man, and they’ll be happily ever after!”       “Of course, sweetie,” Raquelle pronounces with a slight smile, fixing Amanda’s hair. “Sure…”       While Amanda talks to Anna and Raquelle and tries to make them smile and cheer them up, Terrence talks to Alicia and Frederick and tells them that he may learn the truth about his fiancée after leaving the hospital. But at some moment, they glance at the girls, just noticing that the friends are standing aside.       “Hey, Amanda!” Terrence exclaims with a slight smile. “Can’t you see me?”       “Terrence!” Amanda exclaims happily after she moves her eyes to Terrence.       Raquelle takes Amanda’s hand with a slight smile, brings her to the bed, and helps her sit down on it. Terrence hugs the little girl touchingly and steps back from her.       “I missed you so much,” Amanda confesses.       “I missed you, too, sweetie,” Terrence says with a wide smile.       “How are you feeling?”       “Much better. By the way, why did you come here now? I actually waited for you and thought your mother would bring you here.”       “I’m so sorry…” Amanda apologizes with sadness in her eyes. “I really wanted to, but my mommy got some things to do and couldn’t take me here.”       “That’s how…” Terrence smiles shyly and caresses Amanda’s shoulders. “It’s okay! Better late than never.”       “By the way, what happened to you? Mommy said you were sick, but I didn’t understand why.”       “Yeah, I got a little sick…” Terrence nods. “But now I feel much better. And I’m waiting for the doctors to release me.”       “Aren’t you contagious?”       “No, I’m not contagious. Don’t worry.”       “Don’t scare Raquelle anymore,” Amanda says with sadness in her eyes. “She was worried about you so much. As if you could’ve died. Nobody could calm her down. Even my bear!”       “I’m really sorry about making everybody excited.”       “By the way, she’s got such a charming smile. It fits her so much. And actually, my cousin looks stunning now.”       “Thanks, Amanda,” Raquelle thanks with a slight smile, while her cheeks get a little blushed.       “I can’t disagree,” Terrence agrees, throwing a tender gaze at Raquelle.       “By the way, Terrence, when will you be released?” Amanda asks.       “I don’t know yet, sweetie. The doctor says I’m not allowed to. If it’s so, I can do nothing.”       “But will you play something with me? I did really like to play with you the last time!”       “Of course, we will, sweetie,” Terrence smiles much wider and takes Amanda’s hands. “Well, if you want, we can play something right now. Though, I don’t know what.”       “Let’s play pat-a-cake?”       “Yeah!”       Amanda laughs shyly and starts to play with Terrence, who looks quite relaxed and does not hide his wide smile full of tenderness. Raquelle, Alicia, Frederick, and Anna watch them with a slight smile and notice that they look so good together.       “It’s so cute,” Anna notices, folding her hands in front of herself. “Terrence looks so happy while playing with this girl.”       “I can’t disagree,” Raquelle agrees confidently. “I must confess that this is the first time when I see Terrence playing a child.”       “But how happy he is!” Frederick exclaims. “I’d say Terrence feels like a child.”       “He’s never hidden that he loves children and always treated them well. I ain’t surprised that he got such a strong love for Amanda.”       “By the way, Raquelle, are you thinking of children?” Alicia asks. “You should solve this question after the wedding.”       “Erm…” Raquelle bites her lips, getting nervous enough at the thoughts of her miscarriage. “Well… Erm… Aunt… You… See what’s happening now… And it doesn’t make sense while we’re unmarried yet.”       “But you were supposed to think about it before.”       “Honestly… We… Haven’t talked about it openly…”       “Honey, you just look at Terrence,” Frederick says with a slight smile, hugging Raquelle around the shoulders. “He’s recently told us that he wants to be a father and is ready for that.”       “I know, Grandpa. And I’d be happy to be a mother.”       “What’s your problem? You have all the opportunities for that! ”       “All in good time, Mr. Cameron,” Anna replies shyly. “I’m sure that Raquelle and Terrence will become parents someday.”       “I want to become a great-grandfather more and more every day. I can’t wait to hold my baby in my arms. Mr. and Mrs. MacClife also want grandchildren. Especially Mrs. MacClife. She sleeps and dreams of her son having his own children.”       “And I’ve been dreaming of the day when I’m babysitting my great-niblings,” Alicia says with a slight smile and puts her finger on her lip. “I think I’m gonna call children of my niece like this…”       Meanwhile, Raquelle calls the memories of the terrible day when she learned about her miscarriage, feeling how her heart starts to beat much faster and squeeze at the thought that Terrence might not forgive her.       “Raquelle, are you okay?” Anna expresses anxiety, putting her hand on Raquelle’s shoulder.       “Erm…” Raquelle pronounces hesitantly and fixes her hair a little. “Yes… I’m okay… Just thought too much.”       “Don’t you want to tell us something?” Alicia frowns slightly. “Huh, darling?”       “Tell?” Raquelle starts to breathe heavily. “What should I say?”       “What you’ve been hiding from everybody,” Frederick replies confidently. “Including your fiancé.”       “Erm…” Raquelle swallows up, while her widely open eyes full of horror run from one side to another. “G-g-grandpa Frederick… A-a-aunt Alicia…”       “I guess there’s no meaning in saying that something weird has been happening to you since the trial of Michael MacClife. And Terrence is terribly worried and in despair because he doesn’t know how to help you.”       “I… I’ve already p-p-promised I’d tell Terrence something after he leaves the hospital.”       “So, is there a secret, after all?” Anna concludes.       “There is, Anna,” Frederick pronounces confidently. “There is!”       “But what are you hiding from Terrence?” Anna moves her eyes to Raquelle. “From all of us?”       “Erm…” Raquelle stutters, looking at Anna, Frederick, and Alicia scarily. “Listen, let’s talk about it later? We better don’t make Terrence nervous now… Let him… Get well…”       “Raquelle, stop always avoiding an answer,” Alicia says harshly, crossing her arms over her chest. “How long are you going to be silent and pretend that everything is okay?”       “Until he leaves the hospital.”       “Terrence is your soon-to-be husband and must know everything about you. You decided to get married to survive all the ups and downs together.”       “I know, Aunt…”       “Your aunt is right, Raquelle,” Frederick says confidently. “The fact that you gave a promise to tell everything after Terrence’s release doesn’t mean you’d do it.”       “No, I won’t be silent anymore. I swear!”       “We want your fiancé to stop torturing himself with guesses about what’s happening to you. And calming you down so hard when you cry for nothing. Withdraw into yourself… Faint at nights… See nightmares… Yes, taking care of you is his duty, but his patience is not endless. Terrence might get sick of it if you keep being silent.”       “Listen, Grandpa Frederick…”       Raquelle does not speak her mind because Terrence stops her after he and Amanda look at her, Frederick, Alicia, and Anna:       “Hey, don’t stand aside! Come here!”       “Play with us!” Amanda suggests happily. “Together is funnier!”       “Yeah, sure,” Raquelle agrees with a slight smile. “With pleasure.”       “I’m in, too,” Anna says amicably.       “Erm, Raquelle…” Alicia pronounces thoughtfully. “I’d like to go to the cafeteria and drink coffee… But I forgot where to go… Will you show me the way?”       “Oh, yeah…” Raquelle shrugs hesitantly. “Sure…”       “I will go with you,” Frederick says confidently. “I’d like to drink strong coffee, too.”       “Okay,” Anna nods. “You can go, but I’ll stay with Amanda and Terrence.”       “Alright, we’ll be back now.”       “Yeah, let’s go, darling,” Alicia says confidently, embracing Raquelle around the shoulders.       While Anna sits on the bed next to Amanda in front of Terrence, Alicia, and Frederick quickly take Raquelle away from the room and go to a less popular place. And a few seconds later, the man stops and says confidently:       “So, Raquelle, now tell all the truth. Terrence is not here and will not find out anything.”       “What?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “But you wanted to drink coffee!”       “That was an excuse to leave without causing suspicion.”       “But…”       “Come on, Raquelle, tell everything,” Frederick says confidently.       “Since you haven’t told Terrence the truth, we assume that you’re stopped by fear,” Alicia says quietly. “You’re afraid of your fiancé and the reaction that he’s gonna give after hearing your secret.”       “I will tell him, I promise.”       “You will do it only if you’re pressed to the wall. Otherwise, you will keep being silent.”       “Aunt, please…” Raquelle begs with pity in her eyes. “You and the others will know everything! But let me confess everything to Terrence first.”       “By the way, Mr. and Mrs. MacClife look too anxious,” Frederick notices confidently. “And Edward has been weird… They are nervous when we talk about your behavior… As if those three know something.”       “Yes, they encouraged Terrence to talk to you and begged him to be softer to you for a reason,” Alicia adds. “Those three behave like they know something. Terrence’s family is lying to him and hiding the truth.”       “Grandpa, Auntie…” Raquelle pronounces with pity in her eyes.       “Do we ask the three what you are hiding?” Frederick crosses his arms over his chest. “Or will you confess it yourself? Since they, Terrence’s family, don’t want to say anything, we’ll fix it quickly.”       “No!” Raquelle exclaims with wet, widely open eyes. “I’m begging you, don’t do this!”       “So, did you tell them something? Earlier than your fiancé?”       “Please, don’t ask them about anything and tell Terrence nothing. I don’t want him to fight with his family because of me.”       “He will fight with them when he knows his father, mother, and brother heard your secret earlier.”       “Terrence should hear it from me.”       “What are you hiding from him, Raquelle?” Alicia asks gloomily, putting her hands on her hips. “What did you tell Edward and his father and mother? Speak now!”       “Or we’ll make these three speak,” Frederick adds confidently.       Before saying something, Raquelle starts crying quietly, looks down, and sniffs. But then she slowly and hesitantly moves her wet eyes to Frederick and Alicia, confessing in a shaking voice:       “I lost his baby…”       Frederick and Alicia freeze immediately and look at each other with horror in their eyes, trying to understand if their own ears lie to them. They keep silent for two or three seconds, try to say something for two more seconds, and then find the courage to break the tense silence that might be broken by the girl’s frequent sobs.       “W-what?” Alicia pronounces in a little shaking voice, opening her eyes widely and getting sharply white from horror. “Wh-hat did you say?”       “L-lost his baby?” Frederick pronounces in the same voice.       “Miscarriage…” Raquelle makes a quiet sob and inclines her head. “I had a miscarriage…”       “But… Why? You’re healthy! What happened? Or are you lying to us? You just went to get an abortion?”       “No, no, Grandpa, no abortion happened,” Raquelle pronounces in a quiet voice. “I lost my baby from worrying…”       “And when did it happen?” Alicia asks.       “During the trial of Michael MacClife.”       “So, was Terrence right?”       “Two weeks after it started, I went to a doctor and heard about my pregnancy. I felt very bad and decided to find out what happened to me. And when I braced myself somehow and decided to tell Terrence about it, I got bleeding. I went to the hospital by myself and…” Raquelle makes a quiet sob. “Found out that I lost my baby…”       “Oh, Jesus Christ…” Alicia puts her hand to her forehead with dumbfounded eyes. “Jesus Christ…”       “But, Raquelle…” Frederick shakes his head. “Why did you say nothing? Why were you silent about being pregnant?”       “I wanted to say, but I couldn’t find a moment,” Raquelle sobs quietly. “The time was very bad… I didn’t think I’d get pregnant!”       “You must have said that even at such a hard moment!” Frederick exclaims. “The trial is not an excuse!”       “I’m really sorry… I got confused… I was scared…”       “But why didn’t you take care of yourself if you knew about your pregnancy?” Alicia wonders.       “I would’ve been worried anyway! Because it was about my close people! And I was afraid that our enemies would be released!”       “You asked for trouble!” Frederick throws gloomily.       “You acted like an irresponsible girl!” Alicia resents. “You told nobody about your pregnancy and gave a damn about it! It’s okay that your friends didn’t know it, but your family… Your fiancé, the baby’s father… He must have known everything!”       “I didn’t have time… While I was thinking about how to tell him that, it was too late.”       “And why did nobody talk about it?” Frederick wonders. “How could it happen that you went to the hospital, so that nobody saw it?”       “I was home alone on the day when it happened. Terrence spent time with the men, our servants went home, and the girls were busy with their things.”       “And why did nobody know you were in the hospital?”       “I left on the same day a few hours later. Against the receipt. I kinda accepted the responsibility for the consequences.”       “Didn’t the hospital staff call Terrence?”       “They wanted to contact someone, but I persuaded them not to do it.”       “Why did you, heaven forbid, the hell go to the hospital alone?” Alicia resents. “You had a bleeding and pain!”       “My pain got stronger later, on the way to the hospital. I decided to go shortly after I saw blood because I was scared that something happened to the child.”       “Is there not an ambulance in America? Couldn’t you take a phone and call a doctor?”       “I dunno… I didn’t think… I was in despair…”       “Gosh, Raquelle, you are an adult and smart girl, but sometimes you do really stupid things,” Alicia puts her hand on her forehead. “You’re no longer a stupid baby. You must have brains!”       “I was scared…” Raquelle pronounces in a strongly shaking voice and sniffs quietly.       “Your aunt is right, Raquelle,” Frederick agrees confidently. “You should turn on your brains at least sometimes!”       “I’m really very sorry…”       “Why, Raquelle? Why are you doing this to us? Your friends and relatives! Terrence! You hid it from your fiancé! And you made him suffer and guess what happened to you for a few months! He is doing everything for your happiness, but you don’t literally appreciate it. As if you taught nothing after you almost broke up. Because of your bad attitude toward him. If you had shown much more attention and care to him and hadn’t been obsessed with your work, everything would’ve been otherwise.”       “No, Grandpa, don’t say it…” Raquelle begs with tears. “I highly appreciate everything Terrence is doing for me! And I put a lot of effort for him to be happy with me after we almost broke up.”       “A relationship can’t be built on lies, Raquelle,” Alicia says confidently. “When your lie is revealed, no apologies will help you. You have lied to your fiancé enough. And you got him too nervous.”       “I know, Aunt… But I didn’t want to make him more upset and nervous. Terrence was so nervous because of the trial, and my pregnancy and miscarriage would’ve made him break down.”       “Anyway, you did a terrible thing. There are things that you can and should hide. But there is something your fiancé must know.”       “I’m so sorry, Auntie…” Raquelle expresses regret in a shaking voice.       “And why were you the hell silent for a few months?” Frederick wonders. “Why? Explain!”       “At first, I didn’t want to make Terrence upset and decided to say it later… But I forgot it. And when I recalled the day when I lost the child, I felt shame and fear. The fear of losing my beloved man.” Raquelle makes a quiet sob. “I mean, I might lose him if he knew the truth…”       “Do you understand what you bring your fiancé to? How much he is suffering! The poor man is on edge and afraid to break down. He is doing his best not to give a damn about your problems and piss you off.”       “I know…” Raquelle nods. “And I’m terribly afraid of it…”       “Now you have to pay for almost killing my great-grandchild because of your irresponsibility.”       “Forgive me, Grandpa, please…” Raquelle begs desperately with tears.       “Don’t apologize to us, do apologize to your fiancé. The one you will disappoint is Terrence.”       “No, don’t say that… I feel so bad… My coincidence pricks me.”       “Sorry, girl, you are the one to blame,” Alicia says confidently. “And if Terrence doesn’t forgive you for the lie, it will be your fault.”       “I know… It will be a fair punishment for me.”       “Anyway, you must tell him all the truth.”       “And if you don’t confess, we will do it,” Frederick adds confidently. “Or Mr. and Mrs. MacClife and Edward will do it.”       “No!” Raquelle exclaims with widely open eyes. “Not this! If Terrence doesn’t hear it from me, it will be much worse! I don’t want him to fight with his family or one of you because of me!”       “So, do they know about the baby?” Alicia concludes. “Did Edward, Mr. and Mrs. MacClife know everything?”       “Yeah…” Raquelle replies quietly and embraces herself with both arms. “Edward was the first one to know it…”       “Edward?”       “I told him everything after the doctor told us what happened to Terrence. He thought I wasn’t myself from worrying, but it wasn’t true.”       “So, did he find it out when he went to find you after you disappeared?” Frederick concludes.       “And when he promised to say nothing, Natalia came to us.”       “Does Natalia also know everything?”       “No, no, she knows nothing. At least, I didn’t tell her. But I think Edward won’t do it, either. I begged him to be silent, and he agreed.”       “Alright. But how did Mr. and Mrs. MacClife know it?”       “They came to us when Natalia went to buy some water. So, I told them everything and asked them to be silent. And thank God, Mr. and Mrs. MacClife agreed.”       “I don’t know what to say…” Alicia shakes her head. “I don’t know what to say!”       “Yeah, Raquelle…” Frederick exhales slowly, running his hands over his face. “You did many things, my girl…”       “I should confess everything,” Raquelle pronounces with pity in her wet eyes. “I can’t drag anyone in this case.”       “But we literally are!” Alicia exclaims. “Terrence will find out that they heard the truth much earlier than him!”       “Maybe, he will show mercy for his parents, but Edward will get all the kicks,” Frederick adds confidently. “Terrence might fight with his brother to hell and take it out on him! Because of your cowardice!”       “I’m very sorry…” Raquelle makes a quiet sob. “It happened… I didn’t want…”       “I repeat, apologize to Terrence, not us,” Alicia says quietly.       “Please, Aunt Alicia, Grandfather Frederick… Say nothing to Terrence! For God’s sake, don’t tell him about the child! We agreed to talk about it when he left the hospital. I promised! I’m begging you… Tell nobody about it…”       “Alright,” Alicia nods. “We will say nothing and will be waiting for him to leave the hospital.”       “Thank you…” Raquelle sniffs quietly. “Thank you so much…”       “But remember, if you don’t tell him everything on the same day, we will do everything. And you will pay for the consequences. We’ll tell him the truth that you hid from him with no shame and let him decide whether he wants to forgive you.”       “I don’t want to lose Terrence…” Raquelle replies in a shaking voice with tears in her eyes. “I can’t live without him… If he leaves me, I’ll never be happy. I need that man like nobody else… I’m strongly attracted to him… I’m used to having him by my side…”       “We know,” Frederick nods. “But your tears and pleas won’t help you. If Terrence gets furious, the consequences will be terrible. His mother wouldn’t lie. She raised that man and knows that her older son has a hard character. If Terrence forgives you, it will be called a miracle.”       “I’m regretting what I did… And I’m ready to pay what I should pay…”       “We believe,” Alicia says quietly. “But I think Mr. and Mrs. MacClife have told you everything.”       “Yeah… Sure…”       “Terrence’s forgiveness is really going to be a real miracle. And confirm the words of my friend Amelia that you will be together because this is your destiny.”       “I swear I will tell him everything. He will know everything after he leaves the hospital.”       “We hope,” Frederick says quietly. “Since you made a mistake, fix it by yourself.”       Raquelle says nothing and starts to cry bitterly, embracing herself with shaking arms and inclining her head. And a few seconds later, Frederick and Alicia hug her by one, judging the girl but feeling truly sorry for her and thinking her personal confession would be good for her.       “Okay, honey, calm down,” Alicia says softly, hugging Raquelle tightly and caressing her head. “Calm down, my sweetie… Calm down… We believe you’re sorry… Though, we don’t approve of your act… Maybe, Terrence is not perfect, but he doesn’t deserve to be treated like this.”       “I didn’t want everything to go too far…” Raquelle replies in a shaking voice. “I don’t want my relationship to be ruined because of my cowardice. I love Terrence. I do!”       “Let’s hope Terrence will at least try to understand you and will not do stupid things in anger,” Frederick expresses hope with sadness in his eyes, caressing Raquelle’s back softly.       “I’ve always been open to him, but that situation got me scared and confused… But I’m really very sorry…” Raquelle makes a couple of quiet sobs. “I didn’t want it…”       “Quiet, quiet, honey, quiet,” Alicia calms down quietly. “Don’t cry. It’s gonna get better. Terrence will understand and forgive you.”       “I don’t know, Aunt… I don’t know…”       “By the way, Raquelle…” Frederick pronounces thoughtfully, stroking his chin and frowning his eyebrows slightly. “Have I ever told you why your parents almost divorced?”       “No…” Raquelle pronounces, sniffing quietly, and stepping back from Alicia. “Never… Why are you asking?”       “We can tell you if you want,” Alicia says confidently.       “Does it have to do with me and Terrence?”       “You will understand it when you know it,” Frederick replies.       “Okay… I’m listening…”       “Let’s sit down.”       Frederick hugs Raquelle around the shoulders, brings her to chairs, and sits on them with her. Alicia sits down next to her niece and fixes her hair, while the girl looks at her shaking hands.       “You see, Raquelle…” Frederick pronounces thoughtfully, taking Raquelle’s hand. “If everything had ended well… You would have had a younger brother or sister…”       “What?” Raquelle wonders. “Brother or a sister? But I’ve always been the only child!”       “You are the only child. But you could’ve been an older sister. Sadly, you didn’t become the one.”       “Why?”       “You see, darling…” Frederick clears his throat quickly. “When you turned six, your mother found out that she was pregnant with a second child.”       “Six?”       “Yes. Your father was very happy to be a father twice. And he happily accepted the news about the second baby.”       “But why didn’t I know it? If you say I was six, I was supposed to remember my mother being pregnant or hear her telling me about a brother or a sister! But I can’t remember! And the case is not that I barely remember my mother and father.”       “First, the pregnancy term was small. The belly was not seen. And because of your mother’s type of body, it was impossible to say she was pregnant. Even when she was expecting you, she had a small, tidy belly. Many people thought she had a small term, or something was wrong with the child. But no. You were healthy, were born on time, and were growing up well.”       “And second?”       “And second, you didn’t know about the child. After your parents found out about the pregnancy, they waited for some time and decided to prepare you for becoming an older sister. The age difference was big… It would’ve been hard for you to accept it because you were used to being the only one for your mother and father. But you did not have to get used to a new role.”       “Why?”       “I came here to visit you,” Alicia says with sadness in her eyes. “I wanted to congratulate Elizabeth and Jackson. But two days later, your mother felt very bad. She suddenly started bleeding and felt a strong pain in her stomach. Your grandfather and I called an ambulance, and my sister was immediately taken to the hospital. Then, we found out that she lost her baby in the fourth month of her pregnancy. It was a great shock to us. But my sister and brother-in-law were much more shocked. Elizabeth and Jackson didn’t want to stop after one child and wanted at least one more. But when the pregnancy happened, the child did not survive.”       “But why?” Raquelle wonders, being dumbfounded by what she heard. “Was Mother also worried so much?”       “No, she did nothing,” Alicia shakes her head with sadness in her eyes. “Your father took care of her not worse than Terrence takes care of you. Elizabeth took care of herself and had a rest when she felt bad. She never overloaded herself with something, and Jackson took on a bigger part of the homework, even if he worked a lot and got tired.”       “Who were they expecting?”       “I don’t know, sweetie. Elizabeth didn’t want to know the gender of the baby before labor. In the case of you, and in the case of that child. And Jackson didn’t mind it… And I remember how happy he was when the doctor said your mother gave birth to a girl. He looked at you with great love while holding you in his arms…”       “My gosh…” Raquelle shakes her head, says nothing for a few seconds, looking into the distance with her widely open eyes full of horror, looks at Alicia and Frederick hesitantly, and frowns slightly. “So… Do you want to say it was the reason why my parents almost divorced?”       “Yes, my sunshine,” Frederick nods confidently.       “Father didn’t forgive her for the miscarriage?”       “No. After your mother experienced the miscarriage, she fell into a deep depression and wanted to do nothing. She blamed herself for the child’s death. But we understood it and supported her somehow.”       “Jackson was also deeply shocked and couldn’t believe his child died,” Alicia confesses with sadness in her eyes. “But he was always next to Elizabeth and comforted her. Your grandfather and I were next to her and helped them raise you. A lot of time had passed, but the situation got worse. Elizabeth lost interest in almost everything. She gave a damn about her husband and her child… She stopped working at home and was just lying in bed, crying, and blaming herself for the baby’s death.”       “And…” Raquelle pronounces hesitantly. “Did it lead to the moment when Father lost his temple and wanted to divorce her?”       “He tried to hold on until the end, but your mother’s depression stole all his strength and nerves,” Frederick says with sadness in his eyes. “He had to work and provide for you and Elizabeth. It was a double stress for him. But if Alicia and I hadn’t decided to help them educate you, everything would’ve been much worse. Moreover, we had the help of your late grandmother Tiffany and grandfather Timothy. They started to come to the USA more frequently, even if tickets for a flight costed a lot.”       “I think that’s why I can’t remember anything of that…”       “We thought it would be great stress for you and took you with us. Far from your parents, who started to confront you constantly.”       “Sadly, due to the stress, their relationship was getting worse every day,” Alicia confirms with sadness in her eyes. “They were screaming at each other and couldn’t be together for a long time. Elizabeth always provoked the fights. Jackson got her madly irritated. She blamed your father for everything she could come up with and said she didn’t wanna see him. She didn’t need a reason to start a scandal. They often had arguments, but it’s fine for any couple. But the case was getting closer to the divorce.”       “Oh, God…” Raquelle gets horrified.       “Mr. Cameron and I tried to talk to them many times. I mean, Elizabeth. But she was kind of deaf and told us to leave her alone. And one day, when I went to the home of your parents to see you and try to talk to them again, my sister went crazy. Your father’s attempts to calm her down got your mother furious. As well as mine. She tried to attack me with fists, started to blame me for all my sins, and said that our father and mother loved me more than her…”       “My gosh…”       “In the end, she pissed me off. And I was mad and didn’t want to reconcile with her. My sister scared me so badly. I thought she’d kill me… So, I decided not to talk to her anymore. I only spoke to Jackson, who was much quieter. He talked a lot about his wish to put Elizabeth in a clinic for therapy. And your grandfather and I supported him.”       “It was a little easier to talk to your father,” Frederick confesses. “Even if he kept everything inside. But once, when he went to my home, he broke down. Jackson started to cry. My son confessed that he didn’t want to lose Elizabeth and loved her very much. He was in despair because he had to get divorced from her and never see his daughter. I had never seen my son being so broken. Even when his mother, your grandmother Rosella, died, he was holding on better.”       “But later, he distanced himself from us and asked not to meddle in the life of Elizabeth and him. Though, we kept watching you alongside your grandmother Tiffany and grandfather Timothy. Nobody banned us from seeing you. But he didn’t tell us about their personal lives anymore.”       “And didn’t you know that they reconciled?” Raquelle asks hesitantly.       “No, we thought your parents would’ve divorced soon until they died,” Alicia replies with sadness in her eyes. “We recently found out that they came back together but died because of Simon Ringer. Who was obsessed with your mother.”       “What happened made our relationship with them worse,” Frederick confesses. “But thank God, we helped you avoid greater stress. Because you were literally abandoned. Solving their problems, your parents forgot about you. Your mother gave a damn about you after the miscarriage, but your father did it much later.”       “That’s why…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully.       “But, please, honey, don’t be mad at them,” Frederick says softly, taking Raquelle’s hands. “They weren’t guilty of what happened. I don’t know how your mother came to herself: by herself or with the doctor’s help. But I’m sure she regretted everything she did and felt guilty about you.”       “And did you decide to tell me that because I told you about my miscarriage?”       “Your situation reminded me of that case, and I thought I should’ve told you the truth.”       “But why didn’t you say it before?”       “At first, because of your age, but then we didn’t care about it… And you never asked… Anyway, now you know everything and should have no questions.”       “Do you want to say everything’s gonna be the same in the case of Terrence and me?” Raquelle asks with a scare in widely open eyes.       “God shall not let it happen. But I told you this story to warn you and help you not to make the mistakes that your parents did.”       “Oh, God…”       “If you do what your mother did, your fiancé will run away early or late. And knowing Terrence’s character, your hysterics might lead to much more terrible consequences. He is not what Jackson was. My son was always quiet enough and didn’t get excited for stupid things.”       “No, I don’t want to lose Terrence!” Raquelle shakes her head sharply. “I love that man too much to break up with him.”       “That’s why telling him everything as soon as possible is necessary to you,” Alicia says confidently. “Of course, you won’t avoid a fight, and Terrence won’t accept this piece of news quietly. But I believe everything will get better.”       “I pray that he understands me.”       “Do you know the greatest mistake of your parents?” Frederick asks.       “What?”       “They tried to solve many problems in anger. Your father and mother could often say something in anger and then regret it. Yes, Jackson was quiet, but it didn’t mean you couldn’t make him mad. And Elizabeth did it. And it would be much easier for you to make Terrence furious. That man can’t control himself.”       “They decided to divorce in anger, too,” Alicia confesses. “When they were obsessed with strong emotions. And a strong tension did its business. Your parents got sick of each other. But you can’t run away and leave your problem unsolved. And I think they learned the lesson when they calmed down a little. I don’t exclude that they talked about everything quietly and saved their marriage.”       “I get it,” Raquelle nods.       “So, my darling, be ready for everything. But try not to take everything Terrence is gonna say in anger too seriously. Don’t run after him and try to explain something. Otherwise, the consequences will be terrible. Just tell him the truth and give him time to accept it.”       “I’m so scared…” Raquelle sighs heavily and looks down, folding her hands in front of herself. “I know I must tell him everything, but I’m afraid of his reaction. I’m afraid he’ll wish to leave me. To me, it’d be a strong hit that I won’t bear.”       “We understand it,” Frederick says quietly.       “But as we’ve said, you won’t avoid the scandal,” Alicia adds, caressing Raquelle’s hand softly. “But he’ll probably give you a second chance for his love. I’m sure that a breakup with you will be like a close person’s death for him. Mr. Cameron and I see how attracted he is to you.”       “I don’t know, Aunt, I’m terribly nervous… And afraid of the day I’d have to confess everything…”       “Anyway, you should do this,” Frederick replies, caressing Raquelle’s shoulder. “A lie is not the thing that can be done for the better. It’s like a stone that can easily break even the toughest wall.”       Raquelle says nothing and just sighs heavily, moving her eyes down. Frederick hugs her to support her somehow, while Alicia caresses the shoulder and the head of her crying niece with true sadness in her eyes.       

***

      Meanwhile, Edward and Natalia decided to go to the country, using the opportunity to spend much more time together and establish their relationship. Knowing that their enemy Eugene Wainwright had died, the lovers went to a wonderful place where the air smelled of flowers, and the silence could be broken by the tweet of birds or the chirp of grasshoppers hiding in the soft-to-touch grass. Clouds of different forms are flowing in the bright blue sky, and endless green meadows can be seen from afar. Tons of centuries-old trees with thick leaves are growing up on the whole large territory. It’s possible to sit under them, hide from the burning sun, and enjoy the breathtaking beauty around them.       While Edward is leaning on the tree trunk with his back with his legs bent at the knees, Natalia is sitting between his legs, pressing herself to the male chest, and enjoying the feeling of absolute calm, while her fiancé’s strong arms are holding her in a tight hug.       “It’s such a beautiful place,” Natalia notices with a slight smile, looking at what surrounds her. “And quiet…”       “I can’t disagree,” Edward nods with the same smile. “I’m so happy we’ve finally gone somewhere. Honestly, I didn’t walk in these places for hundreds of years and missed them a little.”       “But I missed the time when we could spend time together.”       “That’s good things are getting better.”       “Hey, how do you feel?”       “Great. Morally and psychically.” Edward falls into silence for two seconds, looking into the distance. “I was lately in a strong tension and couldn’t relax. But now I feel much better. It’s… Easier to breathe…”       “It has to do with the fact that Terrence’s getting well?” Natalia asks, glancing at Edward.       “You can’t imagine how happy I am that my brother is fine. The doctors often say that Terrence has great health and is gonna be released very soon.”       “Raquelle also has to do with his recovery. She sits with him all day long for the reason.”       “She finally smiles and doesn’t look as worried as before.”       “I agree. But I’m still worried about her, ‘cause Cameron is hiding something from us.”       “Raquelle can’t be silent forever,” Edward replies thoughtfully, holding down the wish to tell Natalia what Raquelle told him. “She’ll explain everything, early or late.”       “Oh, I wonder what happened to her that she’s afraid to say it?” Natalia sighs quietly with sadness in her eyes.       “I don’t know, Natalia,” Edward shrugs. “But I want her to reveal her secrets soon. I’m so sorry for Terrence, who’s going crazy because she says nothing. Her silence is like torture to him.”       “Maybe, she's afraid of him? Afraid that Terrence’s reaction may be unpredictable?”       “I hope he won’t do anything that he’ll really regret it.”       “Oh…” Natalia exhales slowly. “Honestly, I’m a little afraid to imagine what she’s hiding…”       “Me too, sweetheart… Me too…”       With these words, Edward hugs Natalia tighter, kisses the top of her head, and buries his nose in it for a few seconds, feeling anxious when thinking about Raquelle’s words about her miscarriage. The girl thinks about something silently for a few seconds and looks at everything that surrounds her, feeling how the warm wind with a bit of coldness is caressing her face nicely.       “At least, now, you and the lads have a chance to focus on your band,” Natalia notices with a slight smile. “It seems like everybody has forgotten it lately.”       “I don’t deny it,” Edward agrees. “We forgot about the band because of Daniel. But now we can talk about the band’s work again and spend time together. I mean… If Perkins forgives Peter for not protecting Anna.”       “Could he focus on the performances if he’s grieving because of Anna?”       “He says he can… But who knows… Of course, we support him somehow, but even if Daniel says nothing and tries to keep calm, we know what’s happening in his soul.”       “Although Anna says their relationship ended, I’m not sure if that’s the truth. They went too far to break up so easily.”       “At least, Daniel’s determined to help Anna and find a way to protect her from that man. I think she’ll appreciate it even if she said nothing.”       “By the way, didn’t he try to talk to her when we were in the hospital? I never saw them together!”       “No, I don’t think so. Anna always ignored Daniel and pretended that he wasn’t there. At least, he didn’t say he wanted to try to talk to her.”       “Her father won’t caress Perkins’ head for the betrayer. Even if it wasn’t desirable…”       “But I believe that man will understand him and ask him to protect Anna from that stinker.”       “Who knows, sweetie…” Natalia falls into silence for two seconds and sighs heavily with sadness in her eyes. “But I worry about one thing… Will Anna disappear and stop speaking to us again? We haven’t seen her for three days…”       “I’m also trying to answer this question,” Edward replies thoughtfully. “And I also ask myself how she could actually come to the hospital. As Helene said, that man is supposed to control her and beat her every time she doesn’t obey him.”       “Yeah… I’m also curious about it… Was she ready to risk to see us? Anna did know what could that man do to her!”       “Anyway, she must be saved as soon as possible. Even if Peter can’t prove that he really saw Anna being beaten without proof. But if Seymour’s parents don’t believe us, everything’s gonna be much harder.”       “I know…” Natalia sighs heavily with sadness in her eyes. “Gosh, how I wish she got saved from this nightmare. The poor girl doesn’t deserve to live in this hell… It’s all so unfair. She looks like a lifeless doll now.”       “I swear I was also shocked when Anna came to us. And I resent that one sick stinker mocks the unprotected girl. And she’s afraid to protect herself, ‘cause she’ll make it worse.”       “That’s what scares me,” Natalia replies in a low voice, moving her sad eyes down. “Anna is like a little, innocent angel that would never do anything bad to anyone. Especially a man or someone to be older.”       “Sadly, someone like her always suffers.”       “But I don’t want to lose her… I don’t wanna lose my friend…”       “It won’t happen, my sunshine,” Edward replies confidently, presses Natalia closer to himself, keeping his hands locked on her chest, and rubs his cheek against the girl’s cheek, which he kisses tenderly at some moment. “We’ll find a way to save Anna.”       “If we don’t find a collation now, it will be too late,” Natalia noticed with sadness in her eyes. “Every second is important.”       Natalia sighs heavily and moves her sad eyes down and on her hands. But Edward softly puts his hand on her cheek and turns her face on him, still hugging his fiancée with a free arm.       “It’s gonna be okay, trust me,” Edward says quietly but confidently, caressing Natalia’s cheek tenderly. “Someday, her nightmare will be over.”       “I never thought it would happen to Anna…” Natalia confesses. “I’m shocked… Have nothing to say…”       “Anyway, the case isn’t hopeless. Now we have a chance to help her, and we’ll surely use it.”       “But I’m afraid for her anyway, Edward…” Natalia sniffs quietly, moving her sad eyes to Edward. “She is terrified so much that she’s afraid to meet us.”       “Anna knows that we wouldn’t leave her even if she begs us not to meddle.”       “You know… Looking at her like this, I think of myself… About how I was afraid to tell the truth from fear. Which almost killed me… Almost destroyed what was so important to me…”       “Don’t think about it, my love.” Edward kisses Natalia’s cheek tenderly and caresses her head. “It’s all over.”       “I’m thinking about it and feeling ashamed… Ashamed of being such an idiot… A stupid idiot…”       “You know, I was also a stupid idiot, who did some stupid things. But it’s okay, we got over it!”       “Anna is madly scared now… She wanna scream out for help, but is afraid to make that man mad. She’s afraid of being beaten again…”       “It’s gonna be okay,” Edward replies confidently. “I believe in justice. I believe that this snake will get what he deserves.”       Natalia says nothing and cracks a smile, having her eyes closed, as she enjoys the tender way Edward caresses her head and runs his fingers through her hair, while she leans on his shoulder with the back of her head.       “Don’t think about bad things, sweetheart,” Edward adds softly and kisses Natalia on the temple cutely. “Don’t torture yourself.”       “You know…” Natalia pronounces shyly, enfolds Edward’s arm wrapped around her neck, and caresses it tenderly. “Just recently, you were restless… But now you’re literally lighted up with confidence and determination.”       “It’s the truth,” Edward replies with a slight, mysterious smile. “My brother is alive and getting well… Our biggest enemy got what he deserved. And I have my beloved girl by my side, who gives me the love that I’ve never had.”       “Yeah…” Natalia smiles cutely. “You literally got the wings on your back. Just like an angel.”       “Maybe… But I exactly know that I have my own angel.” Edward cutely rubs the tip of his nose against Natalia’s nose with a slight smile, making her smile shyly.       “Ah, sweetheart…” Natalia pronounces quietly, softly.       While Edward keeps doing what he is doing, Natalia puts one hand on the top of his head and puts another hand on his cheek, brings his face closer to her, softly touches his lips with her lips, and keeps this position for two seconds. The man smiles cutely, gives the girl a short kiss on the lips, and slowly runs the tip of his nose over her cheek.       “So what?” Edward pronounces in a lower voice. “Better?”       “Definitely,” Natalia replies with a slight smile.       Edward smiles much wider and puts his arms around Natalia’s neck, in the curve of which he buries his nose for two seconds, breathing in the smell of her tender skin. Then he kisses the back of her head and hugs her tighter, pressing the girl closer to his chest, while his fiancé is relaxing under the shoots of the sun with a feeling of absolute safety. The lovers silently sit under the tree for a few seconds and enjoy the beauty of this place. And while the man is snugging his nose in her cheek and runs it over his sweetheart’s soft, glossy hair, the girl thinks about something at some moment and gets a little tense, as she stops smiling slowly.       “Erm, Edward…” Natalia pronounces hesitantly.       “What, my beautiful?” Edward asks with a slight smile, leaving tender kisses on Natalia’s shoulders, the curve of her neck, and the nape of it.       “Erm, you see, I…” Natalia says hesitantly, looking at her hands, while Edward moves a couple of strands of hair off her eyes, tucks them behind her ears, and kisses her on the cheek. “Those arguments… Because of the wedding…”       “I’m listening,” Edward pronounces softly, running the back of his hand over Natalia’s cheek and leaving a short kiss on the curve of her neck again.       “You know… I’ve lately… Been nervous and… I could literally close my eyes and ears and… Hear and see only me… And…”       Natalia falls into silence for two seconds and exhales sharply, moving her sad eyes down, while Edward kisses her on the temple.       “So, you were right…” Natalia confesses quietly, moving her sad eyes to Edward. “About everything related to the wedding…”       “Natalia…” Edward shakes his head.       “And I… I’d like to apologize to you for my stubbornness and wish to make a sensation of our wedding… Forgive me, please…”       “You know…” Edward pronounces thoughtfully, steps back from Natalia a little, and thinks about something for two seconds. “Maybe, I wasn’t right about something…”       “No, no, I agree with you completely. The last time, I behaved like a hysterical girl… And I’m really ashamed.”       “If you want a luxury wedding, I’ll give in to you and do everything you want.”       “No, I’m also ready to give in and have a modest wedding. If Terrence and Raquelle agree, it will happen. Who cares if we have a modest ceremony or a royal one. The most important thing is that we become a family.”       “I’m always ready to listen to your wishes. And if the guys and I dislike something, we can always make another decision. I promise I won’t say only my opinion is right.”       “Hey, I thought a little and believed that we could save a lot of money if we asked our friends and relatives for help, not professionals. I believe the men would help us with music, and the girls would help Cameron and me with hair, makeup, jewelry, and manicure.”       “Yeah, the guys said they’d be happy to help us organize everything. And Terrence can offer us a wedding ceremony place.”       “I believe we’ve gotta change our mind about organizing everything on our own. Without our close people’s help, we can’t do it. We’ve got many potential helpers. So, we’d spend less money. And we could organize a more grandiose honeymoon for the safe money.”       “I’d like to go to warm places… Swim in an ocean, lie on sand, and tan myself…”       “Yeah, my bikinis got covered with dust.”       “So, we’ll go to hot places.”       “I guess we can decide where to go,” Natalia laughs shyly.       “And we don’t need consults on our first marriage night,” Edward jokes.       While Natalia smiles shyly and looks at him with tenderness in her eyes, and Edward kisses one of her cheeks and caresses another.       “You know, sweetie…” Natalia pronounces shyly with a slight smile. “I did really read and watched too many tales about princes and princesses.”       Edward says nothing and smiles widely, burying his face in her hair or the curve of her neck, leaving tender kisses on some part of her face, and pressing his fragile blonde, whom he is literally protecting from any bad things, close to himself.       “I’ve always wanted the same gorgeous wedding as theirs,” Natalia adds with a shy smile. “I madly liked to imagine myself instead of a princess and believe it was my wedding. I still keep doing this… Yes, it’s impossible to take it away from me. And… Honestly, I still feel like a child. I don’t feel like I’m more than twenty now.”       “I always say it,” Edward replies with a slight smile, puts his hand on Natalia’s cheek, and caresses it tenderly. “You’re my little girl that makes me wish to protect her from bad things.”       “I know it’s time to grow up and forget about any tales. But I can’t do it now. Besides… An attempt to hide in my magical tale world I something like a protective reaction. A wish to hide from the cruel world that often gives me pain.”       “And you shouldn't feel ashamed. If you love tales and dream of princes and princesses, it’s absolutely okay. You’re real. You’re what you are. You don’t have to change just because someone reminds you of your age and says you should spend your time on something more important.”       “I guess I’m dreaming too much…” Natalia smiles shyly, takes Edward by the wrists, locks her fingers with his fingers, and starts to caress his arms tenderly. “An adult person doesn’t have time to dream. They’re so busy with their business and problems that they forget what that is.”       “You’re dreaming, and it’s awesome.” Edward cutely kisses Natalia on the top of her head. “Dreams can never be destructive. They help us keep the fire of happiness that doesn’t let us go crazy and fall into the darkness.”       “I can’t live without fantasies… Without tales, in which princes and princesses live happily ever after.”       “Be happy a piece of magic is still living inside you.” Edward runs his hand through Natalia’s hair on the top of her head with a slight smile and lets his fingers through her golden, soft strands. “That you can bring the light to someone’s dark house.”       “Even if some of my fantasies won’t come true, I love living them… It… Makes me happy…”       “Everything depends on you. There’s nothing impossible.”       “Anyway, now I believe in tales much more than ever. I believe that any girl can meet her prince.” Natalia moves her eyes to Edward and, looking into his eyes with tenderness, runs her hand over his cheek. “Because I got the prince I was always waiting for.”       “I’m doing my best for you to feel good,” Edward replies in a low and nice voice.       “Just be by my side. It will already make me very happy.”       “Anything for you, my queen.”       With these words, Edward cutely rubs the tip of his nose against Natalia’s nose, while she cannot hide her wide smile. And two moments later, the girl runs her hand through his hair and runs it over the one with the grain.       “Aren’t you mad at me?” Natalia asks shyly. “For not wishing to listen to you?”       “Of course, not, my beautiful,” Edward replies with a slight smile, caressing Natalia’s cheek with his fingertips and looking into her eyes confidently. “I understand everything.”       “Just remember that I’m always ready to listen to you and give up on something.”       “Since we decided to get married and live together, we’ve gotta learn to agree.”       “So, peace?”       “Peace!”       “Thanks, sweetheart, you’re the best.”       Edward wants to say something but does not have time to realize how Natalia kisses him tenderly on the cheek and leaves a short kiss on his lips. She looks at the man’s face at a close distance for a few seconds, caressing his cheek tenderly and running her fingers through his black strands. While MacClife, Jr., keeps embracing her tightly, caressing her head, and enjoying the feeling of calm that she gives him. Being absolutely relaxed, Natalia wants to fall asleep in the strong, trustworthy arms of Edward, who does not refuse to leave a couple of tender kisses on the open parts of her face and breathe on them with hot or cold air. But at some moment, the girl thinks about something that makes her a little tense. The man quickly understands that something is wrong and steps back from her after a tender kiss on the area behind her ear.       “What are you thinking of, beautiful?” Edward asks softly, tenderly caressing Natalia’s cheek with the back of his hand. “You’re tense and sad.”       “Well…” Natalia pronounces hesitantly. “Some moments from the past just came into my mind…”       “Honey… Why are you thinking of bad things again?” Edward presses Natalia closely to himself, kisses her on the temple, and buries his face in the curve of her neck. “We decided to forget all the bad things and spend time together.”       “I know… But I can’t…”       “Natalia…”       “That’s so bad it’s sometimes hard to forget some things that we want to forget like a nightmare. Something that could destroy someone… That causes shame… I… I can’t…”       “Did I do something wrong?”       “No, Edward, the problem is not you… The case is…”       “Damn, did you decide to remember that stinker, Wainwright, again?”       “Yeah, him…” Natalia sighs heavily. “And everything he did to me… What he wanted to do…”       “Please, my girl…”       “I think I’ll never forget the nightmare that I experienced… No matter how hard I try, I can’t do it.”       Natalia sighs heavily again and moves her sad eyes down. Edward moves a few strands of hair off her forehead and kisses her on the cheek, having his arms around the girl’s neck.       “He’s dead, Natalia,” Edward whispers quietly. “You’ll never meet Wainwright again.”       “I’m still afraid he’ll suddenly jump out of a bush,” Natalia confesses in a shaking voice. “That he’ll do something to you and start to mock me again… Or actually take me somewhere. Drug me with something and do anything he wants…”       “No, no, it will not happen! Never!” Edward cutely kisses Natalia on the temple, holding her cheek. “Nobody will dare to hurt you. I am your protector and won’t let anyone hurt you. If any scumbag dares to harm you, I shall tear him apart.”       “What if you aren’t next to me?” Natalia asks with sadness in her eyes. “I won't be able to protect myself ‘cause I’ll be scared to death. If Wainwright shows up, I’ll only be able to cry… While he’ll be feeling me up and… Undressing me…”       “Please, my sunshine, don’t think about it.”       “I’m quiet only when you’re with me. But you can’t always save me from those, who wanna hurt me.”       “Now nothing threatens you. Wainwright wasn't just put in prison. He died.”       “Sometimes I can’t believe it’s the truth…” Natalia sighs heavily. “I’m kinda sleeping… But I’m about to wake up and realize that that man is alive and wanna rape me… Or actually kill…”       “Don’t worry, sweetie, it’s not a dream. Wainwright is really dead. That man is burning in hell.”       “I never felt as horrified as I did when that man was standing in front of me…”       “I know.” Edward caresses Natalia’s head and starts to massage her forehead with his fingertips to help her relax, while she looks into the distance with her sad eyes. “But I believe in you. Even if you’re without my protection, you’ll protect yourself.”       “No, Edward, I can’t…” Natalia shakes her head. “After what I had to experience, I am no longer able to pretend to be sassy and daring. I used to think I could fight with anyone… But after meeting Wainwright, this theory was ruined. I realized I had been and would always be an unprotected girl that takes everything too seriously…”       “No, Natalia, that’s not the truth.” Edward kisses Natalia on the forehead and keeps massaging her head with the fingertips of both hands. “You’re my strong girl with a lot of character. When you have to, you can brace yourself and forget about any fears. You’ve got an amazing power of will… You’re much stronger than you think. You think you’re weak and cowardly, but that’s not the truth.”       “You’re really strong. But I am not. A terrible coward that cries for any reason.”       “Don’t say it, my girl,” Edward protests confidently, presses Natalia’s head to himself, so that the girl’s nose gets in the curve of his neck, the smell of which makes her feel a little dizzy, and caresses it tenderly. “Sometimes even little babies might be very brave.”       “Nope… I’m not the one… Anyone can hurt me and… Literally make me have a heart attack…”       “Remember, nobody will dare to hurt, harm, and especially kill you. I shall make anyone pay for all your suffering and will not calm down until they get what they deserve.”       “I believe, Edward…” Natalia pronounces quietly. “But those memories don’t leave me alone… I don’t know how to forget the pain… The wild fear… The disgust… The shame… Everything I felt because of that horrible man…”       “You promised you’d forget it.”       “Yeah… But I could not… After we met this man again, I began to think of the day when I wanted… To die… From shame… From fear… From hate to myself… My weakness… And cowardice…”       Natalia sniffs quietly and closes her mouth with a hand, while her eyes are wet from the tears that she tries to hold down so hard. And seeing how she is shaking slightly, Edward feels how his heart squeezes painfully and bleeds.       “Natalia, sweetie…” Edward pronounces softly and embraces Natalia a little tighter. “Please, stop thinking about it. It’s all over. Nobody will dare to harm you anymore.”       “It can’t be the truth…” Natalia makes a quiet sob. “Too good piece of news to be real…”       “I know it’s hard to believe it, but that’s the truth. Nothing and nobody will remind you of him.”       “No… I can’t… I can’t forget it…”       “You can! You’re a strong girl! I believe in you and know you can do it. Do anything.”       “It’s too hard, too hard…” Natalia pronounces in a strongly shaking voice. “I think I will suffer as if it happened two moments ago.”       “Please, Natalia, stop hurting yourself like this.” Edward runs the back of his hand over Natalia’s cheek, while she is crying quietly. “It’s okay…”       “I’m scared… Really scared…”       Natalia enfolds Edward’s arms wrapped around her neck and buries her nose in them, shaking slightly and making quiet sobs. The man rubs his cheek against her cheek and puts his nose on her shoulder, which he kisses tenderly at some moment.       “It’s okay, my sunshine, calm down,” Edward says softly. “I don’t wanna see you being so depressed.”       “I’m scared…” Natalia pronounces in a shaking voice, looking a little white and breathing heavily enough. “I’m afraid that this man is now sitting in bushes and watching us. Getting ready to attack… Attack you… And then take me with him… Nobody knows where…”       “Don’t think about it, baby, don’t think.” Edward kisses Natalia on the top of her head, holding her face with one hand and seeing tears rolling down it slowly. “And don’t tell me you’re gonna faint. You got too white.”       “If he was next to me, I’d prefer dying… Not fainting…”       “No, no, don’t say it! These words hurt me.”       “Sorry…” Natalia pronounces in a low, shaking voice and sniffs quietly. “But I can’t help myself… The memories are too strong… But I’m too sensitive… Cowardly… Weak…”       “You’re not weak and cowardly.”       “But that’s the truth, Edward. I’ve always been a terrible coward that needs the protection of a stronger person…”       “I’m here, sweetheart, it’s okay.” Edward presses Natalia to his chest again and kisses her on the cheek cutely. “Wainwright is not here and will never be.”       “Who knows…”       “He's gone!” Edward grabs Natalia by the chin and makes her look into his eyes. “Wainwright is dead. He died two days ago. From many traumas and the mixture of strong drugs. And due to his death, the police closed the case.”       “That’s not a dream?”       “No, honey, not a dream.”       “And you’re really with me?”       “I’ll answer now.” Edward gives Natalia a tender kiss on the lips, holding her by the back of her head, and steps back a few seconds later after he hears a very quiet female moan. “Believe now?”       “I think so…” Natalia pronounces hesitantly and caresses Edward’s cheek softly, smiling shyly through the tears. “You’re real…”       “Okay, my sweetheart, stop crying,” Edward says quietly and carefully wipes tears under Natalia’s eyes and on her cheeks. “Or I’m gonna cry, too.”       “Will you be with me?”       “Undoubtedly!”       “Do something…” Natalia pronounces quietly and looks at Edward with sadness in her eyes. “Please, Edward, help me… I don’t know how to forget that horror. If I don’t forget it, I’ll go crazy.”       “Don’t worry, my love, I’ll help you.”       Edward steps back from Natalia slowly and starts to massage her shoulders and neck, giving attention to every single bone that he feels.       “I know what can help you,” Edward says in a low and nice voice. “You can’t resist what I am going to do.”       A few seconds later, Edward slowly moves to the top of Natalia’s back, which he gives a lot of attention. The girl feels that she gets much better from the warmth that spreads all over her body and makes very quiet, sensual moans at times, while the man’s strong but tender fingers touch her soft, goose skin.       “Okay,” Edward pronounces in a low, velvet voice with a slight smile, as he massages the nape of the neck of Natalia, who inclines her head slightly with closed eyes. “Okay…”       “Oh, MacClife, you’re just a wizard…” Natalia sighs sensually and, biting her lip slightly, makes a quiet moan. “You know what to caress…”       “I know everything, my beauty.” Edward leaves a tender kiss on the nape of Natalia’s neck, while his fingers massage her shoulders and neck slowly but strongly. “But I haven’t started anything yet…”       “Oh…” Natalia shakes slightly and smiles shyly. “If I live until that…”       “You’re gonna love it, I promise.”       