Chapter 1: Against all odds

Tabloids were covering massively on the latest sensation news of the King of mystery thriller movies, Sebastian Lu's divorce from his slightly passed one-year marriage with his influencer wife, Janice Akashia in the capital city of Qi Tai, Wang Wan. Janice was upfront with the public that she did not want to divorce but Sebastian's agency reported it was his final decision and the couple had been living in separation for the past two years.

Violet Chu read the news and switched off her phone screen as she sighed, lamenting at her own divorce after ten years of marriage. People used to say a happy life was to find a man you love, marry, and have children. She did all that except to have children. 

Her husband, Dexter Liong, was a great lover for a brief two years though they grew up together as family friends in Lagopool, a small country at the end of Huasia. Things changed when they were made to tie down the knot by both sides of the family. 

Their marriage was nearly an arranged one since their birth. Perhaps a part of him was rebelling against the ordeal. He often used working late as an excuse to return home very late or sometimes not returning at all. Most of the time, Violet often wondered if there were any of those times infidelity came in. 

The breaking point came during the recent Chinese New Year reunion celebration where she was dissed by his relatives for being infertile but Dexter who was sitting next to her just kept quiet and did nothing to defend her. That was where she thought to herself, this was not a life she signed up for. 

This was not even her fault, to begin with, given the last time they were ever intimate was two months ago while they were drunk after a friend's wedding. Thereafter, due to his late nights away from home even on weekends, they had no chance at all to be intimate. 

The only reason she held on was to uphold the wishes of his dead father which she felt was pointless at this stage. So, she stood and clapped at everyone's dissed before announcing her shocking decision to divorce. It did not only come as a shock to the family but also to Dexter himself.

The moment she stepped out of the banquet was the moment she knew she had enough of living a life dictated by others and for once she wanted to go on a search for the meaning of her life. For once living her life for herself.

Hence, she flew off to Kung Tap Island for a short gateway to gather her thoughts despite multiple spam calls from family members and friends. It was a Chinese New Year getaway she had always dreamt of, away from the bussing celebrations, outdated customs and traditions during the tough days, and unnecessary splurges just to please the elderly. 

Instead, she would rather pamper herself and enjoy a relaxing rest after a chaotic rat race in her corporate career as a human resource assistant manager. Even that, though on the surface looked like a successful career, was a facade she put up with just to live up to the status of the Liong's prominent legacy reputation in their deteriorating manufacturing of herbal medicine family business. 

Kung Tap was not very famous yet among tourists but it had garnered a great reputation for skillful tattoo masters. She was tempted to get one as a memory of her brave decision. 

Sebastian, who was so fond of tattoos that his whole body was full of them, so happened was getting a new one from his brother-in-law in Kung Tap while visiting him and his sister to escape from the heat of paparazzi chasing him for news updates on his divorce. 

As Sebastian was about to enter his brother-in-law's empty shop, he noticed the only customer his brother-in-law had was pacing in front of the alley, anxious and doubtful.

"You're waiting in the queue?" He asked as Violet stopped pacing and took a good look at his eyes. They were familiar though he was wearing a mask and a beanie, Violet could not recall from where she had seen those eyes before.

She nodded skeptically after slowly recognising he was the guy in the tabloid news she read earlier cause his sharp gaze with his thick eyebrows gave him away. That was his trademark looks and the reason for his successful entertainment career. 

"You could go inside… There's no one. I…" He stepped behind her. "... can let you go first." He offered her. 

"No, no… please go ahead first." She rejected politely. Looking at how nervous she was he chuckled. 

"Your first time?" He asked as she nodded.

"Why don't you come inside and watch getting mine first?" He offered as she blinked at the unexpected offer. 

"Can I?" She asked curiously as he smiled behind his mask and led the way.

"Hey hey, Sebby! Happy New Year!" Greeted Master Gerald Aloku. 

"Hey hey, Happy New Year bro in law! Hi, sis! Happy New Year!" Sebastian greeted his sister, Carrissa Lu, who just stepped out from the pantry.

"You! Of all the places, how could you not update anyone where are you? Oh, come here…" Amid her nagging, she went to kiss his younger brother's cheeks. 

"Hiding? Where's your manager?" She asked sternly as he nodded. 

"Holiday… What do you expect? It's Chinese New Year!" He pointed out before Gerald noticed Violet's existence. 

