Chapter 2

Kimmy sneezed.

Colin immediately rose to his feet in alarm.

“Did you catch a chill earlier?”

Kimmy rubbed her nose. Her voice was thick with congestion.

“I’m fine, Colin. My clothes are just a little wet, and they feel cold against my skin.”

Colin turned and headed toward the staff locker room.

He entered the combination from memory and opened my personal locker.

Inside was a brand-new pink tracksuit, neatly folded on the shelf.

I had saved two months’ wages to buy matching outfits for us to wear on our anniversary.

Without hesitation, Colin took it out.

He also helped himself to the limited-edition microfiber hair drying cap hanging inside the locker door.

“Put this on.”

Colin handed the clothes to Kimmy.

When Kimmy saw the brand tag, she immediately waved her hands in refusal.

“No, I can’t! This is Grace’s favorite brand, and it’s really expensive. She hasn’t even worn it herself. She’ll be furious if I do.”

Colin firmly pressed the clothes into her arms.

“She has plenty of clothes in her locker. She can afford to lend you one. Besides, clothes are meant to be worn, not left sitting around gathering dust. If she has a problem with it, she can take it up with me.”

Kimmy bit her lower lip and reluctantly agreed, or at least pretended to.

“Okay. If I get it dirty, I’ll wash it before I give it back to Grace.”

Clutching the clothes, she went into the changing room.

Colin stood outside the changing room and placed an order through a food delivery app.

In the special instructions, he asked for no onions, no parsley, and extra honey.

He certainly knew Kimmy’s preferences by heart.

I was allergic to peanuts. Just two days ago, he had bought me a peanut butter cookie.

Mrs. Moura, one of the park custodians, approached with a mop in hand.

“Colin, something doesn’t seem right at the wave pool. It looks like a large object is blocking the drain cover, and the water sounds strangely muffled. Shouldn’t you go take a look?”

Colin was busy replying to a text and did not even look up.

“Mrs. Moura, it’s probably an inflatable raft that sprang a leak and got sucked into the drain. Just call maintenance. Why are you telling me about it?”

Mrs. Moura hesitated.

“When I looked earlier, it seemed like the outline of a person. Could it be…”

Colin finally looked at her with a deep frown.

“Mrs. Moura, are your eyes getting worse again? There’s not a soul in the deep end. Grace probably slipped out of the pool without anyone noticing.

“If you saw something shaped like a person, she must’ve planted it there herself. She loves pulling childish stunts like this. Just ignore it.”

Mrs. Moura sighed, shook her head, and walked away.

The food arrived.

Colin set everything out on the table.

Kimmy emerged from the changing room.

The pink tracksuit fit her perfectly.

Colin’s face softened.

“Come. Eat.”

He thoughtfully unwrapped a set of disposable cutlery for her.

Kimmy picked up a peanut butter cookie and took a bite.

“Colin, you remembered these are my favorite!”

Colin smiled.

“Of course I remembered. You’re not like someone I know, who always finds something wrong with the food.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the walkie-talkie on the table crackled to life.

It was Ben Robinson, the park manager.

“Colin, get to the deep end immediately! We have a situation here.”

Colin picked up the walkie-talkie. He sounded very impatient.

“Mr. Robinson, is Grace causing problems again? Just ignore her. She’s just trying to blow this out of proportion.”