Transmigrated: Stealing the CEO husband-Chapter 64: Stay at the temple

As Ariana stared at the statue made out of stone, she whispered the name. "Arel..."

Just then, she heard a shifting behind her back. She got goosebumps, and blood seemed to drain from her face.

The figure inched closer to her.

Ariana tightened her fists.

Closer.

"Ms. Grey—"

She wrung her first backwards with enough force to break a jaw. Luckily, her hand was caught before it could deal lethal damage.

Luiss broke out in a small smile. "Not bad."

Ariana placed a hand over her chest and gasped. "You scared the living shit out of me."

"Did I? That punch tells otherwise." Luiss remarked.

"That was self-defence."

"I think that was more of a lethal offence."

"What is President Luiss doing here?" After calming down to some extent, she asked with a serious tone.

"The same thing you are doing here," Luiss responded, casually slipping his hands in his pockets.

"Couldn’t sleep, hmmm?" Ariana asked.

Luiss hummed in response.

As they stood in silence as candles cast long shadows over the floor, Ariana felt pressured to say something. "You really surprised me, President Luiss.’

"How?"

"Your abrupt arrival at the island, I mean."

"Did Ms. Grey expect me to sit still at home while you relish the company of other men?" His voice grew a few tones darker. ’Ms. Grey, I think we had a deal. A deal of exclusivity."

"President Luiss is misunderstanding." She waved her hands quickly. "There is nothing of this sort between President Gerald. Really."

"Is that so?" Luiss narrowed his eyes till only two slits were visible.

Ariana felt a chill run down her spine to be the target such a scrutinizing gaze.

"Really," Ariana sweetened her tone. "President Gerald is far too pompous for my taste."

"Who is too pompous?"A resounding voice said as another figure emerged from the shadow.

’President Gerald!" Ariana felt like crying. "Ï definitely didn’t mean you—"

"My secretary thinks you are too pompous,"Luiss grabbed onto her sleeve and pulled her to himself.

"Let her tell this on my face herself if that’s what she thinks." Gerald grabbed onto her other sleeve and pulled her to himself.

"She is my secretary so her words and actions come under my jurisdiction," Luiss pulled her to himself whilst glaring at Gerald.

"Right now, she is my guest and has free will to express herself." Gerlad returned the glare squarely and pulled her to himself.

What the fuck was this weird situation?

In anger, Ariana got rid of their hands on her sleeve and stood at a distance from them. "You guys...!" She hit a nerve. "President Luiss, while I’m your secretary, I’m not your slave. I’m allowed to keep acquaintances and friends out of our professional relationship."

Upon Luiss’s being berated, Gerald has a secret joy in his heart. But that was short-lived.

"And President Gerald, I agreed to accompany you to the Eliaris Retreat as your guest, to your servant."

After taking out her frustration on both of them, Ariana finally felt at ease.

Right at that moment, thunderbolts shuddered the forest, thick dark clouds rolled over, and a torrent of rain took them over.

"Fuck!"The guide was awake along with the servants who carried the luggage. "This is not a good thing."

"Is it that serious?" Ariana was clueless about the gravity of the situation.

"We are stuck here, and we have supplies for almost a day." The guide replied.

"Shouldn’t the thunderstone subside soon?"

"The wind is not blowing as fast. It doesn’t look like a passing storm."

Lightning thundered in the vast skies. For a moment whole temple was illuminated. Because the temple was built in an airy manner, it had lots of windows. Water rushed inside, barely leaving a dry place to sleep.

"We should keep warm." The guide, experienced through such accidents remarked. "Let’s all settle in one of the inner rooms. They found shelter inside one of the only rooms that had its three walls covered. They lit a fire and sat in a circle around it.

The first day, it was exciting, something adventurous.

The second day, when the storm didn’t subside, it became a nuisance. They had run out of their supplies.

"Even if the storm subsides, we can’t go back until a day later. The path will be slippery and full of dangers."

Gerald was sitting at the edge of the temple. The spot was relatively dry. Ariana approached him.

"May I?"

"You can sit."

Looking straight ahead, the lush greenery and the roaring thunderstorm, he was lost in thought.

"Does that remind you of something?" Ariana asked, curious how much the male lead was willing to share with her.

"As a matter of fact, it does."

"Care to elaborate?"

"When I was young, I was kidnapped by some enemies of my father. They put me with an old woman who used to look after a temple. I stayed with her for three years."

Ariana eyes widened. He was really opening up to her.

"I could not have guess... Who were those enemies?"

"All dead." Gerald replied in a dead cold expression.

Ariana was silent.

"This is a cruel world, Ms. Grey. You shouldn’t go around making enemies out of everyone when you yourself are so weak. Only the clueless, powerless commoners suffer in the fight of elites."

"What if, " Ariana spoke carefully. "One day I’m one of the Elite?"

"Wishful thinking." Gerald scoffed.

"You could say so," Ariana replied. "But the games of fate are never to be underestimated."

Gerald looked at her. At that moment, it appeared that his superficial charm had evaporated, leaving behind a genuine man. A man who had emotions, pain, joy, a past, and things he cared for.

[Ting

Mission: Make President Gerald have a good impression of Ariana

Status: Completed.

Reward in inventory.]

Right at that moment of shared intimacy, Gerald raised his hand about to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. However, Ariana avoided his touch and ducked away.

Gerald sighed and went back to staring at the greeenary ahead.

Right at that moment, Luiss emerged from the room. Finding both of them sitting close together with such a romantic ambience, he called out. "Secretary Grey!"

Ariana got up at once and made her way to Luiss, ready to wag her tail for the male lead. She felt a bit bad for using Gerald and playing with his emotions. But what could she do? It was the system prompt, and if she failed, her inventory would be empty, leaving more burden than her conscious had right now for playing with Gerald.

"Come here, "Luiss glared at her. "And stay by my side from now onwards."

Luiss expected resistance but he got an eager affirmation. "As President Luiss demands."

He was a little shocked. "Are you alright?"

"Perfect, and oh, the weather would be fine within a few moments."

"How can you say that?"

"Let’s just say... I have a hunch?"

The guide smiled, "Ms. Grey, things work best with logical predictions rather than hunches. And by logic, we are stranded here for a week at least. Look at the thickness and colour of the cloud and the stillness of the clouds. The wind is blowing very slowly for it to subside within a day"

"But my hunch regarding the weather has never been wrong ever since I was little."

"Your hunch might have worked in your city, but this is a tropical zone." The Guide said with pride.

"Is that so?" Ariana smiled as she activated the powers granted by the system. The reward for winning over Gerald had been the ability to change the weather x 3. She quickly clicked on it and selected the sunny weather.

"Yes, I have been a guide for 10 years of my life. I have learned through experience and countless encounters. The rain is definitely not going anywhere soon!"The Guide was confident. And maybe he was right if the situation was normal.

But within minutes of his saying so, the clouds started dissipating. The sun emerged as the first rays of sunshine illuminated his half-bald head.

"W-What the hell?" The guide still couldn’t believe himself.

"That has never happened in my entire history of career!"" The Guide appeared as if he had suffered a lethal blow. "I can not believe this."

"See, I told you I had a hunch." Both Gerald and Luiss were also looking at Ariana in a strange way.

After another day stay the pathway had dried up enough for them to climb down the route back to the resting area. Because of them having prepared for one day stay, staying 3 days in a row had dried their supplies. When they arrived down they were starving.

The Guide and the locals were used to it, and Gerald and Luiss didn’t let it show and disgraced themselves. Ariana was starving.

The first thing she did after changing and having a bath was to order at the restaurant. Unbeknownst to her, she was not dining alone this time.