The Traps of Black Swan

At Luxembourg,

Instead of the evening, Aaron left from the Coasta city to complete his work at the night so that Aarvi could get to enjoy the mountainous road, views, and the village in the daytime.

Milo Wen stayed in Coasta, to handle the situation if there comes any emergency in Aaron's absence. Esme was free hence she went to Coasta to spend time with him.

Aaron drove the car, without any security following them once they made sure none were aware of their whereabouts. Aarvi had left her mobile second sim card with Milo Wen so that if Leon drops any messages that she doubted, they can get to know each other.

Aarvi thoroughly enjoyed their moderate-speed ride to the village surrounded by the mountains. 

The road was free with fewer vehicles, the air was refreshing, relaxing their mind and the sky had an amazing shade of blue that was soothing to the eyes. The fluffy white clouds floating up in the air naturally brought a smile to her face.

The Sun was closing to the set hence the rays were warm, giving her the freedom to pop open the top and continue enjoying the view.

"Happy Sky!" Aaron voiced her thoughts. 

Aarvi hummed, lifting her hand as though she could reach them, "They look like cotton candy. I want to roll it and eat it."

Aaron chuckled, very much pleased that she was relaxing, forgetting everything else.

Due to often twist and turn on the roads, Aaron focused on the road on their low-end white Audi A5 Cabriolet. Hence, they were slightly less eye-catching.

Despite the summer, there were many small waterfalls down the mountains, surrounded with lush green that could put anybody's heart at ease. The river water flowing next to the road along the way set the music to their ears. 

They stopped in between and they got an amazing view to enjoy. Aarvi stretched her arms while sitting on the car with Aaron standing outside, leaning on the car next to her, "Seems like… My Husband was unquestionably accurate. I am already loving it here." 

Staying in the bustling city, he had expected her to fall in love with the place, "This is just the beginning." He told her, the main and beautiful place is yet to come.

She was controlling her urge to dive into the freshwater river. If Shawn and Dax were there, they would surely arrange a water sport.

As though, he could read what was going on in her mind, "Don't even think of getting in the water." He warned as he turned around and stood between her legs.

Aarvi pouted in disappointment. Aaron wasn't the type to restrict her so much, "Why!?" She blinked, making a puppy face to get the response in her favor.

"Stop acting cute." He pinched her cheeks, sounding grim.

Aarvi controlled her grin. Cupping her hands, she placed her chin between, "But I am cute." It was him who always called her cute and Shea had also told her.

Instead of pinching, he nibbled her cheek. Aarvi whined while he wrapped his arm around her waist to bring her down the car. 

  Instead of telling her, he took her down the stream, helped her suspend her legs to the water.

Aarvi lifted her legs as fast as she grazed the water. "It's so cold." And understood why he said no to enter the water.

Turning her towards the mountains, "There is another range of mountains behind the first line. It will take a year to melt the snow, hence the water is cold." Before it could melt completely, the snow would fall again.

It made her even more excited to reach the village. Yet, "Are we not going into the water then?" 

Aaron held her poking finger and compromised, "There are nine falls at the village."

She quickly created the stack of rocks before pulling Aaron up, "Let's go, let's go, let's go..."

"Doozy." 

This time, she let him relax and drove the car.

It took another hour to cross the mountains and reach the village. The speed of the car lowered as Aarvi admired the village.

The lifestyle in the village wasn't as old as she had expected it to be. Rather it was modern and minimalistic. Instead of unnecessary mansions or fancy villas, there were well-maintained houses in two or a maximum of three stories with open or no fence. The front of houses had a clean lawn with seating arrangements at each house. 

What surprised her the most was each house seemed to have swing seaters of different designs and styles and expensive sedans or caravans. In front of those cars, their Audi looked cheap.

This village completely changed her view of a village. She caught a glimpse of a well-maintained cattle farm at a distance. A smile appeared on her face when she saw a place that seemed to be built for gatherings where middle-aged to old people were dancing, laughing heartily. She could literally hear their laughter from more than fifty meters away.

Out of all, what she liked the most was the view of the mountains around. They were like huge walls protecting the village. She could see the snow on top of the mountains, giving a breathtaking view that she forgot to even breathe. She already got a glimpse of some tall waterfalls from the road.

It was said to be more beautiful in winter and spring covered in snow than in the late summer. Yet Aarvi was lost in the beauty of nature.

Aaron's hand rubbing her head brought her to reality and realized she had stopped the car. "Let's go."

Humming with a nod, she drove further inside the village following Aaron's directions and stopped in front of the two-floor house built in stones to avoid the cold. It had followed the same style as the rest of the city, open fence and well managed. The bloom of the flowers on the balcony set the house in a romantic vibe.

Aaron got off the car first and heard an excited voice announce in the house, "Old Madam, young Master is home with his beautiful bride."

Aarvi: "..."

Aaron held the door when she got off as he responded to the shock, "Grandma doesn't use smartphones and says it's addicting. Shawn keeps in touch with Aunty Sophia."

Shawn's name would be enough to clear her all the baffling situation. 

Her excitement, slowly replaced with a little nervousness when she followed Aaron. Aarvi had heard little about her, Megan didn't speak much saying she should meet her.

Aarvi discerned Aaron's grandmother was a strong-headed, morally principled woman. Aarvi had a hunch, grandmother wouldn't like her, even if she will accept Aarvi as granddaughter-in-law. 

She didn't know why, but her intuition was very strong. A woman who could leave her loving family for her principles was really scary.

She wasn't looking down on grandmother Rivas but she wished Grandmother Rivas could have prioritized her family over her principles.

"What's wrong?" Aaron asked, feeling her silence slightly odd.

Aarvi looked at him and took a deep breath pausing her steps, "If you and I face the situation like Grandfather Jordan and Grandmother... I won't leave you. I might get angry, I might shout, I might not talk for a few days but I will never think of leaving you." 

Aaron embraced her, kissing her on the crown. He wasn't sure why she got such thoughts but knew she got emotional thinking of them in their situation.

At the entrance of the house, an old woman's face darkened hearing Aarvi's words.