Chapter Five - Every Breath You Take

Brynne rushed to her cabin, not glancing at the attractions all around. What if she collided with the guy again? “Oh, you? Are you following us, Brynne?” 

She froze to find herself face to face with Adam and Miranda, walking hand in hand towards her. 

“You wish! You don’t own the ship.” 

“Maybe she’s heartbroken to see my engagement ring. Here, look, Brynne!” said Miranda, holding her hand out to exhibit the ring. Although Brynne’s heart broke to see the ring she deserved on Miranda’s finger instead, she refused to show it. 

“Congratulations! You both deserve one another.” Adam was a man wh*re who was only interested in physical intimacy. As far as she knew him, he wasn’t one to commit to a long-term relationship. As long as she pleased him in bed, he would stick to her. 

However, Miranda hardly noticed her jab and clung to Adam instead. “Thanks. Yes, we do. I can’t wait to marry him and start a family together.” Brynne chuckled and waved at them. 

“Good luck with it.” As she pushed past them and raced towards her cabin, she could hear them argue with one another. Her heart swelled up with happiness to know she was right about them. Adam would never start a family so soon. He wasn’t the responsible family type of guy. Why would she bother with them?

They were so disgusting; she felt like jumping off the ship and heading home to avoid them. If only she could! 

Her stomach grumbled, and she went inside a café to order some lunch. This time, however, she had to pay for her food. It wasn’t a complimentary one, as she had expected. Then why were the breakfast and the show tickets complimentary? She looked around but thankfully, he wasn’t around. 

As she ordered her food, a thought hit her hard. Did Luke pay for her food and the ship tickets earlier? But why would he? What motive could he have to pursue someone like her? 

“Your order, ma’am!” The server placed the food in front of her. As she munched on her food, another realization hit her. 

Did he want a repeat of the drunken mishap? Did he consider her easily available? 

Brynne gasped, realizing why he summoned her to his suite. No, she wouldn’t go at all. It was a one-time drunken mishap, never to be repeated. With all his money, surely he could find someone else to meet his needs. 

She seethed with annoyance, finishing her lunch and leaving in a rush. She didn’t want to collide with anyone again, especially not Luke. 

What was his full name? Who introduces himself as that? Maybe he was a drug lord or the mafia who was hiding his true identity. 

Luke could be Lucas, Luca, or Luciano. 

Whatever it was, she should stay away from him. 

“Brynne, where are you off to?” She stopped in her tracks and turned to see her colleagues, Adrian Foster, Julia Mitchell and Eric Young, from the Marketing department in front of the entertainment center. 

“Nowhere actually.” 

“Why don’t you join us?” She smiled and accepted the offer with nothing else to do. They were more friendly with Daniella, who was outgoing and dynamic. 

Brynne was socially awkward and kept to herself and her work. She hardly had time to mingle freely. It also helped her save money to pay off the debts. Maybe she should sell the house her parents had bought. The loan installments were too high for her to pay off. Added to that was her father’s business loan. Selling the house would indeed solve a lot of her problems. 

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked Julia when her gaze fell upon Daniella and Ted openly kissing one another on the deck below them. 

“Let’s spin a wheel. We can earn goodies and bonus points,” suggested Julia, following her gaze. “She’s your best friend, right?”

“Yes.” She wanted to add that Daniella had forgotten her on this trip, but held herself. She hardly knew these people well. 

“They’re getting hitched soon.” She gave Julia a look of astonishment. 

“How do you know? I don’t think they will rush it when they’ve just connected.” Her gaze went back to her best friend. It didn’t look like Daniella had connected to Ted on this trip. Was she missing something? 

“Oh, didn’t she tell you they’ve been dating for almost three months?” 

Her jaws dropped with surprise. How did Daniella not inform her about something so serious? She always blurted out everything to her. Her best friend’s behavior upset her, and she kept silent, following the trio around absent-mindedly. At that moment, Brynne felt betrayed by her boyfriend and also by her best friend. 

Maybe she really had no one to call her own. 

The hair at her nape pricked up, and she had the uncanny feeling of being watched. Turning around, she scanned the deck they were on. There was no one. Yet the feeling persisted. 

“Brynne, it’s your turn at the wheel. Go, girl,” yelled Julia, bringing her back to the game. 

“I’m not interested in playing. My luck sucks. I’ll never win a thing.” Eric grabbed her and pushed her to the front. 

“Just try, Brynne.” She took a deep breath and tried the wheel. It stopped at 100 free bonus points for her. Brynne grinned happily. At least her dinner was sorted. She could use those points on the food. 

“Yay. So how much do I pay for one try?” she asked Eric. 

“It’s free for you, Ms. Emerson,” said the staff, making them all gape at him. 

“Free? Umm, how do you know me?” she asked as the others went crazy. 

“Please make it free for us, too. Why is it free for Brynne?” The man shook his head. 

“Not possible, ma’am. Ms. Emerson has a premium club membership on this cruise. If you enroll in the package, you’ll receive discounts and freebies too.” Brynne’s mouth hung open at the information. She had never subscribed to any such package nor paid for one. Then how did she become a member of such an elite club? 

“Oh, how much is the package?” The staff checked his phone and stated an exorbitant amount that was twice their yearly salary! Julia grunted with disgust, giving Brynne a spiteful look before walking away.

“I’m sure..” She couldn’t even complete her sentence when her other two colleagues left too. 

Brynne was again left alone for no fault of her own. She walked away with a frown. Who could have paid such an exorbitant amount for an unnecessary membership for her? 

A movement near the upper deck executive lounge caught her attention, and she looked up. To her immense surprise, she saw Luke on the private balcony. Even from a distance, his warm gaze seared through her skin, causing her body to react. 

She couldn’t look away! Was he the one who had paid for the membership? But why would he waste his money on someone like her? What could he want from her? 

Her heart pounded, and she tore her gaze away and rushed towards the elevators. Maybe she should stay locked inside her cabin. 

However, the moment the elevator doors opened, she froze to see Luke waiting for her inside. “D*mn!” She muttered and whirled around to flee.

She wouldn’t fall for his game of chase. She fled blindly down the corridor towards the open deck while he chased her all the way. 

Now she was sure he was a criminal. Maybe he was into human trafficking. Panic settled in her heart and she pushed at the crowd. There was a tremendous rush of young people entering a happening night club right in front of her. Brynne wasted no time and dashed in, weaving through the crowd of people gyrating on the dance floor to the peppy music blasting through the speakers. She had been to a nightclub before, but only with Adam. This was the first time she ventured into one all on her own. It wasn’t her thing, but now she was desperate to get rid of her creepy stalker. 

She ignored the drunk guys trying their luck with her and surged on blindly. Had she lost him? The deafening music made her head throb. Maybe she was overreacting. Why would he stalk her unnecessarily? Mustering up all her courage, Brynne turned around to check. 

She froze to see him right behind her. Their gazes locked. Brynne didn’t miss the smug look on his face as he smirked at her. “Caught you, Brynne Emerson!” The smirk transformed into a boyish grin, catching her unawares. If she didn’t know otherwise, she could easily have been fooled by his charm. The man was lethal, and she was sure he was pursuing her for a motive. It irked her since she had no idea what it was. “Why are you on the run?” he leaned in to whisper as if he didn’t know the reason. It was him, obviously. 

“I’m not. Why are you stalking me? It’s creepy, you know.”