Leah stood frozen in the doorway, watching as her eyes trembled with emotions she couldn’t quite name or understand.

They were so utterly lost in their passionate kiss that they hadn’t even noticed her standing there witnessing everything.

Wren and that woman were making out intensely right in front of her like she was invisible, like she didn’t exist, like nothing else in the world mattered except each other.

Leah’s lips thinned until they formed just a single tight line as she forced herself to take a deep breath through her nose with her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

’Why...?’ she thought as she stared forward at the scene unfolding before her eyes. ’This woman... why her? Why is he kissing her like that?’

Of course Leah had recognized Isabella the moment she’d let go of her disguise... It was impossible not to recognize her once you really looked.

It was the famous Isabella "Lightning" Reeves... the professional race car driver who had dominated headlines when she won a Grand Prix championship just last year. She was currently very publicly dating Marcus Chen.

Isabella was beautiful, famous, talented, and rich... She had everything.

So why? Why was she kissing Wren like that? Why was she practically sitting in his lap with her hands all over him, kissing him like he was the only person who’d ever mattered to her?

What did Wren have that Marcus didn’t? What made him special enough for Isabella to risk her entire public image?

Leah had so many questions burning urgently in her mind, but she forced herself to wait silently and just watch the situation unfold.

Finally, Wren seemed to sense something was wrong. He noticed Leah’s presence and pulled back from the kiss abruptly.

Isabella was still sitting on his lap in a complete daze with her eyes half-closed and her lips swollen then she followed Wren’s gaze and saw the reason why he’d stopped kissing her so suddenly.

Leah was standing right there in the doorway, watching them both.

Isabella’s face immediately went deathly pale. She scrambled off Wren’s lap with zero grace, nearly falling in her haste.

"Uh, I’ll excuse myself for now..." Isabella stammered out awkwardly with her voice shaking slightly.

With that hasty excuse, she speed-walked past Leah without making any eye contact whatsoever and practically fled through the door like her life depended on it.

’Fuck, fuck, fuck!’ Isabella thought in panic as she hurried down the medical bay hallway as fast as she could without breaking into a full sprint. ’If Leah decides to go public with what she just witnessed, even if it was just a regular kiss between two people, it could drag me into a massive cheating scandal with the media. I shouldn’t have given in to temptation and done it at all...’

She ended that train of thought as she pushed through another door and disappeared around a corner.

But at least Leah hadn’t pulled out her phone to take a photo or video evidence, or Isabella would have been truly screwed... So she had been overreacting.

’I hope Wren is okay dealing with her...’ Isabella thought guiltily as she scurried away as fast as she could without actually running.

Back in the medical room, Leah let out a long sigh.

A small blush had covered Wren’s cheeks from being caught. He looked embarrassed but not particularly guilty, which was interesting.

Leah’s gaze dropped to the medical bandages that had fallen on the floor during the kiss. She walked over calmly, bent down, and picked them up. Then she looked at Wren with an unreadable expression.

"Lie down on the bed properly," she instructed in a tone that left no room for argument.

Wren did exactly as she asked, settling back onto the medical bed.

Leah sat down on the edge of the bed and began speaking.

"While attacking that guy the way you did was definitely a rash and violent decision, my mother has assured me that no criminal charges will be pressed against you. And at the next port stop, they’re going to permanently eject that man from the ship and add both him and his entire family to the Celestine’s blacklist. They’ll never be allowed to book passage on any of our ships again."

"Oh..." Wren said, genuinely surprised.

He really hadn’t thought his aunt liked him enough to go that far in protecting him. Wasn’t that level of intervention a bit excessive? Then again, attempted murder was pretty serious.

Leah picked up his injured leg gently and began bandaging his knee... the same knee he’d been bashing repeatedly into that guy’s face. She moved softly and expertly as she did.

"Don’t think too much about the special treatment," Leah continued as she worked. "My mother simply doesn’t tolerate that kind of stupidity happening on her ship. She’s the one in charge of the entire Celestine fleet, after all. She takes these things personally."

"Right," Wren said quietly.

Then he remembered what had just happened moments ago with Isabella and Leah walking in on them and his curiosity got the better of him.

