Chapter 39 Mr. Astor, Do You Have Any Last Words?

The dessert in Esme's hand hit the ground, and she instantly lost it. "My dessert! Who the heck did this? Damn it!"

Alice and Esme stormed out of the cabin and spotted Oliver chilling on the bow of another yacht.

Oliver leaned on the railing, laughing. "Didn't think I'd bump into someone I know. My bad!"

Charles shot Oliver a dirty look. "How the hell did you manage to crash into my yacht in the middle of this huge ocean?"

Clara, shaking, emerged from the cockpit. "I'm really sorry, it was an accident."

Already in a foul mood, Alice got even more pissed when she saw Clara. "If you can't drive, then don't! Stop causing problems!"

Clara clung to Oliver's arm, her eyes welling up. "Alice, why do you have to be so harsh?"

Alice sneered, "You and Elodie have been hogging the shares my mom left me for years, and you think I'm being harsh?"

"Alice, can we talk about family stuff at home? We're all here to have fun today."

Alice's voice turned icy. "Family? If you considered me family, you wouldn't have turned my fiancé into your boyfriend."

Clara put on a pitiful face. "Alice, I know you're mad. I'll do anything to make it up to you, even if it means pouring boiling water on me like last time."

A smile crept onto Alice's face as she turned to Esme. "Esme, if someone likes being punished, wouldn't it be a shame not to oblige?"

Esme smirked, "I just boiled a pot of water."

Clara had hoped to make everyone think Alice was heartless, but Alice didn't care about others' opinions. She knew Alice would follow through, and she was in for some bad luck this time.

She anxiously clung to Oliver's arm. "Oliver."

Oliver felt smug, thinking Alice was just jealous. He said, "Let's not bring up the past. Alice, I'll always be there for you if you need anything."

But Alice just ignored Oliver.

Rupert scoffed, "Mr. Howard, don't bother. I'll take care of everything for Alice."

Oliver felt a pang of discomfort.

Alice raised her head towards Clara. "Clara, you want to make amends, right?"

Clara, not wanting to back down in front of everyone, nodded, thinking Oliver wouldn't let Alice harm her. "Yes."

Alice went into the cabin and brought out a food box with six light green desserts. "If you eat all six of these desserts, I'll let the matter of you stealing my fiancé go."

Seeing the desserts, Esme raised an eyebrow, realizing these were the ones Alice had stopped her from eating earlier.

Clara, seeing they were just desserts, felt relieved. "Alright, as long as we can reconcile."

Rupert handed the food box to Clara, who took a bite and immediately regretted it.

The pungent taste filled her mouth and nose, making her eyes water. She cried, "This is wasabi-filled."

Alice smirked, "Eat them all. That will show your sincerity!"

Esme covered her mouth, laughing. "Is this why you didn't let me eat them?"

"Yep."

Esme glanced at Rupert, thinking he was lucky to have Clara taking the fall.

Under everyone's gaze, Clara forced herself to eat all six desserts, tears streaming down her face. "Alice, are you satisfied now?"

Alice gave a faint smile. "I'll let this slide, but we've got other issues to settle later."

Clara gritted her teeth as she took the bottled water Ellen Reynolds handed her, secretly vowing to make Alice pay.

Seeing what happened, Oliver felt insulted that Alice thought he was only worth six desserts. His heart was stifled with frustration, and as he looked at Alice's calm expression, his desire to possess her grew even more. Oliver's buddy, Oscar Powell, laughed, "Clara didn't mean it, and it was just a coincidence we ran into each other. How about we all have fun together?"

The others chimed in, "Yeah, let's do it. We can have a fish barbecue and a bonfire tonight."

Rupert was about to refuse when Alice spoke up, "Sure, let's play together. But the loser has to accept a punishment. Are you up for it?"

Oliver scoffed, "What's the big deal? As long as you can handle losing!"

Seeing Alice's cunning smile, Clara felt uneasy and couldn't help but think that Alice was setting a trap for her. She tugged at Oliver, "Oliver, maybe we should sit this out."

"Why are you such a buzzkill?"

Seeing Oliver's frown, Clara bit her lip, not daring to go against his decision.

Alice, Rupert, Kieran, and Esme faced off against Oliver, Clara, Oscar, and Ellen.

Oliver cast a suggestive glance at Alice. "I'll play whatever you want."

Alice said, "Let's play archery."

Esme gave Charles a look, and he quickly brought over bows and arrows, which they had prepared the night before.

Everyone found it intriguing, as they usually played cards, dice, or darts. Archery was more thrilling.

Alice smirked, "Since everyone agrees, no backing out."

Oliver laughed, "Of course. Let's start now."

Alice continued, "I'll explain the rules. Two people per team, competing against another team. One person shoots the arrow, and the other holds an apple on their head as the target. The team that hits the apple wins."

Knowing the rules, everyone fell silent.

Alice looked at Clara, "I'll team up with Rupert against you and Oliver."

Rupert asked, "Am I the target?"

Alice smiled, "You and the apple are the targets."

"Can I back out?"

"You lost the fishing bet before, so you have to fulfill my request now and be my target."

Rupert fell silent.

Clara looked at Oliver in panic. "Oliver, I'm afraid I'll miss and hit you."

Oliver glared at her, not wanting to lose face by backing out now, so he said, "Clara, you be the target. Trust me, I'll hit the apple."

Clara fell silent.

Alice took the bow, arrow, and the apple from Esme, then tossed the apple to Rupert. "Stand on the deck and don't move, or I might hit something else."

Rupert felt quite helpless as he reluctantly walked over, placing the red apple on his head and covering his vital parts with his hands. "Go ahead!"

Alice spread her feet shoulder-width apart, holding the bow in one hand and the arrow in the other.

The sea breeze blew through her hair, and the sunlight cast a soft golden glow on her serene face.

Alice aimed at the apple on Rupert's head with a seductive smile on her face. "Mr. Astor, any last words?"