A/N: This chapter is longer than usual so I hope you enjoy reading it! 😘

50 comments for the next chapter.😉

♡✩°｡⋆★- - - - -☽───⛧ ༺♰༻ ⛧───☾ - - - -★⋆｡°✩♡

CHAPTER 28

CHLOE'S lips parted in awe upon seeing all the different kinds of exotic flowers around her. Heaven exotic garden was stunning and she didn't expect that there was a garden like this on Amante Island. It was vast that everything that her eyes could see from where she was standing was different varieties exotic plants and flowers.

But the thing that surprised her the most were the different varieties of cactus around. It was her first time seeing an exotic garden this big with a lot of big cactuses and it was worth her time coming over.

There were orchids, calla lilies, anthuriums, bird of paradise, celosia, lily of the valley, hyacinths, tulips, peace lilies, calathea and many more and it was such an amazing experience to be able to be there.

"I guess, I don't have to ask if you liked what you're seeing because it's totally written on your face." She looked at Nevaeh and chuckled.

"Well, to be honest, I didn't expect to see a beautiful and interesting garden like this here on Cupid's Island. I mean, whoever takes care of this garden must be very patient not to mention a flower and exotic plants lover." Nevaeh laughed.

"Well, you're staring at that patient and flower and exotic plants lover."

Chloe's jaw slacked open. "What?"

"You heard it right. I'm the one who takes care of this garden. Most of the plants here are planted by my parents. And now, it's my turn to take care of it. I mean, I'm not the only one who takes care of this place. Of course, there are gardeners who takes care of everything whenever I'm not here but whenever I can, I always come here to visit and make sure that everything's okay."

"Wow. I didn't know that. So, you own this place then?"

Nevaeh smiled and nodded her head. "Yes. Actually, the Don Juans wanted to buy this land from my parents but they refused. They loved this place, you know. As a result, our land is the only place here on Amante Island that is not owned by the Don Juans. That's my house, by the way." She then pointed at the big house around 50 meters away from where they were standing.

It was such a beautiful manor.

She didn't know that Nevaeh was this rich. Well, they just met during Cross' birthday celebration that was why she didn't have any idea about her personal life yet.

"Even your house is surrounded by different flowering plants. I guess, you really love flowers." Chloe commented and Nevaeh chuckled. The stunning flowers surrounding the house was very eye-catching. It was giving Chloe a fantasy movie vibe.

"Yes. I grew up with parents who preferred to take care of plants instead of going out. It used to be our family's bonding, actually." Her face suddenly became sad while saying those words.

"Wow. That's interesting. Your parents must be very loving people because they say that people who love plants and animals are the most loving."

"You're not mistaken, Chloe. Mom and dad were the most loving people I've ever known." Her sadness became more evident now and then, Chloe realized something.

"Were? You mean..." Nevaeh smiled sadly and then nodded her head.

"They were in a car accident six months ago. Until now, the pain here in my heart is still fresh. I didn't want to come here because I knew that everything would be surrounded by their memories. I wasn't ready. But something happened that I had to face that's why I'm back here."

"Oh, I'm so sorry about that, Nevaeh. I didn't know. I didn't even notice that you're mourning." That was true. Nevaeh seemed like a happy person, juts enjoying like to the fullest. But who would have thought that she had this kind of pain inside her all this time?

The saying about happy people being the ones who were good in keeping their sadness within them was probably true.

"Because I appear to be fine and happy?"

She nodded her head. "Yes."

"I just didn't want my friends to feel sorry for me. Besides, I didn't want to ruin the moment for everyone. They know what I'm going through and they've been there for me and that's enough for me."

"And I'm here too. Even though we don't know each other that much yet, you can come to me if you need someone to talk to. You know my number so you can call me." That made Nevaeh smile.

"Thank you, Chloe. I knew you're a nice person from day one. Cross is really lucky to have you." It was Chloe's turn to smile upon hearing her boyfriend's name.

He couldn't come with her to the Heaven exotic garden because he had to go somewhere else. He didn't tell her where to exactly but he assured her that he would return early. Today was their last day on Cupid's Island so she wanted to spend the day with him.

When Nevaeh heard that Cross went somewhere, she invited her over to Heaven exotic garden and she didn't regret coming because it was such a beautiful garden.

