“What? No... I won’t go.”
At the thought of going out to sea, Hayden had a touch of resistance in her eyes. She hurriedly waved
her hands, “I can’t go.”
As soon as she finished her words, she felt her sleeve tightened. Looking down, she saw Noah held
her sleeve pitifully and look at her expectantly. He held a sticky note, on which there was a line: “I want
you to go with me.”
Hayden was stunned for a moment. Stroking Noah’s head, suddenly she became soft-hearted.
“All right. I need to change my clothes if I go with you.”
Noah didn’t have a mother and Joseph was indeed a careless father. When they stayed in the hotel
yesterday, he could make Noah get a sunburn. Hayden couldn’t imagine what would happen after they
went sailing. Besides, Joseph also mentioned that Noah couldn’t swim.
“Okay.” Joseph looked expressionless, but he felt delighted inexplicably.
Since the early morning, he had seen her drinking coffee for the whole morning at the gate of the cafe.
After asking the staff of the TV program, he got to know that Freddie had taken the little girl sailing. This
news really delighted Joseph all morning.
They took a speedboat to the island. Since putting on the life vest, Hayden started feeling dizzy. After
biting the bullets and getting on the boat, she shrank on her seat and avoid looking into the water.
“Excuse me, Sir. Please slow down,” she said to the boatman.
Her voice sounded frightening, and even Joseph sensed something wrong.
“Are you OK?”
“I’m fine.” She smiled as if nothing was serious, hiding her reluctance. She exhorted, “Please buckle
Noah’s sunshade cap for him. If the wind is strong, his cap will be blown away.”
Joseph nodded and adjust Noah’s cap. When he turned around, he found that Hayden hadn’t buckled
her own sunshade cap with trembling hands.
“Are you really all right?”
Joseph frowned. “If you are not feeling well, we’ll cancel the trip.”
“Nothing. I’m all right. It’s just the boat was a bit swaying. I can’t buckle it.”
Joseph hesitated for a moment. Then he bent down and grabbed Hayden’s hands. “Let me help you.”
Her hand back was suddenly wrapped in his warm palm. Hayden was stunned for a moment as if she
had forgotten the feeling of seasickness at that moment. She blankly watched Joseph help her buckle
the sunshade cap in a daze. Shivers came from her chin under his unintentional touches, which almost
made her hard to breathe for a while.
“Done.”
His deep voice rang in her ear. Only until then did she come back to her senses. She immediately
looked away. “Oh. Thanks. Thanks a lot.”
“You are welcome.”
Joseph gazed at her. “Are you feeling hot?”
“Well, not really.”
“Why are you blushed?”
“Really?”
Hayden suddenly covered her cheeks and stammered, “No. No way. Perhaps, perhaps the sunlight is
too strong.”
As she spoke, she pointed to the sky. “It’s the sunlight. Hurry up and button up Noah’s sunblock shirt.”
Joseph curled up his eyes slightly and his lips formed into a meaningful smile. It seemed he was not
convinced by her explanation.
Noah seemed to be curious about everything. He pointed here and there, keeping asking questions.
Hayden explained to him in great patience, but she didn’t understand some things, especially when
Noah asked about the mechanical equipment on the boat. She nearly knew nothing about it. Hence, it
was Joseph who was responsible to explain how the boat worked.
“Mr. Beckham, has anyone told you before that you are quite professional when explaining about the
boat.”
Joseph thought she was giving him a compliment at first. However, he heard the next sentence from
her. “Others who don’t know you might though you are a worker in the shipyard.”
His face was pulled long at the moment.
Usually, Joseph could win the argument against others. However, for some reason, he didn’t have the
ability to retort at all. Noticing that, Hayden felt quite joyful, and she seemed to suffer less from the
seasickness.
She asked, “By the way, why did you suddenly bring Noah to the Maldives? You didn’t tell me before. If
I had known it, we could come here together.”
Joseph answered expressionlessly, “Noah wanted to come here.”
Noah glared at him. Then he wrote on the drawing board: “Daddy wants to give you a surprise.”
Hayden read the line and felt her heart was hammering. Subconsciously, she looked over at Joseph,
only to find he was looking at her as well. Whey their eyes met, the air around them seemed to be
stagnant.
Hayden always thought that Joseph took care of her because she got along with Noah very well. If it
weren’t for the “accident” on that night when she was unconscious after getting drunk and that she tried
hard to forget, she had never considered the possibility between him and her.
Even if she imagined about it, it was just a flame that was extinguished immediately. Joseph was
getting married. How could they be together?
Thinking of that, she hurriedly avoided Joseph’s gaze and deliberately smiled to get rid of the
embarrassment.
“Noah, you are so young, but you’ve already known what to say to please a lady.”
Noah looked over at Joseph, hoping that his father could say something. However, Joseph totally
ignored him, as if he didn’t understand what his son meant. He even turned to look over at an island in
the distance.
Noah was so anxious. He lowered his head and wrote quickly on the drawing board: “You said I tried to
please you. Does it mean that the surprise my daddy gave you made you happy?”
Hayden’s smile stiffened while she was reading these words. She couldn’t believe that she was caught
by this little fellow’s question.
She had to admit that she was really delighted when seeing Joseph and Noah appear here. When she
saw a figure from the balcony yesterday and thought she had made a mistake, she was also very
happy.
Joseph noticed that she was lost in her thought. When he was about to ask her something, the boat
shook violently.
Hayden screamed and slammed aside suddenly. Joseph acted quickly to grab her arm. Before they
could keep their balances, the boat shook again.
With a solemn face, Joseph tightened his grip and dragged her into his arms. He asked the boatman,
“What’s going on?”
Hayden’s cheek hit Joseph’s life vest. She felt a bit painful because of the rubs. Before she could react,
she felt dizzy and the scenery in front of her began to move at an unacceptable speed immediately.
Then it turned fuzzy. Instantly she felt her stomach turn.
The boatman standing in the front of the boat answered hurriedly, “I’m sorry, Sir. There are sea risings
coming over. I’m afraid we can’t go any farther. It looks like it’s going to rain. Shall we still head to the
island or go back?”
Looking at Hayden, who had already fainted in his arms, Joseph looked a bit solemn.
This woman was obviously seasick. He sensed something wrong with her as soon as they got on the
boat, but she pretended to be fine. Now there came some waves and she blacked out. How could they
continue heading to the island?
“Go straight back,” he answered the boatman neatly.
Joseph took a look at Noah and asked, “Noah, can you sit still by yourself?”
Noah nodded with a solemn face. Joseph grabbed Noah’s hand with one hand and held Hayden’s
shoulder with the other, encircling her in his arms.
The weather changed pretty fast. Big raindrops fell on the speedboat. Without any obstruction, all
people on the boat were drenched by the rain instantly.
Joseph creased his brows. Suddenly he heard a whimper from his arms.
“Grandpa, please don’t go. Please don’t...”
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