"Phor Tat!! What a surprise?!" Carissa greeted him warmly as she ran to hug Sebastian. He tried to calm her down.
"Shhh… act natural. Don't say anything about that country." Sebastian whispered to Carissa, who instantly understood they were not alone.
"Hello! We're here again!" Sebastian then greeted Gerald, who stood by the side watching all the fake greetings unfolding, wondering what was going on till Violet typed on her phone, "We are being followed!"
Gerald instantly nodded and proceeded to inform the whole village to be on alert about the situation as they escorted the couple into a private room. Gerald had gotten used to all of these tricks ever since Sebastian debuted. He went on to turn up the volume of rock music to cover up their conversation.
"What happened? Why are you both together?" Gerald frantically asked as Carrissa quickly returned with some tea.
"Yes… Ohhh, are you both…" Carrissa threw them a grin when she noticed how Sebastian was putting his left arm protectively around Violet's waist.
Sebastian closed his eyes momentarily before nodding with a smile. "Yes, we are dating in secret." He tried to embrace the fact that his sister was the next person he officially declared his relationship to.
"But your divorce is…" Gerald interrupted, only for Sebastian to nod.
"It's finalised. Jan sent in the papers recently. Now, I don't know who is following us. We have a situation in Qi Tai. I'm about to end my contract with the current agency. I am not signing a new contract…" Sebastian explained his situation.
"Is that why the news last night… Oh my… Mum was so worried, but said your manager, Sam, explained to her already…" Carrissa clarified as Violet's shoulders dropped slightly in relief, knowing she could always count on Sam on such matters.
"That's her brother…" Sebastian introduced him and soon realised it was a very sinister time to make such an introduction.
"And…" Sebastian paused before continuing with his bad news. "She's also threatened by the agency… So, I suspect they are tailing her, but she's here for the tourist guide exams this Saturday. So we will be strolling around a little…" Sebastian added with a wince.
"Don't worry… I have informed the village people to be on high alert. Once those suspicious parties are caught, they will be forced to leave the island. Just dress down more for now." Gerald reminded Sebastian as he nodded.
Carrissa, who was overjoyed with their new relationship and their surprise visit, quickly went to get busy in the kitchen with Gerald to prepare them a hearty dinner, indirectly wanting to teach Violet hands-on Kung Tap's and Phut Bi's local delicacies.
Violet felt her exams were getting easier at this rate and was glad Sebastian was with her. She touched her lucky clover tattoo on her right arm, gratefully, when they were heading towards a private chartered motor boat. There were a few tourists who got on board with them, but the couple was facing the other end of the motor boat with some privacy.
Violet had been studying Sebastian's look all the while. She smiled, remembering it was the exact look he had when she first met him: free-spirited, bright, shining eyes, though hidden behind his shades this time, but they were fueled with passion waiting to be released, followed by his peaceful demeanour. She locked her fingers subconsciously with his as their gazes met with warm smiles while cosying up to each other, overseeing the sunset view.
"You have been very quiet… but happy." Violet pointed out as he held her closer to him so they could whisper to each other. He held an opened coconut for her to sip first before holding her by her waist.
"This trip… It is a reminder for me of the reason I wanted to slow down so much. Finally having my own agency and finding you, I am at the peak of my happiness. With Jan finally letting go, I have been finding it hard to tell if it was the calm before a storm. Whether in my career or life, despite all the troubles, I know I could come back here where no one recognises me. Even if they know who I am, they only remember the Phor Tat version…" He explained as she smiled and continued admiring his relaxed self.
"I noticed… You're just the way I found you at first. That Phor Tat has returned…" She smiled widely as he stole a kiss.
"I'm sorry it took me so long to find him back for you again…" He said as they pulled away and snuggled in a moment of quiet peace. Nothing but a beautiful view of the sunset, the natural breeze blowing away all their worries and living in the moment of being by each other's side.
That night, Carissa introduced her to the local spiced coconut milk stew, slow-cooked with baby brinjals and seafood. This was usually served with roasted crispy rice for the texture and smoky fragrance. There were also various grilled seafood with chilli and soy sauce, with a lime and garlic sauce mixture. These were the locals' favourite as seafood was abundant and there was no better way but to savour them fresh with less seasoning.
