บท 16: Do you like me?

With his left hand, Zac grasped Hazel's waist tightly. And using his other hand, he threw her floater to Mandy. "Hold it. Don't damage it again," he warned, before bringing his attention back to Hazel.

Mandy didn't like the way he had ordered her out! Hazel, on the other hand, was too scared to be reacting. With her forehead oozing sweat, she asked, "What about me? What will I do? I can't swim!"

"You got me!" After flashing her a mischievous smile, he grabbed her arms and placed them around his neck.

Flushed with shyness, she stared at him angrily and was overcome with an urge to kick him. But her life depended on him, hence she didn't dare to do anything crazy. Instead, she clung onto him like he was her last hope.

Knowing too well she was doing this only because she had no other choice, Zac let out a smile of victory. As he took back his arm from her waist, she fell into his arms.

"If you are afraid of drowning, then be obedient. Don't move!" he spoke in a presumptuous tone and was proud that his ruthless and shameless trick was working. At present, her condition was akin to that of a meat on the chopping board, waiting for him to cut her into pieces.

Seeing the intimate behavior in which they were acting, Mandy's eyes shot daggers at Hazel. She slammed the sea angrily, causing the waves to splash in all directions. Then she screamed and swam to the shore.

"Mandy!" shouted Hazel, noticing she was leaving. But she couldn't follow since she was at Zac's mercy. 'I have never been so helpless!' she thought. Suddenly, a thought popped into her mind.

"Zac, you did all of this on purpose, didn't you? If our friendship is destroyed then you are the sole reason behind it! I will never forgive you for the rest of my life!" she spat out, brimming with rage.

Clenching his teeth, Zac was overcome with rage as well. "Well, if you had told her our marriage was real, then there would have been no trouble."

Hazel glared at him coldly, hatred building in her heart for him. A wry smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. "How easy it is for you to say such a thing! I was drunk and did something absurd. I hid it because I was afraid it would ruin our friendship. I did it for myself as well. Quick marriage and quick divorce are not things I am proud of. I have no desire to tell my friends that I have become a divorcee at the age of twenty-one. You have no idea how humiliated I will be. Trust me, I will end up becoming a laughing stock. Besides, if someday my parents hear about it, they won't take it well."

The sun shone on his handsome face, but it couldn't light up his dark eyes. He wondered why she hadn't considered turning this mistake into something good. He wished she would ask him to actually be her husband!

'Why does she keep mentioning divorce?' He was irked.

"Since the idea of second marriage and divorce bothers you so much, why don't you just marry me and become a real wife?" He probed her with a teasing tone.

From the look of it, she assumed he was just kidding. Pouting prettily, she said, "You won't like me, will you?"

"How can you be so sure?" he asked challengingly. His voice was soft, more like a whisper. It brushed through her hair.

She tried to smile at him, but the smile was blown away by the sea wind before it took shape.

He never talked about himself. So far, she had gathered nothing except his name and age. Nor did he ever attempt to tell her anything. In his heart, she was not even a friend or at least that's how it seemed to her.

"Do you like me?" she asked, cutting to the chase. Even though her question was intense, her tone was light. It was the same tone one used while asking about the weather.

He did not expect that she would be so direct. Her question had taken him off guard. His lips moved slightly, but did not open. His expression was like a undercurrent at the bottom of the sea, complicated and unpredictable.

A moment of silence stood between them.

They were so close to each other that their eyes reflected each other's figures, but neither of them could see the other's heart.

For no reason, Hazel felt stuffy and suffocated. She couldn't stand another second with him. Once the bet with Sunny was done, they would get divorced. Their relationship would only become a burden to them. Calculating all this, Hazel thought it was best to end it.

The waves pushed a floating ring over to her. She reached out for it and put it on herself. "Well, your silence answers my question. You don't like me, you don't like me at all!"

She feigned a smile and swam as far away from him as possible.

He stared at her receding figure with his unblinking eyes. The waves danced but he didn't stir. He was in a daze and not even tsunami could placate him.

As soon as Hazel was ashore, she began to look around for Mandy. Luckily, she didn't have to search long. Mandy was caught sitting on the beach chair, with her head bowed down.

"Mandy, you misunderstood. There is nothing going on between the two of us," Hazel explained in a hurry.

Mandy suddenly stood up from her chair, raised her hand and slapped her across her face. Writhing with rage, she said, "You are the most despicable person, Hazel. You pretended to help me whereas behind my back you were trying to seduce him! You cheating bitch. Why did you do this to me? Did you want to prove that you are better than me? All these years, I considered you my best friend. And look what you did to me!"

In spite of the burning pain on her face, Hazel grabbed Mandy's shoulder and said, "Mandy, we have played together since childhood. Don't you know who I am? If I really wanted to be with him, I would have gone ahead and done it. Why on earth would I give you hope and pull you into this? No! This isn't true. And about what happened earlier, he did it with an intention to piss you off. Guess what? It worked! You were stupid enough to fall for it."

"Why did he want to piss me off?" Mandy asked in between her sobs. If he had done it just to anger her then it meant he hated her with a passion!

Hazel didn't give a reply, instead she waited for her friend to calm down. Once she saw that she had calmed down, she took a deep breath. She picked up the fruit juice from the table and handed it over. "I am not sure why he is doing it. Perhaps he knows you have taken a liking to him. He is probably playing hard to get," Hazel said in a soothing tone.

Mandy opened the bottle of juice and took a sip. Still looking doubtful, she said, "Are you sure you don't like him?"

"Don't you know who I like?" Giving Mandy a glare, Hazel dragged her to sit on the beach.

The anger in Mandy's heart almost died out. Yes, in the eyes of her bestie, Zac was a poor hobo. How could he compare with that rich and handsome Hanson?

"What if he likes you?" Mandy asked, finally asking the question that was eating her alive.

"Before I came here, I asked him this question. It turns out he doesn't like me at all. It was silly of me to ask him such a question.

I am not his type," she said with a shrug. Although Zac didn't give her an answer, she took it for a no. That's why it was believed that indecision was a decision within itself. His hesitancy meant he didn't like her.

"What! You asked him whether he likes you? How dare you!" Mandy poked her forehead, but she was in a much better mood.

Knowing that Zac didn't like Hazel put her mind at ease.

"You know what? It's better if we live under the same roof. That will help us avoid misunderstandings." Hazel smiled again. She hoped her friend would take the offer.

Mandy was relieved. Yes, she agreed with her. If he indeed didn't like Hazel, it meant she stood a chance!

After this, they apologized and made peace with each other. They didn't realize that Zac was standing not far away from them and listening to the whole conversation. He was annoyed at Hazel because she had lied!

'I never said I didn't like her. How could she say such a thing!'

Zac was quite disturbed.

Although he was not an easy-going man, Hazel was indeed the most pleasing girl to his eyes. Everything she did made him Happy.

Mandy had stayed in the apartment with them for a week, and Zac started to go crazy. Their happy days were over. In short, Mandy's intrusion had completely cut off their normal relationship.

Hazel seldom talked to him, and she spent most of her time in her studio, busily designing. She even avoided sitting close to him while having meals so as to avoid any physical contact. She didn't want to leave any room for misunderstanding.

It turned out she meant what she had said! Friendship held a lot of importance to her.

He, her nominal husband, was completely abandoned!

'No way! I have to use a stronger means!' thought Zac! He wasn't someone who would give up easily.

Then he took out his phone and dialed William's number. "Please find me a woman, it doesn't matter what she does. The only quality I am looking for is love for money. She must, at any cost, love money more than men."