"Oh, sorry miss. Didn't notice you earlier. You're too petite and were hidden by this buffed-up fella. How can I help you?" Gerald asked as Violet shyly shared a glance with Sebastian.

"She's with me… She's here to see me getting the tattoo we talked about before deciding if she wants one too." Sebastian introduced as Gerald and Carrisa were surprised.

"You getting caught with another girl again? Are you out for rumors or something?" Carissa pulled him aside to nag. 

"No, no… listen, she was outside and is your customer. So I just let her in…" Carrisa smacked him lightly as Gerald chuckled. 

"Well, let's get started! What's your name, Miss?" Gerald asked.

"Violet…" She replied walking into a comfy room as Gerald gave her a seat by his side while she watched closely he worked on Sebastian's right arm with a heartbreak design. She was fascinated as she had always loved arts and if it was not for the poor financial background of her family, she would have pursued arts during her university days.

"Are you ready for yours?" Sebastian asked when Gerald went to clean up for a bit as he rested. 

"What? Me? No, no… It's alright." Violet still could not muster up the courage to get one.

"It doesn't hurt really…" Sebastian tried convincing when Gerald returned.

"What design do you have in mind if you really want to get one?" Gerald asked as she gave it a thought.

"A lucky charm." She spoke her mind as Gerald smiled. 

"A four-leaf clover?" He suggested as Violet's eyes lit up. 

"We could get you something small and simple. On your right arm too?" Gerald suggested and showed her a sample. Both men could tell she was excited but she was just too nervous.

Sebastian swiftly helped her to take her seat while Gerald prepared. Sebastian made her look away from the needle. "Think of a place you would like to be at this moment…" Sebastian prompted as she began to relax.

"The beach…" She said as Gerald started the needle which startled her but Sebastian blocked her view.

"What would you like to see at the beach?" Sebastian continued as their gazes met and it was her first time realising there was something different about his eyes which brought out the charming bad boy look. It mesmerised her for a moment to ever see such beauty that when the needle Gerald used was touching her skin, she could not feel a thing. 

"Nothing… Just listening to the waves… Enjoying the heat of the sun… Maybe falling asleep eventually… Anything just to see this look the whole day. Yeah…" She thought to herself in mind when Gerald quickly wrapped up. 

"Alright, we are done! Good job!" Gerald praised as she turned around to take a look at the small green clover and smiled. It felt a little prickly painful but she was proud that she had gotten one dream come true.

She needed one lucky charm since she was starting a new life soon. 

"Now, to the beach shall you?" Sebastian cheered which made her blink many times trying to recall if she had mentioned her thoughts on the last part.

"I said that?" She asked as he nodded while helping her to get down from the seat.

She was a little surprised. "And?" She coaxed for more as she was worried of embarrassment.

"That was it… So, what did you want to do by the beach?" He asked as she sighed in relief.

"I don't know… I just came well…" Violet was lost for words to explain herself for a moment.

"Young lady, for your courage, that clover is free." Gerald offered as Violet quickly rejected.

"Oh, no no… you shouldn't! You're doing business after all and it's the first day of Chinese New Year. That's not very good…" She lamented as Gerald and Carrisa chuckled.

"Now, what are you doing here on such an auspicious day?" Carrisa asked as Violet found herself in a difficult position to explain.

"Vacation…" She ended up saying. 

"Alright, here's a brochure as a guide for you to enjoy! To see the waves, enjoy some heat, fall asleep, and trust me there are a lot better looks out there! Have fun! Happy Chinese New Year, Ms. Violet!" Carrisa passed the brochure to her as Violet rushed out in embarrassment before Sebastian caught up to Carrisa.

"I'm heading out for a bit…" Sebastian said to Carrisa and she instantly caught on to his brother's intention. She smiled hoping he could perhaps find some solace with strangers on the island.

"Hey… Violet was it?" Sebastian asked when he caught up with her. 

Violet paused by the sidewalk and nodded with a little embarrassment. She kept imagining his looks behind the mask as she shook her thoughts away. She knew she was not in the position to start anything romantically new. Neither did she ever want to ever again after spending so much time on marriage. 

He chuckled at her reaction. Somehow he felt comfortable with her for some reason and thought it would not do any harm to just hang out. 

"Would you like to tour around together?" He asked as her frowns were slowly turning into smiles.