He took the necklace and tenderly fastened it around Ivy's throat.
His gaze was soft, the corners of his mouth curving up.
In that moment, I was the one who didn't belong here.
"Then I shouldn't stay any longer."
I picked up the suitcase I'd packed long ago.
And turned and walked out the door.
Lloyd didn't come after me.
He only called.
"Ivy's a guest in our home and she wanted to taste your cooking. How could you be so rude?"
"If you know what's polite, then go cook for your precious Ivy yourself."
Then I blocked and deleted him.
Once I reached my new place, every knot in me loosened.
For days, Lloyd didn't come looking for me.
It was only on my birthday that a bouquet of roses arrived.
Tucked inside was a cruise ticket.
A ticket to the Aegean Sea, the one I'd longed for so long.
But Lloyd had always claimed he didn't have time.
"Rosamund, don't be angry. You've always wanted to go, haven't you? Once I get through these busy few days, I'll take you."
Lloyd appeared behind me and wrapped his arms around me from the back.
"What? No more keeping your precious Ivy company?"
At my words, Lloyd abruptly let go.
"I already apologized. Why are you still so jealous?"
"This route was supposed to be a promo shoot for Ivy and me. For your sake, I canceled the whole thing."
"What more do you have to complain about?"
The motion-sensor lights in the stairwell flickered on at the volume of his voice.
In our first year together on the ship, back when the two of us started from the very bottom as ordinary deckhands.
Lloyd had promised he'd take me to Greece to watch the sun set.
Now that promise had become a handout from him.
"Ivy will be there too. She said she'll take a set of photos of us, as a way to apologize to you."
But I caught the flaw in his words.
"I'll use the ticket. What about her? If I remember right, a captain gets one family guest slot, doesn't he?"
Lloyd didn't even bother to hide it. He admitted it freely.
"It's just one slot. Don't make such a fuss over nothing."
Listening to him, I suddenly felt that the wind today was unusually cold.
"Then go with her."
"Rosamund, I'm already exhausted from work. Stop acting up."
I pulled my hand free of his.
My tone turned distant.
"Mr. Harding, hold on to your own ticket. Off you go, I won't see you out."
I stood in the doorway and made a sweeping gesture toward it.
"Rosamund! I've spoiled you far too much!"
His face went ashen as he slammed the door hard and walked off without looking back.
My hand happened to be right at the door's edge, and my fingers were crushed so painfully that a cold sweat broke out on my forehead at once.
Lloyd glanced back once, but he didn't stop walking.
After my hand healed, my start date arrived.
I deliberately avoided the Greece route and chose the opposite direction, Norway.
Once I boarded and stowed my luggage, I went up to wander around the deck.
A crowd had gathered around a young couple in the center.
I edged closer to look, and the scene before me tore my heart apart.
Lloyd and Ivy were in matching outfits, posing for photos.
Yet I had checked, clearly, this route wasn't on his work schedule.
"Ivy's so lucky. She gets to shoot a promo film for the ferry company and reels in a handsome captain on top of it."
"I heard Captain Harding came along just to keep Ivy company. 'This ship belongs to a rival company, you know.'"
"Romance on the company's dime. Isn't this supposed to be scenery shots? Ivy used the scenery shoot to turn it straight into couple photos."
The lighting crew around them chatted on and off, half-interested.
Lloyd awkwardly made a heart shape with Ivy, mimicking the way young people posed for pictures.
The onlookers gushed, "So sweet, now I want to fall in love too."
I had never seen this side of Lloyd before.
But now I had.
I didn't keep watching. I just faced into the wind, swallowed my tears, and went back to the lounge.
I put on the uniform I'd had ready for days.
Four gold bars gleamed on each shoulder, and they made me look sharp, alive.
I wasn't supposed to start until the day after tomorrow, but now I wanted to start early.