"I could tell the same to you."

"Friends?" Nevaeh asked and extended her hand for a handshake and Chloe beamed as she accepted it.

"Friends." They both giggled and continued on exploring the garden. She couldn't believe that Nevaeh actually knew all the names of the plants there together with their scientific names and she was impressed.

Apparently, her father was a Botanist and was a professor at Harvard University while her mother was a zoologist.

"Can I ask you something if it's okay with you?" Chloe then inquired after a couple of minutes.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Hmm, what made you come back here? I mean, you did mention that you didn't want to come back here but you had to." Nevaeh didn't answer right away and remained quiet. "But if you don't want to tell me the answer, it's okay." Chloe said, thinking that she might not want to share it with her.

"I had to come because of this land. I might lose it." Chloe's forehead crinkled.

"What? How come?"

She took a deep breath. "I mentioned that the Don Juans own this island and this land is the only part where they don't have control over, right?" Chloe nodded her head. Even though her cousin Grey was part of the group, she never asked him about what they do as the owners of this island not to mention that he never shared anything about it. Grey was the kind of person who doesn't talk much about his personal life.

"Well, apparently, someone from the Don Juans had a deal with my father before and now, I might lose this land. I am not sure of what deal was it because until now, I haven't seen that person yet. Looks like he's been avoiding me." Chloe could tell that Nevaeh was frustrated about it and she didn't know how to make her feel better.

"Did you talk about Grey and the others about this? They might help you in solving your problem."

"I asked Grey and the others about it but they seem to be clueless about this deal. Besides, I don't want them to feel obligated to help me. This is my problem so I must find whatever solution I could to solve it. Anyway, I need to go. I wanted to ask you to join me for tea but looks like he came back earlier than expected. See you when I see you, Chloe. Enjoy." Nevaeh smiled before turning her back on her and began walking away towards her house.

"Hey! Where are you going? Don't tell me, you asked me to come here just to leave me here after?" She was about to follow Nevaeh when someone spoke behind her.

"Hmmm, looks like you're not interested in seeing me, huh?" She turned around to look at him right away and her heart skipped a beat seeing him. Goodness! He looked so handsome standing there ever so manly. They haven't seen each other since last night and she already missed him so bad.

He was holding a bouquet of tulips while smiling at her lovingly.

"Hi, my beautiful cariño."

"Cariño!" She rushed towards him and he opened his arms to enveloped her into a tight embrace before their lips met for a gentle kiss. She instantly felt complete upon feeling his body pressed against hers.

Since last night, she felt like there was something missing and she couldn't even sleep properly because he wasn't beside her.

Ever since they returned to Amante Center, Cross had been sleeping with her in her private cottage and they spent the rest of their vacation together. Tomorrow, they would leave the island and face their reality.

They wanted to extend their stay but they had to go back for now because of work.

"Looks like you missed me a lot, cariño." He teased after that kiss and then kissed her once more. She groaned and kissed him with equal heat and intensity. Gosh! She didn't know that she could miss someone like this in just a short period of time of not seeing each other.

"I can say the same to you." She answered when their lips parted and he chuckled.

"You got me. I couldn't sleep properly last night because you weren't by my side."

"I was the same." She admitted a little bit shyly and he smiled.

"I'm sorry if I couldn't bring you with me. But don't worry, I'm here now and we're together again. Anyway, this is for you." He handed her the bouquet and her heart leapt giddily.

"Thank you, cariño. It's beautiful."

"Of course. Beautiful like you." That made her smile. She always felt like a giddy teenager whenever he would complement her like that that her cheeks turn pink.

"Anyway, let's go?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "To where?"

"Just come with me and you'll see." He took her hand and guided her somewhere and while they were walking hand in hand, she was looking at their surroundings in awe.

Now, they were walking on a cobble stone pathway and on both sides of the pathway, there were araucarias, yuccas and some other exotic trees that she didn't know the names, standing proudly like a decoration.

Then, they entered a bamboo haven and of course, she got mesmerized. The place looked like a scene from the Asian action movie she once watched where one of the protagonists had a sword fight against one of the enemies in a bamboo haven. It was such an exciting scene.

