Fated To The Beast (English)

Chapter 2

The warm rays of the sun hitting Bella’s skin woke her up that morning. She groggily sat up and pulled off the blanket wrapped around her. As she glanced around the room, she noticed that the beds her roommates had slept in were already neatly made. They were also nowhere to be found, and she figured they must already be wandering around the island.

She immediately grabbed her phone and checked the time. “It’s already 8:27…” she muttered to herself upon seeing the clock. No wonder her companions had already left her. She also noticed that she had received several notifications. Although she was curious about who they were from, she chose to get up first. She did some stretching before walking towards the balcony. Quietly, she admired the refreshing view of the island. As expected, there were already plenty of guests strolling around and swimming.

“What a waste, I missed the sunrise,” she said regretfully.

She had slept late the previous night because of her thoughts. Their family dinner had gone smoothly, and no one had pried into her business. Even her mom didn’t bother her about what was going on. They all knew they wouldn’t get a proper answer from her anyway.

She had eaten only a little, as she had been feeling weak and had no appetite, just like in the past few days. After eating, she asked her mom if she could go out for a walk again. Her mom was reluctant to let her go because of her condition, but she reassured her that she could handle herself. In the end, her mom allowed her to leave. And just like every other night before, there was only one thing that played over and over in her mind—her complicated love life.

‘I’m thinking about someone, but I don’t even know if he still cares about me or if he even thinks of me at all.’

She covered her face with both hands in frustration. She felt like she was on the verge of giving up on herself. It was the first time she had ever felt this way. Never before had she been this vulnerable because of a man—except for her father. Bella had liked a few men in the past. But this was the first time she had truly fallen in love. And it was also the first time she had been hurt.

What made it worse was that she had to move on, even though she and the man she had given her heart to had never even been in a relationship.

Of all the men Bella had met, Hans was the only one she could say had been truly special to her. She had never taken relationships seriously before. She hadn’t prioritized them because, for her, career and self-love always came first. There were too many things she wanted to achieve in life to allow herself to be distracted or lose focus.

But all of Bella’s beliefs… everything she thought would be easy… all crumbled when she met Hans and allowed him into her life.

Who’s Hans, by the way?

He was Bella’s “The One That Got Away.” TOTGA. To Bella, he was probably just someone who came into her life to make her world even more colorful. He was the rainbow that appeared after the rain—only to disappear again in an instant.

Was Hans a player?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

The truth was, even Bella didn’t know the answer. Whatever had happened between them now felt like nothing more than a beautiful dream she had to forget.

She let out a deep sigh.

“That’s enough. I might lose my mind if I keep thinking about him,” she said in frustration, marching back to her bed to tidy it up. “Why do I keep thinking about you?!”

After fixing her bed, she grabbed a change of clothes and decided to take a shower so she could catch up with the others. She picked out a simple pink summer dress and a nude-tone two-piece bikini that complemented her fair skin. She wasn’t sure if she would go swimming right away, but it would be a waste not to wear the swimwear she had brought. It was better to be ready to go.

After showering and getting dressed, she went through her usual morning routine. She applied a bit of loose baby powder and lip moisturizer to touch up her appearance. She didn’t bother putting on heavy makeup since there was no reason to get all dolled up. She was confident in how she naturally looked.

She wasn’t very tall—standing at 5’4”—but she was already proud of her height since that was considered tall for a Filipina.

Before leaving, she sat on her bed and checked her phone. There were a few messages, but she only chose to read the ones from her mom and her cousin, Mara.

7:41 A.M.

Mommy: Dear, we’re here at the lounge having breakfast. Come down and join us.

7:59 A.M.

Mommy: Let’s visit their novelty stores later and explore the resort, too.

8:03 A.M.

Mara: Hey, Sleeping Beauty! Wake up! This will be another long day. I hope we can have some fun today.

8:22 A.M.

Mara: We’re almost done with breakfast. Where are you? I’m already here! Hahaha.

She couldn’t help but laugh at Mara’s last message. “She’s crazy,” Bella muttered, shaking her head.

She checked the time on her phone. Seeing that it was already almost nine, she quickly got up and finished getting ready to leave. In fact, there were many more personal messages from her friends and acquaintances, but she chose to ignore them for now. She decided to leave her phone in the room so she could focus on today’s activities.

When she arrived at the lounge, she found Mara already there, with food set on the table.

“Good morning!” she greeted her cousin to get her attention. Mara had been busy tinkering with her phone.

“Oh, you’re here! Good morning, couz! You must’ve had a good sleep,” Mara said with her usual charming smile.

Bella ignored her comment and glanced around the area. “Where’s Mom?” she asked when she didn’t see her.

Mara took a sip of her coffee before answering. “Somewhere. Aunt Yvonne and Mom took her with them. You took too long.”

“Sorry, okay? You guys should have just woken me up,” Bella huffed at her cousin before sitting down. Why did it feel like it was her fault that she didn’t get to join them? They could have just woken her up if they really wanted her to come along.

“You were sleeping so soundly, girl!” Mara teased before taking a spoonful of scrambled eggs.

“Is this mine?” Bella asked, pointing to the untouched plate in front of her. It had garlic rice, longganisa, tocino, and eggs—just the usual breakfast.

“No. It’s from that hot guy at the counter,” Mara replied sarcastically, even gesturing toward him when Bella frowned.

Bella glanced over at the man sitting at the mini bar counter, sipping wine. She stared at him for a moment. And she couldn’t deny it—Mara was right. That guy was hot. From where they were sitting, she could still make out some of his sharp features—his straight nose, neatly cut black hair, well-defined jawline, tanned skin, and a body that clearly showed he worked out.

Even though he was only wearing a tank top and board shorts, his muscles stood out enough to draw attention.

‘Or am I just overthinking this because of my perverted cousin?’

Bella nearly shook her head at the thought. When she looked back at Mara, her cousin was grinning. “He’s really hot, right? He’s been sitting there for a while. Lucky you got to see him,” Mara teased like a giddy teenager.

‘And what does she take me for? A man-hungry woman?’

Bella rolled her eyes at her cousin. “Ugh, get yourself together. Look, he’s drinking alcohol. Not my type,” she scoffed. Deep down, though, she couldn’t deny that the man had an appeal.

‘Drinking wine this early in the morning? Duh. He doesn’t even have a proper breakfast in front of him.’

Bella was annoyed at herself for even thinking about it.

“OMG!”

Bella nearly choked on her food when Mara suddenly squealed. She shot her cousin a glare, reminding her they were in a public area.

“Couz! He looked this way earlier! He’s really handsome!”

Bella just rolled her eyes again and focused on eating. She wasn’t going to entertain her cousin’s obsession.

‘I still haven’t even gotten Hans out of my system, and now this? A new problem already?’