[Third person POV]
Heath had been on the edge since the whole Fiona falling overboard incident. One, because there was no footage to show who pushed her into the water, and two, Carl had been acting very weird.
"What has gotten to you?" Gian asks, and he had worried as he saw Heath keep staring into nothingness.
"Oh, it is nothing," Heath replies, still looking deflated.
"Don't blame yourself, we will find who hurt her, besides, if it's the Fiona I know, she probably will not blame you too much," Gian reassures.
"You speak so highly of her."
"Of course, she is like a sister I never had, and I know my wife wouldn't be here and happy with me if it wasn't for her; she is my family," Gian says.
"Can I ask you a question?" Heath asked nervously, and Gian nodded his head yes.
"Well, did you know she and Carl were a thing?" Gian nodded with more curiosity in his eyes now.
"Well, I spoke to Carl last night and might have alluded to wanting her back and needing my help to do so. Do you think they will work out?" Heath said and waited for Gian's response.
"I don't think that would work out. After how he broke up with her, I don't think she will like him back, and to be honest, Clover and I don't want them together, so no, I don't think they will work out." Heath had forgotten that Gian was present before giggling happily at his response.
"You seem happy about that? Isn't Carl your friend?" Gian asks, confused, "Wait, could Clover be right about you and Fiona?"
"I…. well… it is complicated," Heath says, earning a sigh from Gian, "no! it is not like that, I am serious about her, it's just she doesn't seem to be interested in me."
"You blame her, your lifestyle alone is a red flag," Gian says, "but if you really are serious and you persist, she will melt, just, please don't hurt her, when she is hurt, my wife hurts and I hurt as well."
"So that is how love goes? Kinda sour, huh, it scares me," Heath says, clenching his fists. Gian chuckles at him.
"It is very much sour at times, like the times where my wife is mad at me, or when she is sick, but even its sourness, there is a lot of sweetness in it, and the sweetness always outweighs the sourness."
"For how long would that work?"
"For me personally, I think it will work until the very end, the sweetness will always outweigh the sourness, because I know my wife loves and respects me, and I love and respect her, and we will always fight for this marriage."
"It doesn't usually work for others," Heath lets out another pessimistic statement, making Gian sigh.
"It depends on who you put your love on. If you believe Fiona is the one to respect and love you and stay loyal to you, then believe the sweetness will always outweigh the sourness, and if you see it is not working, leave."
"What if I love her too much to leave? What if I lose my whole self-worth loving her?"
Gian looked at Heath, struggling with how words, he knows very well the story of Heath's parents, and he hates how they had raised him to be afraid to love.
"But if the person truly loves you, she will always make sure you feel worthy. You shall never lose your self-worth if you are loving the right person, believe me."
Heath sighed. Well, Gian had been married for years, and they still looked like teenagers in love; he probably knows best.
"Okay, try this whole relationship thing with Fiona, and I will monitor. If I see you losing yourself, I will drag you out, how about that?"
"Shouldn't be on Fiona's side?"
"I am on her side, you sound genuine, and she deserves some genuine love for once," Gian says, "I just think you two should take a chance on this."
Heath takes a deep breath. He had vowed to stay away from her, but his greed for her, his fear of her loving another man, couldn't let him.
"Yeah, I will chase her and see how it goes," he says nervously, fondling with his fingers. Gian laughs at this; it was a rare sight to see Heath Duncan nervous about anything.
He still remembers the time Heath Duncan was just an 8th grader, and he was in the 11th grade but yet he was the one who had to nervously go and ask for help from him.
"Just do right by her, okay, Fiona doesn't tolerate disrespect, not in the slightest," Gian says, making Heath even more nervous.
Heath was gearing up to do right by Fiona, and Lucas was looking at another confusing thing in his hands.
"Ah, Mr. Gram, are you okay?" Esther asks as she watches his face change as he looks at his phone.
Tomorrow was the last day in Madagascar, and they all vowed to take a break today and wait for tomorrow, as Fiona would be okay to tour with them.
Lucas had decided to spend the day in the villa they were renting, along with Clover and Esther.
"Oh… yeah, it is nothing," he says, trying his best not to sound worried.
"You don't look okay, though, sir? Is something wrong back home?"
"No, everything is okay," Lucas hated how Esther kept pushing like it was none of her business.
"Is it a girl?" Esther continues to pester, making Lucas snort.
"It is none of your business, Esther. Can you stop imposing yourself in my business!" he yelled. Clover, who was also in the living room with them, gasped.
"Lucas, don't talk to her like that," Clover scolded, "she is just worried, anyway, what is wrong? You sound defensive for it to be nothing."
"Just some personal stuff, nothing I can't handle," he warmly says to Clover before turning to where Esther was, "sorry for snapping at you, I am just on the edge right now."
"Oh… it is okay, I was pushing a bit, sorry for imposing," Esther says, making Clover happy at the peace.
"Anyway, where is Carl? Did he go with Heath and Gian to get food?" Clover asked; she had been feeling uneasy about Carl, especially after Fiona's near-death experience.
"Oh… no, he said he wanted some fresh air, I am sure he is okay," Esther says, "let me go get you that foot massage your husband bought yesterday, you haven't used it in a while."
"Yeah…" Clover replies, but she is still worried if Carl was as she feared he might be going after her friend.
And on the other hand, Lucas still held his phone, suspiciously worrying, relistening to the voice note over and over again, wondering who could have sent it.
Fiona was able to get discharged that evening, and Selby had brought her back to the villa, where they were all able to have dinner together.
The dynamic had shifted a bit; Lucas was not paying attention to Selby like usual, and Carl was not praising Heath. The tension could be cut with a knife.
After everyone had retired to their rooms, Lucas requested to talk with Selby, making her even more nervous.
She had nervously followed him to the balcony; it was worrisome for him to even want to talk about something in a serious tone. Lucas Gram was not a serious man.
"Okay, what is it?" Selby asks bitterly, was he going to ask to stop their whole affair, quite a timing, huh.
"Well, I want to ask you a question, okay, be honest," he asked, looking into her eyes, worried.
"Shoot, what is it?" Selby says she had started building the walls of protection; she didn't want to be hurt, she didn't want it to end this night, she could feel tears creeping up.
"Do…. Do you love me?" Lucas asked half-boldly half doubtfully.
"What…. What did you just say?" Selby asked, her voice had started cracking, and her tears were getting hard to hold back.
"Have you fallen in love with me?" Lucas asked this time confidently, as he could hear her voice crack; he was sure it was true.