His Island Girl

Chapter Twelve

Caught up in a situation whereby she had to choose between pleasing herself and pleasing her family, Noella chose to sacrifice her happiness for the safety of her family.

While growing up as a little girl, she never had any friends. Living and growing up on an island with little or no people around made her to believe that there were only few creatures of the same specie as herself living on earth.

She only had her father who loved and took very good care of her. Her father was also her teacher. He thought her everything she needed to know even before she started school. He was an industrious and hardworking man that despite living on an island with him, she lacked nothing aside from the love of a mother. Her father was a farmer, a fisherman, a lumber, a doctor, a teacher and everything else. The house in which they lived in was located deep into the woods, almost reaching the other end of the island.

When she was ten, her sister relocated from the city and came to live with them on the island after divorcing her husband. Her sister was heavily pregnant then and Noella was so glad to have another person living with them that she began to see her as an aunt. Though she never understood why any sane person would abandon civilization for an uncivilized island. Later on, her father told her to call her to stop calling her sister as aunt because she was his daughter as well. Nevertheless, she still considered her as an aunt because she was too young to be called mother yet too old to be her immediate sister.

When she started middle school was when she began to have friends and also see the world which was outside the island. She was always excited to go to school and mingle with other people of her age. On weekends, she always visited the seashore for fun.

But with time, she noticed that her father didn't want her interacting with other people. He usually scolded her whenever she hung out with total strangers. He became so strict about she having to leave the island ever except if she had to be with him or go to school. The furthest place she could go on her own was the seashore or anywhere on the Island. At times she got so mad because no matter how hard she tried to understood his reasons for keeping them in hiding, away from the world, she never seemed to understand at all. She tried to make him understand that she was no longer the little girl she used to be and sometimes needed to be free and being with other people might bring about a big change in her life.

One day while she was at her uncle Josh's stall, she got tempted by the aroma of the barbecue he was preparing. Uncle Josh was was the only friend of her father she knew and she always visited his stall on weekends to have a taste of his barbecue. Sometimes she went with her father. Only that day, she went alone and didn't have any money with her. Uncle Josh took pity on her and told her to pick a piece of meat from the tray but she ended up picking the biggest one and ate. The moment he realised what she had done, he began to chase her round the whole place. They'd always joke around and people enjoyed watching. But then, she ran off into the woods and that was the day she met with that special someone.

She felt so happy with herself to have outsmarted Uncle Josh as she ran and giggled at the same time without watching where she was headed.That was when she collided and fell on someone.

She could swear that he is the most handsome man she'd ever seen and she just couldn't take her eyes off him. She felt connected to him right from the first day. The very short chemistry that took place between them attracted her to him and what she saw in his eyes as they both stared into each other's eyes made him even more attractive in her sight.

After that day, she never stopped thinking about him and wondering if she'd ever get to see him again. He had never left her thoughts from the first day, not even once and she had sincerely never felt this way before, especially with a stranger.

His perfect facial features combined with his well defined athletic physique nearly sends shivers down her spine each time she meets him, especially during their second meeting. During their second meeting on the beach, she felt like embracing him and not letting go if only her father was not watching from a distance.

That fateful day they had spent together in the stall was one of her happiest moments on earth. She got to share a lot with him and didn't know why she had always trusted him so much. However, she couldn't blame herself since she had felt a strong connection with him from the very beginning. He had promised to come visiting again but he didn't. It's been weeks now and she began to think of the possibility of his wife or girlfriend stopping him. She began to wonder if she was jealous at the thought of him having a wife or girlfriend. The thought alone pinched her tender heart.

She felt so sad, especially because she had so much to tell him. She wanted to tell him that his words really came to pass as she couldn't wait to tell him. It seemed like he really knew who Dave Orman is. As for her, she had only seen seen Dave Orman few times in magazines and newspapers as she read the news and articles about him. She has had a secret crush on him from the time she was sixteen and then this same person that seemed to capture her attention was bearing the same name as Dave Orman.

The last time she had seen Dave Orman in any magazine was five years ago when he had newly inherited the Orman Empire and ever since then, she had only heard about his name and his achievements. The magazine which was published then was all about Dave Orman and the Orman Empire. It was like a showcase of his achievements in just little time in office. The only television and computer she and her father had was always locked up in her father's office so there was no means of getting any information she required aside from that magazine. The magazine was finally disposed by her father when it began to take more and more of her time each day.

Focusing on the present, Dave had told her that Dave Orman would either stop the ongoing project or reduce its level and his words really came to pass. She wondered if he's a soothsayer or anything.