"Aren’t you going to ask me about it?" he said carefully.

Leah finished wrapping the bandage around his knee and secured it with medical tape. She looked up at his face with those striking eyes of hers.

"What is there to ask?" she said simply. "It’s obvious that woman was cheating on her boyfriend with you... like I’m about to."

Wren blinked in confusion.

Well, he could understand the first part.

Leah had witnessed Isabella cheating but he still didn’t want this information getting out and causing problems, so he was planning to convince Leah to keep quiet about—

"Like I’m about t—?"

He didn’t finish processing what she’d said before Leah’s lips suddenly dove forward.

The woman grabbed his face firmly with both hands and kissed Wren directly on the mouth, pushing her tongue against his lips insistently.

Wren’s eyes widened in shock.

Why the hell was Leah kissing him now? This made no sense!

Regardless of his confusion, Wren’s lips parted in surprise and Leah immediately took advantage, pushing her tongue into his mouth. She began properly tongue kissing him with skill and passion then she used one of her arms to press down firmly on his stomach, pinning him in place as she continued the deep kiss.

Wren recovered from his initial shock and began reciprocating, kissing her back with the same intensity. His hands moved to her waist automatically.

Leah’s eyes widened slightly when she felt him respond so skillfully, matching her movements perfectly.

They kissed for several long moments before she finally pulled back with a thin strand of saliva connecting their lips briefly before breaking.

Leah wiped the moisture from her mouth with the back of her hand, breathing slightly harder. She looked at him with genuine curiosity.

"Where did you learn to kiss like that?" she asked directly.

If Wren had been practicing with someone else, he would have told her about it, or she would have found out through their friend group somehow. So where had he learned those techniques?

"That’s not even the most important question right now," Wren said, still processing what had just happened. "Why the hell did you kiss me in the first place?"

Sure, he would have gladly accepted it if he’d been actively making romantic moves on Leah. But he hadn’t even tried with her.

These past few days on the cruise, he’d been much more focused on building relationships with Diana and Isabella, not Leah specifically.

Leah looked down at his lips for a long moment, then back up to meet his eyes directly.

"Kissing random girls on a cruise ship is a quick way to get sexually transmitted infections," she said matter-of-factly. "I was simply helping you out so that you don’t catch anything serious if that woman happens to have any diseases."

Then Leah patted his freshly wrapped bandages gently. "And I also patched up your injured leg the same way you always do for me when I hurt myself. So now we’re even. You’ve helped me, and I’ve helped you."

Without even turning back to look at Wren’s reaction, Leah stood up and walked calmly to the door. She opened it and paused in the doorway.

"Make sure to wait for the nurse to check on you one more time before you leave here," she instructed.

Then she closed the door firmly behind her and pressed her back against it once she was in the hallway.

A small, involuntary blush spread across her face as she stood there for a moment, collecting herself.

After a few deep breaths, the Merrett family daughter adjusted her slightly rumpled clothes and walked off down the hallway with as much dignity as she could manage, leaving Wren alone in the medical room.

’Fuck...’ Wren thought, genuinely confused about what had just happened and what it all meant but before he could think too deeply about anything...

[Ding! Hidden Mission [V] has been completed!]

[Objective: Kiss Two different targets one after the other within a short time period]

[Reward: 10,000 Credits have been added to your account]

[You’re on fire, Host! Three hidden missions already completed in just one day? I really taught you well hehe~]

Wren rested his head back against the pillow on the medical bed and let out a long, exhausted sigh.

’Whatever... I just want to rest,’ Wren thought as he closed his eyes to wait for the nurse like Leah had instructed.

However, maybe it was because he was emotionally and physically exhausted from everything that had happened today. Within just a few minutes of closing his eyes, he had already fallen into a deep sleep.

...

The ship’s intercom system crackled to life with the captain’s enthusiastic voice echoing through every cabin, corridor, and public space on the massive vessel.

"Good morning, passengers! This is Captain Jonathan Hawlone with an exciting announcement that I know you’ve all been waiting to hear. We have successfully arrived at Ivory Island, the main destination stop for this voyage!"

The captain’s enthusiastic voice continued with genuine excitement.