After a good night's sleep, Violet was about to head out to visit the Kiadak deity nearby the next day to have a look at its description again to familiarise herself with the Uttbi language, only to notice the spies were still around and tailing her. She counted her blessings that Sebastian decided to help out Carissa with grating coconuts in the kitchen as she was going to make some coconut candies later in the afternoon.
She tried to hasten her steps to the nearby tuck shop, only to be caught up by the spies. She struggled to make eye contact with the tuck shop auntie while catching her breath as she tried to think of something she needed.
"Ah, Auntie, do you have sanitary pads?" She asked in English, but the owner of the tuck shop could not quite understand. Violet then tried to translate on her mobile but smartly added that she was being followed. She also mentioned she was staying in Carissa's house.
The auntie knew who she was, as she instantly led Violet to the back of the shop. However, that did not deter the followers whom the other villagers who spoke better English came to reprimand the two suspects.
"What are you both doing here?" One of the villagers, Toot, who was a truck driver, questioned them.
"Ah, nothing…" The two suspects decided to leave the shop, but the younger villager, who was a boat attendant, Alsam, questioned them.
"Both of you have been staying here suspiciously since yesterday. Now, tell us who you are. What are you trying to do in this village? Are you trying to sell our village away?!" Alsam bellowed as the two suspects knew they were being exposed for having a hidden agenda. They quickly ran off, only to be surrounded by other villagers who were ready to put up a fight with them.
"Now, you two better be honest. Who are you?" Alsam continued to interrogate them this time by making them kneel with pitchforks pointing at them.
"We… we are from…" Jisim, Cao Tung agency's undercover agent, stuttered, scrambling to find excuses to escape with his partner, Au Yong.
"You're both from Qi Tai ah? Who are you following? That lady inside? What does our guest have to do with you both, huh?!" Alsam continued to pester them for answers as he threatened them with a spade this time, while pointing at them.
"Ahh…. We… We are just doing our job…" Au Yong, who was frightened, started spilling the beans, only for Jisim to curse at him.
"Ha! Shut up, you two! If you don't tell us everything, you both will surely die!" Alsam threatened as Jisim began to put up a fight. The whole village began to beat him up while catching Au Yong, who tried to escape, and they handed both of them to the police, who then learned about Cao Tung agency's arrangements.
Alsam returned to Carissa's place to update all of them. "Don't worry, we have already sent them back to Qi Tai. They are related to your agency." Alsam directed it at Sebastian, who nodded with a dark gaze.
"They are asking for it…" Sebastian gripped his right hand tightly as Violet held it down and shook her head.
"They are only doing it to ensure we aren't together. Luckily, you didn't come along earlier while making this…" Violet fed him a piece of his favourite coconut candy, which he was reluctant to take a bite of but still did, as he could not resist his favourite.
"Just pretend nothing happened. And I'm going to the exams tomorrow. We have the whole village to defend us till we return on Sunday, alright? No one recognised you either…" Violet fed him more as Carissa smiled at their sweet interactions.
"Alright, thanks, Alsam. Keep us updated if you have any news, alright?" Carissa tried to dismiss Alsam, who could tell something was going on between Sebastian and Violet but chose to keep quiet as he nodded to Carissa.
"Here, take some of the coconut candy to share with everyone. Thank you so much for everyone's hard work, alright?" Carissa urged as Alsam gladly took the gift and left.
Upon learning their undercover agents were discovered and the strict villagers were not letting them track Violet further, Chao Chew Long was furious cause he felt like he was fooled by Sebastian. Though Sebastian claimed he was resting at home, Chew Long had a feeling he was not, but he could not prove it, nor could he push further with his fans hawking around the agency's every movement.
His suspicions grew about Phor Tat, a figure who was reported to be dating Violet in Kung Tap. It agitated him even more when his undercover agents had difficulty prying into Phor Tat, whom he only knew was a philanthropist co-owning Lucky Clover agency, which was newly discovered by him and Sam Chu.
All the names and connections were making him uncomfortable as he started to brew a plan to lure Sebastian back to work. That way, he could potentially have ways to tie down Sebastian with a new contract.
It was no doubt difficult to pry into Sebastian's past, as part of Phor Tat's history was not known to anyone except his mother.