Chapter Nine

On the dance floor, Kelvin's eyes caught Alice, beautiful and charming, and in the arms of another man, dancing. He was disturbed. He never expected to see Alice in the party, but there she was, enjoying every bit of it.

He was not sure how he felt. Was he angry? Was he jealous? He didn't know. Perhaps he was not expecting a girl of her status to be captivating men. He found himself being concerned and staring at her, though he tried very hard to ignore it.

Daniel, who was dancing with Victoria, saw Alice on the dance floor with Lucas and his heart was filled with warmth. She danced effortlessly and graciously that one would think she was a pro.

Alice occasionally smiled at Lucas words and Daniel's breath would cease. Gosh! she was very beautiful and very attractive to him. How was he going to survive six weeks with her on that ship without being tempted to at least give her a kiss? he wondered.

Kelvin was equally confused at himself and his internal reactions to Alice on the dance floor - her smiles, her graceful dance moves.

'Why is she so shamelessly dancing with another man? Doesn't she know that she's married?' he questioned in his heart.

'Whatever, I don't care' he compensated the strange discomfort in his heart.

"Babe" Anita touched his hand over the table where they sat.

Kelvin startled a bit and faced her, "Hmmmm"

"You seem lost. What's troubling you?" she asked.

"It's nothing important...." he sighed, "Alice is here" he spilled "dancing with a stranger"

Anita looked around on the dance floor, "Where?"

"There" Kelvin pointed at her.

"So she knows how to flirt." Anita smirked on seeing her, "Babe, I thought you said she was a native villager? She doesn't seem too naive now"

Kelvin said nothing.

"We may not have much trouble getting rid of her after all" Anita added, her face showing mischievousness.

"How?" Kelvin asked

"It won't be that hard to set her up. We'll just need to find a wealthy and attractive man to lure her. We can even use this partner of hers" Anita suggested.

Kelvin raised his glass to his mouth and downed it's content at once. Anita noticed his mood.

"Don't let her bother you babe" She soothingly rubbed his hand, "Why don't you come with me let me help you get over this stress?" she winked at him and he understood. Together they left.

Alice was enjoying Lucas company. He seemed nice and a good companion. After the dance, they talked about lot of things, stories from their families and experiences.

********

The party’s music had faded, leaving only the muffled echoes of laughter and the distant sound of waves crashing against the ship’s hull. Most of the guests had retreated to their cabins, but Alice found herself drawn to the solitude of the deck.

She stood by the railing, her dress catching the moonlight as the wind tugged at her hair. The sea stretched out before her, endless and dark, its vastness offering a strange sense of calm.

Her thoughts were anything but calm. The evening had been a blur of faces, polite conversation, and Daniel. Always Daniel. His presence unnerved her, his charm too seamless to be entirely trustworthy.

“There you are!”

She stiffened at the sound of his voice and turned to find him standing a few steps away. He looked less polished now, his tie gone and the top buttons of his shirt undone, but the same effortless confidence lingered in his stance. She quickly waved off the familiar strange feeling she'd sometimes feel around him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her tone sharper than intended.

He raised an eyebrow, though his expression remained calm. “Taking a walk. Needed some air. You?”

Alice turned back to the water, her grip tightening on the railing. “Same.”

Daniel hesitated, then moved to stand beside her, though he kept a respectful distance. “The deck’s nice at night. Quiet. Feels like the world shrinks a little, doesn’t it?”

She gave a noncommittal hum, unwilling to be drawn into a conversation.

For a moment, they stood in silence, the sea filling the void between them.

“You okay?” he said eventually, his voice carefully casual.

“I’m fine,” she replied curtly, not looking at him.

He studied her for a moment, then nodded. “Good.”

Alice turned to face him, a bit uncomfortable by his presence. “Why you’re here? To check on me?”

Daniel held her gaze, unflinching. “Maybe. Is that a problem?”

“It depends,” she said, crossing her arms. “Why are you so interested in me, Daniel? Can't you just ignore my existence”

His expression softened, though his tone remained steady. “I'm not sure I can do that - ignore you. I just want to be your friend, Alice.”

