CHAPTER 4

When Lance's question rendered me speechless, I narrowed my eyes at him! We only dated for a few months, and it also happened a few years ago. “Should I take note of the fact that you have a photographic memory and can remember everything from the past?”

“What happened between us is still vivid in my memory,” Lance replied with a shake of his head.

I smirked as I arched my straight brows towards him. “Mr. Salcedo, you're such a liar.” Do you want to know something? If there's one thing I'll never forget from our past, it's time you asked me to murder my own child!” I yelled at him, and I could see Lance's jaw clenched, but he couldn't deny what I said. It was the whole truth and nothing but the whole truth, and he knew it deep down!

“I cannot change what occurred in the past, but I can assure you that I am a better person now.” He responded though it wasn't the best response I had hoped for.

I could only shrug off my shoulder as a person who questioned every word that came out of his mouth. “Are we going to proceed now?” While pointing to my recorder and his seat, I asked him. Lance nodded and sat down in front of me, and his self-assurance almost irritated me!

“Yes, let's get this done as soon as we can,” Lance replied sternly, and I could tell he wasn't in the mood to play games by his expression.

I exhaled deeply after two hours of interviewing him and realized that I had completed the task. I expressed my gratitude for his flexibility and extended my hand for a handshake. Lance, on the other hand, only stared at my hand before walking away to the kitchen. I followed him after raising my eyebrows at his abrupt change of attitude.

“Hey, that was impolite!” I had no right to reprimand him and should have ignored or walked away, but his cold demeanor irritated me!

“What is it? When I wouldn't take your hand in mine?” Lance inquired, and he handed me a glass of cold refreshment.

“That's exactly what I'm saying! Was it indispensable for you to do that?” He laughed when I asked him. “Can you tell me if something is amusing?” His laughter irritated me, and I desperately wanted to kick him in the groin.

“Wow, you're hilarious! What happened when you tried to be cool since you arrived on my island?” He inquired, and I believed he thought my discomfort was amusing.

I corrected him, saying, “I can tell your imagination is wild.”

Lance locked his gaze on me, and I couldn't look away. “Am I hallucinating, Alexa?” He asked.

I refused to acknowledge his question with a shake of my head. “I'm not sure what's wrong with you, but now that I've finished my work, there's no reason for me to stay here any longer.” Mr Salcedo, thank you for your time.” I said my goodbyes to my ex-boyfriend and made my way back to the living room, where I had left my bag.

On my way out, I tried calling Liam's number but was unable to connect. I attempted several times, but it appeared that he had switched off his phone. I bit my bottom lip while wondering why he switched his phone when I made it clear to him that I needed to return to the mainland after the interview.

“Is there anything wrong?”

I was startled when Lance suddenly talked behind me, and I replied to his inquiry with, “I can't get in touch with him.”

When he asked, “Who?” a wrinkle appeared on his brow.

“Liam,” I replied. “Is there any other way for me to contact him other than through his phone?” It was already two o'clock in the afternoon when I checked my watch, and I needed to get home before dinner because my mother was expecting me!

“I'm sorry, but all he has is his phone,” Lance responded.

“However, what will I do if I am unable to contact him today?” Liam wouldn't be able to pick me up from Isla de Salcedo, which made me nervous.

He replied, “Don't worry, there are plenty of rooms in the villa.”

“No, I have to get home!” I insisted

“Then, go if you can swim back to the mainland!” Before vanishing from my sight, Lance yelled at me.

I tried to contact Liam for the nth time after Lance left me, and when he remained outside of the coverage area, I tossed my phone into the chesterfield sofa and sat beside it. I put my hands on my head and tried to come up with a different way to get home, but Lance's voice echoed in my head when he told me to swim back to the mainland.

What kind of person could be so cruel?

It was around five o'clock in the afternoon when I abandoned my plan to return home and began looking for Lance. He was smoking a cigarette when I found him on the veranda. I told him, “I think I'm going to have to take your offer to stay here for the night.”

“You know I don't mind if we stay here for the rest of our lives,” he said quietly.

“Would you mind if I asked you to stop?” I was irritated by his cheesy lines and everything else he did while I was around.

“Can you tell me why you think we're going to meet again?” Lance asked.

“What are you talking about? Do you want to tell me that we'll have to meet again someday? Or we are soul mates? Is that the message you're trying to convey to me?” In my response, I couldn't help but be sarcastic.

