The next morning, at the airport in Country D.
A tall man in navy chinos and white dress shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows just walked out of the arrival gate with luggage in his hand. He looked so fresh and clean with his laid back casual look, women around him can't help but take a second or even a third glance. He looked around until he spotted a hand waving to him, Daniel took off his sunglasses and smiled.
"Lucas.", Daniel said in a friendly tone.
"Daniel, it's been a really long time, my friend."
The two men exchanged brief hugs and taps.
"How have you been? Married already?"
Lucas laughed heartily, "Tsk Tsk Tsk... Women are afraid of me now. How can I find someone to marry me?"
Daniel chuckled, "You've got women around you all the time."
"Ahh... But they're just after my money. Women like those, not worth it.", Lucas replied and shook his head. "Enough about me, let's go, I'll treat you to very fine cuisine. You'll love it!"
The two men walked towards Lucas' car with bodyguards around them.
The restaurant is owned by Lucas, it is just one of the many businesses that he owns. In Country D, he's known to be a business tycoon by ordinary citizens. And in the underworld, Lucas is a ruthless leader who rules over the country. When Daniel learned that Samantha was in Country D, that's when he asked Lucas' help.
They've been friends several years back when Lucas tried to run away from home and ended up in Country A. He wasn't a boss of the underworld yet, during that time, it was still Lucas' dad who was the head of the organization. When his father didn't approve of the girl that Lucas was dating at that time, he rebelled and ran away.
Being in a foreign country and trying to avoid his father's radar, Lucas ended up doing odd jobs for a few months. One time, he fell asleep at a subway station because of exhaustion. When he woke up, he found that all of his valuables were stolen. He was so furious but there was nothing he could do. Lucas met Daniel while he was asking passersby a few dollars so that he could get home.
Daniel felt bad for him because he was being ignored. They talked and that's when Daniel learned about his story. Daniel didn't hesitate to give him a few hundred dollars and Lucas was very touched by the stranger who was willing to give him money without anything in return so he promised Daniel that he will pay him back even if it's through other means.
A few days later, Lucas mended things with his father and he was no longer living poorly. He stayed in Country A for several months before going back to Country D and during that time, he and Daniel became really good friends.
It's been 6 years since they have last seen each other and Lucas was very glad to see his friend again. After eating a scrumptious meal, the two friends were enjoying their coffee. Lucas handed a wide tablet to Daniel and said, "Your woman is quite interesting… she seems to be very adventurous."
Daniel took the tablet but he waited for Lucas to continue.
"This was recorded just last night. Hooo! Man, I'm telling you… she's very skilled. I had one of my men go on a race with her last night and boy did she not disappoint.", Lucas played a video and in the screen showed rows of racing cars and a rowdy crowd. A few seconds in the video, a lady waved a flag down and the 2 cars sped off to a distance. The video angle changed and now it was showing a black Bugatti driven by Samantha, her car was speeding off at an incredible speed almost leaving Lucas' man behind.
"Damn it. This girl!", a comment from the video was heard, it was Lucas' man who was racing with Samantha. The video was taken from inside his car with a few action cameras that were facing outside the car giving Daniel a clear view of Samantha's driving.
Though he was very glad that Lucas was able to find Samantha, Daniel felt thrilled and enraged at the same time seeing Samantha drive at a very fast speed and she's not even afraid! 'You must have gone crazy, Samantha!'
The video finished showing Samantha winning the race.
"Where is she now?", Daniel suppressed his anger. The thing that he wants the most now is to see her.
"She's currently at the heart of the city. Come, I'll bring you there."
Lucas and Daniel along with some bodyguards got in a Range Rover and drove away. They arrived at a café beside a Skydiving center.
"Let's wait here. This is the best seat for you to see the view.", said Lucas.
Daniel didn't know what they were going to see, there were several people in the flat and spacious ground before them. Lucas handed Daniel a pair of binoculars, "Here, you're gonna need it."
He was puzzled but he received the binoculars. They waited for about 10 minutes until Lucas tapped Daniel in the shoulder and he pointed the sky with his other hand, "Look over there."
Daniel's brows furrowed, using his binoculars, he looked into the lens and saw someone in a white jumpsuit and white full face helmet parachuting her way down to the ground. 'You've got to be kidding me.' He felt his hands have gotten cold, he gulped in anticipation as his woman landed gracefully. He watched as she removed her helmet and flipped her hair like she was in a shampoo commercial.
"Samantha.", he whispered.
And as if Samantha had heard him, she turned her head towards Daniel's direction casually just for a few seconds and Daniel's heart throbbed like crazy. After which, a man helped Samantha collapse and gather her canopy for her; she unstrapped it from herself before she strutted towards the exit.
Samantha couldn't really recognize anyone from the café as it wasn't very near to where she landed.
"Looks like she's done for today.", Lucas spoke.
Daniel turned his head and asked, "What?"
"That was her 5th jump today."
"F-fifth??", Daniel was very shocked. 'Is this really Samantha?', he instantly turned his head to look at Samantha again but she has already gone inside the building.
