The soft glow of the morning sun bathed Seluna Island in golden light as Jordan approached the checkpoint, walking slowly through the winding path. The beach was almost empty; just a few early birds were out in the waters or lying on the land enjoying the rising sun. So nobody took notice of him making his way to the forbidden path.

He smirked as he remembered the previous night’s discussion. This was definitely one wild task they needed to tick off their list: visit those ruins. Forget the rules; they always broke them. And they were always just fine afterward.

He took a deep breath as he arrived. The security checkpoint wasn’t that imposing: it was a simple wooden barrier flanked by two guards in navy uniforms. The stern faces and rigid postures of the guards, however, conveyed a level of authority and rigidity. These two did not look like guards who took their jobs lightly.

Jordan took a deep breath, trying to appear calm as he approached. “Morning,” he greeted, his voice measured but confident.

“Morning,” replied the taller guard, his thick beard masking what little emotion his face might have betrayed. “Where are you heading?”

Jordan cleared his throat. “To the palace ruins,” he answered, flashing what he hoped was a convincing enough smile. “I’m-I’m a researcher studying early 18th-century architectural styles, and my team sent me to get a firsthand look.”

A rather crazy lie to cook up that morning, that was for sure.

The shorter guard, a woman with piercing eyes that seemed to see right through his fib, folded her arms and gave him a once-over. “Researcher, huh?” she repeated, her tone laced with skepticism. “And where’s your permit?”

Jordan hesitated for the briefest moment, cursing himself for forgetting that a question this basic would be asked of him with such a claim. “Well, uh, I… I don’t have it with me,” he responded, improvising as best as he could. “It’s… it’s being processed. But you know, this is a strictly observational visit. No harm done, right?”

The guards exchanged a knowing glance, and the woman smirked. “Right. And I suppose your team forgot to mention that this place is sealed off for a reason?”

The looks on their faces made it way too obvious that Jordan wasn’t fooling them for one second. Not even a two-year-old would believe his claim.

The taller guard stepped forward, arms crossed. “Look, pal, we’ve heard every excuse under the sun. Tourists trying to sneak in for a thrill, vloggers looking for views. You’re not the first to call yourself a ‘researcher.’” He jabbed a thumb at the barrier. “The answer’s still no.”

Jordan’s jaw tightened, and his frustration boiled over. “Come on, man! You can’t seriously be turning me away!” he protested, his voice rising. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I came all the way out here—”

“And you can go right back the way you came,” the woman interrupted coolly. “There’s nothing to see. You’re not allowed there. Didn’t your guide explain this to you?”

“Of course Abryann gave me the whole spooky spiel. Something about a curse and people disappearing. But come on! You expect me to believe there’s some ancient curse floating around, what, snatching people off the face of the earth?”

The bearded guard shook his head, an almost pitying expression on his face. “It’s not just a story, sir. People have gone missing. The last incident was just six months ago. You think we keep this place locked up for fun? This isn’t up for debate. You’re not going through. We’ve got strict orders, and they’re for your safety.”

Jordan’s temper flared. “This is ridiculous! You’re letting fear and superstition dictate what people can or can’t do! That palace belongs to history, not to some made-up curse!”

The taller guard stepped forward, his face hardening. “Lower your voice, or we’ll escort you off the trail entirely.”

Before Jordan could fire back, a familiar voice cut through the tension. “Jordan!”

He turned, and froze.

It was Abryann. She approached the checkpoint, her sheer black kimono fluttering behind her. Beside her, a tall, shirtless muscular man with broad shoulders and a confident stride followed.

He knew he was in trouble the moment he saw her face. Pure annoyance was written all over it.

“Jordan,” Abryann called, her voice sharp with displeasure. “What on earth are you doing here this early?”

“I—uh,” Jordan stammered, feeling every bit like the child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He glanced at the muscular man, who crossed his arms, his face unreadable but clearly unimpressed. The guards, now silent, looked on with mild amusement at his change of mood.

Abryann tilted her head, a single brow arching with barely concealed anger. “Well?”

Jordan swallowed hard, the bravado from moments ago draining out of him. “I was… I was trying to get into the palace ruins.”

Her eyes widened, and she planted her hands firmly on her hips. “Are you serious? After everything I told you?”

“I mean,” Jordan muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t think—”

“No, clearly you didn’t!” she snapped, cutting him off. “What part of ‘people have gone missing’ didn’t you understand? Did I not tell you that yesterday? Or do you just not care about the rules? About safety?”

He tried to defend himself, weakly raising a hand. “It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just… I don’t believe in the whole curse thing. It’s—”

“Oh, spare me,” she snarled, her voice rising in frustration. “You don’t have to believe it for it to be real. People vanish when they go there. No trace, no explanation. This isn’t some urban legend to scoff at, Jordan. This is our island, and the rules are here for a reason. When you come here, we have an obligation to make sure you’re safe. And that’s why we insist you don’t go there. Do you think we like it when people go missing? Don’t you think we’ve tried to do something about it? Do you know the crazy stuff we’ve gone through trying to clear this burden? This is the best we can do, and we expect that you respect it! Don’t make our work harder than it already is, damnit!”

