"Don't call me with that hateful name."

"You are still a stinky brat. How was your mother?"

"I'm here with my friends, this is Jess, and her friend Luke."

"Lucas, is that you?" her eyes watered, narrowing her eyes on the tall man behind Ellise's friend.

"My name is Luke, ma'am. My father's name is Lucas and people said we looked like we were cut from the same cloth."

"Ahh, so you are his son." she nodded in melancholy. "I left Minnesota when your mother was pregnant with you. Who would have thought…"

"How do you know my father, if I may ask?"

"We were friends, turned lovers, and then tore apart." she chuckled softly. "Come, come," the pensive expression on her face disappeared in a blink of an eye, replaced with a cheerfulness that welcomes them into the house. "Briare is waiting at the lanai."

Ellise and Jess exchanged a speculative look at each other.

"This world is too small," she muttered under her breath as they followed Luke and Samara to the lanai where Briare was waiting.

Jess nodded her head in silent agreement with Ellise musing. Who would have thought that Luke would meet someone that knew him in this part of the world?

Knowing and meeting someone, and their fate interlacing is such a strange feeling. The idea that Noah and Ellise knew each other way before they became friends baffles her. And now, Luke is meeting someone who knew his father on this island! What is the probability of that happening?

She glanced at her left shoulder, watching Ellise from her side vision and remembering how she shared the same birthday with Noah, and how she shared the same birthday with Noah's daughter.

Those things seemed insignificant. There are billions of people who share birthdays -it is to be expected, but when strangers start having similar things with you, such as birthdays; you can't help but think if the prankster universe is playing a joke on you. Getting you to think that you are destined to meet someone because of some dumb coincidence.

"What are you thinking?" She asked when she caught Jess staring at her.

"Your sentiment."

She creased her forehead with her answer.

"Your sentiment of how the world can be so small. How people know you without you even realizing it."

"Are you thinking of Noah?" Before Jess could answer she asked another question, "Do you like him? I heard he has an eight year old daughter."

"The kid's name is Lucille. And no, I'm not thinking of Noah, nor do I like him."

"You are such a terrible liar, Jessica." She curled her lips with disdain and she turned away, leaving her behind.

"I don't like him! Why does everyone keep on saying the same thing?" She hastened her steps to catch up with her.

Ellise suddenly stopped, grabbed her shoulder, and pushed her toward the hallway mirror. "Jess, have you seen yourself in the mirror lately?"

She blushed as she stared at her reflection, "What's there to see?"

"I don't know. You tell me." she scoffed at her.

"You are still so irritating as ever!"

Ellise just curled her lips in another smirk, before leaving her in the hallway. She was about to turn her back on her reflection but Ellise's words echoed at the back of her mind. She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes on her image in the mirror.

"You look the same as you always do. I don't see anything new," she smirked at her reflection, feeling a tad bit foolish talking to herself in a stranger's house.

When she entered the lanai everyone's eyes were on. She smiled awkwardly at everyone in the room. Her gaze was drawn to a man sitting under the window. His commanding presence fills the room, despite sitting in a wheelchair. This man must be Briare - Ellise's friend.

"You must be Jess. E here talked a lot about you."

A crease started to form in her forehead when the man called Ellise with her gaming name. 'Does it mean they knew each other in games?' She kept the question at the back of her head and stepped forward to meet the man who owned the resort.

"Hi, my name is Jess. Nice to meet you." She did not wait for him to offer his hand. She extended her right hand for a handshake. "I hope Ellise told you good things about me."

She was startled when his booming laugh echoes through the enclosed space. "Yes, yes. Only good things."

She glanced over her shoulder to find Ellise pretending to be engrossed in the view of the ocean from the window. She was surprised to know that she would talk about her to other people. 'She better be telling good things about her.'

Samara was the wife of Briare and they have been living on this island ever since Briare acquired this property a few years back.

Samara served them the most delicious sangria she has ever tasted in her life, while the couple told them stories on how they fell in love with each other on this island. The hours flew by as the sangria diminished, and they got drunk in between the stories and laughter.

It was such an enjoyable first day on the island, meeting new people and having a joyful conversation that Jess forgot that she told Noah that she would call.

When they returned to their villa, slightly drunk she checked her phone and saw a message from Noah, and that was the only time she remembered that she had told him she would call.

She stared at the time on her phone, thinking if he was still awake and if he's not, would he be irritated that she disturbed his sleep. Before she changed her mind, she dialed his number and held her breath in anticipation. In the back of her mind, she told herself that she would let the phone ring just five times, and if he didn't answer by the fifth ring, she would drop the call and go to bed.

But then the call was answered just after the first ring, and her toes curled when she heard Noah's throaty voice. 'Was he already sleeping? How come he answered the call too fast!'

"Sorry, for calling so late. Did I wake you up?" she bit her lower lip when she heard Noah chuckled on the other line.

"You must have forgotten the time difference. It's fifteen minutes past ten here, Jess."

"Oh, shoot!" she giggled. The sangria was making her feel like a balloon floating in the air. She pulled up her legs on her chest for the sliding door leading to the balcony was left ajar and the ocean breeze was entering the living room. It's cold.

"Did you drink?" he asked when she heard Jess giggle too often in between her sentences.

"Hmm, the sangria was sooo good! You should have tasted it." she crooned and giggled.

"Seemed like you had some fun."

"Not as fun as I want it to be." she pouted, "Open your camera Tiefenbacher. I want to see you."

'She must have been hammered.' He chuckled, holding the camera far away for his face to give Jess a look.

"Oh? Did you go horseback riding?" she squinted her eyes when she saw a delectable Noah wearing a white polo shirt that stretched across his broad shoulder, tucked in under white trousers that hugged his thigh and he was wearing boots. "Hey there, good looking. You looked hella good in white...but, I bet you look wayyy better without it," she scoffed, and giggled!

He felt the usual stirring of his groin when he heard Jess' voice talking about him being naked, but at the same time, he was totally worried. It was just her first time on the island and she was already so drunk to flirt with him on a video call!

"Open your video Jess," he said in between his teeth. Imagining her drinking to the point that she was openly flirting with him made him worry. The island they are on is notorious for wild parties during this time of the year.

"Don't wanna! I'm not pretty enough." she huffed.

His annoyance was replaced with amusement with what she said. "Who told you that you're not pretty enough?"

"Hmmph, why would you like to know?"

"So, I could smack their head. Are they blind? You are too pretty. I'm lost for words." He waited for her to answer but he didn't answer back.

"Hello? Baby, are you still there?"

"Tsk. Liar."

He smiled, "I'm not. You are my pretty baby." he grinned at how cheesy that line. But then, Jess is drunk, there is a high possibility that she won't remember most of what they talked about.

"I know that I am beautiful Tiefenbacher. Until I met your ex-wife."

He furrowed his eyebrows and in all seriousness, he could muster, asked, "Jessica, are you jealous?"

"Jerk!" she mumbled before she dropped her phone and fell asleep on the sofa.