"Boss! Come on, come here quickly! You missed yesterday's swimming competition!"
Alexa chuckled as Flora waved cheerfully while Jasper ran over to them. With swimsuits and childish faces, there was no hint of a former assassin or someone who had tried to kill her husband from the faces of the teenagers. The two teenagers just laughed when, enthusiastically, Jasper dragged Dominic, who had just left the villa with Alexa, to play with them.
"Boss, we have to compete again today! Yesterday, I saw Jasper cheat and win second place by drowning me. With you competing, Jasper definitely won't dare to cheat again. I can beat him this time!"
As soon as they were close enough, Flora immediately complained to Dominic about her sister's cheating behavior yesterday. Dominic raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You don't want to chase first place?" Dominic asked in surprise. Flora frowned before looking at Rika, who was walking calmly behind Alexa with her trusty flat expression.
"Boss knows how strong Rika is. We won't be able to beat her, even if we try harder," she muttered softly. Dominic shook his head slightly at Flora's muttering. The man pinched Flora's cheek hard, hard enough to make the girl groan in pain.
"If you can't beat her, that's a sign that you can't try as hard as Rika, Flora. Promise me you will fight to win this time. If you promise, then I will take part in the swimming competition with you," said Dominic while giving his conditions. Flora struggled trying to get away from Dominic's pinch, until after some struggling, Dominic finally let go of his pinch.
"What a bad boss... Yes, I promise! Oh, my cheeks are so red, aren't they, Jasper?"
Jasper just laughed mockingly when Flora asked him with a tangled expression. The man poked Flora's red cheek with his finger, causing the blonde girl to glare even more at his action.
"Well, just taste it. That's enough payback for a snitch," Jasper scoffed smugly. Both Dominic and Rika just shook their heads slowly at the small argument while Alexa chuckled at the entertainment.
"Seeing you guys like this, I really can't believe you're the same person who acts like you don't know each other closely when it comes to work," commented Alexa. Jasper and Flora immediately stopped fighting after hearing Alexa's words. Jasper smiled slightly before proudly patting his chest.
"It's all a matter of professionalism, Madam. As the Boss's bodyguards, we can't act too casually when we're not here. We also didn't deliberately pretend we didn't know each other in the office. It's just that we thought chatting intimately during work hours would only divert our focus from our task of looking after Boss," explained Jasper. Alexa raised her eyebrows, clearly confused by the meaning of Jasper's words.
"If you weren't here?" she repeated, seeming confused. Jasper looked as if he realized something and fell silent before his eyes looked at Dominic a little stiffly.
"This island is not just any island, Baby. No ships are allowed to approach within a radius of 500 meters from the coastline of this island. Even air transportation will have difficulty passing through this island because we hold a separate flying permit for this special area. Well, the point is, it's safe to play here. I bought this island specifically to be our paradise."
Without needing Jasper to explain, Dominic took the initiative to explain everything to Alexa. The man smiled gently, making Alexa stunned for an instant.
"You're also going to take part in the swimming competition, aren't you, Baby?" Dominic asked. Alexa gasped before looking at the sea as if embarrassed about something.
She didn't want Dominic to know that she had just stared at her husband without blinking.
"U, uh... Can I swim? I... haven't swam since I woke up from my coma, right? Besides, my legs don't seem to be able to withstand that strength," said Alexa doubtfully. Dominic smiled arrogantly before tightly hugging Alexa's waist.
"Trust me, Baby. In the past, you were a great swimmer. I also discussed it with your doctor before this. As long as you don't swim for too long, you can swim as hard as you can."
Dominic kissed Alexa's forehead once before continuing his words.
"However, even if you feel tired later, I will carry you to the finish line with my strength. We will win. I will take care of you no matter what happens," Dominic promised confidently. Alexa cleared her throat softly, her eyes continuing to look at the sea so that Dominic wouldn't know how happy she was hearing Dominic's previous words.
"Then... fine," Alexa muttered softly. Dominic smiled slightly at his wife's decision. Meanwhile, Flora and Jasper smiled because this would be their first race with their boss's wife.
"Then let's get ready!" Flora said enthusiastically. She immediately ran to the beach with calm seawater. Flora pointed at a large rock before shouting from there at the top of her lungs.
"This is the endpoint, okay? We'll start there, from that coconut tree line!" she said, pointing to a coconut tree standing on the coast. She excitedly ran back to the group, taking up position with the others.
"You're going to lose again, Flora. You've used up all your energy screaming and running around, you stupid girl," sneered Jasper. Flora glared. She hadn't had time to say anything when Rika, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke.
"Don't be arrogant, Jasper. Mr. Dominic will win this race together with Madam," she said flatly.
Jasper looked at her strangely. "You really don't want to win if Boss competes, right?" he muttered. Rika heard it but didn't want to answer her brother anymore. Her eyes focused on Dominic, who was helping Alexa calm down her nervousness when she was going to swim in the sea after lying in a coma for so long in bed.
"Don't be afraid, Baby. Trust me, okay? You're a great swimmer," comforted Dominic. Alexa tried to calm down, as Dominic said. Her eyes then looked at their destination seriously.
"I'm ready," she said confidently. Flora smiled. Once everything was ready, they took steps to start the match.
"On the count of three, okay? One... two... three!"
Flora, Jasper, and Rika immediately sped off when Flora finished with her instructions. Alexa also tried to remember how she used to swim. But whether Dominic lied to her about being good at swimming or something, Alexa looked really clumsy in the water. Luckily, the sea around the island was calm, or Alexa might have been carried away by the waves a long time ago because she was just moving erratically in the water.
In the middle of her attempt to swim, a pair of strong hands suddenly pulled her to hold on to him. Dominic guided her to get on his back before starting to swim with insane stamina.
"Sigh... How can Boss win even though he has to bring Madam with him? Boss's strength is no joke! Rika even lost to you, Boss!"
When they arrived at the rock, Dominic put Alexa down carefully. They did manage to catch up with the three of them, even though Dominic had previously fallen behind.
"I told you, Mr Dominic will definitely win this match."
Rika, who had come to take second place, commented casually. Flora took a deep breath before putting on a very proud face.
"Yeah, but at least I maintained my position, right? Not like someone who is arrogant but ends up getting last place," Flora mocked with satisfaction. Jasper, who had just arrived, immediately bent his face when the man saw Flora, who was looking at him with an expression full of mockery.
"We won, didn't we? I told you to have enough faith in me, Baby."
Alexa's cheeks turned red when Dominic rubbed her cheek gently. In the middle of the sea like this, Dominic's perfect body looks good when soaked in seawater. Alexa nodded shyly. "Thank you for helping me earlier, Dom," she said sincerely. Dominic smiled. He stole a kiss on Alexa's cheek before pulling back to admire his wife's beautiful face, who looked shy when she saw him.
"Anything for you," he replied briefly while smiling broadly. The moment between the two felt so sweet until the sound of Alexa's stomach ruined everything.
The hungry roar was loud enough for the other three people to hear it. Alexa's cheeks reddened with embarrassment, while Dominic himself chuckled in response.
"My wife must be hungry after swimming, right? Let's go back. We'll eat whatever you want at the villa," teased Dominic. Alexa could only cover her face, too embarrassed to respond to Dominic's teasing when the man put his arm around her waist and led her back to the villa with the others.