Jordan bit his lip, trying to come up with a response, but her fury had rendered him speechless. She certainly had a no-nonsense streak in her. Even when she got angsty the previous day about this, she hadn’t shown signs of being this fierce. Now, under her fiery gaze, he felt utterly foolish.

The muscular man, who had remained silent, finally stepped in. “Abry, babe,” he said, his deep voice calm and steady, “it’s fine. He’s not getting in, and he knows now.” He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, his touch immediately softening her anger. “Let it go.”

Abryann exhaled sharply and took a step back, her frustration visibly ebbing. “Okay, Kenny,” she responded quietly.

The man then turned his attention to Jordan, his calm demeanour somehow a lot more intimidating than Abryann’s outburst. “Look,” he stated firmly, “you don’t have to believe the stories, but you do have to respect the island and its rules. This isn’t some playground; it’s a life-or-death thing. Understand?”

Jordan nodded quickly. “Yeah. Got it. Sorry.”

Kenny gave him a curt nod, then turned back to Abryann, his expression softening. He leaned down to kiss her gently.

A gentle, lingering moment that made Jordan’s stomach twist with a mix of embarrassment and envy.

“Come on,” Kenny said to her, taking her hand and guiding her away from the scene. “Let’s get back to our morning walk.”

“Yes, Daddy,” she responded. She quickly shot Jordan one last look, her eyes still filled with disapproval, before letting herself be led down the path.

“She turns to absolute pudding in his arms, doesn’t she?”

“Total pudding! You love to see it, don’t you?”

“Like crazy! Especially when she calls him Daddy!”

The guards’ animated chatter on the couple barely registered in Jordan’s mind as he stood there, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Feeling thoroughly spited and humiliated, he turned away from the gate and began walking back down the trail.

***

Storming into the room, Jordan’s face was still burning with humiliation as he walked in. On the bed sat Jamal, a cup of coffee in his hand as he beamed with the glee of a man who had had a passionate round or two the previous night.

“Morning, champ!” he chirped, looking too caught up in his happiness to notice his best friend’s dark expression. “Take a little jog around the beach? Or you also got yourself some good-good?”

Jordan shook his head. “No,” he replied flatly.

That was enough to wake Jamal up to his bad mood. “Broski. What’s wrong?”

Jordan groaned as he took his seat. “I decided to pass by the ruins and check how easy it would be to get past those guards. Not only did I discover that it’s tough to get past those peeps, but Abryann showed up and tore me a new one.”

Jamal winced. “Damn. What crappy timing.”

“Honestly. Like, she went full-on rage mode about how people have disappeared there. Like, okay, I get it, but it was overkill.”

“Hmm, dearie me, you can’t catch a break with this mami, can you?”

Jordan shook his head as he took a seat. “It wasn’t just her, though. Her boyfriend was there.”

Jamal’s brows shot up. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Jordan confirmed bitterly. “Big guy. Muscles for days. Looked like he stepped out of a fitness magazine. And, of course, he had to be the one to calm her down. And then… he kissed her right there, in front of me and the guards.”

“Oh, lawd!” Jamal groaned, his free hand on his forehead. “The brother marked his territory. Looks like she must’ve told him about you.”

“I swear, it was like he was doing it just to rub it in,” Jordan continued. “Like, ‘Oh, look at me, I get to kiss the hottest woman on the island while you’re getting chewed to bits.’And after that, she called him Daddy.”

Jamal’s eyes went wide. “Nooooo! She called him Daddy? Nahhh, this is bad! Broski, this was a ploy to slap you in the face. Trust me. When a babe calls you Daddy, you know what that means. Like how Daisy called me Daddy last night. Hehehe, from the moment she pushed me onto the bed and popped that bra off, I knew that good-good was gonna be top-tier. And it was.”

Jordan shot him a side eye. “You just had to let me know how good last night’s romp was, didn’t I?”

“Sorry, man. Sleeping in between those solid tits will do a work on you,” Jamal grinned. “Just had to pop that one out. But on a real, nahh, this Abryann mami got some real nerve doing you dirty. I mean, if you ain’t interested, that’s cool. There’s helluva bunch of juicier babes that’ll drop their bras off for my man. But to rub your low-budget Arnold Schwarzenegger in my guy’s face and get all lovey-dovey before him? Hell nah. She crossed the line! You know what, we are going to those palace ruins! Uh-huh, we’ll show her!”

Jordan’s face lit up somewhat.

Yeah, Jamal was one wild human being, but as far as defending his best friend was concerned, he never failed at that. He might have exaggerated the actions, but he sure wasn’t taking this embarrassment lightly.

“I like that, man. I like that,” Jordan grinned, giving his guy a fist bump. “We’ll definitely show her. Take some pics and wave it in her face and tell her to shove that curse bollocks up that beautiful backside of hers.”

“That’s the spirit!” Jamal cheered. “She ain’t getting the last laugh here. We do. So calm your nerves, broski. Let’s go get some breakfast, and let’s strategize afterward. How to get past the guards and all that stuff. Alright?”

Jordan nodded. “Sure, let’s do it! We’ll show her!”

“Oh, damn straight, broski! We’ll show her!”

Yeah, she definitely tore him to shreds. Is this ‘vengeance plot’ worth it, though? Oh well, let’s see…