Chapter 16: Unexpected Fall
The next day, Villa in District 2, next to the swimming pool. The party was late, the atmosphere was less noisy, only a small group remained.
The loud laughter had been replaced by hushed, disjointed conversations. The pounding deep house music had died down, replaced by a slow, lazy R&B that flowed through the air like honey. Yellow lights reflected off the surface of the pool, creating shimmering, hypnotic ripples. The air was thick with the smell of chlorine, alcohol, and unspoken desire.
Ngan sat at the bar, but she didn’t belong there. A few cocktails had flushed her cheeks, her eyes glistening with tears. She swung her bare feet in the air, a seemingly absent-minded movement but a deliberate display. Her eyes were on the lake, but her focus was elsewhere.
Minh was no longer a noisy peacock. He had become a black panther. His boisterousness had collapsed inward, turning into a fierce concentration, a gravitational pull directed in only one direction. And that direction was Ngan. He stood in the shadows, watching her, and his silence was more dangerous than his laughter.
Then he stepped into the light. He didn’t say a word. He just walked up to Ngan and held out his hand. A large hand, long fingers. It wasn’t an invitation. It was a command.
Ngan smiled. She put her hand in his. Their skin touched, a slight electric shock. He pulled her into his arms.
This wasn’t a dance. It was a possession. He pulled her so close that there was no space left. His hard chest pressed against her soft breasts, a cruel contrast. She could feel every muscle tensing under his thin shirt, smell his skin, the strong scent of alcohol on his breath in his hair, on her face. One hand tightened around her waist, his rough fingers digging into her skin. The other hand entwined with hers, locking it.
They didn’t dance. They just swayed, a minimal movement filled with friction. Their bodies brushed against each other, slow, deliberate. The rustle of fabric. And then, she felt it. A physical shift in him. His erection was pressing against her lower abdomen, an undeniable presence, a naked promise of violence. Her breath caught. A small, involuntary “ah” escaped her throat.
Minh leaned down, his mouth almost touching her ear. His hot breath fanned her earlobe, an intrusion. His voice was a hoarse whisper.
“Nuoi is really brave these days. She dares to jump so close?”
Ngan looked up, looking straight into his eyes. His eyes had darkened, no longer mischievous, only primitive lust. Her voice was also a whisper, her breath mingling with his, a final challenge.
“Scared?”
The music ended, but they didn’t let go. They just stood there, pressed together, their breaths mingling, their hearts pounding in their chests. The game was over. Now it was time for a fight.
They left the dance floor, but the magnetic field between them remained. They had moved to a more secluded corner, next to potted palms whose broad leaves obscured the lights. It was quieter here. The R&B music was a distant background noise. The dominant sound now was the steady lapping of the water against the pool walls, and the rustling of palm leaves in the night wind, like whispers.
Minh got Ngan a glass of water, the ice cubes clinking gently against the glass. He didn’t give it to her right away. He stood very close, so close that their shoulders touched. A light touch, but filled with electricity. The sound of his shirt rustling softly. He used that action to erase the personal space between them.
Then he bent down. His head slowly moved closer, blocking the light, his shadow enveloping her. He leaned close to her ear, and his hot breath was an intrusion. It blew straight into the sensitive earlobe, brushed the soft hairs of her temples, and slid down the nape of her neck. A cold current ran down Ngân’s spine. Goosebumps rose on her arms. She shivered slightly, an uncontrollable physical reaction, an unconscious surrender to this dangerous closeness. She could smell him, a primal scent of alcohol, chlorine, and male flesh.
He was not telling a secret. He was speaking a challenge. His voice was a whisper, but each word was as sharp as a knife.
“All night I saw you looking at me. Do you want something, Sister Nurturing?”
It wasn’t a question. It was an accusation, a jab to see her reaction.
Ngan did not flinch. She did not retreat. She turned her head, facing him. Now the distance between their faces was only a few centimeters, enough to feel each other’s breath, enough to count each other’s eyelashes. Her eyes were fearless. Her voice was also a whisper, a breath in response, mingling with his.
“Guess.”
A stalemate. A stalemate. Words had been pushed to their limits and were no longer effective. The tension between them was thick, palpable in the air. It needed something stronger to break. An action. An explosion.
They returned to the pool area, standing right at the water’s edge. No more words. No more touches. Just silence. The tension between them had become physical, thick in the air. Distant R&B music, the sound of waves, all of them holding their breath, waiting for something to explode.
