She hoped Vance would endure some kind of punishment for getting them into this mess.
She closed her eyes and leaned into Damien’s side, drawing warmth from his body.Not many people would go off script and rescue someone who wasn’t part of their mission, but she was really glad he had.
Avoiding Agus by herself would have been almost impossible, and she had no idea how to navigate through the rainforest, but Damien hadn’t hesitated once.
“How long have you worked special ops?”she asked.
“A few years.”He filled his canteen from water in his pack and handed it to her.“Drink.”
The water tasted heavenly and she forced herself not to gulp it down.“What made you join?”
He shrugged.“I wanted to be the best.Only special ops could take me there.”
“Why?”
He glanced at her.“Why what?”
“Why did you want to be the best?”
An emotion she couldn’t quite read crossed his face.Maybe part bashful, part determination.“I wanted to protect those who were vulnerable.Why did you come here?”
She sighed.“I was running away.”She could admit it now after the stress of the past few hours.
He pulled out two sealed packets.“Are you up for a delicious MRE?”
She grimaced.“I’ve heard they taste disgusting.I’m all right for the moment.I had rice porridge at the village.”
He nodded and put one back in his pack.“What were you running from?”
“Life.”She picked up a large leaf and tore it into strips.“After the whole thing with Vance blew up in my face, I had to get away.”Her smile was sad.“But if we’re being honest, I still hadn’t figured out what I wanted to do with my life.I’ve tried so many things, but nothing felt right.I think my family were beginning to find me indecisive and irresponsible.”
“There’s nothing indecisive about the way you helped those people after the earthquake.”
She pressed her lips together.He was right.She shrugged.“Both of my brothers knew what they wanted to do as soon as they’d graduated high school.I’ve been flitting around trying to find something I felt passionate about.”She sighed.“I think it’s one reason I fell for Vance’s charm.”
“The man has charm?”Damien asked.
His incredulity made her laugh.“Yes, he can be very charming when he wants something.He made me feel important and worthy.”But Vance had none of Damien’s presence and kindness.
“What did he want?”
“Respectability.”She placed the strips to the side and picked up a new leaf.“I was a good girl he could date, and my father gave him a job at his company because I vouched for him.”She closed her eyes and shook her head.She’d been such a fool.
“Did it work?”
“Yes.We only saw each other a couple of times a week, but when we were together, he wined and dined me, made me feel like I was the centre of his world.”She rolled her eyes at her naivety.“He surprised me with a marriage proposal on a day cruise with family and friends and I said yes.”
Dobby studied her.“Because you wanted to marry him, or because you didn’t want to seem indecisive?”
He knew her well already.“The latter.I wasn’t ready for marriage, but I thought maybe we needed to spend more time together.I decided to surprise him by cooking him dinner one night and caught him in bed with another woman.”
Damien scowled.“He’s more of a fool than I thought if he cheated on you.”
His words were a balm.Her confidence had been shaken after that night.“When we broke up, my father fired him.It turns out he wasn’t doing any work and the only reason Dad hadn’t fired him earlier was he didn’t want to upset me.”Somehow she’d become the weak one her father felt he needed to protect.Perhaps if he’d confided in her earlier, she might have seen Vance for who he truly was.
“And so you came here?”Damien placed his empty MRE packet back in his backpack.
She nodded.“Mum volunteered here twenty years ago when the last tsunami hit.She kept in touch with a few people and they mentioned they wanted someone to teach their children English.They hoped to increase tourism to the area.”She smiled.“I decided to come here without telling anyone but the woman on the island.”She sighed.“I should have told my parents.Then Mum would have told me how much Agus hated her.”
