A Beautiful Misunderstanding

Chapter 31 Do You Like Me

With his left hand, Zac grasped Essie's waist tightly. And using his other hand, he threw her floater to Mandy. "Hold it. Don't damage it again," he warned, before bringing his attention back to Essie.

Mandy didn't like the way he had ordered her out! Essie, on the other hand, was too scared to be reacting. With her forehead oozing sweat, she asked, "What about me? What will I do? I can't swim!"

"You got me!" After flashing her a mischievous smile, he grabbed her arms and placed them around his neck.

Flushed with shyness, she stared at him angrily and was overcome with an urge to kick him. But her life depended on him, hence she didn't dare to do anything crazy. Instead, she clung onto him like he was her last hope.

Knowing too well she was doing this only because she had no other choice, Zac let out a smile of victory. As he took back his arm from her waist, she fell into his arms.

"If you are afraid of drowning, then be obedient. Don't move!" he spoke in a presumptuous tone and was proud that his ruthless and shameless trick was working. At present, her condition was akin to that of a meat on the chopping board, waiting for him to cut her into pieces.

Seeing the intimate behavior in which they were acting, Mandy's eyes shot daggers at Essie. She slammed the sea angrily, causing the waves to splash in all directions. Then she screamed and swam to the shore. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

"Mandy!" shouted Essie, noticing she was leaving. But she couldn't follow since she was at Zac's mercy. 'I have never been so helpless!' she thought. Suddenly, a thought popped into her mind. "Zac, you did all of this on purpose, didn't you? If our friendship is destroyed then you are the sole reason behind it! I will never forgive you for the rest of my life!" she spat out, brimming with rage.

Clenching his teeth, Zac was overcome with rage as well. "Well, if you had told her our marriage was real, then there would have been no trouble."

Essie glared at him coldly, hatred building in her heart for him. A wry smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. "How easy it is for you to say such a thing! I was drunk and did something absurd. I hid it because I was afraid it would ruin our friendship. I did it for myself as well. Flash marriage and flash divorce are not things I am proud of. I have no desire to tell my friends that I have become a divorcee at the age of twenty-one. You have no idea how humiliated I will be. Trust me, I will end up becoming a laughing stock. Besides, if someday my parents hear about it, they won't take it well."

The sun shone on his handsome face, but it couldn't light up his dark eyes. He wondered why she hadn't considered turning this mistake into something good. He wished she would ask him to actually be her husband! 'Why does she keep mentioning divorce?' He was irked.

"Since the idea of second marriage and divorce bothers you so much, why don't you just marry me and become a real wife?" He probed her with a teasing tone.

From the look of it, she assumed he was just kidding. Pouting prettily, she said, "You won't like me, will you?"

"How can you be so sure?" he asked challengingly. His voice was soft, more like a whisper. It brushed through her hair.

She tried to smile at him, but the smile was blown away by the sea wind before it took shape.

He never talked about himself. So far, she had gathered nothing except his name and age. Nor did he ever attempt to tell her anything. In his heart, she was not even a friend or at least that's how it seemed to her.

"Do you like me?" she asked, cutting to the chase. Even though her question was intense, her tone was light. It was the same tone one used while asking about the weather.

He did not expect that she would be so direct. Her question had taken him off guard. His lips moved slightly, but did not open. His expression was like a undercurrent at the bottom of the sea, complicated and unpredictable.

A moment of silence stood between them.

They were so close to each other that their eyes reflected each other's figures, but neither of them could see the other's heart.

For no reason, Essie felt stuffy and suffocated. She couldn't stand another second with him. Once the bet with Sunny was done, they would get divorced. Their relationship would only become a burden to them. Calculating all this, Essie thought it was best to end it.

The waves pushed a floating ring over to her. She reached out for it and put it on herself. "Well, your silence answers my question. You don't like me, you don't like me at all!"