The Secret Island

"Do you think Celine would know if we are spying on them?" Celine's parents were lurking in the corner of the room, observing their daughter and her boyfriend from a distance. From this angle, it perfectly gave them a clear view of the couple. It was also a rare occasion for Celine to be in the kitchen at all. They knew that she was a terrible cook. No matter how many compliments they had given to her burnt toast in the past, they knew in their heart that her being in the kitchen was also a risk of a fire that could break out at any time.

"I think she knows, but she doesn't care. You know how she is. She does whatever she wants." Celine's father, who pretended to read the news on his tablet in case his daughter looked his way, said. He knew Celine well. She never cares much about others' opinions if she sets her mind on something.

It didn't take long for their small chitchat and spying that Celine's mother yelped in excitement after seeing something she didn't expect.

"Oh my, they are now hugging Pa. Isn't that cute?"

"I think she is in a serious relationship with this one. I have never seen her this happy for a long time...."

"Haha. Don't let talk about it."

"What? Do you know something? Let's just talk about it."

And his wife suddenly really got into the mood for talking. They were chatting and whispering and chuckled at the information shared. And when they were least expected, amidst the stories, a voice called out. "Papa... mommy..." Celine's polite voice echoed.

"Whoa!"

"I will stay over with Martin tonight. So, just want to tell you this. It's late, and I don't want him to ride a cab home. I also don't want to drive home alone, so yeah... staying over." Being an only child, she was always informing her parents where she was and in detail. Celine was almost kidnapped once or twice when she was in kindergarten, so cautious is a habit.

"What? Why do you sleep over at his place?" Her mom objected. Celine was surprised at her grimace. Her parents were not conservative in the least. Besides, she spent multiple nights with the man in the past. Why are they against it this time? "Why don't you ask Martin to stay over at our place? We have plenty of guestrooms. It's late, as you said. You don't have to go out."

Celine smiled at that. Her parents were always very considerate.

****

Celine never invited any of her ex-boyfriends to stay over at her house. Her parents barely knew any of her exes. Showing Martin her bedroom at her parents' house was something that she could not dream could happen in a hundred years. She felt weird doing it, opening her bedroom to show him the room she had spent time in since childhood. There was a big teddy bear she had received as a gift at the age of five next to her bed. And she didn't only have one doll. She had an army of dolls she received as gifts from her childhood friends, her parents, and the executives and friends of the family. She kept them all. Although her bedroom was huge, they took up significant spaces in the room that was not common for a woman her age. The bedroom wall was still cute pink, the colour that her parents thought the kid version of her would love, which she did. She had outgrown that phase for decades, and still, she hadn't changed it. She rarely changes anything about her bedroom. Some toys were donated. There was an additional work desk, a bookshelf, and a new walk-in closet, but other than that, nothing had changed. The room was a time capsule and her comfort zone. She never shared this space of her life with anyone. To think that she was about to share this with Martin....

"I think you can go straight to the guestroom without visiting my room...." Celine tried to delay opening her room.

"I am fine with anything, but you mentioned you wanted to show your room to me. I guess you are changing your mind?" Martin wasn't being pushy. But it was her that rejected the idea.

"No... I really want to share this part of my life with you." She didn't know why, but she wanted to him her room earlier.

She took a deep breath and opened her room, and pulled Martin's hand inside. He was a bit confused but eventually smiled.

".... your room is cute." It was he who said it first. Celine was too embarrassed to say anything.

"It's not too childish, isn't it? Like I'm sleeping in a kid's room." It was her comfort zone, no matter how successful she had accomplished. To be able to come home and see her parents and sleep in the room that she felt familiar with gave her the comfort and sense of security to battle what came next.

This room was her small world, her private world, and now Martin had entered it.

When she looked at him standing inside her bedroom and observing its content, she couldn't help but be nervous.

"I guess you have the courage to ask me to work with you but no courage to invite me inside your room?" He asked. She heard the playful tone in his voice. "Well..." She was sure she was looking shifty.

"Thank you." He touched her hand and looked into her eyes. Her heartbeat was faster.

"Thank you for letting me be part of your life, darling."

We smiled at each other, and no one spoke anything.

We had been through a lot together, both smiles and tears. We understood more about each other, and Celine thought she understood something a lot more.

She looked at his hand holding hers and chuckled when she thought about the past. He was that guy she strongly disliked the first time we met.

And now he was standing in her bedroom.

Celine let that feeling sinks in. She found out that having him here was more natural than she thought. It didn't feel as strange as she thought. He deserved to be here... she loved to have him here... in her life. "Did you just chuckle?"

"I let you be a part of my life. Don't forget to let me be a part of your life, Martin."

"If it's about the stuff we talked about at the dining table... then...."

"Let's talk about work tomorrow, shall we? We have to leave together anyway, isn't it? And I hope you can go to my office with me. I have an hour or two of online meetings, but the rest of the day, I'm relatively free." It was like scheduling an interview with him.

"Sure..." He wasn't acting that certain, but he nodded.

"Alright then, I think we are done for the day. Let me grab you a spare towel and lead you to the guest room. Okay, follow me? And why are you just standing there?"

"Hmmm..." Martin didn't move, and his face was turning red. Celine thought she was not mistaken about what he felt.

"I've stayed in your room countless times, Martin. C'mon."

"It's your place. I've never been inside your bedroom and sleeping over at your house before, so... it's a new experience." "How so?"

"Quite exciting..."

"Quite?"

"No, I'm super thrilled this happened."

Celine smiled at that. Martin just didn't know how cute he looked at that time.