Chapter 2

POV Nerva

At some point in my sleep, I realized that someone was trying to wake me up. When I opened my eyes, I saw Mark holding a feather in his hand, moving it all over my face.

"What are you doing with this?" I asked him as I sat in the middle of the very comfortable bed, looking at him with one eye while rubbing the other.

"You see, my dear, I'm waking you up..." He replied with casualness as he walked out of the room.

"Why? What time is it now?!" I yawned and got out of bed to look at the clock on the wall, which pointed right at seven in the morning!

Hey... it was pointing at seven in the morning!

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked Mark, who walked back into the room and answered uninterestedly, "You don't have to think about that, sweetheart. Come on, take a shower and change your clothes. I've got something special I want you to see."

For a second, I ignored what he said and focused on the fact that he had let me sleep for more than half a day! Over twelve hours! How was it normal for me to sleep so long? This was completely inappropriate... Yet my dear husband hadn't even bothered to wake me up?

I don't even remember anything except the orange juice he gave me in the car!

I sighed in disbelief as I looked around the room before noticing its striking design. A mixture of brown and dark green with wall drawings of trees and paintings about nature... as if the room was the embodiment of a garden or something!

"Hurry up, Nerva..." Mark's urgent voice made me head to the bathroom quickly to take a shower and change my clothes. When I left the room, I was completely shocked: golden light completely covered the place because of windows that extended from floor to ceiling. All the furniture was white and went perfectly with the remaining three walls, which were dark brown, just like the color of the curtains.

"I asked you to hurry up...!" Mark's hand grabbed my wrist and quickly pulled me out of the house, leaving me astonished by every room or hall we passed!

"Wait a minute, Mark. Where are we? Whose house is this?!" I asked him with a mix of shock and suspense. This house was very beautiful...

"It's yours... our wedding gift...!"

What the fuck—what was he saying?!

"I'm not joking," he said with a laugh before adding, "Wipe that shocked expression off your face. Come on, tell me, what do you think?"

Wasn't he serious? It was incredible!

When we stepped completely outside the house and I looked at it from the outside, I was completely speechless. The house was completely isolated and surrounded by trees on all sides, tucked far away from the noise of the city and its heavy traffic. In short, its location was absolutely perfect. From now on, I could picture myself driving out here every day!

"Come on, tell me... do you like it?!" Mark asked me again, and I could sense the pride in his voice.

I looked at the house again, feeling my eyes water before I hugged him tightly and whispered, "It's so beautiful... so beautiful! I can't describe it..."

For a moment, he returned the hug before pushing me away, saying with some enthusiasm, "You haven't seen the surroundings yet. Let's have breakfast first before we go."

I grabbed his arm as he started walking away and asked, "Where are we going?!"

Mark simply put his finger to his mouth, gestured for me to be silent, whispered, "It's a surprise," and then led me to a tree near the house, underneath which sat two chairs and a table with some food. Jam, cheese, some olives, bread, butter, and strawberry juice.

I sat down while Mark put some cheese on his bread and started eating after pouring me some juice.

"When did you plan all this?" I asked in complete confusion.

"Since the moment you agreed to become my wife...!" He smiled at me with some tension. I pretended to be happy for a moment before nodding and telling him, "It's a nice surprise..."

Mark smiled and started eating. He was really happy, although I couldn't yet digest the feeling of guilt growing within me. Still, I smiled back at him and tried my best to embrace the atmosphere forming around me. I would leave my doubts behind, and when the moment came, I would be ready. I would be fully prepared to become Mrs. Nerva Mark Stefanos in every sense. Now, I was going to enjoy myself!

I smeared bread with jam and ate it, an involuntary smile curving my mouth. I loved jam, and with a glass of juice, the breakfast was incredible!

"Come on, we have to get back before dark!" Mark said as he carried some of the dishes so I could carry the rest to the kitchen on the ground floor. It was an open kitchen equipped with all modern appliances and a beautiful light green color.

"Leave it, we'll wash it later. We only have two weeks here and we have to use them before we go back to London and resume our normal lives," Mark said, placing the plates in the sink. Then I felt his hands gently grab mine.

I nodded with some enthusiasm because, honestly, I didn't really love this kind of remote place. Yes, in pictures, on TV, and on my phone, I loved all of this, but when it came to reality, I preferred modern, urban places!

"But... I didn't pack—"

"No, it's all in the backpack you'll find in the closet..." Mark added as he headed for another room.

I walked into the bedroom on the second floor and opened the closet to find a black backpack containing exploration clothes, climbing gear, ropes, and a small dagger. In fact, everything needed for an actual expedition of discovery!

When did he prepare all this?

Knowing him over the past year, Mark had always been a very calm person. Today was the first time I was discovering that he loved adventures and green nature. This was a hidden side of my husband that I had to get to know, and although it wasn't entirely my style, I put on my beige shorts, a dark red T-shirt, a hat, and hoisted the heavy bag onto my back. It clearly contained all the tools we needed, so I wasn't going to risk moving anything into a smaller bag!

"It's getting late, my dear! It's nine o'clock now!" I found Mark standing outside with all his equipment and clothes, a long gun hanging over his shoulder.

"Are we going fishing or something?!" Well, I was stunned, I won't hide it. I had never touched a firearm before!

He laughed and shouted, "No... it's just for safety, we aren't hunting any animals, dear! We're just exploring the wilderness around us!"

I let out a long sigh of relief before walking up to him to take a closer look at the gun he was carrying. I really didn't like this!

"Then let's move...!" Mark yelled again, setting off and looking at everything around him with an exaggerated fascination that almost felt like an act. Was he really this happy just because he was in a forest?!

"Hurry up, the second surprise is waiting...!" He shouted from the dense bushes ahead, which made me push myself and speed forward.

***

This is getting stressful as hell.

I whispered internally, feeling the stifling heat. The sun had climbed high into the sky, and the clock was approaching one in the afternoon. Yet Mark was running here and there, photographing everything with his mobile phone.

"Let's rest a little... I'm tired!" I paused, stretched my aching body, and called out to Mark. This was exhausting! How much longer were we going to walk? Were we planning to cross the entire forest?

"Come on, Nerva... it's not much further. We can rest after we reach the chestnut tree!" Mark's voice echoed ahead before he appeared, looking almost entirely drenched in sweat. Exhaustion covered every inch of him to the point that even his voice sounded strained.

How could we not have rested since nine in the morning? That was over three and a half hours!

"Let's rest a little... I can barely stand on my feet!" I said in a tired tone. Mark shook his head dismissively, "We should try to arrive early so we can head back early!" But seeing my state, he finally stopped, took off his bag, pulled out a bottle of water, and drank.

My thirst didn't go away, and my throat stayed dry. "Listen, Mark... I'm not walking another centimeter without resting and eating."

Seeing my firmness, he finally reached into his bag for a bottle of juice and a sandwich. I started eating right away, completely drained. My energy revived a bit after I drank half a bottle of juice and water.

"Nerva..." Mark turned around, stood up, and approached me with a nervous expression. "I'm really sorry for rushing you, honey... but I really can't wait to show you that place, which is why I wasn't very considerate of you. Please forgive me!"

Well, I was frankly surprised. I smiled, walked toward him, and grabbed his hand. "There's no need to apologize. I understand your excitement. So let's hurry!" I pulled him by the hand and walked quickly in the direction he had been heading moments before.