I crouched in front of him and deadpanned my question, “Where’s Crystal? Why has she left you unattended?”
Afraid of looking at me in the eyes, he turned around and murmured to himself, “T-That picky eater is trying to get us something to eat.”
Lyle caught me looking at him with a contemptuous look. A few moments of silence later, he sat upright and asked, “Yvonne, I’m sure you hate me, don’t you?”
The moment I recalled him stopping the raft and rushing over to our rescue, I thought of doing him a favor to help him up. However, I changed my mind when I heard his question. I took my sweet time before making my way over to help him up.
Lyle expressed his gratitude with a bright grin. “Thank you so much, Yvonne. I knew you weren’t going to leave me alone.”
I pretended as if I was too weak to help him up and unfastened my grip at the last minute. Once again, he was rendered incapable of speech due to the racking sensation he felt when he fell back to the ground.
“Oops! You’re not going to blame me when it’s not my fault for being such a weak woman, are you?” I remarked sarcastically.
Indeed, I felt sorry on his behalf. However, I wouldn’t allow him and Crystal to take advantage and make a fool out of me again.
“It’s fine, Yvonne! It’s my fault for getting myself injured in times of emergencies!” Lyle brought himself up and continued caressing his wound with an aggrieved look. Instead of asking me to help him up, he changed his mind and leaned against the trunk of the tree to take a breather.
After a short while, he asked, “Yvonne, do you think we’re going to make it out alive?”
Staring at the scorching sun, I shook my head in return; I wasn’t certain we would make it out alive.
Unwilling to waste my time with him, I shrugged my shoulders and stated in return, “Who knows?”
“If that’s the case, why have you rushed over to my rescue?” Lyle started cleansing the festering wound on his leg after directing the question at me.
Smirking, I asked in return, “Why have you brought up the same thing over and over again? Why don’t you tell me the reason you had rushed over to my rescue when everyone wanted me dead back then?”
Lyle glanced at Christopher, looking as if he had something else to tell me. I turned around and made my way to Christopher’s side when I saw that he had fallen asleep. After placing my jacket over him, I placed my hand on his forehead to see if he was feeling fine.
When I was about to head out to get ourselves something to eat, Lyle broke the silence and said, “Actually, it was nothing more than an accident. I thought they were in the middle of something fun and rushed over to ensure I wouldn’t miss out on anything.”
I wasn’t particularly surprised by the truth. Instead of feeling hurt, I asked with a smirk, “Although it was just an accident, the fact remains that you had saved me, hadn’t you? Is it really necessary for me to justify my actions? Consider it a favor from a stranger in your life.”
“A stranger?” Lyle’s thoughts were written all over his face.
“Wouldn’t it be great if we’re merely strangers in one another’s life? I won’t have to feel bad even if I’m holding a grudge against you!” I started removing the fins of the fish using the mirror I had acquired and hung it on top of the trees.
Out of the blue, Lyle asked, “If Christopher and Crystal never showed up, are you going to file for divorce with me?”
Aware that Christopher had been roused from his sleep, I leaned over and kissed him on the lips. My lips curled into a smirk when I caught him pretending to be asleep. In an attempt to make fun of him, I forced my tongue into his mouth to arouse him.
