I fluttered my eyes open and blinked several times to adjust my eyes with the light. As always happens, when you fell asleep in a new place and when you woke up, you didn't know where you were or what time it was. I slowly got up from my sleeping position and stretched out my arms drowsily. I ran my fingers through my messed-up hair and looked around lazily. Ron was standing near the seashore and talking on his phone in a low tone. When he looked at me, he cut his call and walked towards me.
"Good morning." He smiled at me brightly.
"We shouldn't spend the night here," I told him groggily as I climbed out the bed unwillingly. "What if some wild animal attacked us!"
"There are no big wild animals on this island." Ron chuckled delightedly. "This island is too small for any big animal to live. Yeah, maybe some little wild animals, some insects and maybe some reptiles..."
"Reptiles!" I jumped on the bed again.
"Don't worry." Ron laughed. "They won't attack you."
"Doesn't matter." I scowled at him grimly. "I hate them!"
"Yeah, I know." Ron was still laughing.
"How do you know?" I squinted my eyes at him.
Ron suddenly stopped laughing. He stared at me with a thoughtful expression on his face.
"I...mean...it....was...common...with....most...of...the...people." He cleared his dry throat carefully. "Only a few people like them."
"So true!" I instantly agreed with him.
My stomach suddenly growled loudly, and Ron started to laugh.
"Shut up!" I blushed hard.
"I am hungry too," he said thoughtfully. "We should eat some breakfast."
"Please," I said, hopping out of bed.
Our caretakers, the male one's name was Lamon and the female was named Busarakham, already arranged a delicious breakfast for us. When we reached the main house, we saw that they were waiting for us. They made dim sum for breakfast with green tea. It looked like mouth watering with so many varieties of dishes together. But I liked the chicken feet most. They taste so good. Why didn't people eat them in England?!
"Where are Ryder and Ian?" I asked as I put a small piece of pork rind in my mouth. The only thing I couldn't control was chopsticks. They were fascinating but very laborious tasks for an amateur like me.
"Do you need anything? Should I call Ian?" He asked as he picked up a dumpling carelessly with the help of chopsticks and put it in his mouth. Yeah, he could use chopsticks. There was nothing he couldn't do. Note the sarcasm.
"No, I don't need anything," I said as I shook my head. "It's just I haven't seen them since the morning till now."
"They are generous," Ron smirked slyly. "They don't want to disturb us."
I rolled my eyes.
"What are we going to do today?" I asked casually.
"There are many options." Ron looked at me as he thought hard. "Surfing, scuba diving, riding a glass-bottom boat, or we could just relax at the seashore."
"They all sound fantastic." I smiled contentedly.
"But what I am thinking of is catching some fresh lobster for our lunch." Ron grinned.
"You are going to catch them?" I looked at him in disbelief.
"Yeah." He smiled cheekily. "And I am going to cook them too."
"You know how to cook?" I again asked him in disbelief.
"Don't underestimate me," Ron told me with a smug expression.
"Oh, I never did." I laughed.
After breakfast I changed into a black two-piece and wore a crochet bikini cover-up which I bought last summer from Primark. I took my shades, sunscreen and my phone. I came to the living room to find Ron was in khaki shorts and a white half sleeve shirt. He looked at me and his eyes looked dark for a moment.
"So, where are we heading?" I asked him excitedly.
Ron cleared his throat. "To the east side of the island. I asked Lamon, he said that place is ideal for hunting."
"Cool," I said.
**********
I opened my eyes and got up from my sleeping position on that sunbed. Ron and I had been chatting before I went to sleep. The warm fuzzy weather felt so pleasant on my skin. I looked at my right side, where Ron was sitting before. It was empty. I got up and looked around. I found Ron in between the rocks and the sea. Under the dazzling sunlight, he looked wet and.... alluring. I slowly walked barefoot on the sand, towards him.
"How many did you catch?" I asked him. He looked up at me.
"Two." He pointed to the wooden handicraft basket with a cover, on a rock.
"How long are you doing this?" I asked him as I lifted up the lid. I peeked in the basket and saw two big lobsters were wiggling inside of the basket.
"Umm, I am not sure." He pushed his shades on his brown silky hair. "Maybe forty minutes."
"That's impressive." I looked at him amazed. "I want to try too."
"Sure." He scooted a little to give me some space. I slowly stepped in the shallow water and stood in front of him. The water almost reached my knees.
"Can you see, there?" Ron stretched his arm over my right shoulder to point at a rock, brushing my right ear lightly. I felt a tingle in my spine. "Under the rock, there is one hiding."
I couldn't concentrate because all of my senses were dominated by Ron's sweaty manly odour. I felt addicted and....suddenly thirsty. Very thirsty.
"Liza." I snapped back when Ron called me out.
"Yeah, I am listening." I cleared my dry throat.
"All you have to do is..." Ron started to give me proper instructions.
"Hellllooo. I am a zoology student, remember?" I said with some attitude.
Ron chuckled humorously and stepped back a little. I extended my hand to catch the lobster very confidently.....and failed, again....and again....and again.
"Okay, okay, fine! Show me how to do it." I gave up at last and told Ron who was trying hard to suppress his laugh. I sat up on that rock, just beside that basket.
Ron squatted a little. "First you have to make it cornered. When you ensure that it doesn't have any escape route, you will approach it slowly and.." Ron struck like a cobra and represented the lobster in front of me, "voila."
I took the lobster from him and put it in the basket as I praised him. "Wow, You are very good at fishing."
"I am not good at fishing." Ron placed his hand on the rock, both sides of me and trapped me carefully between his arms. He moved closer to me. I looked up and suddenly found him very close to my face. Our faces were inches away, and I could feel his warm breath. "But I think I am very good at trapping." He smirked mischievously.
