Chapter 3. Avoiding

"I'll take care of them," I assure Auntie. 

"Sure, thanks. I'll be back soon, but don't wait for me. You might not even go if you wait for me since I don't know when I'll be done with my meeting," she said. 

"Do Roy and the kids know?" I asked her. 

"I haven't told them yet, but you can be the one to tell them. I have to go now. Goodbye," she said and quickly left. 

I blinked in surprise and, not knowing what else to do, I went back inside. It was still hot outside, so we were all inside the cottage. 

"Where did you come from?" Roy asked. "Did you see Anne?" he added. 

"She just left?" I replied questioningly. 

"She just left? Where did she go?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, waiting for an answer. 

"She said she had a meeting," I replied. 

"A meeting? Where?" 

"Well, how should I know where?" I asked him. 

"You didn't even ask her?" 

"Because if she wants us to know, she will inform us," I retorted and turned away from him. "She just said she had an important meeting and not to wait for her because she doesn't know when the meeting will end," I replied. 

I walked towards our cottage and, with the vast space inside, I wondered how things would unfold. 

"Ms. Ina, where are the drinks? I'm thirsty," Lily asked. 

"Oh?" I looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when I found some nearby. 

"Sure, stay here. I'll get some," I said. "Andrei, do you want some juice?" I asked her brother, who had been watching the swimming pool earlier but couldn't swim alone. 

"Orange juice, Ms. Ina," he said. 

"Where are you going again?" Roy asked as I met him. 

"Join me. Your children want some juice," I told him. 

"They're not my children!" he fastly denied.

I widened my eyes and glanced at the two of them. Fortunately, no one paid attention to us. "What do you mean? Remember, you're married to Ate Anne!" I said, showing off. 

I didn't expect his answer at all. I mean, to me... I just shrugged and continued to get the juice for the two of them. 

Half a day had passed, and I decided it was time to take a bath. There was a canvas roof on the far end, so I figured it would be okay to use it since no one was there. Plus, Andrei was alone in the middle. 

I looked around for the two siblings. They might have gotten tired and needed someone to take care of them. I glanced at Roy, who was standing next to me. 

"Aren't you going to take a bath?" I asked. 

"What about you?" he asked. "You're starting to smell." 

"Is that supposed to be funny?" I asked him, and he laughed. 

"Well..." he started but didn't finish the sentence. 

I tried to fix my hair, which he had messed up and then stood up. My hair must have turned white from dealing with him. 

He smiled at me and reached out his hand as if asking for something. 

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What should I do with your hand?" I asked. 

He just pouted, and he pulled me closer. I was about to step back when he put my hands on his head and placed them on his shoulders. 

"Massage my head. It's been hurting," he instructed which made my burrows furrowed. 

"Just a minute!" I annoyingly pulled my hands back from him. 

I looked at my bruised thigh, probably git from the collision with his knee. It seemed pretty bad. 

"Uncle!" Andrei called out. We both turned to look at him. "Come here! Let's swim!" he shouted. 

"I'll follow! Uncle's head still hurts," Roy replied. He didn't even look at the kids. 

He raised an eyebrow at me. I quietly rolled my eyes and massaged his head. 

Hours passed, and it was already noon. They had left the water, but Roy and I were still here, sweating because of how hot the sun was.

In the past hours, we haven't been with the mother of these children, and during that time, I noticed Roy getting closer to me. I don't want to read too much into his actions, but it seems like he's going overboard. I'm not sure if he's flirting or just being overly affectionate. 

"Come on, you two. It's getting late," I said while handing them their towels. 

"More, Ms. Ina," Andrei requested. 

"We can't do more. That's enough. You might catch a cold. You've been in the water for a while now, and the sun is almost gone," I replied. 

"Ms. Ina is right. You two should come up now," Roy chimed in, taking a towel from my hands. 

I didn't pay him much attention and quickly approached Lily as she came out of the water as well. 

"We can come back another day. There's still time," I reassured them as both siblings pouted. 

Since they found out they wouldn't be able to have fun with their mother, their mood had dampened a bit, but they didn't blame me, which was a relief. 

In the end, we all went back to the unit. They didn't stay long either as they soon fell asleep due to exhaustion. 

I gently closed their bedroom door and stepped out. Our eyes met one last time as Roy sat on the couch, his finger tracing his lower lip. I avoided him before he could say anything, but I couldn't escape when he called me. 

I stood there in silence, sighed, and then turned to face him. He tilted his head to the side and approached me as I took a step back. It was challenging for me to think that he might be flirting. I didn't want to consider that possibility. I preferred to be presumptuous about my actions rather than continuing like this. 

He raised an eyebrow at me and moved closer while I continued to step back. When his hands touched my arms, I finally insisted on retreating. 

"I have something to do. Do you need something?" I asked. 

As his hands slid down to mine, I strongly resisted moving any further back. 

"What... do you have to do?" he asked. 

I fumbled for an answer, avoiding eye contact. "My things are... in the room," I finally mumbled. 

"Your things are in there," he said, pointing to the sofa. "Everything is in order," he added. It caught my red hand lying. 

