I held the coconut bowl in my hands and shook my head.
"Sanders, this medicine is too bitter. I really don’t want to drink it anymore."
He never allowed me to call him Jaren—only by his surname.
I thought of Suzzette sweetly calling him "Jaren" over and over again, and bitterness welled up inside me.
However, Jaren insisted on feeding me the medicine.
I said coldly, “All medicine is poisonous in some way. Aren’t you afraid that taking too much might have side effects?”
At the mention of side effects, he hesitated. Then he forced a smile, pretending to be at ease.
"There are no side effects, Reese. Just drink it."
He had become so skilled at lying to me—so calm, so effortlessly cheerful.
As he wished, I took the bowl and drank it all in one go.
The bitterness made me wince.
A flash of guilt crossed his eyes, and he quickly said he would go find some honey for me.
The moment he left, I turned away and spat out the medicine.
Jaren had a cruel heart.
If I kept drinking this, my leg might never heal.
—
At night, he always exhausted me before bed, making sure I was too tired to stay awake—so he could sneak away to see Suzzette.
I refused to let them have their way.
I fought off sleep, clinging to him, insisting he tell me stories.
At first, he was patient. But as time dragged on, his frustration grew.
Suddenly, he got up and forcefully pushed me down. "Reese, you need to sleep."
"I’m not sleepy. I just like talking to you," I insisted.
His face darkened. “If you don’t sleep, how can I go hunting with peace of mind? If I don’t hunt, what will you eat?”
Tsk. Using hunting as an excuse again.
Sighing, I replied, "I can eat less. Or you could just go during the day."
Jaren clearly hadn’t expected me to be this difficult.
I grabbed his hand. “Or... we could just lie down and sleep together?”
"Enough!" he roared, losing his temper.
He was furious—completely out of character.
Was missing one meeting with Suzzette really that unbearable?
Realizing I was upset, Jaren ran outside and returned with a coconut.
"Coconut water is sweet. I know you like sweet things."
So he remembered. I loved drinking coconut water.
I took the heavy coconut, glancing down to see a faint trace of white powder near the opening.
Under his expectant gaze, I took a deep sip.
Then, pretending to feel drowsy, I lay down to sleep. As I closed my eyes, he gently caressed my face.
"Reese, just wait until the day after tomorrow. After that, I’ll make it up to you."
The day after tomorrow—that was the day of Suzzette’s engagement.
That was also when my parents would officially announce her as their heiress.
Everything that was supposed to be mine would be taken away.
And what exactly did he think he could "make it up" to me?
Jaren whispered to himself, “Reese, I’ll stay with you on this island for the rest of our lives. And once you’re gone. I’ll return to protect the young miss.”
Even as he made me a promise, he couldn’t let go of Suzzette.
The moment he left, I forced myself to vomit out the coconut water.
Luckily, I hadn’t swallowed much.
Jaren was too confident.
In his rush to see Suzzette, he hadn’t even bothered to hide the sleeping drug.
I pocketed all of it.
Tomorrow, it would come in handy.
If he didn’t love me, then I had no reason to stay on this island.
—
Tomorrow was the day of the tsunami warning.
Suzzette was about to get engaged.
Jaren had been staring blankly at the sky all morning.
He made me breakfast, then claimed he was going hunting again.
It was clear that staying with me was painful for him.
And I was more than happy to oblige.
Suddenly, he pulled me into his arms.
"Maybe I won’t go hunting today. We still have enough food."
