Eavsdropping

"Kale, you were supposed to speak up for me. Grandfather sent you here to protect me not to stand by and watch while others insult me like that." Emma was still baffled by Asher's outrageous remarks.

'When did I ever say that disgusting phrase? I feel like puking just by remembering his words.' Emma thought angrily. How could she tolerate such rude comments? She would have gone and retorted but she was too ashamed.

Since she could not get back at Asher, her anger was directed toward poor Kale, who was eyeing his plate like a hungry chipmunk. He appeared rather cute at the moment.

"Kale, I'm talking to you. Why didn't you defend me?" Emma was displeased by Kale's lack of interest.

"You told me," Kale's voice sounded after some time, carrying a hint of sadness. Emma was taken aback by his sad expression, not knowing how to react. She even forgot that she was chewing him out.

Blinking her eyes, she regained her focus.

"What did I tell?"

Kale did not answer this time and only stared at the cold steak on his plate. Emma followed his gaze and became uneasy as she looked at the woeful plate of steak.

She recalled their purpose for coming to the buffet and became flustered. Kale had waited to escort her to dinner and had also helped her get into her cabin.

And instead of thanking him, she was blaming him for not helping her escape from Asher.

Emma felt as if she was no different than Asher, who did not acknowledge the help, but instead made things difficult for her helper.

She was overwhelmed by her guilt for taking out her frustrations on innocent Kale and said, "Let's eat something first. We'll talk about this later."

Only then did Kale react, his eyes shone like a kid who was given ice cream and a trace of content was detectable on his face.

'He likes to eat.' Emma noted it down. They got up from their seats and once again stopped by the grill. Albeit her awkwardness, Emma didn't stop Kale from getting huge portions of meat.

Most of the people who had witnessed the exchange were gone and those who were still there paid no mind to her.

Emma was slightly relieved because of this. She looked around and settled for Braised Prawns and Mashed potatoes.

Both of them sat down in a relatively quiet corner and Emma was once again nonplussed by Kale who had three plates loaded with grilled beef.

'I didn't know he was so hungry' Emma felt accountable for delaying Kale's meal but stopped her thoughts from drifting.

Just as Emma had taken the first bite of mashed potatoes, a group of extremely noisy old women sat on the table behind them.

'There goes my appetite.' Emma felt gloomy as she swallowed. She glanced at Kale who was eating heartily not caring about his surroundings.

The loud voices of the women drifted over to their table.

"Are you going to the Underwater silent auction held at the cruise?" One of the ladies commented which piqued Emma's curiosity. She had never heard of an auction being held at the cruise. Unconsciously, she began to eavesdrop on their conversation.

The ladies looked to be 60's and above.

"I bet your husband could not even secure a pass to the silent auction." A lady in a dark floral printed dress laughed after saying.

"Well, we didn't manage to get a pass but that's fine. What's embarrassing is having a ticket but not being able to afford a single thing." The first lady in a white short dress retorted without holding back.

The rest of the ladies laughed at the exchange of blows. The thing was that the older you become, the less sensitive you are. As Emma listened, she became interested in this auction. As the sole purpose of this whole trip was to have fun, why not enjoy it all?

"I heard from my husband that a rare Pearl necklace is also being auctioned this time." The same lady told.

"What's so great about a pearl necklace?" Another questioned. Emma couldn't see her face but her voice sounded brittle.

"It is made of Blue Akoya pearls with inlaid diamonds around the centerpiece. It was bought by one of the Middle Eastern royals to give to his mistress. It was appraised at $25 million at the time."

"Oh, how did it end up in this auction?" Emma was so invested in the story that she forgot to take the spoon out of her mouth, making Kale perplexed by her actions.

"I heard the mistress cheated on him which is why he was so furious that he gave the necklace to the auction for free." Emma did not buy that story as any decent royal would not take back the necklace which he had already given out.

"How can we believe this? Even if he was angry at his mistress, why would he give the necklace for free? Especially, when he bought it for so much money." One of them voiced Emma's thoughts. Emma wanted to look back and see who it was but refrained at the last moment as it was an immoral act to listen to others' conversations.

"How am I supposed to know why he wanted to give it for free? It's not like he's my relative or anything. I'm just telling what I have heard." The lady telling the story reasoned.

"But what happened to the mistress?" The old lady who had silently listened to the whole story finally asked. She looked to be the eldest in the group and her persona told that she was an important person.

Emma glanced back and observed the lady from the corner of her eye discreetly. The old woman was wearing a plain black dress with a necklace around her neck. She looked elegant and classy.

"I don't know."

Emma was bummed by her response as she was waiting for the story to have some kind of twist to it.

She finally focused on eating after the ladies began to talk about a different topic. But the silent auction captivated Emma's attention.

'I'll look into this silent auction when I get back. It's not like I have to do anything. Might as well experience that.' Emma silently thought.

Her focus was diverted by the fireworks. Everyone was amazed by the fireworks suddenly going off.

Emma looked out the window and saw countless fireworks illuminating the sky, their light reflected on the sea. It was a fascinating scene.

She was immersed in the alluring ocean, the light chatter of the guests, the beautiful fireworks, and the serene atmosphere of the buffet.

"-Miss," Emma pulled back from her thoughts and looked at Kale who had been calling her for a while.

"Yeah?" Emma asked with remnants of the past tranquility still visible in her eyes.

Kale was stunned for a moment as he had never witnessed Emma being so calm. She was always angry and talkative. It was unusual for her to show such an expression on her face.

"The look suits you." Kale's ears went red but his face remained indifferent.

"What do you mean-?" Emma was dazed by his comment but touched her hair as the realization hit. Kale was complimenting her hair color.

Emma's face turned red at the flattering remark. Kale had never called her beautiful ever before. It was a first for both of them.

Instead of making things uncomfortable, Emma smiled, and soon that smile bloomed into a laugh.

"You are funny, Kale. If you continue like this, I'm sure by the end of this trip, you'll have a girlfriend for sure." Emma wiped the small droplets of tears that collected on her lashes as she calmed down.

She had never expected Kale to be so caring and cute.

"Do you want to explore the cruise?" Emma asked as she saw that Kale had long finished his steak.

Kale nodded as he got up and held his hand out for Emma.

"Are you trying to bribe me not to tell on you? No matter what you do now I'll complain to my Grandpa that you didn't help me at all." Emma sassily said to Kale who didn't even reply.

"What? Did you go back to your real personality so fast? It isn't fair." Emma tried to guilt-trap Kale which failed miserably as Kale simply took back his hand before Emma could grab it.

Emma stood up and walked to the desert section with Kale trailing behind her.

She picked up a plate of cake and went to the open-air terrace which had an overview of the lower pool area.

Emma stood there in the sea breeze gazing into the infinite sea. She wanted to traverse the whole cruise but since it was the first day, she put it on hold.

Kale maintained a distance from Emma as he went to a lonely corner to smoke.

Emma had a spoonful of pudding, her gaze inadvertently falling onto the pool where Asher was swimming in his tanks.

She immediately averted her gaze but it was caught by Asher who happened to be looking at the terrace at that instant and smirked.

Emma stepped back from the railing with a black face. 'Now he's going to label me as a pervert.'