“Friend?” she repeated, her voice laced with skepticism.

“Yes, friend,” he said firmly. “I know you don’t trust me, and that’s fine. But I’m not here to cause you trouble. I’m just here.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, searching for any sign of deceit. “You say that like I’m supposed to believe you.”

“I’m not asking you to believe me,” he said simply. “I’m just asking you to give me a chance. Not everyone has an ulterior motive, you know.”

Alice turned back to the water, her jaw tightening. “In my experience, they usually do.”

Daniel leaned on the railing beside her, his tone light but sincere. “Maybe your experience has been with the wrong people.”

She shot him a sideways glance, her defenses still firmly in place. “And you think you’re the exception? You're the right one?”

“I think everyone deserves at least one person in their corner,” he said. “Even you.”

The words caught her off guard, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to respond.

“You don’t know me, Daniel,” she said finally, her voice quieter now.

“Then help me know you,” he said gently. “Tell me something about yourself.”

She shook her head, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. “Why? So you can use it against me later?”

He sighed, his gaze steady. “I’m not your enemy, Alice.”

“Then what are you?” she challenged.

“I’m someone who sees you,” he said, his voice firm but calm. “Someone who knows you’re carrying more than you let on. Someone who’s willing to listen, if you ever feel like talking. Someone who is ready to share in your burdens and maybe he is the one to be your escape”

The sincerity in his tone was disarming, but Alice quickly masked her reaction. “You’re wasting your time.”

“Maybe,” he admitted with a shrug. “But I’m okay with that.”

She turned to him then, her eyes narrowing. “Why? Why are you so determined to…be in my corner, as you put it?”

Daniel held her gaze, his expression unwavering. “Because I can understand what you're feeling inside, Alice. I see your pain, I can hear your wishes and no matter how hard you try to act tough, I know that you really need a shoulder to lean on.”

His words struck a chord, though she refused to let it show. She turned away again, staring out at the endless expanse of water.

“I don’t need your pity,” she said after a moment.

“It’s not pity,” he said softly. “It’s understanding.”

Alice’s grip on the railing tightened, her emotions threatening to spill over. She didn’t want to trust him, didn’t want to let her guard down. But something about his presence—steady, unyielding—made her feel less alone.

The silence stretched between them, heavy but not uncomfortable. Finally, she sighed and glanced at him. “I’m not an easy person to be friends with, Daniel.”

He smiled faintly. “Good thing I don’t scare easily.”

Despite herself, a small smile tugged at her lips. But it was gone as quickly as it came, replaced by the familiar mask of wariness.

“We’ll see,” she said quietly, turning back to the sea.

Daniel didn’t press her further. He simply stood beside her, the two of them staring out at the water as the ship sailed on into the night.

*******

The air in Alice’s cabin was suffocating with tension the moment she stepped inside. Kelvin stood near the window, his phone gripped tightly in his hand.

“You’re late,” he said without turning around, his voice low and accusatory.

Alice shut the door behind her and leaned against it, crossing her arms. “Am I? I didn’t realize my schedule had to revolve around yours.”

Kelvin finally turned, his dark eyes narrowing at her. “We had a video call with Grandmother. A call you conveniently forgot.”

Alice shrugged, moving further into the room. “Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t care to attend.”

Kelvin’s face twisted with frustration. “Are you serious, Alice? Do you have any idea how it was for me to sit here, explaining your absence? Grandmother definitely suspects something.”

"I don't care" Alice replied nonchalantly

"You don't care?" Kelvin's voice rang high, "You don't care Alice? Grandma is not supposed to have an idea that this marriage is nothing or I'll lose my inheritance. And you got into a contract with me. How do you think you'll get your fifty percent when Grandma cuts me off because of

your stupidity?"

"I really don't care, Kelvin" Alice was calm and beaming with pride to see how scared and desperate he needed her.

Kelvin moved closer to her, trying hard to restrain himself from hitting her.