"Where are we going really? Just tell me already. You're killing me." Chloe told Cross after a while and he chuckled.

"I love surprising you, cariño, so I won't tell you until we get there. Don't worry, we're almost there." She pouted but then didn't say anything more. After about five more minutes, Cross spoke.

"Look ahead of us." She did as she was told and she gasped in awe upon seeing what was before them. She let go of Cross' hand and ran toward the end of the bamboo haven until she finally got to see the whole scenic view.

"Oh, my! This is gorgeous!" She exclaimed full of wonder as she gazed at all the wisteria trees. There were pink, purple, white and blue bloom shades and it was really breathtaking.

Not just that. There were different colored birds hanging around while chirping as if they were singing to the soft gentle breeze of the air.

Then, she noticed something under the biggest wisteria tree with a pink shade bloom. There were food and drinks on a picnic blanket. There were even petals scattered around and on the picnic blanket which fell from wisteria trees.

"Did you prepare this?"

"Yes. I actually came back earlier than expected but instead of going back to your cottage to see you, I came here straight to prepare this for you. I wanted to take you here as a surprise on our last day here. Thankfully, Nevaeh agreed."

"Now, I understand why she asked me to come here."

He beamed. "Yeah. I asked her to. C'mon, let's sit down. I haven't eaten breakfast and lunch yet."

"What?! Why didn't you eat something at least?! You know that it's not good to miss a meal, right?!" She couldn't hide her anger. She was now staring sharply at him and he laughed.

"Sorry about that, cariño. Please, stop with the glaring. I didn't have the appetite to eat. Maybe because you weren't with me." Her anger got subsided right away upon hearing his reason.

"Don't ever do that again. Eat even though you don't have any appetite. I don't want you to get sick." That put a smile on his face. He pulled her by the waist and kissed her forehead full of affection.

"I'm sorry. Don't worry because I will not do that again knowing that you will get mad."

"Hmp! Glad you know." He chuckled and pecked her on the lips before they sat on the picnic blanket and began eating. Apparently, Cross was the one who cooked the food and everything was yummy.

"So, you brought me here just to have a picnic with me? I'm warning you now, Mr. Dawson, this is Nevaeh's property. We can't do any naughty thing here out of respect to her." She reminded him when they finished eating and his eyebrows knitted together.

"What naughty thing are you talking about, cariño? I'm a good boy and I don't have any idea of what you're referring to." He answered, obviously feigning innocence. Because of that, she tickled the heck out of him until he couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay, okay. I know what you're talking about. Stop." He almost begged as he couldn't control his laugh. She scoffed while watching him catch his breath.

"That's what you get for acting clueless like that. Admit it. You're planning something again. Remember the last time we had a picnic?" She couldn't help but blush upon remembering what happened that day.

They made love for the first time after three years and it was such a sweet and beautiful lovemaking as the sun was setting. Thankfully, nobody saw them.

"You're blushing." He teased upon noticing her reddish cheeks.

"Cross!" He laughed heartily.

"Okay, I'll stop. Don't worry because I don't have any plans of doing that here. But I have another plan though."

"Which is?"

He smirked. "Turn around."

"Why?"

"Just do it, cariño." She shrugged her shoulders and did as what she was told. But after a couple of seconds, nothing happened.

"What now, cariño?" She was about to turn her head to look at him when she felt him putting something around her neck. She looked down and saw a beautiful golden necklace with a cross pendant. She touched it and saw that there was a heartbeat line connecting the cross to the small heart at the bottom part of the pendant.

She turned the pendant to the other side and became emotional upon seeing what was written on it. 'Cʳᵒˢˢ ♡ Cʰˡᵒᵉ'.

"Wow! This is so cute. Thank you, cariño." After he finished putting the necklace around her neck, she faced him, cupped his face and kissed him on the lips.

"Did you like it?"

"I love it!" She couldn't contain the happiness within her.

"I'm happy that you did. I had to leave just to pick that up. I had it custom made just for you. I begged my friend who's a jeweler to make that for you. He initially didn't have time because he's usually busy but he eventually agreed to do it. When he finished it, I picked it up from his house that's why I had to leave the island." Chloe's lips gaped.

"What? You picked this up that's why you left?"