“Now that I think about it, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and not everyone gets it!”

Lance was adamant that our meeting was important. I tried to dismiss his theory, but I couldn't help but think about our fateful meeting. “For us, Lance, there is no second chance.” I gave him my word of assurance.

“How did you figure that out? After five years, this is the first time I see you again, but I can tell you still like me by the way you look at me. Is that correct, Alexa?”

Lance assumed that after all these years, my feelings for him had not faded. What a crazy person! “You're insane!” I exclaimed.

“Yes, I'm completely enamored with you.” He said the words as if he had never abandoned me before.

“Well, you can tell the Marines about it. Can you recommend a room for me to stay in for the night?” Before we could go any further into our tragic past, I changed the subject. Lance motioned for me to follow him, and I did so. After that, he showed me the room that I could use, and I protested. “Why here?” I inquired.

“Because it's the closest to my room,” he replied, seemingly oblivious to the fact that what he had done was wrong.

“Are you kidding me?” I exclaimed. I told him, “Let me transfer to a different room,” but he shook his head to refuse me.

“Do you still feel uneasy around me?”

“What are you talking about?” When I couldn't speak right away and just stared at Lance, he grinned. “Can you tell me why you're doing this?” I inquired because his behavior perplexed me.

As he opened the door to let me in, he said, “Don't make it obvious that you still have feelings for me. Now, go ahead and take a shower or a nap.” Before leaving, he stated, “I'll wake you up when dinner is ready.”

Once inside the guest room, I began to wonder why he was acting so strangely. But, I reminded myself, I wasn't over him yet, and that was even more difficult!

The guest room was also decorated in the same modern and sleek style as the rest of the villa. I stretched out on the queen-sized bed, admiring the gold chandelier from my vantage point. Lance suggested that I take a shower or rest, but I couldn't do both because my mind kept wandering back to the previous day's events.

I was overdramatic because we had only been dating for a few months. The only difference was that I was able to become pregnant in a relatively short period of time. Lance must have assumed I was the same naive girl he met years ago, but he was mistaken because the innocent woman was no longer inside me!

At a quarter to seven, the man followed through on his promise and knocked on the door. When I opened it, I was greeted by his smiling face and the same set of dimples that had drawn me to him years before still had the same effect.

“Dinner's ready,” he announced.

“All right, I'll be there in a second,” I told him and shut the door behind me so I could check my appearance in the mirror. But, hold on a second, why should I bother? Before I walked to the door, I questioned my sanity in front of the huge mirror.

Constant sighs escaped from my lips as I walked down the corridor toward the dining room. The delicious aroma of food coming from the kitchen made me hungry, but the situation caught me off-guard.

“Does it really have to be that way?” After noticing a set of candles on the table, I inquired. He didn't even have to prepare a candlelight dinner for me! What for? Was he planning to rekindle our love affair? I shook my head in disbelief that he could resort to desperate measures just to have me back in his life.

“Yes, because the generator is broken and there is no electricity here,” he replied in a calm voice.

“What are you talking about?” After hearing his response, I gaped in horror as my self-confidence crumbled to the ground.

“Wait a minute, did you think it was going to be a romantic dinner?”

Blood rushed to my cheeks as he joked, and for the first time in my life, I was grateful for my not-so-fair complexion because my embarrassment was less visible to Lance's eyes. “Of course not!” I exclaimed.

I snatched one of the chairs and sat down, vehemently disputing his claim. I ate before Lance because I didn't want to wait. Lance's presence tested my patience, and I was afraid the mask I was wearing would fall off.

He warned me not to rush through my dinner, saying, “Eat slowly and enjoy the food.”

I pretended to be hungry, but I really wanted to get away from him as soon as possible. I didn't like how he seemed to care about my well-being because it seemed superficial to me, but I couldn't help but feel my heart flutter whenever he was so close to me. When I looked up to see him, I noticed he was staring at me, and I responded by raising my brows.

“Alexa, you look fantastic,” he expressed his thoughts.

When he tried to flatter me with flowery words, I just rolled my eyes at him. As if it were going to make my stomach turn with delight! Did he think I'd fall for his words yet again? When I couldn't think of anything else to say to put him in his place, I joked, “Quit staring, or you'll fall for me again.”