"Yeah, apparently she skydives for fun a few times a week. And my men said five isn't even her maximum number."
Upon hearing this, Daniel's lip twitched. For someone like him who's not really into any extreme jumping activities, he doesn't understand the thrill that one experiences during the jump. He was only able to try bungee jumping once in Country A and that was already a one of a kind experience for him.
Not long after, Samantha walked out of the building with Kai on her side.
"Who's that?"
"His name is Kai, he's a local here and a professional skydiver... according to my men, he seems to be courting...*ahem* your woman."
Daniel's expression turned dark upon listening to Lucas' explanation.
Samantha laughed at Kai's joke before she waved goodbye and walked towards her car.
Daniel obviously felt crabby when he saw Samantha laughing with Kai. 'Tch. Having fun, are you?'
Samantha drove away while Daniel and Lucas followed her from a distance. Daniel decided to observe her first before showing up in front of her. He wanted to see how she was living while she was away from him.
"That's strange."
"What?"
"Her house isn't going this way. Where could she be heading?"
"Let's follow her for now.", Daniel said in a calm manner.
Samantha drove towards outside of the city and headed to the cliff that they went to yesterday. She didn't plan on going alone today but after the skydives that she did, her heart was still feeling heavy. It was getting unbearable each day and skydiving wasn't of much help to her anymore; the rush was no longer as exciting as before. When she arrived, she walked towards the cliff and took off her shirt. Wearing only a sports bra and shorts, she moved closer to the edge. "Just 1 jump. Just let me feel it with 1 jump."
Inside the Range Rover,
Daniel froze at the sight 30 meters from them, 'What the f*ck are you doing, Samantha?'
He started to move towards the cliff, afraid that Samantha would really jump.
"Sh-she's not going to jump, is she?", Lucas muttered.
As soon as Lucas said those words, Samantha jumped off the cliff and Daniel's eyes widened in surprise; he was too late.
He dashed forward and tried to look for a way down but as he got closer to the other side of the cliff, he saw that Samantha was already walking towards the shore.
He composed himself and waited for her to come back up. He was so ready to give her a scolding for what she just did.
But when she appeared several meters from him, he ended up hiding from a big rock just beside where Samantha parked her car.
Samantha took out her phone and pressed the audio recording, "Mia... guess what? I jumped off a cliff again just now...", she chuckled but then the second, she started to sob. "But... why am... I still hurting?"
Daniel's heart shattered upon hearing Samantha's cry. 'Damn it.'
Ugh. That sucks. I feel bad for Samantha's heartache. When will she ever get better?
Earlier that afternoon when Daniel watched the video of Samantha doing a street race, he was already enraged. How could she engage in such a dangerous activity? And after that, he saw Samantha land from her 5th skydive with ease like it was something very natural. Just minutes ago, she jumped off a cliff and Daniel thought that she really has no regard for her life anymore. 'You left me, you left everyone and you're just here having so much fun? You're even very brave to face death.', he thought. He was on the verge of scolding her as soon as she appears in front of him.
But when she did, the rage within him immediately dissipated and instead of showing himself to her, he hid behind the rocks.
"Mia... guess what? I jumped off a cliff again just now..."
Daniel's brows scrunched up not understanding what Samantha was doing until he sneaked a peek at her. The next thing he saw was when Samantha suddenly cried with her phone in her hand. She was still all wet from the dive and her skin was barely covered from wearing only a sports bra and shorts.
She clutched her chest feeling the pain that seemed to enjoy staying within her. She couldn't believe that a broken heart could be physically painful. She's done everything for the past three months yet it seems like she's only getting worse. The surge of adrenaline from the activities she's doing would only last for a short time and after that, she'd feel depressed again.
This time is no different, when she decided to take a detour, she just wanted to feel a little better. The feeling only lasted until she got to the shore and while she walked back to her car, her heart started to ache once more.
Ever since she arrived in Country D, she had been feeling like something was missing, like there was a hole in it and no matter how much she tried to fill the hole, she doesn't seem to feel better. At first, she thought that she was just homesick but after wandering around and trying something fun to take her mind off everything for a couple of weeks, the feeling just got worse especially when she goes home and tries to go to sleep; oftentimes, she'd cry herself to sleep. Until such a time that she saw the Skydiving Center and decided to give it a try. And ever since then, she had been jumping off a plane a few times a day and eventually got her 'B' license.
Samantha broke down beside her car and time passed by slowly. After quite sometime when she felt a little better after crying, she stood up and retrieve her shirt from the cliff before driving her car back on the road.
Daniel remained rooted on the ground until Lucas appeared in front of him.
"Are you okay, Dan?"
He nodded and put his hands on his pockets as he walked back to the car, "Let's go."
The Range Rover drove and followed Samantha from behind. They entered a beach villa compound with big houses, all beachfront. When Samantha parked her car and entered her house, Daniel just sat in the car and stared at her house from afar.
"I'm good for today, we can go now.", Daniel sighed.
"Man, you are so in trouble.", Lucas laughed at his friend and the car started to move forward. "Good thing you have a friend like me." Their car stopped in front of the house next to Samantha's. "Now get off the car."
