Inviting Casandra for a stroll turned out to be like taking a kindergarten child on a tour of the beach. She couldn’t stay still and kept running here and there. Chasing the waves, Alexander watched from a distance. This time, he didn’t object to anything Casandra did. He understood that she was used to a simple life in the village and couldn’t have had a vacation like this before.
So, he sat at a small restaurant by the beach after having breakfast. Alexander let Casandra play there before they returned to the hotel, and she was thrilled to be released without supervision. She enjoyed the white sandy expanse, the vast sea, and frolicking with the waves. Casandra collected seashells washed ashore, shamelessly picking up some corals and placing them on the table before Alexander.
She said innocently, “Sir, please take care of these. Someone will collect them later. I’m tired of picking them up.” Alexander just nodded, folding his hands in front of his chest, leaning back in a wooden chair, observing what Casandra would do next.
“Hey, all alone?” a man greeted Casandra as she was about to pick up a stick.
“Hello, too. No, I’m not alone; I came here with my employer,” Casandra politely replied, pointing towards Alexander sitting in the small restaurant.
“Oh, your employer… really? I thought he was your father,” the man chattered without any sense of guilt, making Alexander angry at being mistaken for Casandra’s father.
Yet, Alexander’s face still looked youthful. So, he tried to examine his own face on his phone screen, judging whether he indeed looked like a father to Casandra.
Casandra smiled, knowing Alexander was assessing himself.
“That’s right, he’s my employer. I came here to accompany him on his vacation,” she added, further explaining who Alexander was.
“Oh, so you’re a babysitter then? But why is your employer so grown-up? Shouldn’t babysitters take care of toddlers or young children?” The man scratched his head, puzzled by Casandra taking care of an adult like Alexander instead of small children like other babysitters.
“I am a regular household assistant, but coincidentally, my employer wanted to vacation here. So, I came along to keep him company and take care of his needs. Something like that,” Casandra explained, giving a little insight into her purpose for coming to Bali.
Although she was lying, Casandra didn’t want to admit that Alexander was her husband. She didn’t want to be seen as audacious for revealing their marital status. Both Alexander, a well-known businessman, and Cesilia, a famous model, knew that their actions would become hot gossip for the paparazzi and netizens.
So, Casandra knew her place and realized who she was. Surely, there would be a lot of bullying once people found out that Cesilia now had a romantic relationship with a girl from the countryside.
“Oh, I see. May I know your name?” The man extended his hand to introduce himself to Casandra.
“I’m Casandra, just call me Cas.” She cupped her hands, politely declining the man’s handshake.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Kevin, you can call me whatever you like. Even calling me ‘darling’ is fine.” Kevin tried to get closer to Casandra, finding her attractive.
She was a cheerful and humble girl, acting politely even though they had just met for the first time. Other girls would usually pretend to play hard to get, but eventually, they would gladly get close to Kevin once they found out who he was. Especially since Kevin arrived there in a car with an incredibly fantastic price tag, no woman could resist his charm.
“Don’t boast about your charms here, or else the beach queen will drag you away to become her husband, and then you’ll know what it’s like.” Casandra replied, shrugging her shoulders and refocusing on the stick she had in her hand. She seemed to be carving a flower on the white sand.
Occasionally, the waves would come in and wash away the drawing. The more the waves ruined the picture she made, the more determined Casandra was to recreate it. It wasn’t that she had nothing better to do; this was her dream for a long time-to paint on the beach while being teased by the incoming waves.
“If the beach queen is someone like you, I’d be willing. I would even propose to you right away if you wanted to marry me. We’ll have a grand celebration. And…”
“Enough, don’t assume things. I’m not what you imagine.” Casandra interrupted Kevin’s words, not wanting him to have a better impression of her than necessary.
After all, she was already someone else’s wife, not a single girl like Kevin might be imagining at the moment.
“I’m not assuming anything, Cas. But I truly admire you.”
“Don’t try to flirt with me, as it won’t work. You’re being too excessive. How can a man, who just met a girl for the first time, immediately claim to be impressed like that? You only know my name, nothing more,” Casandra firmly responded.
“I know that, but the way you replied to my introduction is already enough evidence that you are a kind-hearted girl,” Kevin insisted.
“All girls are kind; sometimes it’s the way men treat them that makes them not so kind,” Casandra replied, concluding her sand drawing.
She hurriedly approached Alexander and sat beside him. Casandra didn’t dare to look at Alexander, even though she wanted to convey that Kevin was now making her extremely uncomfortable. She wanted to vent, but she feared that Alexander would get angry with her.
“Excuse me, sir, may I join you both?” Not content with just a brief introduction, Kevin took the courage to approach Alexander.
Alexander glanced at Casandra and Kevin alternately, nodding to allow Kevin to sit in front of him.
“Sir, I apologize if I’m being forward. I am genuinely impressed with your assistant. If you permit, I would like to take her on a speedboat ride.” Kevin pointed towards the speedboat parked on the beach.
Alexander remained silent, only nodding his head, observing Kevin’s actions. From his facial expression, Alexander guessed that Kevin’s age wasn’t much different from Casandra’s.
“Well, sir? Would you allow me to take Casandra on a speedboat ride? I promise to return her completely unharmed, without any harm done to her, other than just sitting here accompanying you. It would be a unique experience for Casandra if I take her around on a speedboat. I really want to leave a good impression on her, so that she might want to get to know me better,” Kevin confidently conveyed his intention and purpose.
He truly wanted to make a good impression on Casandra, so that she would be willing to know him better. Kevin believed that once Casandra knew his true identity, she would behave just like the other girls he usually approached-submissive, after finding out who his father was and his position in his father’s company.
“Don’t ask me if you want to take Casandra on a speedboat. Ask her directly if she is willing to go with you,” Alexander replied, with a flat expression and a clenched jaw, showing his dislike towards Kevin’s aggressive approach.
However, Kevin didn’t want to act rashly. Alexander didn’t want Casandra to see that he also didn’t like Kevin’s forceful behavior towards him.