Hellbound Heart

Elle ran to Abi with a big smile plastered across her face. As she ran over, her hands were reaching her welcome to the lady that had so quickly caught her admiration and partiality. She was visibly excited and happy and Abi looked exactly the same as well.

The lady even immediately got out of the car, not minding the rain and ran over to meet Elle halfway. Well, coincidentally, the rain had weakened since Alexander and Abigail arrived, and now the pouring rain had turned into a mere drizzle.

"Yo! Sebby!" Alexander approached Sebastian with a knowing smile on his face as the two ladies hugged and chatted animatedly with each other. From the way that they jumped straight into their conversation, it was as though they had not seen each other for ages already.

Sebastian tore his eyes off from his wife with much difficulty and looked at Alexander. "Don't you guys have any umbrella?" he asked, causing Alexander's brows to lift.

"What…" he leaned against Sebastian and whispered in a conspiratory manner, "…did we interrupt something?"

When Sebastian did not respond, Alex looked at him in amused disbelief. "Damn man, I already gave you almost an hour. I have already read your message an hour ago and stalled on purpose and yet here you are still looking so grumpy? Why haven't you gotten it on, boy?"

"We really need to go, Alex." Sebastian said as though he never heard a single thing Alex had just said. "My wife can't stay in the rain and get wet for long. She had just recovered from her sickness not too long ago."

And he walked towards the ladies, causing Alex to laugh out soundlessly and shook his head.

The short trip to Alex and Abi's house was loud and lively as Elle, Abigail, and Alex talked nonstop to each other. Their personalities matched each other and their topics of conversations flowed without a hitch, resulting in a cheerful and upbeat momentum.

Meanwhile, Sebastian who had been relegated to being the driver remained absolutely quiet until finally, the car drove in and parked in a garage. It had been quite foggy since they entered the village, so Elle was not able to see anything clearly of what the village looked like. She was actually quite curious and had been looking out the window from time to time to have an idea of how the place was. However, not being able to see did not trouble her that much.

Elle and Abi continued chatting even after they got out of the car when Sebastian's voice rang.

"Iza!" he called out for Elle, causing everyone to look at the man who was already by the door, holding their luggage in his hands.

Him using that nickname again had Elle feeling a warm blush creeping across her face.

"You really need to get changed first. If you stay in those cold and drenched clothes any longer, you'll end up getting sick." He seemed to be trying his best to keep his voice and expression calm.

But it seems he had failed at his attempt as Alex and Abi pressed their lips together to stop their smiles. His sharp eyes could pick up the trembling of Alex's shoulders, knowing that the man was just short of bursting out into laughter.

"Geez…" Alex sighed, "this grumpy little devil…" Facing Elle, Alex smiled at her. "Go on Elle, or your husband will probably blow up or something if you don't go to him now."

Abi chuckled and gently shooed Elle towards her husband, looking at Elle with understanding. "Right, dear. Go on… we'll continue our chat later during dinner."

She winked at Elle and with that, Elle quickly went over to Sebastian. Once the duo entered the door, Alex chuckled. "Goodness, that little devil. I didn't know he could be this amusing."

"I'm really surprised too." Abi giggled and the two of them linked hands and entered the house as well to go prepare themselves for dinner.

…

The sight that welcomed Elle and Sebastian the moment they went to the dining room was a heartwarming scene of a couple preparing the table together.

The apron on Alexander and his pulled-up sleeves told her that he must have helped Abi during the entire cooking process too. They were just so sweet in Elle's eyes, so happy and perfect together. They were, in Elle's opinion, the loveliest couple she had ever seen. So lovely that they were worthy of being envious of.

Soon, the four of them sat around the table. The dinner began and of course, the lively chatting continued especially between the two women.

"It's a holiday until tomorrow, so the kids are at their cousin's place right now. The twins always go to visit there when they don't have to go to school." Abi said when Elle asked about the twins' whereabouts. She had missed those two witty and lovely kids.

"Oh… I see… they must really love their cousin and the place."

"They love to stay there. Since we moved here four years ago, the twins had been frequently going there and now, they've fallen utterly in love with the place. Well, it's mostly because of their cousin too."

"Their cousin must be as lovely as the two of them."

"He is." Abi grinned.

"They'll be back here tomorrow night. We're going to go fetch them." Alex butted into their conversation shamelessly, smiling widely at Elle. "If you like, you are most welcome to come with us. I think you'll find the place fascinating too."

Elle smiled back. "I'd love to …" she responded in excitement and turned to Sebastian, "we are following along with them, right? Seb…" she trailed off and her smile slowly faded at the expression she saw plastered on his face.

He instantly hid it well but Elle already saw it. He did not seem to like the idea of them going along with Alex and Abi to the place they were talking about.