Daniel furrowed his brows not understanding what his friend was saying. "What? Why?"
Lucas smirked, "You think I'd let you stay at a hotel or my house while your woman is living here? You stay in this house beside hers. Here are the keys to the house and the cars in the garage. You take and use whatever you like.", he spoke while he handed Daniel a small bag with the keys inside.
Daniel was speechless, he knew that Lucas' family was also loaded but being at the receiving end… in a different country… the feeling was… weird. Daniel could buy a house there or cars or whatever he'd like but his friend is being so generous to him, he didn't know what to say. "Umm.. Uh thanks?"
Lucas laughed heartily at his friend's reaction. "No need to thank me, we're family."
When they got inside the villa, Lucas didn't stay very long as it was already getting dark and he had some business to do. So when he left, Daniel took his time and checked out the entire house. Country D was a tropical country but this time of the year is the best month because the weather is much cooler so it's quite comfortable. The villa's back porch is wide and with just a few steps down is the fine white sand that leads to the waters. 'No wonder Samantha chose this house. The sea is just right there.'
With that thought, Daniel instinctively turned to his right and saw Samantha's porch just a few meters away from his. The corners of his mouth lifted upwards as he walked back inside the house and retired for the night.
The next morning, Samantha woke up and headed towards the kitchen. While she was preparing her coffee, she sneezed a couple of times. She scratched her nose and her eyes became a little watery.
"Did I catch a cold?", she humped before she grabbed a bottle of cold medicine. It must have been because of yesterday when she went cliff diving.
After she ate her light brunch, she changed into her skydiving jumpsuit and headed out. Samantha drove towards the Skydiving center and went inside. Her friends were at the lobby passing time while talking to other people who were interested in the sport. When Kai saw Samantha, he wore his blinding smile and sauntered towards her.
Kai is a tall man with tan skin and a man bun. He's lean, does extreme sports and good-looking. But Samantha was never attracted to this man, though women find Kai attractive, she just wasn't into him. While Samantha thought about these things, Daniel Cho's image flashed before her eyes. 'AH! Why am I thinking about him?', she shook her head in an attempt to take her mind off him.
"Kira!", he called with a big smile on his face. "Uh-oh... you look... uh, are you okay?"
"What? Why? I'm fine!"
"Uh no you're not... haven't you seen your nose in the mirror? It's all red. D'you have a cold?"
"It's just a teeny tiny sniffle. I already took medicine earlier."
Kai's eyebrows scrunched up as he studied her face and looked at Samantha's outfit and chuckled, "Oh... no, you're not jumping today. Go home and rest."
"What? Why? I'm fiiiiiiiinnnneee... *sniff*", Samantha smiled, "I wanna jump."
Kai shook his head.. "Tsk tsk tsk... That's not gonna happen. You know you can't jump when you have a cold."
Samantha pouted, "But I already wore my jumpsuit.", she said as she opened her arms wide.
Kai raised an eyebrow and called someone over, "Arthur."
"Yeah?"
"Hey! Why are you calling my teacher?", Samantha complained when she saw Arthur coming over.
Arthur smiled, "What's up?"
"Kira wants to skydive with a cold.", Kai said with a smirk and Samantha pursed her lips.
"Yikes! Kid, if you wanna pop your eardrum and have an agonizing headache, go ahead and jump to your death.", Arthur smiled smugly, "Over my dead body."
Kai pushed her towards the exit as he said, "Off you go! You'll spread your germs here and we won't be able to dive like you."
"Hey!!", Samantha whimpered before she turned towards the exit but she stopped in her tracks when she saw someone she didn't expect to see. "Y-you... What are you doing here?", she asked as her heart pounded like crazy. 'Oh, now you're beating like this? Stop it stop it!'
Kai who was pushing Samantha out stopped as well, "Do you know this guy?"
Daniel looked only at Samantha and ignored the man behind her. "It's nice to see you again, honey."
Samantha gulped. She did not expect to see Daniel Cho here in Country D. 'What is he doing here? Is he here for business? Did he see me accidentally?'
Actually, Daniel was already there even before Samantha arrived. So while Samantha was acting all 'cute' in front of Kai, he has seen it all.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you."
"But why?"
"What do you mean 'why'? You've been gone for a long time, Samantha. We've got a lot of catching up to do.", he smiled his devilish smile. Wearing a white muscle fit tee, the sleeves hugged his biceps and he looked really pleasing to the eyes.
'Why does he have to be so damn hot?', Samantha thought.
"There's nothing to talk about. And I'm busy.", Samantha turned to Kai and said, "Kai, you wanna go out for a coffee with me, right? Let's go."
"Huh? Ah! Really?! Let's go!", Kai was so elated that Samantha was finally going on a 'coffee date' with him.
Samantha walked past Daniel and exited the Skydiving center with Kai behind her. Daniel's gaze followed them until they disappeared into a corner. His teeth clenched, 'You're running away with a man in front of me? How brave of you. You're gonna get it from me, Samantha. Just you wait.'
Samantha got startled. How are you going to get out of this now?