Chapitre 27: New plan

She took a final look, then walked out the door to confront him. She followed the narrow corridor, down the long stairway to search for him. Expecting him to be in the living room, entertaining his early guest, but the room was empty.

She scanned her surroundings when she heard voices, searching for the source. She detected the sound coming from the kitchen. She slowly made her way towards that direction, tiptoeing not wanting to bother him if the visitor was someone important.

She abruptly stopped by the corner when she heard her name in the conversation. Not Sky, but her real name. They were talking about Sabrina Sanders.

He was talking to a woman, but she did not get the chance to see who it was because she quickly hid, not wanting them to see her eavesdropping.

"Maybe you should alert your staff to take care of the growing news crew converging on the front lawn of the villa of your guest." The female voice suggested.

Warning bells started alarming in her head as she heard her statement. She wondered what was happening outside. If the reporters they were talking about came for her. Then again, who else were the reporters searching for on this tiny island.

"Yes, you're right. I'll have my security clear it as soon as possible," he said, clearly annoyed by the impending problem.

It would be bad publicity for the resort if news about an actress, staying in one of his villas, would be harassed by the media. It would ruin its reputation for its privacy.

"Have you met her personally?" His guest placed her hand on top of the table as she waited for him to answer her.

"Who? That actress." He said with a sneer. "Yes, twice I think."

"What do you think of her?" She started teasing him. "You know she is a very attractive young single lady. I'm a fan of her. Just a shame that she got involved in that scandal." The unknown woman stated, clearly acting like a cupid.

"Melissa, honestly, I would not want anything to do with her. I could never trust a woman like her with questionable integrity." He stated as he moved around the kitchen, preparing breakfast for his guests.

"Don't you think you're being too judgmental? You know we could never trust the news. Maybe Sabrina had her reason, or she just made a mistake." Melissa protested, defending her idol. "After all, she is just human like us."

Melissa always liked Sabrina as an actress. The persona Sabrina presented to the world was quite admirable. The only thing that ruined it was her involvement with Brad, which was a shame. In her opinion, everybody deserved a second chance.

"It still doesn't change anything. Brad is a married man, yet she still had an affair with him. That spoke volume of her moral character." He spoke with a slight rage on his tone.

She kept silent as she continued listening to their conversation. She realized that Raf knew Brad personally from the way they talked about him. This new development complicated things even more.

"I saw what she was capable of. She will never be someone I would ever get involved with. Not in this lifetime." He declared, remembering the time that he saw another man in her villa.

"I understand your situation, but you can't compare every woman to your failed relationship. Johanna cheating on you with Brad was terrible, but it's in the past." She was about to say more, but he cut her.

"As you said, it is already in the past. It has no place in this conversation." He interjected. "Besides, I met someone. I could not wait for you to meet her. She is much more than that actress will ever be." He continued, changing the topic, closing the conversation about his past.

"And where is this special lady of yours. When are you going to introduce us?" She took the coffee he offered as he settled opposite her.

"She is still sleeping. I'll introduce you later. You'll gonna like her." He said excitedly.

She could not believe the things that she just heard. Raf and Brad's relationship was not just a simple acquaintance, but a messy one. A long history that greatly affected her in a way. Her hope for a future with him suddenly crashed to the ground.

"Before you wake up sleeping beauty, why don't you deal with the growing crowd outside before it becomes a world news that would ruin your beautiful paradise." Melissa interrupted his thought.

She panicked, hearing about his plan to introduce her as Sky. She had no plan of stringing along with another person in her charade, but she could not confess to him in this current situation.

She quickly moved away from the kitchen, using the time while he was distracted to slip out of the back door. With only one coherent thought in her mind, she had to get out, as far away from him as soon as possible.

As she walked quickly out to the path towards the beachfront, Baxter noticed her and quickly ran to her side, stopping her in her tracks just outside the fence.

"Hey, what are doing outside?" She asked, patting the dog, not noticing another figure staring at her.

"Hi! Who are you?" A familiar small voice asked her from behind, slightly startling her. She suddenly remembered the name Melissa, the woman inside. She was the mother of Xavier.

"Oh! I just delivered some milk and eggs to Mr. Walker." She quickly said an alibi, barely looking at him, hoping that Xavier would not recognize her.

"Hi! I'm Xavier," strolling beside her as she continued down the path.

"Well, nice meeting you, but I need to hurry." She made an excuse, walking faster. "I hope I'll get to see you again someday," she said, leaving the kid and the dog behind, without looking back. She was telling the truth. She wanted to see them again at another time when things got settled.

As she walked silently away from them, away from him, she suddenly felt numb. Tired of the life she had been dealt with. Fate had been playing with her life for too long. Time for her to take charge of her life. It was about time that she came up with a new plan.