The Secret Island
Chapter 73: The Sky Full of Stars

The upside of being on holiday and emailing everyone in her office not to contact her was an obvious private that Celine found to be so rare now. She had always been too busy for her own liking. She had become a lot happier. She didn't even know why. Maybe because no one knew her here and no one expected anything of her, she only enjoyed her time off with Martin. Just walked around town and enjoyed the moment. There was nothing else to do other than appreciate the view; the vast blue sea, the cool breeze, the sounds of the waves, and the soft hand of the person walking beside her.

Although he was feeling a bit down during breakfast, once Martin saw her smile, he could smile as well.

"The weather is wonderful today. We could see the sun, that's a rarity in this country, don't you think? Oh, I totally forget. Martin, here is your cap." Celine stopped walking and pulled a cap out of her handbag. Once Martin saw that Martin was stunned.

"Joe gave this to me when we met last time. I believe it belongs to you." She put on that old blue cap on his head.

"Now... put this one on my head as well?" And she got out a gray cap that we had bought as a pair since the time we were on that island in Italy together.

"Do you keep everything?" He asked with a smile in his voice and put a cap on her head.

"Yes...everything."

"Even though we were not together?" He adjusted his cap, and her voice turned sad again. But Celine knew that her job was to be encouraging and as loving as she could. She needed to show him how she felt. "Yes, well, why not? You said you would come back to see me. We were broken up, and that happened, but the past is the past. I love you anyway." She smiled brightly and kissed his cheek.

It was as if we just rekindle our relationship. She was kind of shy with everything that she said, which was out of character. She wanted to spend more time with him, and she wanted her holiday to extend. This time was rare. "Hmm..."

"These days, you can't just say hmmm, you know." Martin raised his eyebrows, confused, but she didn't answer any questions but hugged him instead, which only intensified his curiosity.

"We are already together. When your girlfriend says she loves you, you can't just stay silent, you know."

That was the moment Celine decided that she liked being in a relationship. She hadn't been with anyone for a long time, and with today's responsibility of an executive, she had to always be strong and a leader. She missed being just a girlfriend, a girl that was loved.

"I...also love you." He said softly. Although the sound of the wind was loud in her eyes, she could hear him clearly-something she wanted to hear over and over again.

"It's great to hear that...thank you." She complimented him and hugged him tightly. For her, he was the best. And this time, he got more courage to say it and was no longer shy to have her hug him in public like before. He was probably like her. He liked the feeling that there were only the two of us in this world.

The day went by in its simplicity. We walked around town, sat in some café, took some photos and talked about what we saw. He kissed her cheek when she didn't see it coming once. That was a new feeling she hadn't felt in a while, the feeling of being loved.

Once she turned to Martin and saw how happy he was, she started to think about the future, the future that Martin said he couldn't possibly envision. Celine started to dream, and although Martin could not imagine anything, she could help him with that.

We obviously had so much fun and joy in this holiday together, but Celine was well aware that the world doesn't have only the two of us, she knew full well that outside of this bubble, there were other people that are in her life, and now there was Martin, a new member of her world. She wanted to make sure that he was happy in that world.

"Martin... tomorrow we need to go back. I really want to go back to work. I just want to stay with you. Just us. For a few more days." She said while we were sitting together under the stars. We could see more stars across the sky and the sky here was more beautiful than in London.

"When we go back, we could see each other every day anyway, no?"

"It's not the same. We will see other people, too. At least at the office, all my employees are there. We can't really be this close...."

He chuckled at her and extended his hand to play with her hair.

"You can come to my condo more often. I might buy one and move in."

"What? You are buying a property in London?"

"Well, I plan to be here long term anyway. One can't rent forever. I want to be closer to you."

"Do you have more plans you haven't told me?"

"Nah, I will tell you once things are settled." He definitely had something up his sleeve he hadn't told her. That stuff about buying a property was already a surprise, but never mind, she could wait.

"Do tell me, where is this condo you are buying?"

"I don't know yet. I have a few shortlisted, and I will go visit each one when we are back in London. I prefer to be near you and your office. I will find a way. I think it will be easier commute time for you. You can sleep over at my place and then go to work in the morning."

"I hope you do not think that I will stay at your place all the time, no? I still live with my parents, after all."

That was true. She found it a bit immature of her, but her house was way too big and in too good of a location to buy a place anywhere else.

"Well, I can ask your parents' permission...." He was getting serious again. And she chuckled at that. She liked how he respected her family's conservativism.

"You don't have to be that serious about asking permission. If I don't finish my work late, I will sleep over at your place. Are you fine with that?"

"Thank you..." He said that with some sense of relief, and she sensed something from that phrase. Is there more to just wanting her to sleep over at his place? "Martin, do you still have a nightmare?" She bit her lips the instant she asked that.

He turned to her and closed his eyes.

"No. At least when you are around."

"How about when I'm not around?"

"...."

The silence was an answer, and Celine knew that he was trying to cope with his condition. And she also knew that he was getting better. "Martin..."

"I got better."

He turned away and fixated his gaze on the black sky.

"We are in this together. And we will get through it. Do you believe me?"

"Believe you like I believe that that black sky has stars?" He was expressionless. But she sensed that he was more relaxed.

"It is not a belief, Celine, because I know it is the truth." And he smiled. The smile was full of hope.

"And in the day that the sky was clearer, I believe I will see all stars the universe has to offer."