As he placed some bite-sized steak on my plate, he grinned. He responded, “I already did.”

To keep me from feeling good and giddy at the same time, I chewed my food thoroughly. I stood up after wiping my mouth with the napkin and said, “I'm done.”

“Don't be obnoxious, and take a seat!” He gave the instruction. He reminded me of my callousness by saying, “It's rude to leave the table while I'm still eating.”

I looked at him in disbelief for a few moments. “Do you mean obnoxious?” I sarcastically chuckled and furrowed one of my brows in his direction. “If you don't want to hear an earful, don't lecture me about being rude,” I said as I stormed out of the dining room.

“Alexa!”

He shouted for my name, but I couldn't be bothered to turn around when he called my name.

From the dining room, I went straight to the guest room assigned to me and ensured to lock the door. Knowing Lance, he would try to sneak inside, and it would be a disaster. I tried to call Liam before going to sleep, and after several attempts, I was able to get through to him.

“Are you still alive?” I had to shout to get his attention because his surroundings were noisy, and it appeared that he was in a bar or something similar.

“Are you having fun with him?” Liam inquired, and his tone enraged me.

Because I was afraid of throwing my phone against the wall, I clutched it tightly. Lance's relative was exactly like him, arrogant and conceited! “Hey, I told you I wasn't a hooker!” I yelled at him!

“Did I make any mention of it? Why are you so defensive?” He asked, and I was perplexed.

“Take care of your own affairs,” I told him before asking about his schedule on picking me up from the island. Then, I sighed deeply because I didn't know how to explain it to him in a way that he would understand me. I waited for his response, but Liam was deafeningly quiet for a few moments, and I wondered if he had passed out. “Hello, are you still there? Is everything all right?” His silence worried me because he was the only one who could get me off, Isla de Salcedo.

He caught me off guard when he said, “I'll come to get you in an hour.”

“Are you serious?” I needed to know if he was serious or if he was joking.

“Yes. Get ready, and I'll be there in an hour,” Liam said as he abruptly ended the call.

Even though I had only spoken with Liam for five minutes, I was still perplexed by his announcement. He didn't have to sail in the middle of the night to get me; he could do it in the morning instead! My heart fluttered at Liam's words because they were unexpected for a woman who had been single for a long time.

“Thank you, Liam. You’re my lifesaver,” I said.

“My pleasure,” he replied, and then the call was disconnected.

The idea that Liam might be interested in me as a woman made me laugh. I took a deep breath to calm my heart for the nth time, and I made a mental note to start dating when I returned to the mainland.

Regardless, I prepared my belongings and spent the remainder of my time in front of the mirror while double-checking myself. In my mind, Lance was to blame for the previous trauma and humiliation. His betrayal harmed me even more because I couldn't bring myself to date someone else without worrying about being hurt again. The fear of being betrayed again kept me from taking a chance on another person and dating a slew of attractive men. Everything was his fault!

When I heard a knock, I glared at the door because I knew that Lance was outside. After all, it was just the two of us on the island. I was supposed to ignore it, but I had something to tell him. I tied my hair into a ponytail before I strolled towards the door to open it.

“Hi,” he said as soon as I opened the door.

I furrowed my brows and glowered at the man who smelled so good! I wished that he would take a few steps away from me because his familiar scent assaulted my senses, and it was alarming! “Do you have something to tell me?” I inquired.

“I thought you are tired, Alexa. I am not sure though why you’re wearing some make-up,” he said.

“Well, I am glad that you come to see me now because I have something to tell you,” I informed him. Then I paused for a moment when he snapped his brows and glared at me as if I did something wrong! “Liam is on his way to get me right now,” I told him, and Lance's brows drew together in the middle of his broad forehead, then he glared at me as if I had said something incorrectly.

“What did he say?” He refused to believe Liam would risk his life to sail to the island late at night just to get me. “Did Liam tell you that he likes you?”

“Nope, but if that's the case, I'd appreciate it,” I admitted.

“He's not a good person, Alexa,” Lance sneered at me as if his words of warning would persuade me to stay on the island.

I responded, “Everyone is bad in someone else's story.” I looked at my wristwatch and saw that I only had ten minutes until Liam arrived. I smiled at him before retrieving my belongings, “I should get going now, and thank you for accommodating me,” but he followed me inside and locked the door behind him.

He reiterated Liam's inability to be trusted, saying, “You can't be serious about leaving now.”