"And it's not my fault." Alice continued in her egoistic manner, "I had quite an exhausting time at the party and all I want to do is to rest"

"Exhausting time indeed." Kelvin released with bitterness, "You flirting around with men, dancing with them... Aren't you ashamed of yourself. You're a married woman and yet you go about like a whore, falling into the arms of every man you can find. You disrespected the entire Sander family, disrespected my Grandmother!"

“Disrespect?” Alice echoed, her voice laced with mockery. “How ironic, coming from a man who brought his mistress on our honeymoon and

has so far spent all his time with her.”

Kelvin’s jaw tightened. “Don’t start, Alice.”

“Oh, I’m just getting started,” she said, her voice rising. “You want to talk about humiliation? About disrespect? Let’s talk about how you treat me, your wife, like a prop in your life, parading me around when it suits you and then discarding me the next second. Let’s talk about how you've probably slept with your girlfriend uncountable times since we've stepped on this ship. I get to dance with a man and you're fuming. Imagine how I have felt all these while.”

Kelvin took a step closer, his voice a low growl. “You are and can never be the kind of woman I'd love. I married you because you charmed your way to my grandmother and made her force me into marring you. I can never ever condescend to loving a thing like you. To me you're dirty, ugly and dumb. An uneducated idiot who thought that she had hit a gold mine by marrying me."

Alice swallowed hard at his words and then raised her head to him in confidence, "Why then does it bother you when I spent time with other men?"

Kelvin was stung at the question. He was equally confused as to why a part of him would bother about a 'dirty thing' like her, "I'm not bothered and I don't care if you spend your time with all the men in the world"

"Good" Alice smirked, "You go on with your girlfriend and leave me do whatever it is

I please with myself. Soon, three years will be over, you'll get your inheritance and I'll get my share and this sham of a marriage will be over"

"And while we're still in this.... sham of a marriage, you are mandated to make grandma believe that nothing is wrong with us" Kelvin said.

"No I'm not" Alice denied.

"Yes, you are, dummy. You signed a contract that till I get my inheritance, you will not do anything that will make grandma cut me off" Kelvin spoke, trying to hide his fear.

"You're the dummy, Kelvin. Despite being so educated you still don't know how to read. I signed that I would not reveal anything to Grandma...." Kelvin felt stiff, frozen with fear, "It is

not my business, if Grandma figures out everything for herself" Alice smirked.

Kelvin immediately reached for her arm and held it tight, pulling her close to himself, "You witch!" Alice simply smiled, enjoying the sight of fear in his eyes. He had thought to use her like she was useless but she had turned the tables around that he now fears her for what she could do to him.

"This is your plan, right? To keep doing things

that will make grandma find out the truth." He tightened his grip on her arm and Alice gasped in pain, wincing.

"You're hurting me" Alice complained, struggling to get out of his grip.

"And I'll hurt you even more. You little non-entity, illiterate, villager having the guts to challenge me and threaten me. You want to make me your slave but I won't let that happen. I will show you that I am in every way superior to you"

Alice swallowed the pain and straightened her face, "You've already made yourself a slave by marrying me. Next time, you won't ever, in your life, toy with a woman like you did with me. I will make sure, Kelvin, that you will regret every single wrong you've done to me"

"You dare not. Else you'll see my demons." Kelvin glared at her. "Tomorrow morning, after breakfast, we'll have that call with Grandma." he ordered and released her with disgust and stormed out of the room.

Alice stood in the middle of the room, soothing her wounded arm. The sound of his retreating footsteps echoed in her ears, each one a painful reminder of the life she was stucked in.

She sank onto the edge of the bed, staring at the closed door with a mix of anger and despair. The humiliation, the betrayal, the constant sense of being unwanted—it all weighed heavily on her, threatening to pull her under.

But beneath it all, there was a flicker of defiance, a stubborn refusal to let him break her completely. Kelvin might have walked out, but Alice knew she wouldn’t crumble. Not for him. Not for anyone.

Instead, she lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling as the ship rocked gently beneath her. She was going to make sure he regretted underestimating her.