Leaning down, Raymond caressed Tavia’s soft cheek. Tavia mumbled in her sleep, but upon Raymond’s touch, her eyes fluttered open.

“You fell asleep?” Raymond chuckled.

“What took you so long? You told me to wait here…What are you up to Mr.Lam?” Tavia asked pretending to be angry, her hands on her hips.

Raymond took hold of her hand and slowly pulled her out of the car. Shutting the door, he then place both hands on her shoulder and guides her to the beach.

Whispering in her ear, Raymond declared, “Close your eyes.”

Obediently, Tavia closed her eyes, embracing herself for his surprise.

When Raymond told her she could open her eyes, Tavia did so immediately, to have been so astounded, she fell back a little, into Raymond’s arms.

“Oh my gosh…You did this?” Tavia asked her eyes wide.

Embracing Tavia from behind, Raymond rested his chin on her shoulder. He didn’t have to answer her, she knew.

Right before Tavia’s eyes, are bright lights illuminating from the candles which formed a humongous heart, on the sand of the beach.

It was a stunning sight, and Tavia was completely and utterly speechless.

“I love you, Tavia.” Raymond whispered.

“I love you too, Rayy.”

Without saying another word, Tavia turned around and kissed Raymond passionately.

--

Strolling along the busy streets, Ron accidentally squashed a tomato under his feet. “Urgh.” Ron mumbled under this throat as he shook his head. Glancing up, he saw a supermarket beside him, and a bunch of see lai’s fighting to obtain the freshest bunch of fruits being carried outside by a worker.

He walked faster, as he checked his watch. He was already a couple of minutes late in meeting Tavia, and he had hoped she hasn’t left already. He was surprised to receive a call from her earlier, as she wanted a chat with him. She told him to meet her at the park, but without Tavia acknowledging, he decided to leave earlier and pick her up from her piano class, as he recalled that she had classes today.

Something caught his eye as he saw a figure up ahead, who looked so familiar. “Gosh, please, no…” Ron mumbled, as he ran after the man, who was speed-walking faster and faster away from his sight.

He pushed his way through growing crowd, surrounding the fruits.

“One dollah!” The worker yelled, loud enough for everyone to hear.

The man stopped in his pace, and turned around. His eyes met with Ron’s. Even though he was wearing sunglasses, Ron could clearly make out the face under the shades. Staring at one another for a brief moment, the man broke into an evil grin, and waved.

“Get out of my way!” An elderly lady shouted, hitting Ron’s leg with her cane.

“Hey!” Ron yelled, breaking his glare from the man to the old lady who ignored him.

Glancing up again, he lost sight of the man. Sprinting to the spot where the man had stood earlier, Ron glanced sideways, twirling around in his spot. He was breathing heavily, he felt himself sweating, and his heart was beating rapidly.

“Dammit!” He muttered, cursing himself in his mind for letting him go. He was so sure it was him, his long life brother, or should he say…enemy.

---

Defeated, after searching around for him in the nearby streets, Ron caught sight of Raymond. He was about to call him, but he hesitated, as he recalled the night where Tavia had called out ‘Ray.’ Could it really be Raymond? Could Tavia have fallen for Raymond without me acknowledging?

Sighing, Ron shook out of his state, and decided to clear things up with Raymond. Just as he lifted his arm to wave over to Raymond, who was looking away in the other direction, a female beat him to it. The young woman was around their age, perhaps even a few years younger, with that baby face of hers. Running up to Raymond, she threw her arms around his neck and embraced him.

Raymond, whose expression remained still, patted her on the head, and then pushed her away, slightly. Gazing into her eyes, he whispered, “Linda…What is it that you want to talk about?”

Releasing her grip around his neck, Linda stepped back. The way he gazed into her eyes, the way he talked to her…something was different. It seemed as this wasn’t the Raymond she knew, but someone else entirely. The feeling she always had with him, just wasn’t there.

“Let’s go to the harbor and talk.” Linda replied, grabbing hold of his hand as she dragged him across the street.

 Ron shook his head at the sight. So I must’ve made a wrong assumption. The young woman must’ve be Raymond’s ex-girlfriend, Ron thought. He could tell just by the way Raymond looked at her; with pain, and betrayal, yet desire and love in his eyes.

---

Stepping out of the building of her piano class, Tavia started down the streets towards the park. Her mind kept replaying the night she had spent with Raymond, which brought pure joy to her heart. They stayed at the beach overnight, huddled against one another for warmth, watching the waves sway in the ocean. It was the best night yet, however she felt a tinge in her heart. Her mind would suddenly trail back to Ron, and she could imagine just how much pain his eyes would reveal, if he knew of them. Tavia felt guilty, but she knew that she had to tell him, sooner rather than later. It would hurt him so much, and just the thought of that, somehow brought her sorrow.

“Tavia! Wait!” A male voice called out.

Tavia turned around to face Ron.

“Ron? Didn’t I tell you to meet me at the park?” She asked.

“Yeah…But I figured I would pick you up from your class.”  Ron smiled.

Tavia nodded, feeling miserable as ever by his considerate action.

A couple of minutes later, they reached the public park.

“Uh Tavia?”

Tavia gazed up into his eyes, which now have turned dark and serious.

“Did you come across anyone strange and suspicious? Did any stranger come up to you and talked to you?” Ron continued.

Seating herself on one of the swings, Tavia gave out a soft giggle. “Ron…I’m not a child.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Ron replied, sitting down on the swing beside Tavia.

“What do you mean?”

“This is very serious. You and Patrick need to get away from here for a while. Maybe go on a vacation to the states for a few months. Or even better, move there. It’s better that you don’t come back.” Ron stated.

“Ron…I don’t understand. What’s going on? Why do you want us to leave?”

Not wanting to gaze into Tavia’s saddened eyes, Ron turned away.

“Trust me Tavia. I only want to protect you. I can’t allow anything to happen to you. Please.”  Ron then turned and gazed into Tavia’s eyes.

“I do trust you Ron. But you have to trust me!” Tavia began to sob softly. “Why can’t you guys just tell me the truth? What the hell is going on? What happened to me? What happened to us? Why does everyone hate you? Are you really dangerous…Should I even trust you?”  Tavia cried, the tears pouring down her cheeks, endlessly.

“Tavia…”  Ron whispered, barely audible. He reached for her hands, and taking a deep breath, he then nodded.

“I’ll tell you everything. You deserve to know the truth.”

Tavia gazed up into his eyes, and stopped sobbing.

Ron gave out a soft chuckle and casually glanced up into the clouds. “Gosh…Where do I begin?”

---

30/08/10 - The truth is about to be revealed from both Linda and Ron! Will fungyi stay together after discovering the truth? Stay tuned haha..