Edward massages Natalia’s back for a few seconds, not hiding his sly smile when hearing her moans full of enjoyment. And at some moment, the man kisses her relaxed shoulders and presses her to himself slowly but confidently, placing her so that her head rests on his chest, and his arms are put around her waist.       “Natalia, my gorgeous blonde…” Edward pronounces quietly with enjoyment, slowly running the tip of his nose over the hair and some parts of the face of Natalia, puts his hand on her cheek, and kisses another tenderly as well as her forehead, nose, lips, and chin. “Beautiful…”       “Are you gonna kill me slowly again?” Natalia asks in a quiet, low voice with a shy smile.       “I’m gonna give you pleasure.” Edward moves some of Natalia’s hair aside to open the view of her ear, which he caresses tenderly with his lips, as well as the areas behind it, on which he leaves a couple of short kisses. “So, you feel good…”       “Edward… Edward, I…”       “Sh-h-h…” Edward puts two fingers on Natalia’s lips and brings his face closer to her ear, in which he wants to say something in a low, velvet voice. “Relax…”       Hearing this tender whisper near her ear, Natalia realizes that her body covered with goosebumps shakes sharply, and she forgets how to breathe.       “Quiet, quiet, sweetie, quiet,” Edward whispers softly, caresses Natalia’s head, and runs his fingers through her soft, golden hair. “Relax… Or you won’t feel anything.”       “But I’ve relaxed…” Natalia protests in a quiet, hoarse voice.       “No, don’t lie to me. You’re still too tense now.”       “No… I feel very good…”       “It would be much better if you relaxed and let me play my wonderful instrument.”       “But…”       Edward makes Natalia fall into silence with a short, tender kiss on her lips, holding her by the chin. At first, the girl gets a little tense and realizes that her heart stops for a moment. But then she relaxes sharply with a sensual moan, leaning her head back after the man starts to hold her by the throat with one hand and caressing it tenderly with his fingertips. After pulling both of her lips, he steps back and caresses her cheek with the back of his hand, while she looks into his eyes closely like charmed.       “That’s good…” Edward whispers with a slight smile. “Good…”       Edward moves some strands of Natalia’s hair aside and slowly runs his fingertips over her lips, the curve of her neck, and the front of it while she starts to breathe a little heavily.       “Just relax and trust me,” Edward says confidently. “I’ll do everything. You just need to relax and get pleasure.”       Edward starts to leave kisses on Natalia’s face, starting from her lips, cheekbones, cheeks, and nose and ending with her temples, forehead, the top of her head, and the back of her head. Sometimes he may breathe on some parts with hot or cold air and feels free to caress them and kiss the area behind her ear, the earlobe of which he bites tenderly. These slow, teasing kisses make the girl feel a nice shake all over her body and awaken her affection for this man. Her heart misses a beat again and again after every single touch of his soft lips and tender fingertips on her sensitive skin. The girl closes her eyes and focuses on her feelings, finally stopping to cry, while her breath gets heavier, quiet, sensual moans get out of her mouth, and tension gets stronger somewhere in her abdomen.       At some moment, Edward gives Natalia a more continuous kiss, to which she answers without resistance, still staying tender but caressing the lady’s lips with a stronger assertiveness. He cannot stop looking at his beloved fiancée, who looks madly perfect in her tube top with open shoulders, which is made of light fabric, and denim mini shorts, which express the beauty of her slim, long legs. His fingers do want to touch the soft, velvet skin that smells something sweet and her long, slightly wavy hair of the gorgeous golden color that beautifully falls off her naked shoulders and frames a gracious female face.       “M-m-m, I feel the smell of vanilla,” Edward whispers with a slight smile, slowly running his nose over Natalia’s hair or the nape of her neck. “Sweet vanilla…”       Edward breathes in the smell of the skin on one of the curves of Natalia’s neck.       “You’re driving me crazy…” Edward runs his lips over the curve of Natalia’s neck and leaves a tender kiss on the area behind her ear. “My little girl…”       Natalia says nothing and closes her eyes with a shake in her whole body, breathing heavily enough and feeling a fast beat of her heart somewhere in her head.       “You’re magnificent, my queen,” Edward pronounces in a quiet, low voice, grabs Natalia’s face with both hands so that she looks at him from down to up, gives her another tender, continuous kiss on the lips, during which he hears her sensual moan, steps back, and rubs the tip of his nose against her nose with a little heavy breath. “So attractive…”       Edward leaves a few more cute kisses on all the parts of Natalia’s face and does not forget to caress her head, neck, and cheeks with his warm hands or barely touches them with his lips. A little later, he starts to run his hands over her collarbones, chest, the curves of her waist, her knees, and her thighs, seeing that she makes much louder and more sensual moans. And she instinctively aims to press herself against the madly warm man and puts her hand on his bent knee, which she caresses at times in passion.       “My goddess…” Edward whispers in Natalia’s ear in a low, velvet voice and leaves a couple of kisses on the area behind it, while his hands slide underneath her tube top and slide tenderly over her breast. “With you, I forget everything in the world.”       Seeing how her skin gets goosebumps after he breathes on the curve of the lady’s neck with cold and hot air, Edward gets Natalia involved in another tender kiss on the lips. The man grabs the girl by the throat and smiles smugly when he hears her muffled moan. He does not rush and does everything very slowly, as if he wants to make her wish to get close to him. At some moment, MacClife, Jr., runs his lip over all the parts of the blonde’s face, still holding his fiancée by the neck and feeling her fast heartbeat.       While the relaxed Natalia is pressed to his chest with closed eyes and her head turned to the side, Edward moves her thick hair aside with a slow movement and leaves a couple of light kisses on the nape of her neck. Then MacClife, Jr., slowly makes a path from kisses to the curve of her neck, keeping his arms wrapped around the waist of his fiancée.       “Good girl…” Edward pronounces with a sly smile and leaves another tender but exciting kiss on the curve of Natalia’s neck, while she shakes slightly and makes a quiet moan with closed eyes and the feeling of a sweet tension in her abdomen, bending her legs at her knees slightly. “Good…”       Edward leaves a couple of kisses on the same curve of Natalia’s neck and gives some attention to the area behind her ear, which he caresses tenderly with his open mouth. That’s why the girl gets her things tense enough, sticks out her breast, and makes quiet, sensual sighs, leaning her head back or raising it up and closing or rolling her eyes.       MacClife, Jr., probably got what he wanted and made his fiancée relax and forget the bad things. And at heart, he is definitely happy and proud of himself, seeing she does not resist and gets more attracted to him, and her body lets him know that it wants more and more caress from the beloved person, who can please it.       “Natalia, my angel…” Edward pronounces with a peaceful smile in a quiet, low voice, leans Natalia’s head back, and leaves a few excited kisses on the front of her neck. “My queen…”       “Oh, gosh…” Natalia pronounces in a very quiet, hoarse voice and rolls and closes her eyes when Edward leaves a tender kiss on her throat hole. “M-m-m…”       “Quiet, sweetheart, relax,” Edward whispers with a sly smile and covers Natalia’s shoulders with kisses, while his hands run over her collarbones and then start to squeeze the lady's big breasts tenderly but confidently. “It’s okay…”       “Oh, what are you doing?” Natalia, breathing heavily enough with her open mouth and bending her back slightly, makes a more sensual moan, while her fingers squeeze Edward’s knee tightly. “Edward… Edward…”       “I know… You drive me crazy, too, baby…” Edward slowly runs his hand over Natalia’s belly and the curve of her waist and stops on the inside of her thighs, between which he feels the heat. “Too…”       “Don’t stop…” Natalia makes a loud, sensual moan, tensing the muscles of her belly. “Please…”       Edward says nothing and moves the head of Natalia’s hair off the curve of the neck, which he has not kissed yet, with a sly smile, looks for the most sensitive areas too hard and bites them slightly. One hand of him keeps massaging her breast tenderly and caressing her tough nipples, while another hand slides underneath the lady’s tube top and confidently caresses her naked belly, the muscles of which are tense enough. While the girl pleases the man with her sensual moans, not resisting anything he is doing and feeling easiness in her head more and more.       “Beautiful…” Edward pronounces with a wide smile and a heavy breath in a low voice and runs his lips over the curve of Natalia’s neck and the area behind her ear, while one hand of him caresses the inside of her thigh. “Queen… My gorgeous queen…”       Edward grabs Natalia by the throat tenderly but with pressure and gets her involved in a continuous kiss on the lips, which he pulls, licks, and squeezes. Moaning quietly, the man carefully runs the tip of his tongue over the girl’s palate and goes around her tongue, mixing this caress with slight bites of the lady’s lips. Then the girl mirrors almost all of his actions, making him feel a slight dizziness and tension in every muscle of her body. One hand of him squeezes the big breasts of the lady like a boss and caresses her tough nipples and collarbones, and another hand raises her tube top slightly and caresses her naked belly.       “Oh, damn, Natalia, you decided to kill me with a sweet death…” Edward says in a tender whisper with a wide smile, still holding Natalia by the throat with a heavy breath, caressing it with his fingertips, and looking into her eyes and her dilated pupils from up to down. “Sweet…”       “More, more…” Natalia begs in a hoarse voice and feels how her heart stops when Edward barely touches her lips with his lips, as he wraps his finger around her belly button and plays with the jewelry in it. “Please… Please, Edward…”       Natalia does not speak her mind and makes a sensual moan when Edward gets her involved in another continuous, tender kiss with a bit of passion, holding her by the throat with both hands and caressing the front of her neck with the fingertips of his hand with some pressure. The girl breathing heavily keeps moving her thighs a little faster, caressing or squeezing his legs bent at the knees, and sticks her breasts out when the man’s fingers slide over this beautiful part of her body.       “Quiet, quiet, baby, relax,” Edward whispers in a low voice, presses Natalia’s head to his chest, caresses the top of her head, wrapping his free arm around her neck, and kisses her on the temple, as he runs his fingers through her hair. “It’s okay…”       Edward leaves a few kisses on the curve of Natalia’s neck, while she smiles blissfully, rolls her eyes, and closes them. The man caresses her head and cheek and just watches his fiancée for a few seconds with tenderness in his eyes, moving some strands of her hair at some moment, while they shine brightly under the sun.       “Good girl,” Edward whispers with a slight smile and kisses Natalia on the forehead tenderly after he turns his face on himself. “Good girl…”       Edward leaves a short kiss on Natalia’s soft and sweet lips, holding her head with a hand.       “I did say you’d feel good,” Edward adds in a soft, quiet voice and runs the back of his hand over Natalia’s cheek.       “You knocked me out…” Natalia makes a quiet moan with a slight smile.       “And you drove me crazy,” Edward slowly runs the tip of his tongue over Natalia’s lips and pulls and squeezes them tenderly with a quiet moan. “You make me wild…”       “Can I fall asleep right here?” Natalia asks quietly. “It’s so warm and good here…”       “If you want it, I can protect your sleep with pleasure,” Edward says confidently and slowly runs his fingertips over the curve of Natalia’s neck. “Watch my sleeping beauty…”       “But if you keep kissing me like this, I won’t fall asleep.”       “But I can put you to sleep quickly.” Edward presses Natalia closely to himself and caresses her head tenderly. “Everything depends on your wishes, baby.”       “M-m-m, sweetheart…” Natalia smiles shyly and enfolds Edward's arm, with which he wraps her neck, with both arms.       The lovers silently enjoy the way the warm wind is blowing their faces and clothes. And then Natalia looks into Edward’s eyes with admiration and tenderness, noticing that his pupils are dilated.       “Do you know you have stunning eyes?” Natalia asks softly. “I’m ready to obey the one to have them without minding.”       “Thanks a lot, but I love yours more,” Edward replies with a shy smile and caresses Natalia’s cheek tenderly. “They capture me… And I can’t resist it.”       “Sweetheart…” Natalia puts her hand on the back of Edward’s head with a wide smile and brings his face so close that the tips of their noses contact, and the lovers clearly feel the breath and the heartbeat of each other. “My angel…”       “My blue-eyed beauty…”       “Do it again…” Natalia caresses Edward’s head. “I felt so good…”       “One at a time, my sunshine,” Edward replies with a sly smile.       “Please, Edward…”       “Patience, blonde. I know it’s hard for you to resist such a handsome guy, but learn to wait.”       “At least kiss me… I want your passionate kisses. They drive me insane…”       “Okay, you won!” Edward leaves a short kiss on Natalia’s lips. “Done!”       “Is this everything you can give me?”       “A little bit now, a little bit later…” Edward runs his hand over Natalia’s collarbones and moves his hands to her breasts, which he tenderly caresses and softly grabs from the bottom. “I want you to whine from how much you want me.”       “Do you want me to take everything under my control?” Natalia runs her hand over Edward’s hair, grabs his face determinedly, and looks into his eyes from down to up. “I can easily make you die from a wish to tear my clothes.”       Natalia wants to give Edward a passionate kiss on the lips with a loud breath, but she just barely touches them with her lips because he closes her mouth with a hand and pronounces in a velvet whisper:       “Sh-h-h, don’t rush, baby, don’t rush…” Edward slowly runs his finger over Natalia’s lips, caresses her auricle, and touches the skin of the area behind her ear. “All in good time…”       “You’re so insolent, MacClife. Very insolent!”       “Me? Insolent?” Edward chuckles shyly. “But why?”       “You are!” Natalia moves her eyes into the distance, pressing her back to Edward’s chest. “You bring me to a half-heart attack and start to show off in the middle of the way!”       “I haven’t done anything yet.” Edward kisses Natalia in the hole of her throat tenderly, squeezing her breasts with both hands. “I just kissed you on your neck and the area behind your ears.”       “I guess your brother taught you this trick.”       “No, my queen,” Edward pronounces with his head proudly raised and caresses the inside of Natalia’s thighs. “I don’t need pieces of advice from my brother. If I want, any girl is gonna be hot and wet in a few minutes.”       Edward leaves a short kiss on Natalia’s lips and slowly runs his tongue over her palate.       “I’ve always been imitable at love things,” Edward adds and caresses Natalia’s belly confidently under her tube top. “And I can be tender and rude.”       “You? Rude?”       “Don’t pretend you can’t remember.”       “Now I don’t even remember my name.”       “It’s the most beautiful one in the world…” Edward leaves a couple of kisses on the area behind Natalia’s ear, over which he runs his lips, while his hands slide confidently over her waist, thighs, and the inside of her thighs. “Natalia…”       “You know, pretty boy, I think it’s time to take the initiative and do something to you.”       When Natalia brings Edward’s face closer to hers, holding him by the back of his head, he steps back softly and closes her mouth with a sly smile.       “Sh-h, calm down, my hungry tiger,” Edward says in a quiet, low voice, caresses Natalia’s head with a free hand, and runs his fingers through her hair. “Quiet…”       Edward leaves a short kiss on the front of Natalia’s neck, while she rolls her eyes with a muffled moan.       “Of course, I really like that you show initiative. But don’t you wanna make pleasure longer?”       “I want…” Natalia pronounces in a low voice and caresses Edward’s cheek tenderly, breathes in the smell of his skin on his face, and smiles peacefully with a feeling of slight dizziness. “But I can’t resist the smell of the real man. I want everything at once…”       “You’ve got fantastic taste.” Edward softly touches Natalia’s lips with his lips with a sly smile and starts to say into her mouth more sensually. “There’s nobody to be better than me…”       “Yeah…” Natalia sits with her side turned on Edward, grabs his face, and brings it very closely to hers with a little heavy breath. “When you’re with me, I’m getting weak…”       “And I am getting stronger…” Edward replies confidently and succumbs to his wish to touch the soft skin on Natalia’s legs. “Much stronger…”       “Nevertheless, kiss me,” Natalia says in a nice, low voice and runs her finger over Edward’s tender lips, and her second hand holds him by his cheek. “So that I feel good.”       “No problem,” Edward cutely kisses Natalia on the lips.       “You won’t get off me like this. I want something hot.”       “I did say I want to make pleasure longer.”       “MacClife!”       “Don’t be a capricious child, Rochester.” Edward kisses Natalia on the corners of her mouth with a slier smile, running his hand over her loose hair. “Better be a good girl.”       “I’m giving you the last chance. Or I’ll control everything.”       “Actually, I rule everything.”       “Yeah?” Natalia chuckles kindly. “Who said it?”       Natalia sharply presses Edward to herself, grabbing him by the nape of her neck, and gets him involved in a little assertive, aggressive kiss on the lips, using her tongue actively. The man answers it for a few seconds but then sharply gets control and breaks it with a heavy breath.       “Because I am a man,” Edward pronounces in a hoarse voice. “And I haven’t done with you yet.”       Edward gives Natalia a tender kiss on her lips with a much wider smile, grabbing her face with both hands and playing the tension degree on purpose to drive his beloved girl crazy.       “Much better…” Natalia purrs with a peaceful smile while her fingers stroke Edward’s hair. “You can do it when you want.”       “Don’t dare think I’ll always be so soft,” Edward smiles slyly and grabs Natalia by the throat tightly but tenderly, feeling how fast her heart is beating through his fingers. “If you keep eating me with your eyes like this, you will have to pay.”       After waiting for two seconds, Edward kisses Natalia on the lips again with greater pressure and harshness, putting his hand on the back of her head and caressing confidently her half-naked back, while she strokes his hair and caresses the nape of his neck. The two are breathing heavily enough and can sometimes make quiet, sensual moans with a feeling the heat and tormenting tension. Later, the man leaves a few kisses on the girl’s neck, confidently running his hands over the curves of her waist and her slim legs bent at the knees. While the blonde squeezes her fiancé’s hair in passion, scratches the nape of his neck, and does some movements, pressing herself instinctively against the tough male body that is spreading the heat.       At some moment, Edward, not breaking the kiss, presses Natalia much closer to himself and lies down. She immediately presses his hands to the ground, locks her fingers with his fingers, and tries to take control of the situation, giving him a tender, innocent peck or an assertive, wet kiss. While the man obeys her powerlessly, smiling blissfully at times and breathing heavily enough with the feeling of slight dizziness.       “You’re imitable, pretty boy…” Natalia says in a quiet, caresses Edward’s cheeks with both hands, and runs them confidently over the male torso. “I am burning…”       “Yes, I am…” Edward pronounces with pride and starts to run his hands over the back, the curves of the waist, the thighs, and the buttocks of Natalia after she lets them go. “Irresistible…”       “You’re my lion… My brave and resolute lion…”       Natalia gets Edward involved in another continuous kiss on the lips with a sensual moan and runs her tongue slowly over his tongue. And a few seconds later, the man easily puts the girl on the ground and raises himself above her.       “M-m-m, distraction…” Edward pronounces in a low voice with a sly smile.       “I can’t resist when you’re with me,” Natalia replies confidently.       “Hey, hey…” Edward presses Natalia’s hands to the ground when she tries to caress his cheek. “Don’t move, beautiful, don’t move…”       “Hey, everything was so good!”       “Don’t worry, dolly, you’ll have a chance to surprise me. Now I wanna surprise you and get pleasure. That I’ve lately lacked so badly.”       Edward involves Natalia in another continuous kiss on the lips with greater pressure, as if he lets her know he decides everything, and she should obey. She does not hold down her sensual moans and bends backward like a cat, completely trusting this man, who knows what to do without her control. The man generously covers her neck and collarbones with tender but assertive kisses and smiles slyly when the girl sticks her breasts out with a slight shake on her skin and a sweet tension and heat between her legs.       “It’s good, huh?” Edward asks with a sly smile, lets Natalia’s hands go, and runs them over the curves of her waist and her belly.       “You’re definitely gonna kill me…” Natalia pronounces in a little hoarse voice. “Slowly…”       “Not at all…” Edward smoothly moves his hands to Natalia’s collarbones and massages her breasts tenderly. “My main goal is your pleasure.”       “Damn…” Natalia leans her head back with closed eyes, bending her legs at the knees. “What are you doing to me?”       “Oh, yay, baby…” Edward pronounces in a low voice with a blissful smile, covers Natalia’s collarbones with kisses and the open part of her breasts, raises her tube top, and gives some attention to her naked belly, over which he runs his hands slowly. “Yeah…”       “Oh, gosh…” Natalia pronounces when her body shakes sharply.       “I’ve already found the key to your door,” Edward runs his hand over Natalia’s breast, massages it tenderly, and caressing her abdomen, crotch, and the inside of her thighs with the fingertips of another hand. “And I know what it likes.”       “Please, Edward…” Natalia makes a quiet, sensual moan, breathing deeply and heavily enough. “Edward…”       “Hey, don’t get tense… Relax…” Edward runs his hands over Natalia’s tense thighs and the tender skin on her naked legs, covers her belly with kisses, or just runs his open mouth over some parts of it, breathing on every single area with hot and cold air. “Damn, Natalia… How magnificent you are…”       “Oh, gosh…” Natalia pronounces in a shaking, hoarse voice and sighs sensually, breathing heavily enough with a feeling of heat and dizziness. “M-m-m…”       “Keep doing this, beauty, yeah…” Edward says in a low voice with a sly smile, as he massages Natalia’s breasts tenderly but confidently and covers her décolleté with short but exciting kisses. “Your moans get me excited…”       In passion, Edward starts to suck and bite the skin on Natalia’s neck, while she squeezes and pulls his hair tightly and runs her free hand over the man’s back, shoulders, and buttocks, aiming to press him to herself as closely as possible. Later, the girl sinks her nails into the nape of her fiancé’s neck and rolls her eyes when one of his hands slides slowly over her naked belly, and the other caresses her head and hair, which is beautifully lying on the ground covered with green grass.       “Oh, gosh…” Natalia makes a sensual moan and bites her bottom lip strongly. “Gosh…”       “It’s okay, beautiful,” Edward whispers with a sly smile, while one hand of him squeezes Natalia’s thigh, the fingers of another hand stroke her hair, and he runs his lips over the front of her neck. “It’s okay…”       “Oh, Edward, you’re just imitable…” Natalia shakes with a sensual sigh and closes and rolls her eyes, feeling the nice warmth between her legs.       “You’re freaking sexy now…” Edward pronounces in a low, velvet voice and slowly runs his lips over the front of Natalia’s neck, her collarbones, breasts, and belly. “My girl… My pride…”       “I’m all yours…” Natalia bites her lip slightly with a quiet, sensual sigh. “You can do anything.”       “M-m-m, you’re so hot…” Edward tenderly runs his hand over the inside of Natalia’s thighs and smiles slyly, showing how proud and confident he feels. “And how you’re shaking…”       “You’re guilty!”       “Even if you wanted to lie to me, I’d understand everything.” Edward caresses Natalia’s belly with his warm hand and runs his finger around her belly button. “Your body never lies…”       “Please, Edward, please…” Natalia squeezes her thighs and bends her back backward with a sensual moan after Edward runs his fingertips over her crotch.       “Don’t beg me, beauty.” Edward grabs Natalia by the curves of her waist and runs his nose or lips over her belly, breasts, and collarbones. “I will do everything your body asks about so much…”       When Natalia points her hands to Edward, whom she wants to caress a little, he grabs her by the wrists, presses them to the ground, and gives her a more exciting kiss and more assertive kiss, enjoying the way the girl’s body relaxes immediately, and she tries to express passion with slight bites of his lips. At some moment, MacClife, Jr., turns to the side, taking his fiancée with him, and continues this sensual, deep kiss, hugging her as tightly as she hugs him. While Natalia’s hands stroke the incredibly soft, thick hair of the man, Edward runs his hand over the curves of her slim waist, her thighs, and her buttocks and caresses her head tenderly.       Again, the man takes the way of tender kisses to her lips, the corners of her mouth, cheeks, and ears to her neck, in the curve of which he hides his face with a wide smile. The girl just caresses her beloved man on the back with an uneven breath, has her arm around his neck, and puts her nose in his shoulder, breathing in the smell of the man, who makes her feel calm and trust him. The lovers just lie on the side, embrace each other, and look into each other’s eyes for some time. Edward has his arm wrapped around Natalia’s neck, caresses her head, and lets his fingers through her golden strands. And she presses herself to him as closely as possible, puts her hand on his chest, through which she can feel the fast breath of her fiancé, and listens to his uneven, hot breath.       “Sweetheart…” Natalia pronounces quietly with a tender smile, caressing Edward’s cheek.       “My girl…” Edward pronounces in a low voice and runs his fingertips over the skin on Natalia’s head. “My gorgeous angel…”       “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”       “As well as you are for me.”       “I don’t even know what I would be doing now if I hadn’t met you.”       “I would’ve probably lied on the bed and snuggled my guitar,” Edward chuckles shyly. “It would’ve been my only salvation from boredom.”       “I’d be embracing a pillow.”       “Yeah…”       “But I’m lucky I got the other pillow…” Natalia wraps her arms around Edward’s waist, pressing him closer to herself. “More comfortable… Much softer… Much warmer…”       “Aw, sweetheart…” Edward laughs shyly and caresses Natalia’s head tenderly, hearing her uneven breath and kissing her on the top of her head at some moment.       “M-m-m, it’s so good…” Natalia purrs quietly, pressing herself closely to Edward’s wide, warm chest. “You’re my refuge… I feel safe next to you…”       “And I feel happier.” Edward runs his fingers through Natalia’s hair and starts to stroke it, while she moans quietly in pleasure with closed eyes. “You make me feel more confident.”       “What I want my beloved man to be. What I see him now…”       Edward smiles much wider and tenderly kisses Natalia on the forehead. The lovers silently hold each other in a strong hug for a few seconds, lying on the bright green grass, and looking into each other’s eyes with tenderness.       “Don’t you think we’d end this?” Natalia breaks the silence, running her fingers through Edward’s hair.       “What do ya mean?” Edward wonders.       “Since you decided to drive me crazy, we’ve gotta bring the case to an end.”       “I said I’d do it slowly.”       “Well, while you think, I can please you a little,” Natalia smiles mysteriously, slowly starting to walk her fingers over Edward’s chest and bite her lip slightly, as she looks into his eyes with some challenge. “Moreover, you’ve already kissed and felt me up enough.”       “Okay, try.” Edward caresses Natalia’s cheek with a sly smile. “My whole body is all yours, baby. Do anything you want with it.”       “Just don’t be nervous. Just relax.”       Looking into Edward’s eyes closely, Natalia sits up slowly, grabs his face softly with both hands, and gives him a continuous kiss on the lips, to which he answers with pleasure. She starts doing it slowly and quietly but becomes more assertive later, starting to moan quietly at some moment, letting her tongue get into his mouth determinedly and running it over his palate. A little later, MacClife, Jr., raises himself on his arm and tenderly caresses his fiancée’s head, while she generously covers his cheeks, chin, and ears that she bites slightly and caresses tenderly with her lips. Her hands slide confidently over the male tough chest and his thighs, her fingers squeeze his hair tightly in passion and pull it slightly, and her nails scratch the nape of his neck tenderly.       “M-m-m, yay…” Edward nods with a wide smile, while one hand of him slides confidently over Natalia’s back and thighs and squeezes her buttocks tenderly. “Yay, you know what I love…”       “I just started,” Natalia replies in a quiet, low voice, runs her hand over Edward’s hair, and gives him a short kiss on the lips, holding him by the back of his head. “Started…”       After a few tender but assertive short kisses, Natalia starts to caress Edward’s neck with her lips, while he smiles shyly with closed eyes, feeling a slight dizziness and literally having a fast heartbeat in his head.       “Oh, damn, Natalia…” Edward pronounces in a low, hoarse voice, shakes slightly with a quiet moan and lies on his back powerlessly. “You’re driving me crazy…”       “Relax, my lion,” Natalia says softly and leaves a few kisses on the curve of Edward’s neck, holding him by the other one. “I’m doing nothing yet.”       Natalia confidently runs her hands over Edward’s torso, slides to his abdomen, raises his t-shirt a little, and tenderly caresses the naked part of his stomach, feeling his tough muscles, touching which makes her go crazy.       “Oh, gosh, your body is so gorgeous…” Natalia pronounces with a wide smile and sighs sensually. “But it’s too tense…”       “You’re the one to blame…” Edward says in a hoarse voice, moaning quietly from pleasure with closed eyes.       “If you have something again, I ain’t holding you.” Natalia runs her lips over the curve of Edward’s neck and tenderly touches the area behind his ear with the tip of her tongue. “I won’t give your body all my love.”       Natalia pulls and sucks both of Edward’s lips, leaves a couple of more kisses on the area behind his ear, on the curve of his neck, and his collarbones, and slowly runs her lips over his whole torso. She eventually stops on the bottom of his stomach, which she covers with short kisses, raising the male t-shirt more and more and admiring what’s hidden under it again.       “If you keep doing this, you won’t get off me,” Edward warns in a shaking voice with a heavy breath and sharply tenses the muscles of his stomach when Natalia leaves a short kiss under his belly button and tenderly runs her hands over his tough genitals.       “Who said I want to get off you?” Natalia smiles mysteriously, steps back from Edward, takes his hand, puts it on her cheek, and runs it tenderly over the one, while he looks at her like charmed with admiration in his eyes.       “You can’t do it anyway,” Edward says with a sly smile.       “As well as you.” Natalia sharply raises Edward’s hands above his head and presses them to the ground, starting to speak with an uneven breath: “You’re mine. And only mine. To your very bones.”       “I won’t give my beloved beauty to anyone.”       “I love you, too, my lord.” Natalia bends over Edward and leaves a few exciting kisses on another curve of his neck with sensual moans, holding his face with both hands.       “Oh, shit…” Edward exhales sharply and shakes.       “Quiet, Edward, quiet…” Natalia whispers in Edward’s ear tenderly and leaves a short kiss on his lips. “Quiet…”       “You…” Edward says with a heavy, deep breath, squeezes Natalia’s buttocks softly but tightly, and runs his hands over her thighs and back. “You’re waking up… Fire inside me…”       Natalia says nothing and keeps caressing Edward’s body with great pleasure, making him feel a tormenting tension in his muscles and literally die from a wish to take the seducing blonde here and now.       “I want you…” Edward pronounces in a low, hoarse voice. “Now…”       “Want?” Natalia smiles slyly.       “Yeah…”       “I get it, tiger, I get it…” Natalia runs her hands over Edward’s chest and slowly walks over it. “I’m dreaming of undressing you, too.”       “I can help you take off your bra.”       “Ah, MacClife…” Natalia laughs, caresses Edward’s cheek, and runs her hand over his stomach when he wants to get up and hug her. “I thought you’d hold on for a long time… But you gave up without a fight.”       “Did you, silly girl, think I’d tolerate your tricks forever?”       “But what did I do?” Natalia smiles innocently. “I’ve just kissed you a couple of times! But you, poor guy, got nervous…”       “Yeah, how much you got nervous when I was caressing your posh body!” Edward smiles slyly and bites his lip. “M-m-m…”       “Excuse me…” Natalia brings her face very close to Edward’s face and looks into his eyes with an alluring look. “You’re so sexy… When you’re so close to me, I can barely control myself.”       Natalia leaves a short kiss on Edward’s lips and on the corners of his mouth and bites them slightly. And when he unconsciously opens this one, she playfully teases him with the tip of her tongue and slowly runs it around the man’s tongue, making him moan quietly. Her hand slides smoothly over the male's tough torso and moves to his abdomen, which she caresses tenderly with her fingertips. The girl slowly wants to go down and give some attention to his groin. MacClife, Jr., already looks forward to the way her warm, tender fingers squeeze his tough genitals. But the blonde, looking into his eyes, slyly, sharply moves her hand up and steps back from him later.       “Okay, it’s enough yet,” Natalia smiles slyly and cutely kisses Edward on the lips, grabbing his face.       “What?” Edward wonders with widely open eyes. Hey!”       “You wanted everything at once? No, my pretty impatient boy! Don’t wait!”       “Please, sweetheart…” Edward begs with pity in his eyes.       “Patience, Edward, patience.”       Wishing to wake up a stronger volcano inside him, Natalia steps back from Edward slowly and creeps back, not moving her eyes off her beloved man.       “Hey, where are you gonna?” Edward frowns slightly, raising himself on his elbows.       “Nowhere, sweetie,” Natalia replies in a low voice with a slight smile and begins to wrap a strand of hair on her finger, putting her thigh aside. “I’m still here.”       “I’d be so thrilled to caress and kiss you…” Edward looks at Natalia from head to foot, touches his neck, and pulls the collar of his t-shirt slightly. “Take off these clothes… And admire your perfect naked body.”       “You will see, don’t worry. After the wedding.”       “Do you wanna run away from a lion after teasing it?”       “I have done nothing!” Natalia shrugs with an innocent smile and fixes the sleeve of her dark pink top with open shoulders made of light fabric. “And the fact that you can’t hold yourself down is your problem.”       “Because you get me excited… You’re driving me crazy with just one look… Just one kiss…”       When Edward wants to sit up, creep to Natalia, and get her involved in a more passionate and exciting kiss, she steps back sharply with a sly smile and shakes her head when saying:       “Quiet, tiger, quiet… Why are you so nervous?”       “C’mon, baby, why are you shy?” Edward wonders with his head proudly raised. “Come to me! So, I can caress my cat enough.”       “I won’t…” Natalia pronounces with a quiet, low voice and slightly bites her lip, looking at Edward from head to foot with a little lascivious look. “I won’t…”       At this moment, a small butterfly flies by Natalia. The girl puts her index finger under, so it sits down, and watches the way it moves its white wings slightly.       “Can you really resist this beauty?” Edward spreads his shoulders and runs his hand over his hair with his head proudly raised. “Look how handsome I am! If only you knew how much I need a good caress and attention!”       “Since you’re not in bed at my home yet, it means I can.” Natalia opens her hand and lets the butterfly walk on it before it decides to fly.       “But I madly want to drive you to my home and enjoy your naked body.”       “You did say you shouldn't get too much,” Natalia recalls in a low voice, playing with a small earring in her ear coquettishly.       “Yeah, I did…” Edward pronounces thoughtfully, looking at Natalia like charmed and fingering over nervously with a heavy breath, while the same butterfly lands on his shoulder. “But I just changed my mind…”       “Do you wanna bring me to a heart attack?” Natalia creeps to Edward slowly but confidently, kisses him on the lips tenderly, and leaves a few kisses on both corners of the man’s neck, while the butterfly starts flying around the same one in circles. “M-m-m… Gosh, you’re so sexy…”       After making a more sensual moan, Natalia pulls Edward’s lips very tenderly and runs the tip of her tongue over his plate. Then she steps back, creeps back, and gets up graciously, while the man closely watches every single movement of her gorgeous, feminine body that he can look at from head to foot.       “Mi bella…” Edward pronounces. “Hermosa…”       “So, you like it?” Natalia smiles slyly and starts to wrap a strand of her hair around her finger, sticking her thigh up. “Why are you breathing so heavily?”       “Do you dare to ask?” Edward swallows up nervously and strokes his hair down a little. “Ah, how incredible you are…”       “Admire, please,” Natalia moves her thick hair aside, slightly inclines her head to the side, and starts to strike attractive poses to show all the attractive curves of her body.       “Fantastic…” Edward pronounces in a low voice with a wide smile and bites his lip slightly, while his lascivious look slides over Natalia’s body, while she sticks up the curve of her neck and runs her fingertips over it and her collarbones. “I really wanna touch this piece of art…”       “No, you’re not allowed to touch it.”       “What?” Edward rounds his eyes. “What do you mean?”       “You’re not,” Natalia smiles innocently and slowly runs her fingertips over her breasts, making a sensual moan a couple of times. “You can only watch…”       “That’s impossible!”       “There is nothing impossible, my lion.” Natalia starts to play with the thin gold necklace on her neck and slowly runs her fingers over her lips, while Edward is twirling nervously and pulling his collar with the thought that he cannot breathe.       “Stay there… Stay… Just stay there…”       When Edward wants to get up, Natalia sharply takes two steps back and shakes her head and finger.       “No, no, no, you stay there,” Natalia says confidently. “I haven’t allowed you to touch me.”       “You wanna provoke me?” Edward smiles slyly.       “No, why do you think so?” Natalia slowly runs her hands over her collarbones and belly up and down, moaning sensually with closed eyes, and caresses all the parts of her neck with her fingertips. “M-m-m… I’m just standing…”       “And waking up a volcano inside me…”       “Come on?” Natalia raises her top tube kind of accidentally, showing a part of her belly, slowly runs her hands, wraps her fingertips around her belly button, and touches silver jewelry on it. “So strong?”       “Incredibly strong…” Edward pronounces in a hoarse voice with a heavy breath.       “M-m-m, that’s how…” Natalia fixes her thick hair, inclining her head back to show the front of her neck, massages her breasts with slow, tender movements, and runs her hands over her naked belly, moaning sensually with closed eyes and open mouth.       “I want you… I want your body to bend backward like a snake… I want you to please my ear with your sensual moans.”       “Well, you’ll do it next time…” Natalia smiles slyly, lowers her top, and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “But now I’m leaving.”       “What? Hey! Where?”       “Adiós, mi tigre…”       Natalia slowly takes two steps back, not moving her eyes off Edward, who shakes his head with a sly smile.       “No, no…” Edward pronounces confidently in a low voice. “You won’t get off me so easily…”       “Relax, MacClife, you aren’t able to touch me,” Natalia says with a sly smile and stretches herself up to show her attractive curves and flat, little sunken belly.       “I think I’ve said that provoking a tiger is dangerous.”       “Save your strength for the next time. And I’m leaving.”       “Only after I get what I want.”       When Edward gets up quickly and shakes something off his light brown t-shirt and denim bridges, Natalia goes further with her head proudly raised.       “Oh, you got excited!” Natalia laughs shyly.       “Now I will be more confident,” Edward says confidently and takes a step forward.       “Try!” Natalia steps aside with a quiet laugh and starts to run after Edward tries to catch her again.       “Natalia!” Edward exclaims loudly and starts to run after Natalia. “Natalia, wait!”       “Catch me if you can,” Natalia challenges with a contagious laugh, turning on Edward on a run. “Let’s play a hunter and a prize.”       “You will lose,” Edward says with his head proudly raised. “I’ve got a brilliant reaction! You won’t have time to realize that I catch you.”       “Prove it then, hunter!”       Natalia runs to the other side with a shy laugh again, and Edward stops and chuckles quietly, putting his hands on his hips and looking at the girl, who wakes up a greater passion inside him.       “She’s so silly,” Edward pronounces quietly. “She believes she’d run away from me. But it’s okay, I shall get her cool quickly. Hold on, Rochester… You won’t hide from me.”       Edward starts to chase Natalia, who quickens a step at some moment. The man may sometimes cry out something, and the girl runs in circles around the whole territory and does not hide her happiness every time he does not catch her.       “You will not leave!” Edward exclaims. “I shall catch you!”       “Faster, pretty boy!” Natalia shouts funnily, turning on Edward so that her hair blows on the wind beautifully. “Why are you as slow as an old man?”       “Keep laughing, you’ll ask for trouble now!”       “Oh, oh, a cat got scared by the cucumber!”       Natalia sharply turns to the other side and quickens a little, while Edward does not even think of giving up. But because the girl just wanted to tease her beloved man, they do not run for a long time. At some moment, she slows down a little, and he uses it, catching his fiancée quickly, grabbing her by the waist with both hands, and pressing her to his hot body from behind.       “Hey!” Natalia shouts and smiles widely.       “Gotcha, runner,” Edward pronounces with a happy smile and rubs his nose against Natalia’s cheek. “You’re caught…”       “Let me go…” Natalia starts to get out and laughs shyly. “Let me go, I say…”       “You shouldn’t have gotten in touch with such a fast man like me…” Edward runs the tip of his nose over the curve of Natalia’s neck and leaves a couple of tender kisses on the area behind her ear. “You knew I’d win anyway…”       “No, don’t do it, let me go…” Natalia acts like a victim with a shy laugh. “No… Stop…”       “M-m-m, wanna play a victim with me? Okay… I’ll play along…” Edward presses Natalia closer to himself, putting one hand on her belly, and massages her breasts confidently with another, while his lips slide over the curve of her neck, which he covers with tender kisses. “Ar-r-r… You’ve been caught, babe… You’re mine now…”       “Please…” Natalia pronounces with a heavy breath. “Please, don’t do this…”       “You want it, I see it…” Edward grabs Natalia by the throat with one hand and caresses her ear tenderly with his lips, while his other hand slides underneath her top and caresses the soft, velvet skin on her flat belly. “You’re covered with goosebumps!”       “If you don’t let me go, I’ll ask for help…”       “Ask,” Edward smiles slyly, runs the tip of his tongue over the area behind Natalia’s ear, and breathes on it with cold air. “Birds and butterflies… So, they see how you’re shaking from one touch of my hand… From one kiss of mine…”       “Not truth! I’m absolutely indifferent…”       “Yeah? What if I do this…” Edward gives Natalia an assertive, deep kiss on the lips, caressing her breasts and nipples with one hand and moving another hand to her abdomen and getting closer to her crotch, over which he runs his fingertips tenderly.       “I don’t care…” Natalia pronounces in a low voice, biting her bottom lip strongly and trying to hold down a wish to make a couple of moans.       “You want me to go far?” Edward caresses the inside of Natalia’s thighs and her thighs, runs his hands underneath her top shamelessly, and starts to caress confidently her naked belly and big breasts.       “Oh, gosh…” Natalia pronounces, leaning her head back with closed eyes and feeling goosebumps getting over her hot, tense body. “M-m-m…”       “Yay, Blondie, you can’t pretend…” Edward laughs shyly and leaves a couple of kisses on the front of Natalia’s neck, slowly running his hand over her naked shoulders, which he kisses tenderly. “You’re getting weak for me. For everything I can do to a girl.”       “Stop doing this, and I’ll think soberly.”       “Stop doing this? Erm…” Edward thinks for two seconds and smiles slyly. “Well… Why?”       Edward slowly turns Natalia on himself and leans on her forehead with his forehead, looking into her eyes closely.       “Why do I hold myself down when I want my beloved girl?” Edward asks in a low, soft voice, grabs Natalia’s face with both hands, closes his eyes for two seconds, and breathes in the smell of her skin. “My fiancée… Who drives me crazy…”       “You’re right…” Natalia whispers with a peaceful smile. “I’m getting weak… When you’re near me… So close…”       “I’m gonna use this insolently.” Edward leaves a short kiss on Natalia’s lips and slowly runs his slightly open mouth over some parts of her face, hearing her heavy, uneven breath.       “I’d kick you for this.” Natalia puts her hands on Edward’s chest.       “Someday, next time.”       Edward leaves a few kisses on the curve of Natalia’s neck, holding her by the back of her head and running his hands through her hair, while the girl moans quietly with closed or rolled eyes and slowly runs her hands over his chest. She lets him enjoy her for a few seconds, but when the man gets busy with her collarbones and chest, the blonde smiles slyly and glances aside.       “Wow, look!” Natalia shows delight. “My gosh!”       “What’s wrong?” Edward gets confused and steps back from Natalia.       “You just look! Behind you!”       While Edward being a little confused turns around and starts to look around, Natalia waits for two seconds and runs away with a loud, high-pitched laugh as fast as a bullet.       “Hey, what is this?” Edward wonders loudly, putting his hands on his hips. “How could you deceive your king?”       “Just because you’re almost my husband doesn’t mean I must be sweet and fluffy,” Natalia laughs shyly after she stops and turns on Edward.       “I see you decided to use the tactic of your friend?”       “I could learn something from her…” Natalia wraps a strand of her hair around her finger with a mysterious smile. “Your brother runs after her like a dog. And he fell in love with her after her strong slap. Which he, however, deserved.”       “It’s okay, I’ll talk to my bro and find out how he tamed Cameron. I think Terry would be happy to share his secrets with me.”       “Whatever you do, it won’t work with me,” Natalia says confidently.       “Don’t worry, dolly, I know what to do.”       “Huh, you better catch me first and then show off.”       “Hold on, blondie…” Edward proudly raises his head up with a sly smile. “I shall catch you!”       When Edward gives a start, Natalia runs quickly away from him with a loud laugh. Sometimes she turns around to shout out something and show him funny faces, while he is getting much funnier and more playful thanks to her.       “So, who are you gonna kick?” Natalia asks funnily.       “You won’t hide from me!” Edward says confidently.       “Oh, yeah! You’re two steps back from me!”       By this moment, Natalia leaves Edward behind either because she runs so well or because he plays along with her. But at some moment, she turns around again to show a funny face and falls on the ground with a loud squeak after she gets caught in her legs. However, the girl gets up quickly and wants to keep running, but the man catches her with a sly smile and hugs her so that her arms are tightly pressed to her body.       “So, cutie, how far did you run?” Edward chuckles kindly. “Who laughs best, who laughs last!”       “I will run you again,” Natalia says confidently and starts to get out of Edward’s grip for fun.       “Try then.” Edward kisses Natalia on the shoulder, from which a sleeve of her top gets off, laughing kindly at the girl’s squeaks. “Come on.”       “Ar-r-r, don’t mock me!” Natalia pouts.       “You should learn something…” Edward barely touches Natalia’s ear with his lips and wants to whisper something after he kisses the area behind it tenderly. “Deceiving your future husband is bad. Deceiving Edward MacClife himself.”       “Huh, who is Edward MacClife?” Natalia chuckles kindly.       “The man, who’s gonna be praised around the whole world,” Edward smiles widely with his head proudly raised, kisses Natalia on the top of her head, and massages her breasts tenderly. “Who chose the one to be honored to become the wife of such an irresistible man. So, as my fiancée decided to be a little capricious girl, I must punish her.”       “Not truth!” Natalia laughs shyly. “I am good!”       “I can argue with it…” Edward leaves a short kiss on the curve of Natalia’s neck and kisses tenderly the area behind her ear when he hears her quiet, sensual moan and sees that she bends her back backward. “But don’t worry, your punishment will be very nice.”       “Gosh, I’m afraid to imagine what you planned…”       “Stop thinking and just enjoy.”       Edward leaves a few more kisses on the curve of Natalia’s neck, which make her relax and smile blissfully with closed or rolled eyes. And when he gets busy running his hands over her belly and breasts, which he squeezes tenderly, she makes a few quiet, sensual moans and unconsciously rubs her buttocks against his groin.       “Oh, damn, Natalia, you’re making me lose my mind…” Edward whispers with a wide smile, grabs Natalia by the throat, leaves a couple of kisses on another curve of her neck, and kisses tenderly the naked shoulder of the girl with a heavy, deep breath, while his second hand slides over her arm.       But when Edward wants to kiss Natalia on the lips, she softly puts two fingers on his lips with a sly smile.       “Sh-h-h, relax, tiger,” Natalia says in a low, seductive voice after she turns on Edward. “Hold yourself down.”       “Oh, no,” Edward smiles slyly. “I’m no longer going to tolerate your provocations!”       Edward sharply shortens the distance between him and Natalia, who quickly goes two steps back from him, looking into his eyes closely.       “Stay where you are,” Natalia says confidently.       “Don’t play with fire, Ms. Rochester,” Edward shakes his head. “Or you’ll ask for trouble.”       “I can bite! And fight! And scratch!”       “Yeah?” Edward sharply grabs Natalia by the waist with a wide smile and presses her to himself. “I don’t think so!”       “You know me bad,” Natalia says confidently with her head proudly raised, looking into Edward’s eyes confidently.       “No, you don’t know what I can do.”       “And what can you do? Squeeze me tightly and start to feel me up and kiss?”       “I have a right to this.”       Edward starts to tickle Natalia’s neck with a sly smile and chuckles when she tries to get out with loud squeaks.       “No, MacClife, stop!” Natalia demands and shouts quietly because the tickling is getting stronger. “MacClife! Enough!”       “Will you obey me?” Edward asks with a sly smile, tickling Natalia’s hips and armpits and chuckling every time she shouts, jumps, or tries to run. “Will you?”       “Don’t… Even hope!” Natalia herself starts to tickle Edward’s hips, stomach, and chest with a heavy breath. “Get it! Get!”       “Hey, hey, stop!” Edward pronounces through a loud laugh, trying to hide the parts of the body that are too vulnerable to tickling. “Stop! Enough! I can barely bear a tickle!”       Tickling each other enough, Natalia and Edward start to fight with their hands, thrilling with a loud laugh and trying to ruffle each other’s hair.       “So what, you got it?” Natalia smiles slyly and claps Edward on his buttocks playfully. “Huh, Mr. MacClife?”       “Hey!” Edward exclaims and answers Natalia with the same claps every time she hits him on something.       The lovers try to tickle, strike each other down, and run as far as possible for some time. Natalia does not forget to show all the best parts of her body and play with her loose hair that blows on the run. That’s how she teases Edward, who sharply grabs her by the waist and presses her to himself at some moment. The excited blonde starts to resist immediately and slightly beats her fiancé on the arms, shoulders, and chest. But later, MacClife, Jr., just squeezes her chin with a free hand tightly and kisses her soft lips greedily, giving her a continuous kiss full of passion and love. Natalia resists too hard, but she relaxes her tense muscles with a sensual moan two seconds later. Her arms hang in the air for some time, but then she lets her hands slide over his back, the curves of his waist, his shoulders, and his torso, runs her fingers through his hair, and pulls it in passion slightly.       “Good girl…” Edward pronounces with a smug smile, squeezes Natalia’s hair tightly, and caresses her cheek. “Good girl…”       Edward runs his tongue in Natalia’s mouth with a quiet moan, runs it over her palate tenderly, and lets it literally fight with her tongue, feeling how his fast heartbeat literally echoes somewhere in his throat. At some moment, his second hand shamelessly gets underneath the girl’s top and caresses her back and belly, and then both of his palms caress the curves of the lady’s waist.       “Oh, gosh, Edward…” Natalia makes a quiet, sensual moan, squeezing Edward’s hair with the fingers of one hand and sinking her nails of the other hand into the nape of his neck. “M-m-m…”       “I know, babe, say nothing,” Edward pronounces in a low voice, kisses Natalia’s chin tenderly, and covers the curve of her neck with kisses, while his hands confidently caress her thighs and buttocks.       “You’re crazy… Just crazy…”       “You’re the one to blame for it, sweetie. You make me so wild.”       Edward’s hands slide underneath Natalia’s top again and caress her back, belly, and sides of her waist, and the tip of his nose slowly runs over from her cheek to her collarbones. The girl shakes and leans her head back, letting the man cover the front of her neck with tender kisses.       “Hey, did I tell you that you had an incredible body?” Edward asks with a wide smile and slowly runs his lips over Natalia’s collarbones and breasts, while she makes a quiet, sensual moan with closed eyes.       “Oh, gosh…” Natalia shakes slightly.       “Hey, you should wear shorts often.” Edward leaves a few kisses on the curve of Natalia’s neck with quiet moans, while his hands caress her naked back and the curves of her waist and then slide to her tough buttocks and thighs. “Your legs look just incredible when you wear them…”       “As you wish…”       “Actually, hiding this beauty from me is a sin,” Edward says in a quiet, low voice, kisses Natalia on the chin tenderly, runs his lips over the curve of her neck, and slides to her breasts, which he holds from the down. “And being shy…”       “Don’t worry…” Natalia exhales slowly. “I like my body, and I love showing it…”       “It’s fabulous…” Edward leaves a short kiss on Natalia’s lips. “Remember this once and forever.”       “And you don’t doubt yours…” Natalia slowly starts to walk her fingers over Edward’s chest with a playful smile, biting her lip at some moment. “Because it’s magnificent…”       “I’ve never doubted it,” Edward replies with his head proudly raised, caresses Natalia’s head and cheek, and runs his fingers through her golden hair. “Though, I wanna work on it a little. So, I look more handsome than Apollo on the wedding day…”       “Wanna drive me much crazier?” Natalia smiles mysteriously, pulls and raises Edward’s t-shirt, and confidently starts to run her hands over his stomach, feeling the man’s muscles that are as tough as a stone. “Kill me on the first marriage night?”       “Nope, I want you to give it much more caress.” Edward takes Natalia’s hands and runs them over his torso, feeling a nice warmth that is spreading in his body.       “I already want…” Natalia pronounces in a low, velvet voice and runs her hands over Edward’s chest underneath his t-shirt. “I wanna see you naked…”       “Don’t worry, baby, you’ll have a chance,” Edward replies with a smug smile, pressing Natalia to himself by the waist and caressing her back and buttocks. “Many chances… You’ll make sure that girls run after me not only because I have a very beautiful face. But because I am freaking sexy.”       “M-m-m, your confidence is growing every day.”       “I’ve gotta fit such a gorgeous girl,” Edward says with his head proudly raised and spread shoulders, runs his fingers through Natalia’s hair at the roots, and touches her forehead with his forehead, looking into her eyes confidently and breathing as heavily as she does. “I can’t be worse and weaker…”       “Confident men are attractive.”       “As well as confident girls.” Edward slowly runs his thumb over Natalia’s lips and tenderly caresses the curves of her neck with his fingertips. “Who encourage you to be much stronger and more confident.”       “There are those, who are afraid of strong girls.”       “Not me. I’m not afraid of strong and confident girls. Moreover, a little, weak girl is living inside them and needs a tough, male shoulder. A man’s protection… Care… Attention…”       Natalia smiles much wider and looks into Edward’s eyes for a few seconds before she grabs his face tenderly and gives him a continuous, deep kiss, to which he answers with pleasure. The man lets his hands slide over the naked back of the girl and the curves of her slim waist, while the girl caresses his face and neck with her tender, warm hands with quiet, sensual moans. Later, while she strokes his hair, he caresses the curves of the lady’s neck and leaves a few kisses on them, in reply to which she runs her tongue over the area behind his ear. At some moment, MacClife, Jr., raises his fiancée so that she wraps her legs around his waist. But a few seconds later, he puts her on the ground and keeps caressing her cheeks, ears, and collarbones with his lips or covering them with tender kisses.       Natalia runs her hands underneath Edward’s t-shirt and slides over his torso, feeling how she gets hot, having dizziness, and barely standing on her feet. A little later, while he takes the initiative in the kiss, she hugs him tightly and slowly drugs him down to lie on the ground. The man succumbs and keeps kissing the girl, raising himself on his arms above her. He smiles slyly after he breaks the kiss and starts to give more attention to the lady’s neck, ears, and the area behind them, while his hands caress and squeeze her breasts, and she tenses her muscles every time she moans sensually, bends backward, and leans her head back. Edward confidently covers Natalia’s collarbones, décolleté, and breasts with kisses. His warm hands caress the curves of her waist, raise her top tube, and slide slowly over her flat belly. Tender touches of the man’s lips to this part of her body make the girl much more vulnerable, and the feeling of the tip of his tongue near her belly button make her shake slightly. As well as the kisses on her lower legs, knees, ankles, and the inside of her thighs, the skin of which is more tender than any expensive silk and gets covered with strong goosebumps.