Torin was scratching his head as he helped Lyra move her things to Zach’s apartment. Then he lowered his head when he met Sheila’s piercing gaze.
Auntie Sheila was definitely not happy with what happened, and she was now punishing them. She would not allow Lyra and Torin to live under the same roof before marriage.
"Stop sighing, Torin! It’s not like you’re a province apart from Lyra," Sheila chided him with a raised brow. She was not against their relationship at all. Call her conservative, but she definitely had an issue with her daughter living together with a man without marriage.
She knew how Torin felt about Lyra. He would like to marry her, and he had been honest and vocal about it. But it was not that simple. Torin should first get approval from the elders, and especially from her oldest son, Zach...
She had gathered that Lyra was staying at Torin’s place with Zach’s approval. But he had given it without the knowledge of their true feelings toward each other. These two really needed to be reprimanded.
"I have decided that I will stay here until Zach returns..." Sheila declared, to which Lyra and Torin dropped their jaw. Torin quickly composed himself and said, "Oh, that’s good then, mom. It is indeed better to stay here because traveling from and to the province could be tiring..."
Sheila was suppressing her smile at how awkward Torin’s expression was. ’This child is so bad at lying. You think I don’t know the two of you could not wait for me to leave?’ she laughed at him inwardly, but she didn’t voice it out loud.
Torin’s mobile phone rang, and he answered it.
Torin’s heart lurched, and he suppressed a shiver, but he tried hard to snap out of it, so Lyra and Sheila would not notice the sudden chill on his face. It was Janus informing him about another body that was found...
Torin tried to regain his cheery composure, so he jokingly whined, "Mom... I’m sure Bro will agree, right? Or else I’ll have to use my last resort... It’s not like I saved his life for nothing... So when he returns, he would absolutely approve, right, mom? You will also help me convince him, right?"
Sheila shook her head and scoffed, "When he is back, Torin, I’m sure he will still break your bones."
Torin’s lips curved downward. His facial expression looked so funny that Sheila laughed. "Mom, I will serve you well while you’re here, so please help me in case Bro gives me a hard time, okay?" Torin cajoled as he clung onto Sheila’s arm.
Sheila smiled. Torin looked like a child who was begging for something he really wanted from his mother. She loved Torin’s jolly and playful disposition. He could always lift up anyone with a heavy heart. Just like her now. Sorrow filled her heart for not knowing where her son and daughter-in-law were, or if they were still alive.
"Silence means yes!" he declared and went ahead to hug Sheila. "You are really the best mom ever. Did you know the real reason why I want to marry Lyra? It is actually so I could be your son."
Sheila laughed as she hit Torin’s chest, "Stop trying to butter me up, kid... It’s not like I don’t know you."
Lyra smiled as she watched the heartwarming scene before her. Her mother and boyfriend looked like a real mother and son pair. Big Bro would definitely not go against her relationship with his best buddy, right? Torin was already like a brother to him.
’Please come home and be with us soon, big Bro... God, please protect the both of them wherever they are,’ Lyra said her prayer silently.
..............
Keira was satisfied after that rejuvenating bath at the waterfall. They were walking back to the beach when she noticed Zach was too quiet.
"What’s wrong?" she asked.
"I was just thinking... We don’t know how long we’ll be staying here. Or if we’ll ever be rescued... We should start taking some precautionary measures," he answered.
It had been five days already. Zach marked the boat by drawing one line on it every day, in order not to lose track of time. After scouting around the jungle, he was planning to build a safer and sturdier shelter on a higher ground inside it.
Keira, on the contrary, was thinking about a precautionary measure for another thing. She thought Zach was talking about them taking a preventative action for pregnancy. So she replied, "Oh yeah, you’re right. But my last period was around one week ago. So I think we’re safe."
Zach paused his steps to look at her. He was confused. But suddenly realization dawned on him. It would indeed not be safe if Keira got pregnant on this island. Mainly because they did not know how long they would have to stay there.
"Stupid," he scolded himself for being mindless of it.
"Huh? Me stupid?" Keira puzzled. She looked at Zach completely nonplussed. Zach quickly pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead, while clarifying, "No, my star... I’m calling myself stupid for not thinking about it. Luckily you mentioned it. You’re right, we must be careful from now on. We’ll have to go with the natural method. So let’s start paying attention to your cycle."
Keira looked up at Zach, still feeling confused, and asked, "Wasn’t that what you meant when you said we should take precautionary measures?"
Zach laughed and pinched her nose. He jested, "Silly! I guess my wife is only thinking about doing perverted things with me? What I meant was, we should take precautionary measures in case we have to stay on this island for much longer. We should start preparing for the worst-case scenario."
Keira flushed from bashfulness for having misinterpreted her husband.
She was the stupid and slow one. But she agreed with her husband that they indeed should prepare for the worst from now on. And yet, she was still hopeful that they would be rescued soon.
She knew her dad so well. He would never stop looking for them, no matter how long it might take. He would only stop once their dead bodies were found, which would not happen because they were still breathing and alive. So the search operation would definitely not cease.