Three days after the wedding, Nicholas had enough of the three old men breathing down his neck so he smuggled Sena out of town, to a vineyard for wine tasting. She thought there would be a lot of guests but she was dumbfounded to find out that he closed off the whole area just for them to enjoy. So aside from the staff, there is only her and Nicholas. 

He drove the off-road car on a rugged winding path for about a quarter of an hour until they arrived at a modern stone and glass cabin on top of a hill. 

Nicholas unloaded their bags on the front steps then leaned on the side of the jeep, “Do you like it?” 

She smiled up at him and nodded. “Who owns this place? A friend of yours?”

“Mine.” 

Sena paused before laughing. “If I’m not mistaken, this was once owned by some Spanish politician. I saw it in a magazine before.”

“I bought it from him half a year ago and had this cabin built.” He winked then carried the bags inside effortlessly. 

She followed behind as he walked from the main entrance towards the living room with an amazing vista of the lake and vineyard. Sena excitedly ran to the balcony to see more of the surroundings. It appears that the cabin is cantilevered on the side of a mountain giving it a floating feeling when looking over the sundeck beyond large glass windows. 

He walked around the circular balcony curiously and found a hammock attached to an overhanging tree branch. A few steps away, there is an outdoor sofa set framing the wood burning fire pit. It’s such a nice and cozy place. 

Nicholas’ hands came up from behind circling her waist. He leaned his chin on her left shoulder and kissed the side of her cheeks.

“It’s really hard to take you away from Apple and your grandfathers. Good thing I’m smart.”

“Pffftt…” it was his whiny tone that made her giggle.

“Your room is on the left side of the stairs, you’ll love the view of the lake from there.”

“Yours?”

Nicholas shrugged. “On the right. By the way, have you heard about the trouble inside the Corwell family?”

“Hm.” She hummed vaguely. 

“Jordan just kicked his father out of their home and put his illegitimate son in jail. Oh, he also fired the secretary. But you probably know about the outcome since you were the one who started it all.” He reached for her nose and pinched it. “Little witch.”

“I’m only sorry about spoiling his honeymoon. As for the rest, he should thank me.” She replied cheekily.

“He’s been calling me. I gathered he wanted to talk to you but I did not pick up. You have known about their family’s problem a long time ago, right? Perhaps, he and his wife might pay a visit to Stonecraft once you return.”

She anticipated that. 

“Jordan’s father really hid it well. Who would have thought that he would dare raise a son outside and planned to steal Corwell family’s properties.”

His eyes darkened. If not for the intervention, who knew if Jordan and Eunice would still be alive now? 

Their honeymoon was set and the enemy had long planned to kidnap the couple upon arrival. Once Jordan Corwell disappears, there will be no other legitimate heirs aside from a cousin. 

The cousin was borne by Jordan’s father to his mistress who is also the half-sister of Jordan’s mother. It was a complicated story and it goes a long way back. 

During the 1980s the third generation of the Corwell family only had two daughters, one from the legal wife and the other a love child from a celebrity. The eldest daughter from the legal wife married a professor and their child used the Corwell surname in order to continue the legacy. 

Along that time, the illegitimate daughter from a mistress was also set to marry her fiance when the man unknowingly died of a disease leaving her and their son alone. The boy also used the surname Corwell but unlike Jordan, he was not eligible to inherit the family property because of his status. 

However, none of them would have imagined that even before all of this, a scheme had already been formed.

“Jordan’s mother died when he was sixteen so he is not entirely helpless and grew up cunning and strong.” Sena said. “Unfortunately though the elusive fatherly love he hoped had already been given to his cousin. It’s unusual for a man to be cold to his own child and be warm to another not related by blood so an investigation was conducted. It appears that, from the very beginning, that cousin knew that he and Jordan had the same father. Unfortunately, because his origin was shameful, he can never inherit the Corwell wealth.”

Those three thought they hid it so well. If Jordan and his wife were successfully abducted by a local terrorist group in their destination. The blame would not fall on his father, his aunt and cousin. And because of the lack of heir, the company will be in turmoil. The only Corwell remaining will have to step up to take over. 

How is he going to do that? It's by using all the data he stole from Jordan's latest project, claim it as his to show off to the shareholders.     

If fate had its way again, all of Corwell’s fortune would end up with a bunch of filthy thieves. The partnership with Nexus Global would certainly end because of malicious instigation. The Corwell Industries will decline because the new head is an incompetent fool.  

“Why did Jordan also sue his secretary?” Nicholas asked. 

“Because,” she turned to him and put her hands on his neck. “She’s a mole planted by his cousin. She was also there hoping to seduce Jordan and take over the wife’s seat.” 

What good virtues would a woman have when she was raised by Patricia Larsson?  

“You know quite a lot.” He teased her. 

Sena closed her eyes to blot out some ugly memories but it kept coming back at her. In an alternate time and space, Eunice did not end well when they were at the hands of the kidnappers. According to investigator’s gathered data, her beautiful dexterous hands were crushed and she could never play the violin again. The gang also had their way on her letting Jordan watch how they tortured his wife. 

