[Fiona's POV]
This ought to be some joke, "What on earth is wrong with you, Esther?" I yell angrily.
"I didn't know you and Heath were a thing, he called me and..." Esther stutters.
"I did not call you," Heath cuts her off, "Why are you lying?"
"Geez, Esther, how is a man supposed to tell you he is not interested?" I angrily growled, "Why are you in my man's bad naked, and don't yap about him calling you because, one, he doesn't have your number, and two, I have been with him all day."
I can see Heath turn into a blushing mess in the corner of my eye. This is absurd. How did she even get into his room in a short time? I went back to my room, and Heath started getting the shower ready.
She looks away in embarrassment before chuckling shyly, "You should see your face right now," she says, covering herself up.
"What? What do you think you would be but naked on Heath's bed without his permission, no less?" I question firmly.
She continues to laugh hysterically, shocking us both, "It was a prank, geez, everyone was talking about it, how the two of you were an item, so I wanted to test your bond."
"Excuse me?" Heath, who looked like he could be popping a vein soon, shouted, "So this is your sorry excuse for a prank? Sexual harassment?"
"I didn't think that far," she says sheepishly, "sorry, I guess."
"You guess? Esther, did this unrequited love mess with your brain?" I asked, annoyed, "What are you on? Are you high on something?"
"Can you two take a joke? It was a joke. I just wanted to see if you were choosing a Playboy over an honest man like Carl was the right choice," she yelled back at me.
"What do you know about me to even care that much? What do you know about my relationship with Carl to start with?"
"Well, I know that you cried in his chest about how your family abandoned you, stupid orphaned self, just for you to abandon him when you get a fatter check."
I don't know how quickly I got to her, or how I raised my hand, but I felt it when my hand connected to her face. A loud clap filled the room.
She looked flabbergasted, maybe because she never thought I would retaliate that way. Maybe it was because I was too far away for her to even reach her at that time.
"I...."
"Talk to me like that again and you will get more than just a slap," I warned.
She looked at me with rage, then pitifully looked at Heath for help, but he seemed not to have cared, like if I didn't retaliate, he would've done worse.
"Get out, we have been having a sh*t day and would like to rest without you bugging us," I say angrily.
She quickly picked up the clothes she hadn't worn yet before rushing out. I cannot believe this. What has really gotten into innocent, naïve Esther, or was I too blind to see this side of hers?
I feel Heath's hands wrap around my torso gently, "People have gotten too comfortable throwing your trauma around. I feel like I should break all their bones."
"You sound like some mafia don," I sarcastically say.
"Ah…. You are doing it again. Are you really that into mafia bosses?"
"I am not into mafia bosses, okay; you are the one making obscure comments about killing people."
"Thank you for not misunderstanding. I was scared I would have lost you before I even got you."
"Ugh…... Heath, it was so obvious you were innocent. Why would I have misunderstood?"
"You haven't read any romance books, have you?" he teased, "You really should start reading romance books, because they are my favorite."
"Who would've guessed Heath Duncan likes Romance?"
"Come on, you were about to wash my body in the shower," he says, taking my hand before leading me to the shower.
Esther's outburst caught me by surprise. I am sure it must have been influenced by something Carl said; it seems those, too, had gotten very close.
I am going to talk with her tomorrow. If she still insists on being a b*tch, I will have Clover sack her. We cannot have her taking care of Clover while holding a grudge against me; it would not be safe for either Clover or the baby.
[The next day]
We have only a day left till we reach Mauritius, then take the flight back to Cape Town, back to slaving away for survival.
The first thing I do when I wake up is get ready to talk to Esther about last night's incident, give her a chance to redeem herself before destroying her.
"Esther, may I have a word with you?" is the first thing I say when Heath and I reach the breakfast table.
"Oh…. Okay," she says. I couldn't sense anything in her voice, neither disappointment nor resentment. Maybe we will squash this beef before it even starts.
"What are we missing?" Carl asks.
"None of your business," Heath responds abruptly. He really needs to stop feeding into whatever antics Carl is always up to.
Esther quietly follows me out to a quiet deck. "Firstly, I would like to apologize for yesterday. I was so drunk, and a bit hurt that Heath is now taken."
Seems I was right. I need not deal with Esther again, because she has seen the errors of her ways.
"Oh… I was about to tell you how inappropriate your behavior was, but it seems you already know that."
"Yes, ugh, I have been obsessed with Heath for this whole trip, and he hasn't given me the time or day, but you suddenly sweep him off his feet enough to want to be exclusive; any girl would be offended."
"Of course, I am sorry, I didn't really want to sweep him off his feet," I say sympathetically. Of course, I don't need to sound like I am mocking her.
"Guess the love-hate thing really does work, huh?" she teases, "I am happy for you two, you are perfect for each other."
It was a wonderful day. Tomorrow evening, we will reach Mauritius, and soon the vacation will be over, but what is a good cruise from hell without some twists and turns?
Heath and I had decided to spend some time away from each other's hands and delicious bodies and spent time with our friends instead. Boys cruise out versus girls cruise out.
"This is much more fun than I expected," Selby yells.
"Keep off the alcohol, please, Selby," Clover says, "I will not nurse your hangover."
"Sorry, Mom cannot hear you over these delicious mimosas," Selby yells, downing another glass. Yeah, Selby and alcohol seemed to speak the same language.
"Um…. Fiona, can you help me with something?" Esther asks sheepishly.
"Oh… of course," I tell her. She leads me out of the bar we were at, into another room. She continues to walk, not stopping, and I start worrying.
"Um? What do you need help with?" I asked, stopping in the dark room. She can't stop walking deeper in.
She chuckles a little, "We are already here, love," she says.
I hear footsteps behind me before someone hits me on the head. Esther continues to laugh hysterically.
"Oh…. You and Heath are perfect for each other," I hear Esther taunt. "Please give me a break."
I can feel fresh blood from the open wound on my head. I looked up to see Clover's ex-husband, Corner, with the baseball bat he had just hit me on the head with.
"You see, Fiona, you have a lot of enemies; I just have to choose which one I need to get rid of," Esther taunts. "This is what is going to happen. See, we are inside a food supply fridge for the cruise's food, and it will not be opened until tomorrow evening. Do you know what that means? You will freeze here."
Ugh…. This is truly a cruise I shouldn't have set foot on. "Why are you doing this?"
"Come on, I already told you; I wanted Heath Duncan, and you snatched him away from me," she grumbles, "ugh… I am not going to explain anything to you, okay."
"Let's go before someone finds us here," Corner, who seemed terrified, says.
"Fine, you coward, we will leave her here," Esther says. I think I might have a concussion from when that bat hit my head because I couldn't seem to move my body.
"You know, you should have just died when I threw you overboard," Esther says. I look at her with nothing but dread, and she smirks, "What you thought it was, Carl, it was fun trying to frame him, but you guys just stopped with the investigations, and I need not frame him."
"You will pay for this," I managed to voice out through the pain.
"We will see about that," Esther says, "Guess who is keeping Heath's bed warm tonight?"
She looks at me and winks before she leaves with Corner. I hear the doors close, ah… I was lured into my death and worse because of a man; this woman wants to kill me for a man who doesn't even love her.