All Her Secrets

Catherine pushed open the huge floor- to-ceiling windows, revealing a small flatland with a row of lounge chairs next to it. She found a thin blanket and covered herself with it, lazily leaning back on the chair, basking in the sunlight.

Seeing her relaxing so comfortably, Branden joined her on the lounge chair. The afternoon sun wasn’t as intense. It only brought warmth when it touched their bodies, without any stinging sensation. Triston and the others had finished placing their luggage and gathered in the lobby as planned.

Everyone else had arrived, but Catherine and Branden were nowhere to be seen for a long time. This made the rest of them feel a bit strange, especially Triston, who was the host.

He raised an eyebrow, smiling wickedly at the others around him. “Well, could the two big shots be having a date, leaving us here?”

Just as he finished speaking, Ronin was the first to confront Triston. “Stop talking nonsense, or I’ll tear your mouth apart. Our boss would never do something like that!”

That serious look on Ronin’s face made Triston not dare to underestimate him. Ronin usually appeared like a harmless boy, but when he got serious, he was far more ruthless than others.

Anything related to Catherine was a sensitive topic for him, and it was best not to provoke him! Triston shut his mouth, and Yesenia suddenly became excited.

“Oh, I know what Super Catherine and my uncle are doing. Check the group chat, guys.”

Before they set off, Aidan specially arranged a group chat. Everyone was in the group chat except Branden. The reason for not including Branden was that everyone felt that he was unpredictable, and his temper was difficult to gauge.

Without Branden in the group chat, they could speak more freely. Upon hearing Yesenia’s words, everyone immediately took out their phones and opened the WhatsApp group chat.

They were immediately drawn to a photo that Yesenia had just sent in the group chat. The image in the photo was extremely beautiful.

The sea was crystal blue. The beach shone like gold. And two people were resting on a white beach chair. Yesenia captured the perfect moment of the two of them sunbathing. The combination of a handsome man and a beautiful woman was truly eye- catching.

If it weren’t for the evidence being right in front of them, it would be hard for anyone to believe that such a beautiful photo was taken sneakily and not by a professional photographer for a magazine cover.

Indeed, even a casual snapshot can be turned into a masterpiece when someone looks good. Aidan gave a thumbs-up to Yesenia, saying, “Impressive, Yesenia. You managed to capture such an amazing photo,”

Who would dare to take photos of Branden secretly? Unless they wanted to have a long and painful death in various ways, perhaps. Yesenia was lucky. Her room was just one floor above Catherine’s.

At that time, Yesenia just wanted to enjoy the view from the balcony, but little did she know that she would see such a breathtaking scene. And she naturally wanted to capture it to share with her friends.

Ronin glanced at the photo and felt relieved. His boss was just resting, not abandoning them to have fun.

Seeing everyone discussing Catherine’s photo, Ronin became a bit angry. “Boss works so hard every day. What’s wrong with her taking a break? How can you all complain like this? Seriously, you guys should return to your rooms and rest!”

Except for Triston and Aidan, who were still excited, the rest of them just wanted to rest. They had gone to the island for a vacation, but it ended up with each of them sunbathing in their rooms.

Triston was so angry that he stomped his foot, complaining that everyone was not following the island owner’s arrangements.

By the time the sun was about to set, Catherine slowly woke up. When she opened her eyes, it was dim all around her. She looked closely and realized that there was a parasol above her. No wonder she didn’t feel anything after sunbathing all afternoon, and she had slept so comfortably.

“Are you awake?”

A gentle voice reached Catherine’s ears, diverting her attention. She turned and saw Branden standing beside her with one hand casually in his pocket.

He stood against the sunlight, enveloped in a golden glow. The intense sunset made it difficult to see his facial expression, but it perfectly outlined his well-built features, making him charming and captivating.

As their eyes met, Catherine’s cool gaze was like a clear spring, slowly flowing into Branden’s heart, nourishing his entire being.

After a moment, Branden snapped out of it. Even he found it somewhat miraculous that every time he locked eyes with Catherine, his thoughts would drift away. It seemed that her eyes had a magical power that drew him in.

He reached out and gently stroked Catherine’s head twice.

“Shall we go eat?”

After sleeping for so long, Catherine was indeed feeling hungry. Now that she was refreshed, she needed to fill her stomach and show off her vitality. Branden’s hand was still resting on her head as Catherine nodded slightly in response.

Seeing her in her current state, Branden’s heart softened. He took her hand and said tenderly, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to eat!”

The rest of the group finally saw Catherine and Branden. The previously listless group of people became excited when they saw Catherine. They rushed over as if they had taken an adrenaline shot.

“Boss!”

“Super Catherine!”

Triston, who was sitting on the side, was dumbfounded. His eyes widened, and he looked at Aidan beside him in astonishment.

“Are they under some spell? Why are they all acting like they’re in the terminal stage of an incurable disease?”

Aidan gave him a disdainful look and whispered, “Shut up!” Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Catherine had a certain charm to her. As long as she was willing to let her guard down and interact with someone, her charm would attract them and make them worship her like a deity.

Aidan didn’t know this before, but he gradually began to understand as he watched Bryan and Yesenia fall for her one by one.

They didn’t idolize Catherine as much now because Catherine had no intention of communicating with them at all.

He could guarantee that they would be just like Bryan if Catherine gave even the slightest signal. In Triston’s words, they would all be ” under the spell.”

Dining on the island naturally revolved around seafood. Fresh seafood was caught from the sea and cooked simply, resulting in a perfect flavor.

Without excessive seasoning, the deliciousness of the seafood alone was enough to conquer everyone’s stomach. Audrey took a short video, posted it on her blog, and added a praise-filled caption.

Setting down her phone, Audrey noticed that the newly arrived prawns looked particularly fresh. She wanted to peel some for Catherine.

Catherine was different from others. She loved eating seafood but hated peeling it. Catherine refused to touch anything that required manual labor.

Audrey had just peeled one prawn when she turned her head and saw that both of Catherine’s plates were full of various freshly peeled seafood, each perfectly intact, showing the dedication of the peelers.

Audrey glanced around and saw that some of the seafood was peeled by Ronin and some by Branden. These two seemed to be competing secretly, not caring whether Catherine could finish it all, and each one was peeling more enthusiastically than the other.

Audrey silently swallowed and stuffed the messy prawn meat she had peeled into her mouth.

It seemed that she was destined to be unnecessary here.