The Contract Husband
By clefairy
Date: June 13, 2022
Ch. 12Eleven


"REALLY? You've been to New York but you've never been to Palawan?"
Adam and I were already in Palawan port. We left Manila before lunch and traveled one hour by plane. After traveling by car for almost half an hour, we reached a port. From here, Adam said that we would ride a mini boat to reach the private island that Adam was talking about.
I was excited and nervous. This was the first time I'd ride a boat. Damn. My life has been really boring in the past years.
I turned to Adam who was beside me. He was a complete stranger to me. I don't usually trust strangers but I trust him. But even if I knew nothing about Adam, I could feel that he was trustworthy. Besides, if he planned to do something to me, I could very well defend myself. Marcus and I took jiu jitsu classes in New York before.
Earlier, before I agreed to go with him, I suggested that we refrained from asking personal questions to each other. We were strangers to each other and I would like to keep it that way.
Adam said he had no problem with that. Well, I felt like he had no interest in my personal life. Since last night, he hasn't asked anything about me. Well, it seemed like he also didn't want to be asked about his personal life. It's no that I wanted to ask him something about his life. What happened and whatever's going to happen between us on the island would just be purely physical.
I couldn't deny what he said earlier. I was sexually attracted to him. Whenever he kissed me, I felt like I was going out of my mind. He was sooo good with his mouth.
Damn. I shouldn't be curious about him.
"We'd ride a boat thirty minutes to the island," Adam turned to me as we waited for our boat that would bring us to the island. He was holding a travel bag. Earlier, we dropped by the mall to buy some clothes.
"If you want to call someone, do it now. There's no cellphone signal on the island."
"Really? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
He pursed his lips. "It's a private island. Of course the place has no cellphone reception." He arched his brow. "Is that not okay with you? You didn't think I'm sort of a killer, are you?"
I almost chuckled. "If I thought you're a bad person, then I wouldn't be here with you right now."
"You trust me that much?"
"Let's just say that I trust my instincts." I shrugged my shoulders then raised my hand to show him my phone. "I… I just need to contact my parents. I didn't inform them that I'd be gone for the weekend."
He slightly cocked his brow. "You're already twenty-nine. You still need your parents' permission for this?" His lips twisted. "Are your parents' that strict?"
My cheeks heated. "No. I just… don't want them to worry. They're old, you know."
He nodded at me. "Call them now."
Well, I wanted to call my mother, but I didn't want to lie to her. I decided to just call Marcus instead. Before I could even dial my cousin's number, my cell phone rang.
It was my Marcus. I excused and distanced myself from Adam as I hit the accept button.
"Ches! I just woke up. Where the heck are you?" Marcus' concerned voice welcomed me. He sounded like he just woke up. "What's with your text? You didn't answer my calls last night."
"I didn't go home last night," I told him. "And I won't go home for the weekend."
"What?" I could hear the shock in his voice. "What's happening? Where are you? Did you get yourself checked yesterday?"
"Yes…" I bit my lower lip. "I went to the doctor yesterday. Don't worry, the doctor said it's just acid reflux." My face winced with the lies I was threading. "Anyway, I just called to inform you that I'm going on a vacation, Marcus."
"Wait, what? Is this for real?"
"Yeah." I twisted my lips. "I just realized I've been so burned out. You're right. I need to de-stress."
"Wow." I heard him whistle on the other line. "That's a surprise. I can't believe I'll be hearing this from you, Ches." He said with a chuckle.
Yeah. Me, too. "Just tell my parents I can't go home for the weekend. Tell them not to worry."
"Wait. You didn't tell them?" I could imagine his frown right now. "Claire, who are you with?" he inquired. I wasn't even wondering why he was questioning me. This was not me.
"I'm alone," I lied again.
"And where are you going?"
"Somewhere in Palawan." I remembered Adam told me this was in El Nido. But I didn't tell Marcus the exact place.
"The heck, Claire," his voice got louder again. "You're going to Palawan and you're alone?"
"I'm gonna be safe, okay? It was you who kept on telling me to go on a vacation, right? Well, this is it."
I heard his deep breath from the other line. "This is just so sudden. It's not you. I feel there's something wrong." I heard him sigh. "Are you really okay?"
I pursed my lips. Marcus… he really was like this with me. Always acting like an older brother. "Marcus, I'm really fine. You have nothing to worry about."
"But are you sure you're going alone? Just tell me who are you with? You're with a guy, aren't you?"
I parted my lips. Shit. "What guy are you talking about? I told you I'm alone." I denied. I tried to calm my voice. I even tried to laugh at him.
"I don't even have a boyfriend, Marcus.
"
"I don't know. Maybe—"
"Everything's fine with me, Marcus," I told him. "I have to go, my boat's already here. See you at the office on Monday."
Before Marcus could even answer me, I already cut off the call. I chewed on my lips as I went back to Adam.
"Everything okay?" he asked me.
I smiled and nodded at him. I just had to remember I was doing this for myself. I wanted to be happy. I wanted to experience new things.
"Our ride's already here. Let's go."
He pointed out a mechanical boat on the shore. It was enough for at least three people. A middle aged man welcomed us and guided us to the boat.



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