"The weather conditions on the island today are absolutely perfect for outdoor activities... sunny skies, light ocean breeze, temperature around seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit. For those of you keeping track of our itinerary, there are exactly eight days remaining on our twelve-day trip. We’ll be spending five of those days docked right here at Ivory Island, giving you plenty of time to explore everything this tropical paradise has to offer. Then we’ll use the remaining three days to travel back to Caldena port. I sincerely hope everyone enjoys themselves to the fullest during our stay!"

In Wren’s cabin, he immediately reached out and tapped Zoe firmly on the shoulder where she was still passed out on his floor.

"Dumbass, get up," he said.

"Five more minutes, Mom..." Zoe mumbled without opening her eyes, still half-asleep.

Wren leaned down and whispered directly in her ear. "You do realize you’re sleeping in a man’s room right now, right?"

That made Zoe’s eyes shoot open in alarm. She staggered backward and tried to stand up abruptly.

As a result, she lost her balance and fell off the side of the bed she’d been leaning against, landing on the cabin floor with a thud.

Zoe raised her middle finger at him from the ground. "Go fuck yourself, pervert!"

It was important not to misunderstand the situation.

They definitely hadn’t done anything inappropriate. The girls had simply come over for drinks and card games in his cabin last night, and Zoe had fallen asleep on his floor. She’d stubbornly refused to let him carry her back to her own room when he’d offered, insisting she was fine sleeping there so she’d just spent the night.

Zoe picked herself up, still glaring at him, and exited his room while muttering complaints under her breath.

Wren stood up and did a few stretches to work out the stiffness in his muscles. Today was the day they finally landed at the main island destination of this entire trip... Ivory Island.

According to the glossy pamphlet that had been provided to all passengers, it was a massive luxury resort island with everything imaginable. He planned to handle all the activities and opportunities that came with it properly.

Wren ran a hand through his messy hair, thinking carefully about how things had developed over the past couple of days since that incident in the medical bay.

Everything was actually looking surprisingly good overall, all things considered.

Isabella wasn’t shy or awkward at all about the passionate kiss they’d shared. In fact, she seemed more comfortable around him than ever before.

They still talked normally with no weird tension and just the day before yesterday, they’d even watched another movie together in his cabin... some action thriller she’d been excited about. This time Isabella was the one who’d fallen asleep during the film, curled up on his bed with her head on his shoulder. Though they still hadn’t directly discussed the kiss or anything, Wren thought it was pretty good progress.

As for Leah, she was taking a completely different approach that honestly confused him. She actually brought up their kiss quite a lot in casual conversation, like it was no big deal.

She kept suggesting in that straightforward way of hers that if he ever felt like kissing someone again for any reason, she would be readily available and willing to help him out.

It was bold and forward in a way that made his heart race though he genuinely couldn’t figure out what her endgame strategy was.

He didn’t even know what she was really trying to accomplish with all these offers, but it definitely made him nervous in a not-entirely-unpleasant way whenever she said things like that with that knowing look in her eyes.

Wren shook his head to clear those thoughts and walked over to his cabin closet. He pulled it open and grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling it off over his head to reveal his toned upper body.

He flexed unconsciously as he looked down at himself, then noticed his lower situation. His member was quite visibly erect through his boxer shorts which was classic morning wood.

’I should change into something appropriate for exploring a resort island...’ Wren thought as he reached for some fresh clothes.

At that exact moment, his cabin door burst open without any warning knock.

Isabella pulled herself into the room with her usual energetic enthusiasm and immediately started talking rapidly.

"Come on, Ren-Ren! Let’s get going and start checking out Ivory Island together! I want to use that luxury spa I read about in the brochure, and—"

Her voice died completely in her throat as she’d just registered what she was actually looking at.

Wren was standing there almost completely naked, wearing only his boxer shorts and it was very, very obvious through the thin fabric exactly how large and thick his morning erection was.

’Big...’ Isabella thought, her eyes going wide as her gaze locked onto it involuntarily. Wren looked down at her with a knowing smile, completely unbothered by being caught in this state.

"Wanna help me calm it down?" he asked smoothly.