***********
We caught four lobsters in total. Ron took two of them and kept the other two in a container, filled with fresh seawater. He said we could eat them tomorrow. I sat in one of the two metal chairs leisurely and sipped on fresh sweet coconut water. Ron was cleaning the lobsters in the sink.
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" I queried him, like the seventh time.
"Believe me." He smiled. "I know what I am doing." He placed one lobster on the chopping board and took the knife to cut it half.
Suddenly Ron's phone in the bedroom started to ring. Ron was halfway, cutting the lobster. He looked at me helplessly.
"Do you want me to take this one?" I tried to offer some help.
"Thanks!" He released a relieved sigh. "It must be Jess. You can just take the message."
"Sure." I got up and walked to the bedroom.
"Hello," I answered the call.
"Hello..." There was a little pause before the answer. "Liza, I am so sorry to disturb you guys." Jess started to apologise. Maybe she was thinking about the odds. "Ron told me to call, and..."
"Hey, calm down." I laughed merrily. "Ron is cooking, so I am answering you. Whatever you are thinking, they aren't happening."
"Let me guess," Jess said. "Grilled chilli-garlic lobster with a special cream."
"How?" I was surprised.
"Don't tell him, I told you." Jess lowered her voice carefully. "He took two weeks of cooking classes, so he can impress you."
"Wow." I was already impressed. Jess laughed.
"Tell him that Mr Zong agreed with all the conditions. We will seal the deal after his return."
"Roger."
Jess was still on the phone, and I could sense her hesitation about something.
"Do you want to tell me something else?" I asked softly.
"Ron asked me to not tell you that, but I think you should know about this." Jess started to speak. "Do you remember the blackmailer who threatened you a few days ago? Ron took care of that matter."
I froze on my spot. How did they know about that? I didn't tell anybody about it.
"You guys tapped my phone," I growled ferociously.
"Liza, calm down," Jess hurriedly said. "Ron was very worried about you. He couldn't protect you in front of everyone. He was afraid, whoever was doing all of those things might try to hurt you. Please, don't get him wrong. I was there, I know how he was feeling."
I took some deep breaths to calm myself down. I pinched my nose bridge hard.
"What did he do?" I asked as I rubbed my face with my palm.
"He called them and made a deal with them. He paid them twelve million euros and told them if they call you again, he will find them and he will crush them one by one."
I slowly flopped on the bed. I was angry, very angry. But somewhere deep inside my heart I felt relieved, very relieved.
"Thanks for letting me know," I told her after a long silence.
"I am sorry," Jess said with a regretful voice. "I shouldn't tell you about this."
I cut the call and looked at the wide glass window. I could see the blue sea. I could see those waves coming and breaking down on the sands. I was so lost with my thoughts that I forgot about the time.
"Liza." I was snapped back to reality when Ron called me out. I slowly got up and walked to the kitchen. Ron already prepared our table.
"Chilli-garlic lobster with bloody mary linguine and green salad," He told proudly. He pulled out a chair for me. I looked at the pulled chair and looked back at Ron.
"Come on, take a seat," He said excitedly.
I slowly took the seat. He served me the lobster with salad and looked at me. I took a small bite. It was delicious. He went and took a seat.
"How is it?" He asked as he also started eating.
"Good," I replied to him distantly as I poked the lobster with my fork.
"But?" His excitement died when he observed my gloomy expression.
I didn't answer.
"Liza, what happened?" He asked softly.
"Jess told me that you took care of my blackmailer." I looked straight at him.
He paused a little. He slowly looked down on his plate. "Sorry."
"Why did you do that?" I asked sternly. "I didn't ask for your help."
"I didn't do that to help you." This time he straightened up on his seat and looked into my eyes.
"Then why?" I asked again.
"Because," Ron smiled tenderly. He put down his fork and knife and folded his arms on the table. While looking at my eyes lovingly, he said calmly,
"I love you."
I instantly froze on my seat. I thought my ears played a trick on me.
"That's why," Ron added while still smiling contentedly.
Silence.
Ron was still looking at me after his confession. More like a statement than an actual confession.
Ron chuckled calmly and then picked up his fork and knife to continue his eating.
"Don't feel obliged. No pressure." He said assuredly.
I blinked. And then I sighed. A long deep one. I looked at Ron who was enjoying his lobster as if he didn't just confess to his wife that he loved her. It would sound sweet if we were the kind of couples who married out of love. But it wasn't like that. Our marriage was just a compromise.
And he couldn't just....
"I understand that you can't just return my feelings...so, you don't have to respond, moreover replying." Ron told me when he noticed my expression.
"Since when?" I asked him calmly.
Ron again put down his fork and knife. He interlocked his fingers on the table and looked at me with an amused expression.
"I can't tell you the exact time. But when I said my vow on the altar," he put his right hand on his left chest, "I told them from my heart."
"That's too sweet to be real." I instantly made a fake gag reaction.
"But it is true." Ron said tranquilly while looking at my eyes.
He loved me. What he did made me really angry. But shouldn't I thank him instead of being angry? He resolved all of my problems and helped me over. He could just walk away and save his back. But he took every responsibility and stood beside me unconditionally. I looked at the cooked lobster. He was giving his everything in our marriage. Should I step in too?
"So true," I mumbled softly. He raised an eyebrow to me.
"Is there anything you don't like to eat?" I asked him before he could respond to my mumble.
Ron paused a little. Then he sipped some water.
"I am not picky," he smiled reassuringly.
"I will make dinner," I said calmly. "I know a good Farfalle recipe, with grilled chicken and spinach. With mushroom sauce."
A pleasant smile slowly broke in his lips. "Looking forward to it."
**********
Author's Note:
I never got any confession. Boys were afraid of me. I used to beat them into pulp. Tsk, should've treated them nicely.
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