Chapter 4 Caught off Guard

"[I'll be there tomorrow for the event. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I want to see the kids' reactions]," Javi said over the phone. He was referring to the Christmas event at the mall-he was one of the major sponsors and had personally arranged for custom-made gifts for the children.

But his words trailed off when he noticed a group of men by the pool, all staring in the same direction. Curious, he followed their gaze.

A woman was walking toward the water play area.

His mouth went slightly ajar. She walked like a model, with a figure that could stop time. Mesmerizing. Hypnotic. It was as if the world slowed down with every step she took.

"𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯... 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦? 𝘐𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵? 𝘈 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭?" he muttered to himself, frowning in curiosity. He also noticed a young man nearby who seemed to be waiting for her.

"𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥? 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳," he added, trying to read the vibe between them.

"[Sir? Hello? Are you still there?" the voice on the other end of the line broke his trance.

"[Yes, I'm here. Alright, see you tomorrow]," he said quickly before ending the call. He turned on his heel and walked straight into his office, intending to finish some paperwork.

He sat down in his swivel chair and opened a folder, trying to refocus on the stack of documents waiting for his signature. But after barely a minute, his eyes wandered back to the water play area.

The woman was still there, now playing with a group of kids. The young man was gone.

From inside his office, Javi had a clear view of the entire resort. The glass walls were tinted-no one could see inside, but from his vantage point, he could see everything.

"𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧," he murmured, watching her play and laugh with the kids. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

---

Outside the office, Alex-his assistant-was also noticing something strange.

His usually sharp and focused boss had been unusually quiet today. No string of orders, no grumbling, no requests. And now, instead of working, he kept glancing toward the pool area...

And smiling?

Alex followed his boss's line of sight. When he saw who he was staring at, he chuckled under his breath.

"𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘴'𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯," he thought, amused.

He'd worked for Javi for years, and not once had any woman made the man falter. Plenty had tried-none succeeded. Honestly, he'd even started questioning if his boss was straight.

Well. This answers that.

Now, watching Javi grin like a schoolboy, Alex couldn't help but smirk.

"𝘏𝘮𝘮... 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵?" he mused.

Challenge accepted.

---

Matet was exhausted from running around with the kids. She climbed out of the pool just as her brother arrived with a stash of snacks.

"Wow, you brought chips but no drinks?" she complained, grabbing a pack from him.

"Well, I was on a budget. The cash you gave me barely covered this," Ronnie shot back.

"Excuse me? Couldn't you cover the drinks yourself?"

"I'm broke, Sis."

"Broke, your foot. I know you've got side gigs fixing motorbikes," she narrowed her eyes at him.

He tried to play innocent. "Haven't been paid yet."

"Hmp!" she snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Come with me to the adult pool, will you?" Ronnie asked. "The water's too shallow here. I look like a beached dolphin."

Matet choked on her chips, laughing. "Beached dolphin?! Ronnie!"

"You spat chips at me, Sis!" he protested, wiping his arm.

"I couldn't help it. You're too much!"

"Come on, it's embarrassing swimming here with all these kids."

She sighed but agreed. "Why don't you just talk to one of those single ladies around here?"

"I'm loyal. One-woman man," he said proudly.

"Oh really? And what if a celebrity shows up?"

"You still won't see me stray. I hate flirts. I won't ruin my girl's trust-or yours."

She gave him an approving pat on the shoulder. They headed to the adult pool together. It was nearly empty-most of the guests had gone to the beach.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" Matet said, splashing some water toward him.

"Isn't it cold?" Ronnie hesitated.

She didn't wait. She yanked him in.

He came up sputtering. "Seriously?! Sis!"

"You wanted to swim, didn't you?"

"I was building up courage!"

They started splashing each other. Ronnie dove under and grabbed her ankle.

She screamed and kicked him off. "Don't do that! I can't swim well!"

"You started it!"

"Bleeeeh!" she stuck her tongue out and swam away, laughing.

---

Ronnie eventually climbed out, and Matet ran off to avoid another splash war. She paused when she saw him heading toward the beach.

"Where are you going?! Hey!"

"Looking for Nanay. She's been gone a while. What if she's with another man?!" he shouted back, laughing.

"I'm telling on you!"

But he didn't look back.

Now alone, she returned to the pool. She lay back, floating, eyes closed. Peaceful at last.

---

Meanwhile, Laine had grown tired from all the playing and decided to look for her mother. She approached her Aunt Lea.

"Auntie, where's Mama?"

"She's at the adult pool with your Uncle Ronnie."

"I'll go find her."

"Okay, be careful."

Laine walked quietly toward the adult pool. From a distance, she spotted her mother floating on her back, eyes closed, in the middle of the water. But before she could get close-

Three men suddenly stepped into her path.

"Hi, gorgeous," one said. Two others flanked him.

"W-what do you want?" Laine stammered.

"Just wanted to say hi to a pretty lady," one said, reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"Don't touch me!" she cried, swatting his hand away.

One of them grabbed her arm. "Don't be scared. We just wanna be friends."

Laine froze. Her knees trembled. She glanced behind her. "M-Ma..."

But Matet didn't hear her. Still drifting, unaware.

Fear gripped her chest. They really are up to something.

"MAMA!" she screamed.

One of the men laughed. "Aw, little miss mama's girl."

---

"MAMA!"

Matet's eyes flew open.

She raised her head-and her heart dropped. Her daughter was being held by a man she didn't recognize.

She didn't think. Didn't blink.

She bolted out of the water, still dripping, and ran.

Straight for her daughter.