I told Lance to mind his own business for the umpteenth time, and he became enraged. “You're hurting me!” I screamed as he grabbed my wrist.

“Liam is only interested in playing with your heart and exploiting you for his own gain. Is it still your intention to meet up with him?” Before he let go of my wrist, he yelled at me, and I scowled at him.

“I am!” I yelled back, trying to persuade him of the significance of Liam's presence. He looked down at the ground for a moment, and I thought he was going to leave me alone, but he didn't!

Before storming outside, he announced, “Fine, then I'm coming with you.”

I was taken aback by his abrupt announcement of returning to the mainland because I had learned from Lance's secretary that he had no intention of returning to the office for an extended period of time.

I checked myself in the mirror and sprayed a little perfume before going outside, and my eyes grew larger when I saw him lounging outside the room. “Are you insane?” Lance's presence, as well as the fact that he had been waiting for me, astounded me.

I rolled my eyes at him when he replied, “I'm crazy about you.”

I walked right past him, but he kept following me. He walked alongside me on the boardwalk and offered to carry my bag. Of course, I refused to allow him to help me in any way. My mission had been completed, and I had no desire to make amends with him.

Liam waited on the boardwalk, and when he saw my companion, his face darkened. He scowled at Lance, then at me, and Liam commented, “You must be close to him because he walked with you up to here.”

“No, but when I told him you were coming here, he insisted on going to the mainland,” I said, to which Liam nodded. “By the way,” I cautioned Liam, “you should be careful with your attitude or I may include it in the article that you are not on good terms with your brother.” He simply smiled. I whispered into his ear, “But of course, I will appreciate it if you will not let him in the boat.” He laughed. The waves drowned out the sound of Liam's laughter, but Lance heard it and frowned.

Liam said, “I like you. I mean, I like your grit.”

I winked at him and shrugged off my shoulder, saying, “I don't mind having a hunk friend.”

Lance seemed out of place inside Liam's magnificent boat, as I preferred to converse with Liam. I liked the younger Salcedo's corny jokes because he has a good sense of humour. Lance attempted to separate me from Liam, but the latter refused to give Lance's demands.

While we were on the deck, Liam observed, “I don't know what happened between you and him, but it seemed like you've known each other for a long time.”

I just smiled and didn't say anything in response to his statement. Instead, I told him, “You don't like your big brother, do you?”

Liam responded, “Sometimes, but we're fine. Would you like a beer?” He inquired, and when I nodded, he excused himself to get something to drink.

Lance strutted his stuff as he announced his arrival. “At long last, you're on your own.”

“And what about that?” I inquired as to whether or not this would change things.

“Did he tell you about the woman we used to share?” He inquired, and his inquiry roused the lioness within me.

I gave him a stern look for asking such a ridiculous question. “Are you envious of how much time I spend with him compared to you?”

“Yeah, Alexa. I'm envious. You were once mine, but Liam is attempting to snare you away from me!” He replied with such zeal in his voice that even if I weren't angry with him, my heart would be racing.

“I had no idea you were insecure around your brother,” I stated flatly, and he glared back. “You always glared at me; don't your eyes hurt from staring at me so much?” I jokingly said, but Lance couldn't respond because Liam was on his way.

Liam shrugged off his brother and handed me a bottle of icy beer. After he opened the bottle for me, he said, “Cheers.”

I replied, “Thank you.”

“Hmmm, bro, if you want some beers, go get some,” Liam told Lance to get his own beer because there was a lot in the fridge, and I assumed he wouldn't leave.

“Are you available on Saturday and Sunday? When Lance went to get his beer, Liam asked me.

“Why? Are you going to take me on a date?”

When Liam realized I was joking, he chuckled and casually touched my head. On the other hand, Lance arrived just as Liam's hands were about to fall on my head and rushed to my aid. As if I needed to be rescued by a hottie who made me laugh while sailing on his yacht. I managed to keep a safe distance from Liam and Lance while they were at each other's throats.

An hour later, I thanked Liam for the ride and didn't wait for anyone to assist me down when the yacht arrived at our destination. Both of these men were a pain in the neck, and I didn't want to deal with them any longer.

“Hey, Alexa!”

Someone called, and when I turned around, it was Liam Salcedo, so I smiled at him. “What is it?”

“Wanna hang out tonight?”