He nodded his head. "Now, we have a couple necklace." She looked at the necklace around his neck and her forehead creased.

"Is that..."

"Yes, cariño. It's the necklace that you gave me three years ago. I asked my friend to customize it too so that we would have matching necklaces." She bit her lower lip. That was the necklace she bought for Liam three years ago but she didn't have the chance to give it to him because she caught him cheating on her.

After she and Cross had an understanding that fateful night that they were together, she gave the necklace to him. After what happened to them, she thought, he already threw the necklace away but he actually didn't.

Now, it looked so different compared to before because they customized it to match her necklace.

"I didn't expect that you still have it. I thought you already threw it somewhere after we went our separate ways." He smiled.

"I couldn't. I tried, but I just couldn't. Strangely, whenever I felt down and touched it, it gave me comfort. Maybe, deep inside of me, I was still hoping that we would be together one day and it actually happened. Now, I will never let you go again. You're destined to be mine." He touched the pendant of his necklace with his left hand and then touched hers with his right hand.

"Do you know the meaning of the design?"

She looked down to see her necklace. "Hmmm...I think, the cross is you and the heart is me. The heartbeat line connecting the cross and the heart symbolizes our love for each other."

"You got it right. These necklaces are the symbol of our promise to each other that we will not let anything or anyone separate us because we belong to each other. We will love each other until the end of time. Promise?" For some reason, her eyes watered as she nodded her head.

"Yes, cariño. I promise." They emotionally embraced each other before their lips met again for a sweet and passionate kiss.

"Can you close your eyes for a moment, cariño?" He breathed after that kiss.

"Another surprise?"

"Kinda. Whatever happens, don't open your eyes, okay? This is embarrassing and it's my first time doing this so I don't want you to see me doing it." She chuckled.

"Fine. Whatever you say." She closed her eyes and she heard him stand up, walked away before he came back and sat back before her.

He cleared his throat. "This is for you, cariño. I hope you like it." She got really curious of what he was referring to and was tempted to open her eyes but she stopped herself. Then, she heard guitar sounds and the sweet melody of the song "Eyes on me" filled her ears.

But what most surprising was when she heard him begin singing while playing guitar.

Whenever sang my songs

On the stage, on my own

Whenever said my words

Wishing they would be heard

I saw you smiling at me

Was it real or just my fantasy

You'd always be there in the corner

Of this tiny little bar

My last night here for you
Same old songs just once more
My last night here with you?
Maybe yes, maybe no
I kind of liked it your way
How you shyly placed your eyes on me
Did you ever know that I had mine on you?...

Darling, so share with me
Your love if you have enough
Your tears if your holding back
Or pain if that's what it is
How can I let you know?
I'm more than the dress and the voice
Just reach me out then
You will know that you are not dreaming...

Before the last stanza, she couldn't hold back herself anymore and opened her eyes. Their gazes met and her heart swelled with so much love and happiness.

She'd never felt so special before and only Cross had manage to make her feel as if she was the most precious woman in the world for him and she couldn't help but to be emotional.

After he finished singing, she threw her arms around his neck.

"I love you so much, cariño. Thank you for loving me." She professed full of emotions. Tears of joy fell from her eyes. He chuckled.

"I serenaded you to make you happy but you're crying."

"They're tears of joy, silly." She let go of him and was about to wipe her tears but he did it for her.

"Did you like it? I'm not the best singer though."

"Isn't it obvious? You even made me emotional. That song was beautiful. I loved it." He smiled before caressing her cheek.

"I've never done that before. I'm happy that you loved it. I love you, cariño. From the bottom of my heart." Their eyes locked together and their love for each other reflected in their eyes. Their hearts were full of love and joy and that was the most important thing.

The next day, they left Cupid's Island with smiles on their faces but as Chloe watched the island as the boat sailed away, she felt a weird feeling within her as if something was about to happen but she shook those negative thoughts away when Cross hugged her from behind as they both looked at Cupid's Island from afar.

♡✩°｡⋆★- - - - -☽───⛧ ༺♰༻ ⛧───☾ - - - -★⋆｡°✩♡

Now that they're going back to their city life, do you think everything will still be the same?

Do you think nothing could separate them whatever happens?

COMMENT, VOTE, SHARE & FOLLOW