Just after her father had sent a warning letter on behalf of the people, the Orman Empire terminated the project with an assurance of providing more security for the people.

That one single act by the Orman Empire really gladdened her father to the extent of reducing his level of anger towards her. Ever since the last time she had returned home late because she had been with Dave the whole day, he had been so mad that he always scolded her at any slight offense she committed. He had also temporarily banned her from visiting the seashore. Two weeks later, he lifted the ban and made a request that seemed deadly to her. He had ordered her to bring Dave to him when next he visited the island. Knowing how dangerous her father could be, she didn't want to lure Dave to him. She guessed he would only try to confront and scare him away or even do something worse to him just as he'd always done to others.

She became so upset at the thought of what her father could do to Dave because she knew that even if she refused to carry out his orders, he would have a way of doing that himself just as long as Dave decides to visit again. She really didn't want to loose Dave as she had found a friend in him and being around him always brought joy to her heart. She didn't know how to make her father and sister understand all these. Her sister had usually been the one to inform her father any day she sighted her with strange people and she had no doubt that it was she who had reported her on that fateful day too. Her sister disliked seeing her with strange men in particular and she wondered why. Though she had always been an obedient child and tried not to act stubborn, she couldn't fathom the reason she's still being treated as a kid even when she's now an adult and is bound to develop feelings for a man when the time comes. She was silently thinking of a way to make her aunt understand that she was no longer the little girl she had always protected from boys back then and if there's anyone who should understand her more better, it had to be her sister as she was a woman as well.

Aside from her son Adrian and her father who was also the father of Noella, her sister considered all men to be evil and heartless because of the fact that her ex husband hurted her so badly. Noella however refused to be poisoned with that mindset and she didn't wish to experience it at any point in her life.

She was a jovial and free spirited girl who'd cry and cry, then put back her hat on and move on with her head straight up if anyone hurt or pulled her down.

On that particular day, she and her nephew Adrian went to the seashore to help out with the sales but instead, her sister sent them to deliver some fresh seafood from the suppliers to the stall. Adrian carried the big basket on his head as he hurried back to the stall before her since he wanted to join his friends in playing football at the shore as quickly as possible.

As she walked alone on the sandy soil she heard a voice which came from her right side.

"Hey beautiful"

She knew subconsciously that there were only few people on that particular spot who minded their business. Most were fishermen and few buyers. Everyone minded their business and no one called anyone beautiful unless...

That voice!

She could never be mistaken about that voice. Then that familiar scent also followed, filling her nostrils after some seconds. That particular scent which she had come to love and had become so appealing to her nostrils since that first day. She immediately turned around only to behold that one person she had been longing to see for what seemed like eternity.

Dave.

He was in a blue shirt and black plain trousers with black boots. His rolled up sleeves exposed the finely carved muscles on his arms were folded as he half leaned over a tree.

She marveled at the sight of that athletic body which looked good in every aspect and every outfit. He was looking so hot and as soon as she saw him, she felt a great rush of happiness flow inside of her. Just like electricity.

She literally fought the urge to run into his embrace as he began to walk right up to where she was still standing. Her eyes never left him even as he came and stood in front of her. His eyes bore deep into hers as they stood stood facing each other in silence. The way his eyes roamed all over her sent shivers up her spine and she had to look down as the electricity she felt was becoming too much. His charming figure and assertiveness was literally beginning to affect her.

"I'm sorry" he whispered softly.

"For what" she replied with her head still down. She was still trying to recover from the effect of his gaze on her.

"For breaking my promise. I never abandoned you"

"Its okay. I understand" she replied, rolling her eyes. All the pain she felt suddenly disappeared after seeing him again.

"You're not mad at me?" He asked.

"Yeah" she said and raised her head to look at him only for few seconds before looking down again. But then he raised her chin up slowly with his fingers so that she could behold his face. She could swear that each time their eyes met, she felt like thousands of butterflies were flying in stomach.

"Please don't look away from me like that again" he pleaded softly.

He had a way of making her feel exceptionally admirable with his pleasing disposition even though they'd only been together for a little while.

As much as she tried to focus on the feeling caused by the butterflies in her stomach, her mind was not at ease because she was afraid her father could be spying on them from a hidden distance. She imagined how aggressive and violent her father would be when he sees her breaking the rule of "No associating with strange men especially those who are from the mainland" so she was subconsciously afraid of what he could do to Dave. She was afraid her father would scare him off or even point a gun at him.