Evangeline snatched a look at Eric. Is that something you say to your brother?

"Hello! Hello! We've met again! How have you been?"

Evangeline blinked as Dimitri skipped and hopped towards them.

"My, my, my. Look at how you've grown, Eric. It seemed like it's just yesterday that you're still working for me. Look how time flies."

"We've just met a few days ago," Eric said with a deadpan voice and face.

"It felt like forever that we've last seen each other," Dimitri continued, flicking away a tear in his eyes. "Do you remember the first time that you've work for me? Remember the first . . . blah . . . blah . . . and you . . . blah . . . blah . . ."

Eric looked at Evangeline. His facial features softened a little as he pulled her away from Dimitri.

"Let's pretend he doesn't exist. Let's go. I'll show you around the farm."

"Okay," Evangeline agreed.

They circled the still-talking Dimitri and trotted away from his sight without him noticing.

As they moved along the long paths and many forks, they've arrived in an open area with nothing but shrubs and trees. It stretched as far as the eyes could see. It would have been romantic if Evangeline only knew what fruits and herbs were planted.

"This is the area where they grew the trinidin, a special plant Dimitri breed that can only grow in weather such as this. The herbs it yields produced a strong bitter taste that people loved in the north."

"Hmm . . ."

Eric looked at the bored face of Evangeline before he pulled her towards an area.

"There's a lake that we could rest if you're tired."

Evangeline didn't say anything and followed Eric deeper into the area he pointed.

In where they stopped was a pristine lake surrounded by trees and shrubs and all kinds of plants. There were even animals around. The lake reflected the clouds glittering like diamonds, and the ripples caused by the fishes created a calming tune.

"It's nice here," Evangeline said.

"Yeah. This is my favorite spot when I still worked here."

Evangeline faced Eric with a raised brow of what Eric hoped to be a good sign.

"Can we be alone in here?" she asked.

"It's not the time of harvest, so there aren't many people around," Eric answered. Though puzzled as to why Evangeline asked that question.

"Good," she said, "I'm not in the mood for talk, and I know something we could do without much talking." As she said so, her clothes fell on the ground.

Eric was mesmerized. She made it impossible not to stare. His head then whipped left and right before he stopped Evangeline from removing any more of her dress.

If looks could kill, Eric would be a corpse by now.

It took everything to keep a smile from his face as he said, "Don't look at me like that. It's just . . . we're outside."

Evangeline rolled her eyes. "I already heard that line before! And You said that there aren't people around."

Eric laughed a little and gently pushed Evangeline under the privacy of a big tree.

"What I mean is . . . we could still do it with our clothes on."

Evangeline was silent for a moment with mouth hanging open before she uttered a single, "Oh . . ."

Eric kissed her parted lips before licking it with his tongue. Evangeline wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his hands on her bosom. Her legs circled his waist when he lifted and pushed her against the tree.

Kissing her like they were the only people on earth, Eric managed to free his penis from the confines of his jeans. Evangeline was so wet he felt it even with the clothes. He could no longer delay their yearning.

It's funny how they lived together and be with each other every day, and yet, they still missed each other so much. Much more before they were even living together.

And when she would leave for Paris . . . Eric grumbled at the thought and thrust forward. Evangeline's nails dug on his shoulders. He didn't felt it, only the pain of the idea of her departing.

Evangeline's moans pushed through her tightly closed lips. Eric was rougher than usual. Not that she minded it. It was what she wanted, for him to be rougher so she could forget all her troubles.

"More . . . ," she rasped.

She needed him to fill her both body and mind. She needed him to fill everything so she could be numbed with pleasure.

Only for minutes. Even for just a minute . . . she wanted to forget.

"Augh!"

Both of them screamed. Pleasure and pain intermixed as they climaxed.

Eric's head rested on Evangeline's shoulders as he regained his breathing. This wouldn't do, he thought. He had to be strong at a time like this. Especially at a time like this. He had to be Evangeline's strength.

"You okay?" he asked as he put her down. He wiped the sweat from her face and kissed the top of her nose.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Evangeline huffed as she fixed her clothes.

They then both rested on the ground. Their emotions were calming down as their breathing while they found comfort in their heads and hands touching.

"Thanks," Evangeline said after a while.

"For what?" Eric asked.

"A lot of things . . . You've been together with me every step of the way. You didn't ask questions nor pressure me for answers . . . You're just simply there . . . always by my side . . . and I'm. . . I'm truly grateful."

Eric's eyes dropped a bit, and his hold on her hand tightened.

"It's because my love for you is far greater than any doubts in my heart."

". . ."

". . ."

Evangeline laughed, but she couldn't hide the sudden water in her eyes. "You sure say some cheesy lines sometimes."

"Well . . . I know that I don't speak much, but I think it's important to tell you once in a while how I really feel."

Evangeline hummed and rubbed her face against his.

"Keep that up, and I might get spoiled."

You were always spoiled. Eric wanted to say but restrained himself. Instead, he brushed a finger on her cheek and pressed his lips on her hair, murmuring, "It's okay. I wanted you to be spoiled by my love, so you'll search for it every day."

Evangeline snickered. She opened her mouth to retort when her phone rang.

"Yeah?" she answered with a grumpy tone. If it were not for Mr. Krisnov's secretary who was calling, she would have turned off her phone.

"What is it?" Evangeline asked again when the line was nothing but silence.

Evangeline straightened her back when the line continued to be dead. "Hello? Can you hear me? It better be life or death."

". . . Miss Heart . . ."

". . ."

When Evangeline stopped talking, Eric got worried.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Evangeline looked at him like the fire in her eyes just a second ago was an illusion. Her once purple irises seemed pale and dull, and he became restless.

"Eve, what's wrong?"

Her eyes moved down like they were heavy. She was right beside him, but he felt like they were a universe apart.

"What happened?" he said, grabbing her shoulders this time.

"He . . .. he's dead."