Fated To The Beast (English)

Chapter 3

AFTER Bella and Mara finished eating, Bella immediately invited her cousin to join the rest of their group on the island. She knew her mother had been waiting for her and didn’t want to upset her again. Last night’s drama was enough. Her mom was right. They came to the island to have fun and bond. It wasn’t fair to drag her family into her heartbreak.

“Mara! Let’s go!” Bella scolded her cousin irritably as she continued staring dreamily at a guy sitting at the bar counter, her hands resting on her cheeks as if she were daydreaming. Bella had been standing in front of her for minutes now. She had been trying to get Mara to leave, but the latter seemed possessed and completely lost in thought.

“Just wait, Bella! Why are you being such a killjoy?” her cousin complained, rolling her eyes at her before returning to her lovestruck state.

“And now I’m the killjoy?” Bella said in disbelief. She sighed and shook her head before stepping closer to her cousin. “Are you coming, or do I have to drag you?” she threatened.

At that, Mara instantly stood up, pouting at Bella. She gathered her things, giving one last longing glance at the guy before following her cousin, who was now pulling her away.

“You were coming anyway!” Bella said, laughing.

“Why are you in such a hurry? I was just appreciating this morning’s blessing!” Mara protested.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen a gu—” Bella hadn’t even finished her sentence before Mara cut her off.

“A handsome guy. Take note of that, my dear cousin,” she said, squinting her eyes as if emphasizing her point.

“Whatever!” Bella huffed. She never understood why her cousin was so obsessed with good-looking men. To be honest, Mara had always had many crushes. Bella just let it slide, thinking it was her cousin’s way of finding inspiration.

“You know what, I missed hanging out with you,” Mara said after a while. When Bella turned to look at her, she saw her cousin flashing a wide smile. Then, Mara linked her arm with Bella’s before continuing, “Sometimes, I think that as we grow older, things get more complicated. And somehow . . . I’m thankful that I grew up well. Like, you know, the right way. At least now, even though life can be tough sometimes, I have no regrets because I enjoyed my youth. And of course, I’m so blessed to have a cousin s***h best friend like you.”

Bella smiled at her cousin’s words, gazing up at the blue sky as she recalled the moments they were talking about. Those were the good old days, the kind of memories she loved to look back on. Mara was right. Sometimes, Bella also felt that things became more complicated with age. But there was nothing to do except keep moving forward and go with the flow of life.

“You’re being cheesy all of a sudden,” Bella teased. “Is this what med school stress does to you?”

“Yes? Is that a problem?” Mara laughed. “But seriously, I really missed you! Once I graduate, I’ll make it up to you.”

“Hello? That’s still two years away! And remember, you still have a licensure exam to pass. And that’s going to be pure hell for you,” Bella reminded her cousin. Yeah, being in med school wasn’t easy. She still remembered their college days when she would frequently hang out in the library just to accompany Mara. If their free time aligned, she would often study with her. If not in the library, they would study at home. She still recalled how thick the medical books were and how often they had lab experiments. If only she wasn’t afraid of blood, she might have joined her cousin in the medical field.

“But still…” Mara sighed. “Anyway, we have so much catching up to do. There are things you need to tell me,” she said meaningfully after a while.

“Huh? What would I even talk about?”

“Anything. About life. Your career. What’s been keeping you busy lately. And also—” Mara paused for a moment before poking Bella’s side. “Tell me about your love life.”

Bella froze for a moment, looking away. There was nothing to talk about regarding her love life—because she didn’t have one. And the one she had hoped for had ended before it even began.

“What love life are you even talking about? There’s nothing! I’m focused on my gigs and business right now. I don’t have time for that!” she ranted. Somehow, what she said was true. Besides, she didn’t want to talk about Hans right now because she just wanted to relax. There would be a time to tell her cousin about her heart issues. “Where are Auntie and Mom? Weren’t we supposed to go shopping?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Oh, right! I didn’t ask exactly where we were meeting, but they did mention they were going to buy souvenirs. Well, they’re probably just somewhere—wait! Let me just call them!” Mara quickly pulled out her phone from her tote bag, and within moments, she was talking to her mother.

“I’m with Mara now, Mom! Where are you and Aunt Sandy?” she greeted the person on the other end. “Oh, you’re still buying souvenirs? Okay, okay. I get it. We’ll just ask for directions. The souvenir shops are all in one row anyway. See you, Mom! Bye!”

After the call, Mara turned to Bella. “Let’s go?”

Bella simply nodded, and they continued walking. As they strolled along, she tried to calm her mind, which had suddenly wandered to thoughts of Hans.

‘Where are you, Hans? Why can’t I stop thinking of you?’

JUST AS they had planned for the day, Bella and the others spent the whole day sightseeing and shopping for souvenirs and memorabilia from the resort. They had so much fun, and with everything there was to do on the island, they felt like they could live there forever without getting bored. There were still plenty of activities left on their itinerary, and in the coming days, they also planned to visit another island connected to the main resort.

By two in the afternoon, they had finished their sightseeing and decided to rest for a while. The others went about their own plans, but Bella chose to return to the villa with her cousin for a nap.

When Bella woke up, it was nearly five in the afternoon, and she was alone in the room. Peeking outside, she saw that the sky had turned a shade of orange.

“Oh no! It’s almost sunset!” she said in a panic. She quickly fixed herself up and got ready to head to the beach. As usual, she wanted to watch the sunset. She checked her phone briefly to see if her family had sent her any messages. She had decided not to bring it with her so she could focus on relaxing.

According to Mara, the others were at the beach playing volleyball. Bella quickly replied before heading off to find them.

In less than five minutes, she spotted them. They had set up the game not far from the villa. As she approached, she greeted everyone briefly before sitting on the sand, quietly watching them play.

She wasn’t really in the mood to join. Besides, she was only there to watch the sunset.

A few moments later, her mother’s voice called out to her. “Bella! Sweetheart! Come here, join us!” Her mom was waving at her with a wide smile. She was even wearing a floral-designed brim hat that suited her well. She really seemed to be having fun.

Bella just waved back and smiled. She had no intention of joining them. Aside from not being interested in playing, she was still exhausted from their activities throughout the day.

“Bella! Come on!” her mother called again.

“Mom! Maybe next time! Just enjoy yourselves!” Bella shouted back. Since she was a bit far from them, she had to raise her voice. When she saw her mother’s face fall into a pout, Bella panicked slightly, quickly getting up from the sand and walking toward them.

‘If only I didn’t love you so much, Mom . . .’

As Bella drew closer, her mother’s smile returned. She really knew how to guilt-trip her. Bella shook her head, brushing off the thought, and dusted off her summer dress, remembering she had been sitting in the sand.

She continued walking while focusing on fixing her dress until—

“Bella! Oh my gosh!”