CHAPTER 13

YVONNE hadn’t forgotten her main goal, and that was to make Rohan fall for her. She was determined, so she promised herself to get what she wanted by hook or by crook. However, being caught watching something explicit wasn’t part of the plan. She thought Rohan would stay at the veranda for a couple of hours more, so she comfortably sat in the living room and did her job—to write.

She usually locked herself inside the bedroom and wrote all day, but she suddenly felt a little stuffy inside her room. Well, maybe it was the universe pulling them together. Yvonne turned her laptop off upon reaching her room and put it back on the table where it belonged. She could only heave a sigh as her gaze reverted to the clock hanging by the wall. It was already four in the afternoon, and she hadn’t done anything productive that day. Yes, she always considered it unproductive whenever she couldn’t finish a chapter or two. Where was her muse now? Ah, she even lied about finding her muse when she insisted to Rohan that she’d stay in the villa.

“Maybe what I need is some kind of refreshment.”

And when she thought about something refreshing, it was dipping herself in the pool. Yvonne immediately opened the drawer and fished out a purple two-piece swimwear. Now, that one was part of her plan.

Giggling, she went inside the bathroom and changed.

Soon after, Yvonne peered out of her room. From there, she saw that Rohan was no longer where she had left him. Where could he be? She didn’t know, but one thing was for sure… he was just around. Confidently, she stepped out of her room wearing only two pieces of small clothing and carried the bathrobe in her hand.

***

ROHAN closed his eyes as he felt the cold breeze against his skin. The sun was still up, but the air was cold, and it had always been like that on the island, maybe because it was far away from the busy streets and pollution. And, of course, away from those things that gave him stress for the past few days—work and, most of all, his mother, who kept pestering him to go on a date.

And then, there were his thoughts about Yvonne. He couldn’t say that it was unpleasant having her at the villa. She seemed to keep her end of the bargain. He seldom saw her around, and they’d mostly see each other in the kitchen. Rohan didn’t like any kind of noise, but he somehow got used to hearing Yvonne pounding away at the keys of her mechanical keyboard every night up until sunrise. At first, he thought she was writing stories about fairytales because he knew she was too fond of happy endings, but after he caught her watching mature content in the living room, Rohan realized he was wrong. And it was somewhat funny why she couldn’t let her read the story she was writing about them. He wondered what Yvonne could’ve written to make her run away from him like that.

Rohan had always thought he and Yvonne were too opposite poles. Yvonne talked too fast. It might’ve sounded like a complaint, but not for a man who preferred quiet and structured conversations. If they talked about the cat, she’d mention why she was attached and end by saying about her fear of being left alone. Who could keep up with that kind of thought pattern?

Solitude, quiet, a good book, and an occasional companion over drinks or dinner were the only ones Rohan asked for, but Yvonne Elizabeth Buenaflor had thrown a wrench. It was hard for him to admit, but he was getting used to her. In a matter of few days, he was used to her company. And for a loner like him, it was a shattering discovery. He rejected her back then… and now he let her in.

***

IT was already dusk when Rohan returned home. She didn’t know where he went or what he did, and she wouldn’t dare ask him about it. When he saw him near the pool, she began to do laps in a steady freestyle. Yvonne did five laps before tossing her wet hair back and resting her elbows on the edge of the pool.

“Don’t tell me you have plans to join the SEA Games,” Rohan jested. He stopped a few steps away.

She blinked water out of her eyes and frowned at him.

“Oh, I didn’t notice you were back.” Her gaze reverted to his legs as she lied.

“Well, I thought you were going to lock yourself in the bedroom and do your craft, so I left for a stroll.”

Yvonne didn’t expect him to explain, though.

She pushed away from the side and began lazily treading water. She didn’t like his blank expression at that time. What she wanted was to see his reaction to seeing her wearing that two-piece swimwear that only covered about ten percent of her body. Yvonne wanted to see the same reaction she got from him when he saw her skinny-dipping in the pool on their first night in the villa.

She continued to float without taking her eyes off him. That way, she studied him. Maybe he was one of those people who carried tension like a responsibility.

“I’m going to cook dinner now,” Rohan said after a while, pocketing his hands.

“I’ve been craving something spicy lately,” Yvonne said nonchalantly. “I saw there’s kimchi and tofu on the fridge and a couple of canned tunas on the cupboard. Can you make something out of those?”

“I’m not quite sure, but if you instruct me what to do, maybe I can make something you prefer.”

“I see.” Yvonne pulled herself out of the pool and shook herself.

From the corner of her eyes, she caught Rohan swallowing and looked away. That was it, the reaction she’d been waiting for.

“I-I’m going in first,” he said with a trembling voice.

Yvonne was grinning from ear to ear as she donned her robe. It felt like she was a step closer to winning. Maybe those crazy antics her female leads did in her novels would work on Rohan as it did with those male leads.

She went to her room and took a quick bath. After donning a pair of decent clothes, she immediately headed to the kitchen to see Rohan. He already took the ingredients she mentioned out of the fridge when she arrived.

Yvonne joined him behind the counter.

“What should we do now?” Rohan asked as he reached for the casserole to her right.

“Well, we need to cut onion, garlic, and ginger. And oh, do we have tamarind here?”

Her hand landed on the casserole first and his hand next. His hand landed on hers, and they stared at each other for a moment before he withdrew his hand as though he got burned by touching her. Yvonne could’ve smiled at that, but she managed not to. For the second time, she felt triumphant that day.

Rohan moved away from her and started chopping while she stayed on her spot and watched him.

“Do I still have to sauté this, or I’ll just throw everything inside the casserole?” he asked without looking at her.

“Sauté,” she replied and sauntered toward him when she noticed he was chopping the garlic into bigger pieces. Yvonne held him by the wrist, and it made him flinch.

“W-why?”

“Don’t make it big, Rohan.”

“E-eh?” He looked at her with furrowed brows.

“The garlic.” She gestured on the chopping board with her other hand. “Please chop it into the finest pieces.”

She noticed his ears had already turned red.

“A-ah… all right.”

She slowly freed his wrist and let him resume chopping.

“You can just sit there and wait until I’m finished.” Rohan gestured on the stool on the other side of the kitchen counter. “You can give me instructions from there.”

Yvonne wasn’t dumb. She knew he was simply pushing her away in a nice way. Well, since she’d won a couple of times already, she’d give it a rest. Freaking him out was the last thing she’d want.

“Okeydokey,” she said giddily as she sauntered to the stool.

Yvonne then propped a hand on her chin and silently watched Rohan move around the kitchen.