Jerlina’s heart started to pound as she passed Payton High School. And as they passed through the little pub where she did her first stupid thing, her heart skipped a beat.

Even after ten years, why is everything the same?

That alleyway was where TJ almost trapped her that day when she left her part-time job… That tree is where she hit her head as she ran away from TJ… That pavement in front of that house was uneven and she sprained her ankle as she fell from her bike as TJ chased her. Her way back home where his gang members would harass her… and there are so many such places in Peyton.

After her graduation, she never came back to this place and seeing where everything went wrong made her chest tightened.

Her senior year here was the most terrifying year of her life. She did one stupid thing at the beginning of the year, which led to her breaking her friendship with Emma. And then came all her troubles.

It’s not like she liked Emma so much and shared friendship with her. Emma always looked phoney to her. But like her, Emma too was from the city. No one knew why Emma Harrison transferred schools during their junior year.

Jerlina grew up in the city and just as she was entering high school, her father had a job opportunity in Peyton and so she had to come live in this small town with people she shared nothing in common with.

Jerlina hated living in Peyton. It was all the gangs and the curfews… Also she didn’t like the townsfolk who were always curious about their business, unlike the people in the city. She had lived all her life in the city and she didn’t know who her neighbour was, which she liked. But here everything was different.

Plus the kids here were very loud and they weren’t concentrating on studies. They were very carefree, not caring for their future since most of them will start working in the lumber mills after graduation anyway.

It was a culture shock for her when she came to Peyton, and her classmates ostracised her as a ‘snob’ for wanting privacy. After a couple of years, when she found Emma, who is also from the city, she thought she had found her kindred spirit. But in the fear of being alone, she stayed with her even though she didn’t like Emma much.

I was stupid! And I still am stupid! I can never speak my mind. I should change myself. I should stop pandering to people because I don’t want to be alone.

You come alone, you go alone… I should try to live alone too.

Jeremy was silently contemplating as he drove through. He saw a car tailing them right from the clinic. He was surprised why the Shard Viper is still not backing out.

Is it that hard for him to believe that I married her? I mean, even I can’t believe that, but still…

He had an uneasy feeling regarding this. That day too, when he was taking her to the hospital, they followed him and the moment he left his turf, they pulled out their weapons to shoot at them. He had to take a U-turn to get back since he didn’t have his men with him.

Thankfully, my mum is a doctor. Otherwise…

He couldn’t even imagine what would have happened to her. His mum said she bled a lot and timely treatment saved her life. If not, he’d have lost her forever.

He turned to look at her and he could only see her reflection on the glass. She looked stressed and unwell. He thought of striking up a conversation with her to ease up her mood.

Or should I try to crack some jokes and see if I succeed this time?

Last time, when he saw her pale with pain, he wanted to help her. He tried to make jokes to entertain her and asked if she wants to have a wedding reception with him. But his jokes went over her head and she got more stressed.

Maybe she is the type who likes silence when taking a ride.

He decided to stay silent in the end.

As they passed through Peyton, his lips curved to a smile. He has had many encounters with her in the past. He never understood why she was scared of him though. All he wanted was to talk to her, but she’d run away like he was a rabid dog barking at her.

But still he couldn’t keep away from her and he would try talking to her. Since she was scared of him, he’d bring his friends with him so that she’d feel at ease and talk to him. He even asked his friends to speak good word about him to her so that she would stop and speak to him. His friends were more than happy to help the twenty one year old him who was experiencing the ‘First Love Syndrome’.

But he then had to back off because she got hurt every time he went near her. She almost broke her leg once.

Jeremy rubbed his chest. Those were the days his heartbeat was very erratic even with the thought of her. He couldn’t eat or sleep and he became really clumsy.

His heart still pounds fast like in those days, but he is able to control his other symptoms a little better now. But he didn’t know how he’ll be able to control himself with her living under the same roof as him.

I wish I don’t die of happiness by the thought she is living in my home.

Jerlina saw the sign for Wolford and was surprised the population is now sixty three. Until nine years ago this place had population in single digits.

Has he started to sell the Estate land and developing this place? But why haven’t I heard about it? And who’d like to live in this drug-infested place?

She reflexively turned to look at Jeremy and he turned to look at her at the same time and their eyes met. This was the first time Jerlina had looked him in the eye and her heart skipped a beat.

Wow! His eyes are piercingly blue! I didn’t notice that before.

Red flannel shirt and blue jeans as usual… And beard…? He looks like a stereotypical lumberjack! Does he smoke using a pipe too? Is this his style or culture?

Ah, who cares?

She immediately averted her eyes and stared out of the window. She has never been to this place before and there were only thick woods around them till then. But oddly the roads were well lit. She saw the road starting to have a little elevation and she saw some ten to fifteen family houses in the area that seemed fairly new.

As they reached the end of the road, she saw a brightly lit house in Victorian Architecture. More than a house, it should be called a mansion. She has heard her classmates mocking the Fitzgerald Mansion as ‘haunted house’ for its architecture and with the gloomy sky beneath the mansion; it is understandable if they felt that way.

But Jerlina liked Victorian Architecture and she saw the well-lit place and it didn’t look creepy for her at all.

What got her stunned was the paint color…

She expected the monster to live in a house painted black, grey, earth hues… hell even beige or white would be believable. Or blue, maybe?

But mauve? Seriously? Mauve?

“We’re home.”

She gulped hearing his grating voice.

Home? This is not my home. Why would I care about the paint color of the exteriors?

She unbuckled the seatbelt and opened the door in a hurry fearing he might try and open the door for her. She didn’t want him to do that for her.

Jeremy on the hand was stunned. He couldn’t even unbuckle his belt.

Home… Our home… I said it!

He had never thought he’d actually say ‘we’re home’ to her. He had wished he’d say that to her, but he never thought he’d actually say it to her.

But now he said it casually without even realizing.

He hurriedly got down seeing her standing at the back of the car.

Right! The planter…

She is not here because we married out of love and are starting our marital life…

He felt a sharp pain in his chest as the reality hit him.

He opened the trunk of the car. She immediately held out her hand to lift the planter by herself.

He knew she cannot lift it as he noticed her struggle before. Also it is not good for her to lift weights in her condition.

Previously two men helped move the planter to the car, but he can easily carry it by himself and he reached out to lift the planter.

*Slap*