The more she did not want to recall, the clearer it got. The restlessness prompted her to take action. In fact, Sena was also baffled by this. Some memories tend to grow dull overtime especially if you think less about it but in her case, she can clearly recall those people who had particularly tragic endings just like her.

Nicholas noticed her preoccupation. He covered her eyes gently and whispered, “It’s alright, you did the right thing.” 

The first day in the vineyard was spent around a stroll to the lush plantation and an al fresco lunch. The second day, they had a picnic on the lake, rode ATVs and went to taste the new batch of wines to be shipped. 

Sena liked days like this. And she thought she could enjoy it without distractions.  

 

Back in H country, trouble awaits. Albert Luz dragged his daughter back to the company to make a splash, placed her in the marketing department to show off her skills. Normally, Sena would not care about anything about them at all if not for the reminder that Luz Companies was originally co-founded by her mother and she still has a twenty five percent stake in it. 

Although it was as big as a chicken rib compared to the entire Erde family fortune, Sena still had to watch over it because that company contained her mother’s sincerity to the Luz family before they trampled on her dignity.

“What does Old Luz want from you?” Nicholas asked while he served her lunch. 

Sena sat on the table with her hair pulled up in a lazy bun, her legs in cotton shorts crossed under the table and she wore a shirt that was too large for her frame. She looked absolutely messy and adorable.

“Probably wipe his daughter’s ass.” She said, poking the Peking duck slices on her plate. “Originally, Albert Luz wanted Maya to sit in a managerial position but the board opposed it. Who knew he still would not give up the idea and thought of pulling her up through connections. There are plenty of excellent and hardworking employees there but he has to put his daughter in.”

“He’s confused.” Nicholas reached out for the shredded spring onion, carrots, cucumber sauce and started making her a rolled pancake. 

“More than confused.” Sena snorted. “He, more than anyone, knew what character his daughter had. If she had a little bit of talent in business she wouldn’t jump to become an actress first.” 

Nicholas paused, then gave her the pancake, “You mean she has a problem?”

“Learning problem.”

He mulled over it for a moment. 

Sena looked at him with a meaningful smile and bit on the juicy duck in thin pancake with sauce. The flavor wrapped her tongue and the aroma burst at each bite. 

“Let’s say it has never been good. She had this… difficulty understanding certain subjects. But lucky her, her mother always has her fat checkbook ready. Donating a building on campus and asking one of their smart sponsored students for help also works.”

If she's not mistaken that student now works at Luz Company in a managerial position. Crisanta Luz found him when he was being chased by debt collectors, and after knowing he was a smart kid, she went ahead and made a deal with him. She will pay his debts but he will help Maya with her studies. 

That's not all, she also knew there were more transactions between them and their relationship already went beyond being a sponsor and scholar.

“Money can cover up mud, it makes everything sparkly.” She said dryly. 

Crisanta Luz has brought Maya to many doctors and therapy sessions without Albert Luz’s knowing. She had always been afraid to let her husband know this secret; that the prized daughter she was always proud of showing off is flawed.

Nicholas reached out to thumb the sauce off the side of her mouth then licked it. 

She choked. 

He gently patted her back, handed her water and sat opposite her as if nothing happened. Sena was blushing to the roots of her hair. After a hearty lunch, they sat in his living room for tea. 

“Are you going to see them again? It could be a trap.” Nicholas said, rubbing her full belly. 

Sena lazily leaned on him like a giant pillow and fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. Her fingers crawled up towards his collar and finally landed on his protruding Adam’s apple. 

“How can I miss such a good show? It’s because I know it’s a trap that I wanted to go there.” 

He caught her hand and gently gave it a warning squeeze. She laughed. 

“If I tell you not to, will you still go?” He asked in a low voice. 

A warm soft body pressed up to him. An alluring scent drifted into his nose making Nicholas feel dry. He licked the bottom of his lips but the dryer his throat got. He tried washing it down with tea.

The woman put her hands on his waist mischievously. 

“I won’t. But I also know that you won’t hold me back from playing and settling an old score.” 

She deliberately moved closer until she was almost straddling him. Their faces inch closer with the warm breath in between. Nicholas looked up while swallowing hard. Damn it, the little devil is testing his patience.

“Sena…”

“Should I kiss you first or I should leave the rest to you?”

He was taken aback for a brief second before giving in.  

He pulled the back of her neck towards him, to his mouth and devoured her with such a mind-numbing deep kiss. She did not make any struggle and pliantly welcomed his plunder. Nicholas kissed her deep and hard until she was panting. His hand dropped from her neck down to her back then to her tiny waist. His eyes stared into her misty ones, searching, asking. 

“You want to see my room? It has a beautiful skylight.” 

“Okay.”

When Sena touched his face gently, he completely lost it and kissed her again. This time it was slow, almost lazy but the effect it had on her was electrifying. She shivered a little. 

He carried her into his arms and crossed the small distance between the living room and the stairs in a few big strides.