"I'm just thirsty. I need a drink," I feigned again. 

"The kitchen is over there, and there's nothing here," he replied. 

I wanted to slap myself when I realized that. "I mean, I want the juice from the resort, yes," I said, relieved as if I had escaped something. 

"Is that so?" he asked. 

"I'll go first," I said and quickly turned to leave. 

I decided to walk around the resort. It was getting dark. I just walked around. Until now, Auntie Anne hadn't returned, and I wouldn't go back to the unit until she did. 

I sat in front of the counter and looked at the pool right in front of me. 

"Can I have some orange juice, please?" I asked. 

There were some people outside, but not many, as almost everyone seemed to be inside the bar not far away. 

"Ma'am, here you go." 

I smiled as I turned around and faced the counter after I got my glass. I picked up the glass and took a sip. I wasn't really thirsty, but thanks to Roy, I was drinking. 

"Is it good?" 

I almost choked when I heard his voice. I nearly coughed and lowered the glass to avoid being rude. 

"Are you okay?" he asked. 

Even though it was obvious that I wasn't, I just nodded and raised my right hand as if making a solemn vow. 

"I'm fi-fine," I said as I continued to cough. 

I quickly stood up from my seat when he tapped me on the back lightly. 

"Where are you going?" he asked.

I even heard the irritation in his voice, but I just nodded and turned away, quickly walking away from there. 

"Ina, are you really avoiding me right now?"

My eyes widened when he caught my arms and forced me to face him. I sighed and without any choice, I faced him.

"What?" I replied in a trembling voice. "No, why would I avoid you?" 

"Then why do you leave every time I approach you? You've been doing that since earlier. I'd like to think that I have a serious illness, and that's why you keep avoiding me," he said. 

"What are you talking about, Roy?" I asked, pretending to be amused. 

"Earlier upstairs, you said you were going to fix your things that it already neatly organized, then next you said you'd get juice downstairs, even though I didn't agree. And now that I'm here downstairs, you're leaving again? Just be honest with me, are you avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?" 

"N-no!" I quickly replied. "You didn't do anything wrong," which was true. 

"Ina..." he warned. 

"I-It's just that... maybe the kids might wake up." 

"Stop with the excuses! You've been here for less than an hour, and we're not both foolish enough to think that they might wake up," he said. 

I swallowed hard, glancing at the people who were starting to stare at us. 

"Roy, people are looking," I whispered. 

"There will be more if you don't tell me what's wrong between us," he said. 

"What are you talking about?" I said, trying to pull away from his grip and so when I did, I ran away from him. I never wanted this much attention. I just kept walking until I ended up in a dark area that made me stop. 

There was a large pool in front of me. It looked clean, but I couldn't be sure because it was dark, and there was very little light here. 

There were cottages here as well, but they seemed abandoned in this part. 

I was about to turn around to go back when I realized that Roy was following me closely. I could even see the anger in his eyes. 

I glanced around to see if there was another way out, but there was none except the way I came. I bit my lower lip as I continued forward toward an empty cottage. 

"Ina!" I heard him call my name. "I know you're still here. Come out. It's dangerous here, there might be snakes," he said. 

Even though he spoke normally, it was loud because of the silence here. I remained silent, hiding behind the cottage. I was confident he wouldn't see me here. 

"Ina!" he called again, and this time, his voice was closer. 

I was about to move to a different spot when I accidentally stepped on a plastic wrapper, making a noise. I cursed myself and stood up, looking at Roy in front of me. 

"Now you'll tell me you're not avoiding me," he said as he approached me. 

I backed away from him again, causing him to stop in his tracks. I stared at him, still in my swimsuit. I was waiting for him to speak. 

"So?" he asked when I remained silent. "What did I do?" 

"That!" I replied firmly, pointing at him. He was here now. 

He looked confused. "What do you mean, 'that'?" he asked. 

"Your actions in the past few days have made me suspicious. I couldn't help but give them meaning because my feelings have changed. We know you're naturally affectionate, but now it's different." 

"I never saw you do those things to Auntie Anne. You weren't like this before, but now it seems like you've changed." 

"How did I change?" he asked, seeming indifferent to what I was saying. 

"You're teasing me too much. You're getting too close, and it's as if you want me to serve you every minute—" 

"Because that's what I want," he interrupted. 

"But you're not the only one I should serve. You're not the only one I work for. I serve your whole family. What's wrong with you?" 

"I want your attention, Ina. Your full attention," he said, his voice filled with anger. "I want you to take care of me all the time—" 

"But that's not part of my job. Your wife will do that for you. You should ask her to take care of you, not me." 

"And I also said that I want you to take care of me." 

I just stared at him in disbelief. "Why would I do that? Just because you want me to? Are you joking? Yes, I know I'm your helper, but it's not my obligation to take care of you. I remember my job was to take care of the children. Children," I repeated. "I apologize if it came across as disrespectful, but I just want you to understand that you have a husband who should take care of you, just like you want. Please know the boundaries, Roy." 

I saw a smirk on his face before I turned and left. I heard him call my name, but I didn't bother myself to look back.