Minh looked at Ngan. Then he looked down at the calm, blue water of the pool. A wild, crazy smile slowly appeared on his lips. The pressure from the battle of wits, from the dance, from the whispers, all needed an outlet. And that outlet could not be a civilized act.
He suddenly let out a scream, not of anger, but of extreme excitement, a sound that tore through the silence of the night.
“It’s so hot! Let’s take a cool bath!”
Before Ngan could process those words, before she could react, he acted. He lunged forward, grabbing her around the waist, a tight, sudden, and violent hug. The fabric of her dress made a miserable screech. Ngan let out a small scream, a muffled “Ah!” as her feet were lifted off the ground.
They both lost their balance. The world spun. For a moment, she felt weightless, her body and his pressed together, a single mass, plunging into the blue water.
“WOW!”
An explosion of water. The impact tore the calm surface of the lake, splashing drops of water that glittered under the yellow light. A cold shock came, enveloping Ngan’s entire burning body. The world above disappeared. All sound was erased. There was only the sudden silence of the underwater world, a thick silence, broken only by the buzzing in her ears and the “pop” of bubbles from her mouth. All thoughts, all tensions, all calculations were washed away in that shock. There was only the nakedness of the moment, a rebirth in the cold water.
The initial shock passed. They rose to the surface, simultaneously, like two drowning people revived. They gasped, deep, rapid breaths breaking the stillness of the pool. Water streamed down their faces, into their eyes, into their mouths. Minh pushed his wet hair back. Ngan did the same. They looked at each other, and then, a giggle burst from Ngan, clear and uncontrollable. Minh laughed too, a deep, resonant laugh, mingling with the sound of the water.
The madness had washed it all away. No more tension, no more defiance. Just two bodies in the cool water.
Minh swam closer. He didn’t say anything. He just wrapped his arms around her waist, once again, but this time it wasn’t a violent possession, but a magnetic pull. He pulled her close, so that her entire body was pressed against his strong chest underwater. The cold feeling of the water mixed with the warmth radiating from his body, creating a stimulating contrast. The sound of water gently lapping against their skin, “slurp”. The sound of wet skin rubbing against each other, “slurp”, an intimate and naked sound.
His erection was still there, an undeniable fact, pushing gently against her belly. This time, she wasn’t surprised. She didn’t push away. She shifted slightly, an almost unconscious movement, to make the friction more apparent, to feel it more fully. A small “mmm…” escaped her throat, a sound of surrender to the sensation.
Minh felt that response. He leaned close to her ear, his voice hoarse with desire, his hot breath blowing on her wet earlobe.
“Like it?”
The question was no longer a challenge. It was a confirmation. Ngan did not answer with words. She only shivered slightly in his arms, an uncontrollable reaction, a physical answer. He began to move, very gently, very slowly, letting their bodies rub against each other in a lazy rhythm. The sound of water lapping, the sound of skin “slurping”, the increasingly heavy breathing of both of them. The outside world had completely disappeared. There was only them, and this moment, a wordless dialogue, where the body was saying it all.
They surfaced at the same time, as if an invisible thread were connecting their bodies. Their gasps were the only sound that broke the silence of the night. The party was well and truly over. Only a few staff members were cleaning up in the distance, silhouettes moving silently in the yellow light. The music had stopped. This silence was different, it was not peaceful, it was heavy with anticipation.
They were both soaked, their hair plastered to their faces, their clothes clinging to their bodies, exposing every line of their bodies. They said nothing. They just looked at each other. All the games were over. The awkwardness was gone. All that remained was a primal understanding, a communion of two people who had just crossed a line together. Any words were superfluous.
They swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out. Water streamed down their bodies. The night wind blew, making them both shiver, but not from the cold. It was the stimulation of the sudden cold air on their burning skin. Minh grabbed a towel, roughly wiped his hair, and wrapped it around his waist. Ngan also grabbed another towel, slowly drying herself. The silence between them grew thicker.
Minh finished wiping. He didn’t look at Ngan. He threw the towel down on a nearby chair, a decisive movement. Then he turned and started walking toward the main building of the villa, where the bedrooms were silent.
After a few steps, he stopped. But he didn’t turn around. He just stood there, his broad, wet back facing her. Then he spoke a single word. A command, sharp, cold, and powerful, cut through the still air.
“Go.”
Ngan stood there, watching his back. A slow smile spread across her lips. A mysterious smile, a smile of understanding and acceptance. She was not in a hurry. She was not passive. She slowly wrapped the scarf around herself, a conscious gesture. Then she began to walk, following him, keeping a distance. The battle had been declared. And she, of her own free will, was entering the battlefield.