CHAPTER 123: A NEW PLACE TO CALL HOME

The two-week honeymoon passed like a body of water drying up in a hot desert. And Dalton felt like it was the best two weeks of his life. He felt so privileged to be the husband of the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen, with such a beautiful soul. Maya painted his pitch-black life with her smiles, love, affection, and her beauty, and of course, her food. He never thought he would have such a beautiful life full of joy, happiness, and the magic of love. He thought he had forever lost that pure happiness he experienced when he was a kid. The happiness Vico stole away. Oh boy, he was wrong! Maya brought that happiness back into his life tenfold, and he vows to make sure to paint her life with blissful happiness too, and never make her cry again. She will only know happiness.

They spent two weeks biking down an isolated pathway from their mountain home, which leads deep into the rainforest every morning, then had plenty of sex around every corner in the house. They tasted all the delicious delicacies this small Alaskan mountain town has to offer, more lovemaking, and more trips to the town. They hiked twice and went mountain hiking once. Then they went rafting in a lake nearby yesterday. It was a fun two-week vacation for them, and now it’s the last day.

And Dalton has a question for Maya. It’s a big and important decision that she will have to make, and Dalton was dreading asking her. If she said yes, it would allow him to keep her away from her deranged father, Vico until he found a way to get rid of him forever.

"Hey bro," Aiden’s voice emits from Dalton’s phone. They were on FaceTime."Dude, I know you’re still on your honeymoon, but jerk your head out of that space and pay attention to what I’m saying."

Dalton massages his temple. "What were you talking about?"

Aiden rolled his eyes, "I said I had gotten rid of all of your enemies, including men who were out for your blood, because you took their companies away from them, and all the other men with a vendetta against you, because they are foolishly jealous of you. So, big bro, you can enjoy your marriage in peace."

Dalton gave him a scolding look, "You went on a murderous rampage."

Aiden’s expression turned twisted and sinister. "Yeah, I’m off the leash because our two goody-shoes brother is away, so I can feed the hungry beast inside me."

Dalton’s mood further dampened. This is another reason for keeping Maya away from Vico. Aiden, being a psychopathic killer, is a product of the brutality of Vico kidnapping them when they were just little kids and nearly torturing them to death until he gained the courage to kill one of Vico’s henchmen and free himself and Aiden from captivity.

"Don’t worry, bro. I killed the evil ones and only threatened the normal ones. I only kill bad men."

Dalton grunts, "Thank you as always."

Aiden’s face lights up, like fireworks blazing in the sky, "I will always have your back, bro. Don’t worry, I will soon get rid of Vico. I’m working on it."

Dalton shook his head, "That shouldn’t be your priority. Your priority should be Haven, your wife." Dalton felt strange calling Haven his wife. He never thought they would form a friendship, let alone get married. Maya explained to him that they had been unknowingly pining for each other, and she realized that through their bickerings and banterings whenever they found themselves in the same room. But this sudden marriage felt rushed to him, even though Maya had also explained Haven’s predicament of being forced to marry a stranger due to an oath her parents had made years ago, before she was even born. But he still wondered. Aiden could have gotten rid of that man in any other way. Instead, he decided to enter into a six-month contract marriage with Haven.

"You are in love with Haven, aren’t you?"

Aiden blushed. "Yes.

Dalton raised an eyebrow and murmured under his breath, "This is serious." He had never thought that Aiden would ever fall in love or even with someone who is all bubbly, all-sunshine girl like Haven. He was too much of a dark cloud. They were so polar opposites.

"I remember you raging about how she wasn’t your type. You even said she was too young for you. Even though you are both in your twenties"

Aiden chuckled from the screen. "Don’t know, man. I feel tremendous happiness every time I speak to her. And when I look at her, I feel normal, because she calms the roaring beast within me." Aiden’s eyes were soft and sparkling, taking Dalton by surprise. He had never seen him look so soft.

But that’s the beauty of love. It changes even a crazy man like Aiden into a soft puppy, and he deserves to find this kind of happiness after the hell he has been through since he was a kid

"I’m happy for you. Maya said. Haven hasn’t yet admitted she has feelings for you, and she thinks this is just a 6-month contract marriage, but you are bent on making her your wife till death do you part"

Aiden smirked deviously. "Hell yeah, she’s my new obsession. You know me. When I desire something, I never stop until I have full control of it. I’m never going to let her go. She’s not going to get rid of me that easily."

"Well, forget about Vico. He is never going to find out where Maya and I will be living now. I have made sure of that, so concentrate on wooing Haven. We will deal with Vico later."

Aiden nods. "Agreed."

"Alright, we will talk another time ." Dalton ended the FaceTime.

He took a long breath. It’s time to speak with Maya.

***

Dalton stood at the doorway watching Maya hymns as she stirred something on the stove.

"What’s cooking?" he asked as he approached her. He gave her a quick kiss on her exposed shoulder, and she giggled, turning around to face him.

"Dalton," she pulls him in for a sweet kiss.

"This recipe is from your father’s cookbook."

"Have a taste." She dipped the sauce into her hand, and Dalton took her hand, lowered his head, and licked the sauce from her palm.

"I remember this sauce. My dad loved making it, and yours rivals his."

"Really?" Maya beams, but then she frowns, there’s something wrong with you. "Is something bothering you?" She turns off the stove to give Dalton all her attention.

Dalton sighed. "I... I..."

"Actually, I have something to tell you, Dalton. " Maya cut him off. "Can we stay at this house longer, please?" She grasped his hand in a pleading manner. "I love this house and this town. Can we stay here forever? Please, babe."

Dalton’s eyes flew in shock. "I was about to ask the same question," he said, taking both of her hands in his. "I want us to stay in this house and Alaskan town forever and build a family here."

"Yes! A new life. Wow, our thoughts are in sync! Is this the power of marriage?" she asked, laughing.

"I guess so." He indulged her.

"But what about your job as a chef at the restaurant? Your friends?" Dalton asked, worrying that she might change her mind due to the reasons he had mentioned.

"Phones exist for a reason, and my cooking vlogs have taken off on the internet. I have gained a huge following and am on my way to becoming a famous Internet chef. So it’s time for me to quit my day job and focus on building my own brand." She took a breath and continued, " I do not want to return home. Although I’m healed and in a better place in life, but that city, which we call home, is still marked by the evidence of the misfortunes I suffered. I do not wish to start a new life there. I want a new place, a new beginning. That’s why I wish to call this Alaskan town my new home."

Dalton gathered her in his arms, wrapping her like a blanket. "We will be happy here," he said, scooping her up and taking her to bed to make love to her.

Maya lay peacefully on his chest, soundly asleep. He felt an immense sense of relief. He had finally succeeded in concealing Maya from Vico’s reach. The only concern was whether Vico could track her friends’ phones to locate her, but Aiden had already taken care of that. He had hacked into Haven and Luara’s phones, monitoring their activities and preventing anyone else from accessing their devices. Additionally, he had set up surveillance on them.

This was a clear invasion of their privacy, but it was an unavoidable necessity to ensure Maya’s safety. Aiden was also monitoring her phone to keep her location hidden, regardless of the activities she engaged in.

Now, he was absolutely confident that Vico would not be able to find her.