Chapter 114 - CHRISTMAS WITH THE IN-LAWS I

They got on the hammock and relaxed themselves with the gentle sound of crushing waves and the light sway of the wing. Cayenne was lying beside him; her head was on his chest and his other hand was wrapped around his waist.

She wanted to talk to him but when she was finally able to rest herself, she felt drowsy and couldn't stop herself from closing her eyes. Noticing the she was sleepy, Stefan didn't mind having sore arms just to support her sleeping figure.

"Have a good sleep my princess." Whispered and kissed her head, letting her sleep in the afternoon.

Just like that, Cayenne slept all the way 'til it was late at night. When she woke up, she found herself lying on her bed in the master's bedroom. "How did I get in here? Did he carry me all the way back from the beach?" She was still groggy from her sleep., murmuring to herself while looking for her slippers.

"Stefan?" She called his name as she walked downstairs. It was already dark outside but the house was brightly lit up.

Hearing the faint footsteps coming from Cayenne, Stefan walked out of the kitchen to come and see her. "You've woken up. Are you still feeling tired? You can get more sleep. I'll just call you out after cooking."

"Thank you for letting me sleep but I am already fine. Do you need help?"

"If that's the case, could you please wash the rice?"

The two of them started to work together in harmony – just like a newly-wed couple.

People often say that happiness doesn't last for a long time. But it won't end abruptly either. In a spun of three days, the short vacation was over.

Cayenne enjoyed Stefan's company a lot and in these three days, she learned so much about. She found out that Stefan was really excellent ever since he was small. He can play a piano, a violin and he even liked to sneak a lot during college to play in a casino. The first time he won over a million in a casino, he invested it in a restaurant. With the help of Travis, he was able to start his own business. His parents had never helped him ever since.

Whenever they talked about Stefan's parents, her opinion of them wasn't good. She knew that she shouldn't judge others when she didn't know the whole story behind what she sees and what she knows. But she had this feeling that made her believe in him explicably.

Another thing that the two of them realized was that, Stefan couldn't sleep without Cayenne. He tried to sleep in a separate room with her during their second night. In the end, he stayed awake all the way till the sun rises and slowly rose from the east. In the end, Cayenne had to accompany him to sleep in the afternoon. Then, they left to visit the Mountain peak that he talked about last time. On their last night, Cayenne realized that he'd be driving several hours on the way home the next morning and she pitied him so, the two of them ended up sleeping together once again.

Now, they were on their way back to the main city. They will stop by Stefan's house first to get their gifts before coming over to the apartment where her family lives.

Stefan started to become cautious around him from the moment that Cayenne entered his life. Wherever they go, he'd always make sure to put on some disguise to make sure that no one would recognize them.

It was late in the afternoon when they reached his house. The cold wind made her shiver when it brushed her face. "Get another coat to layer with what you're wearing now." Stefan told her while he was bringing their luggage up. "Make sure to feel warm."

"Yes, sir." Cayenne answered him with faint chuckles as she walked ahead of him to their bedroom. She pulled out a scarf for him as well. Their country wasn't like States that snows heavily during winter but, when the clock strike four in the afternoon, the temperature would really drop. People often wear their thick coats or shawls from late afternoon to early morning.

Stefan placed their luggage beside their bed and grabbed the gift bags.

"Wait." Cayenne pulled him to stop and raised her hand to put the scarf around his neck. "Stop worrying about me. You should keep yourself warm, too." She looped the scarf twice around his neck and smiled. "Better?"

"Hn. It's all thanks to you." Stefan leaned and kissed the tip of her nose. "Let's go?"

"Okay."

The travel from the subdivision to the apartment didn't take a long time. When they arrived, Luiz and Kyle were doing their best to put up the decorations while their mother kept telling them to do this and do that.

"We're home." Cayenne announced their arrival while Stefan was helping her take off her shoes. "I can do that myself." She murmured but since the apartment wasn't really big, their whispers could be heard with the other three other people.

"It's too tiring for you to bend down. It's convenient for me since I need to untie my shoes, too. I might as well help you with your." Stefan responded to her.

"Whatever you say." Cayenne let him do what she wants and handed him his indoor slippers that she bought not long ago. When Stefan saw his personal indoor slippers with the same design that he had in his own home, the smile on his lips couldn't be contained. "Why are you smiling stupidly?"

"I just found that you actually thoughtfully prepared a pair of indoor slippers for me." Stefan grinned and took hold of her hand to kiss the back of it. "I'm happy."

"Tsk! Stop displaying your affections, alright?" Luiz snickered with gloomy face. "Please remember that except the two of you, the rest of us here are considered single."

Kyle laughed at his brother's remark while coming to get close to his sister and Stefan. "Just ignore him." Kyle told her sister and Stefan. "We didn't expect you to be so early."

"I'm on leave." Cayenne simply answered as she strutted towards her mother who was sitting in the living room. "Hi Ma. I'm home."

"Hello Auntie." Stefan also greeted the middle-aged woman. 

"I'm glad that you two can make it." Cayenne's mother commented.  "We're almost done with the preparation. You can go take a rest first. We'll just call once everything's done."

"Okay. I'll just show him my room." Cayenne placed all the gift they bought beside the small Christmas tree found in the living room. Cayenne wasn't afraid of showing her room since she always cleans it. And when she's not around, her brothers would help her dust it off.

"Are you sure you want me to rest in your room?" Stefan whispered close to her which made her tremble with the lightest bit of touch. The tips of ears were turning red but she kept a steady gaze in front of him. 

"Mr. Dumrique, our apartment doesn't have any guest rooms. If not in my room, where will you stay?"

"I can always stay inside your brother's room."

"No, you can't."

"In the living room, then?" Stefan mentioned while she was opening the door to her room and led him inside. She closed it once he's finally inside her room before speaking.

"Why are you acting shy and embarrassed around me?" Cayenne asked him with a pout. "It's not like this is the first you'll be sleeping with me. Or is it because my room is not up to your standard?"

Stefan's face darkened and there was a grim expression on his face. "Do we have to talk about this now that we're in this stage of our relationship? Stop belittling yourself, 'kay I don't even care about your social standing. What I meant is that, I'm concern about your family's opinion of you."

"They knew that we're in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. What's odd about this?"

"Well, is this really normal? I have never dated someone seriously before you came in to my life."

"Neither have I." Cayenne retorted with a smile. "Let's learn things together."

Stefan nodded his head and hugged her. "Anyway, I won't do anything to you just like what I promised. I will be patient and keep my chastity for you. Until you say yes."

At this moment, Cayenne knew how much he treasured her. She had been neglecting herself, making herself her least priority and now, she found someone who made her his number 1 person to pamper.

"You take a rest here. I'll come out and help them." Cayenne whispered while patting his back lightly. "I'll check on you from time to time. You can also sleep if you want. You've been driving for hours."

After reminding him quite a few things, she finally turned around to go out of the room. 

'THUD! THUD!'

Two figures fell on the floor when she opened the door to her room.

"Hahaha." Luiz laughed awkwardly. "You don't have to come out, Yen."

"Yeah. We'll be fine." Kyle also added with a straight face.

Both of them were pretending as if Cayenne didn't catch them red-handed from eavesdropping.