Daddy's Hot Sauce

Anders held her hand and pulled her close enough for him to hug her. He could see through her eyes the fear that she had been carrying since young up until now.

She was smiling a while ago did not mean that it was OK to her, but she was frightened.

He kissed her temples and said, "I'm always right here,"

Emily saw the sincerity in his eyes, and her heart was pounding loudly; the words he said made her feel the security that she had never felt before. Out of the blue, she hugged him tight and felt much better by doing it. Then, after a while, she smiled at him and said, "Thank you, Anders,"

"Now, I want you to fight your fears so we will go there, OK?" he calmly said and pressed her hand gently.

Emily nodded her head with a smile and gave her trust in him. They both walked into the forest, and Emily still felt frightened, and her heart rate was getting higher, but Anders lightly pressed her hand to assure her that everything would be OK.

Not from afar, Anders saw the place that he kept for years, a place that made him true about himself. The place where it was very close to his heart. "We're here, look," he said

Emily could not utter a word because the view was making her mute. Her mouth was half-open, and she could not believe what she was seeing right now. "This place is a paradise,"

The sun was approaching her sight, so when she uncovered her face, she saw a paradise that she could even describe at all.

Hills surrounded the place; some trees in light hues on their leaves were present and visible as the sun lit them up. The bushes were perfectly placed on every side of the place, and the most beautiful part was the water flowing on the center part of the place wherein the sky was reflecting on it as it has clear water and small fish was also present.

"How could you find this place? I don't even know that this place existed at all," she curiously asked and let the view of nature feed her eyes.

"I own this place," he said and crossed his arms, and looked at Emily.

"Oh, I see, well I'm not surprised at all 'cause you're rich, and you have everything even me," she said frankly to him while her eyes were looking at the flowers nearby.

Ander shook his head and said, "Money can't take everything, but sometimes it can give you short term happiness,"

Emily looked at him and was surprised because of the words he said. She stared at him and could not believe that a strong man like him had a different side. All she ever thought was that Anders was the kind of man who had no care of feelings, and now it was all just a mistake for her.

While staring at him, she could see his vulnerable side of Anders that no one knew about. His eyes were full of grey clouds, and he felt the heaviness he was carrying on his back.

"I thought you have it all, fame, money, women," Emily said.

Anders smirked and said, "Yeah, that' what they always thought about me,"

Then, he walked toward the river and saw the fish swimming around; a memory flashed back on him.

"Do you want this?"

He nodded his head twice with a broader smile.

"You should be here, look, don't be afraid,"

Then, the young boy was not saying any words; instead, he obeyed the girl and held her hand tightly.

"See this? It would be best if you did not step on this. It will sink and would make your feet hurt."

The young boy was cautious, and his innocence now knew the surroundings.

"C'mon! Anders, we have to cross the river. It will be great to see the animals there!" the girl pointed to the other side of the forest.

She was now standing on the small rock with one foot while smiling at Anders.

"You can do it!" she cheerfully said

End

Anders sparingly smiled while letting the water flow on his fingertips. A smile was now on his face, and trying to remember things that made him happy. "Anders? Are you OK?" Emily worriedly asked.

He nodded his head and smiled at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said..

"You are lucky to have this place. Peaceful, far from the city, and you have everything here, how cool is that?" she said with a smile on her face.

"Ahh!" Emily whined in pain. She crouched herself on the grass while holding her head, and her eyes were tightly closed.

Anders widened his eyes while Emily suddenly fell on the grass. He quickly stood up and walked straight to her.

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"Emily!"

He kept calling her name and was shocked to see her like this. Then, he realized that Emily was deaf enough to hear his words so, he carried her and walked back fast into the cabin.

As quick as the whirlwind, Anders grabbed his phone while staring at Emily, who was lying on the bed while squirming in pain.

"Goddamn it!" he exclaimed as George was not answering his calls.

Then, he went to Emily with a worried face and asked her, "Hey, Emily can you hear me?"

"Please, tell me what's wrong,"

"Ah! My head is like breaking!" she squealed and was holding her head and tightly closed her eyes.

Anders was panicked, so he dialed the numbers George and walked back and forth after checking on Emily.

"Fuck! Answer the phone, George!"

After a couple of tries of reaching George finally, he answered the call.

"Mr. Winston-"

Anders was panting and was in a hurry to speak the words.

"Ambulance! Get me an ambulance here!"

Then his brows furrowed after seeing Emily crouching more of herself and pulling her hair. His scream echoed inside the cabin, so he cut the line and went to her. He held her shoulders and tried to make her calm down. After a couple of minutes had passed, Emily was slowly calming down while Anders was caressing her forehead. Then, he noticed some of the bruises on her arms and legs. He clenched his fist and was worried about what had happened to Emily.

After a while, a sound of the ambulance was now in front of the cabin, and George quickly went inside to see what had happened. He heard a scream on the phone and was in a hurry to be in the location just for him to make sure that they were both safe.

The nurses brought the stretcher inside the cabin, and they saw Emily was unconsciously lying on the bed while holding Ander's hands.

"George-"

"Mr. Winston, what happened?" George curiously asked.

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"I-I don't know, we were at the river and talking about our childhood and then-"

Anders could not hold back her tears and let it flow on his cheeks; seeing her in that state of condition made him soft and worried.

He washed his face with his palms and felt the frustrations in him.

"I will come to her, follow us-"

But, George immediately spoke and said, "Don't do it, Mr. Winston. The public will notice you and-"

"I don't care! I felt the guilt in me. This is my fault!" he said with an emphatic tone on his voice and pointed to the ambulance and took to the hospital.

George furrowed his brows and said, "Mr. Winston, you lost a lot of investors this month, and if this will pop out to the public. They will surely get her background details, and we both know that no one except us should know it!" Anders, hit by those words, came from George and realized that it was more critical about her safety than being together with her.

George stood firm and looked into his eyes and said, "You can still visit her but without showing to the public,"

Anders let out a heavy sigh and felt unease by it, but he had no choice; his company was in the midst of a crisis as the tension between the workers and his company. Investors were pulling out, and right now, his brother was in critical condition, and his mother was milking a lot of money in the company.

"I know you have been a lot for the past few years, Anders, but please stay focused, and you can accomplish all of it just in time." George tapped his shoulders and sparingly smiled.

He let out a heavy sigh and lightly shook his head.

Anders quickly went out of the cabin and got in his car; George was just in his tail and silently waiting for his command.

"Mr. Winston, I think you are incapable of driving. Let me drive for you," George offered his service to Anders.

He refused and started the engine of his luxury car.

George lightly shook his head while staring at his car, but that did not take long. He went to his car as well and followed his track. He was worried that Anders might not handle the situation well, just like his brother. He knew him, and this time was not good for him. Then, he quickly grabbed his radio and called all of his men to be at the hospital and guard Mr. Winston upon his arrival. He wanted to make sure that he would be there safe and without interruption from media or anyone.

While in the car, Anders was clenching his fist and hitting the steering wheel of his car. All the frustrations in him were getting out from his head, and that was making him out of focus.

"I won't let this happen to you, Emily," he mumbled.

Then, he sped up more of his car just for him to be on time, reaching the hospital for him to see Emily and know about her status.