He is the groom

'He is the groom?' Sierra thought with shock.

All the blood drained out of her face at that realisation. Not only is he the groom, but also Claire's uncle and the owner of the yacht.

'Sierra, how did you end up in this kind of a mess? You slept with Claire's uncle who is thinking that you are some cheap whore. Why is this happening to me?' Sierra thought to herself feeling stressed.

"Hello" she heard his voice. He is behaving as if he doesn't know her, which saved her from a lot of awkwardness. And after this new revelation, she doesn't want to tell Claire that she lost her virginity to her handsome, and not to forget soon to be married uncle.

"Hello" Sierra forced herself to say.

After that, he tactfully ignored Sierra while exchanging a few words with Claire who is the only one who is chatting the whole time. Even Adam sat there stiffly, speaking only when he was spoken with.

Sierra couldn't eat much. She is not hungry. Her stomach is feeling heavy as if it's filled with lead.

After forty three minutes of hell, Xavier Woods left. Only then did Sierra dare to breathe loudly.

She heard Adam releasing his breath too, as if he was scared of Claire's uncle.

Claire is blissfully unaware of all this.

On the other hand, after the breakfast, Xavier made a call to his friend and assistant 'Carlos Smith'.

If there is anyone in the world who can talk to Xavier without shitting his pants, then it would be Carlos. They both were together through thick and thin over a decade. But even Carlos couldn't understand Xavier more times than he could count.

"Xavier, what's up? Missing me already?" Carlos teased his bestfriend like usual.

But like always, Xavier ignored it and came directly to the point.

"Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on all the people Claire befriend?" Xavier demanded coldly.

Carlos frowned. Xavier's would have scared anyone, but Carlos is used to it by now.

"You did. And I already gave you the information about the girl who is and was Claire's only friend. Sierra Leone. And you met Adam. These two are the only people with whom Claire spends her time with. You know this. Why are you asking about them so suddenly?" Carlos asked curiously.

Xavier's gaze gleamed.

'Sierra Leone, this is her name?' he thought to himself.

Earlier when he saw her with Claire, it took him by shock. He wanted to throw her into the ocean for being a scheming bitch who befriended Claire first and then entered his bed. But he noticed how happy Claire looked when she was introducing that girl to him. So he controlled his urge and barely got through that breakfast without snapping her neck in two.

"Tell me everything you know about this Sierra" Xavier demanded.

Carlos pulled back his mobile and looked at the caller id to double check if he is really speaking with his best friend. This is the first time Xavier is inquiring about a woman, even though he detected anger in his tone.

'Strange, I wonder what this poor girl did to offend him' he thought, showing pity on Sierra.

"Sierra is Claire's best friend for six years now. She lost her father and twin sister in an accident five years ago. After that accident, her mother became depressed and attempted suicide a few times untill she succeeded four years ago. But her mother did not die immediately. She was in a coma for three and half years untill she passed away six months ago. It was on the same day Sierra and Claire graduated from college. In these three and half years Sierra used to work three part time jobs to pay her mother's medical expenses. She barely used to sleep and eat. Poor girl, she never used to go out and party like other kids her age. Despite all her efforts, she still lost her mother. She became depressed and it was hard for her to cope up from that grief. So our Claire invited her on board to help her to forget about everything" Carlos shared everything he knows about Sierra, as their men were watching everyone who are with Claire.

Xavier said nothing after this. He disconnected the call and threw his mobile away. Coincidentally it landed on the bed, right beside on the red stain. 

His eyes turned colder when he looked at the stain. He stormed out of his room. 

On the other hand, Claire is showing Sierra around the yacht. As Sierra was tired from the journey the previous day.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Claire asked excitedly.

Sierra gave her a nod and a smile.

"It's really beautiful" she agreed.

They were standing near the third floor deck where a hammock is beyond the railing. The Yacht is huge with four floors and thirty nine bedrooms. There is only one bedroom on the fourth floor, and that belongs to Xavier.

Sierra 's room is on the third floor, where only five other rooms are available. One room, Claire is sharing with Adam, while the other three are reserved for the bride and her family.

The second and ground floors are reserved for other guests who are mutual friends of the bride and groom. 

Just then, Claire pushed Sierra from behind. And Sierra tumbled down on to the huge Hammock. For a second she thought she fell into the water. A scream erupted from her throat, only to die down when her body hit the Hammock instead of water.

"Claire, you scared her" Adam reprimanded Claire, who was grinning.

Claire jumped down, making Sierra bounce on the Hammock a couple of times.

Adam shook his head at his girlfriend's antics. He loves Claire so much because she is very sweet and caring.

"Did I scare you?" Claire asked Sierra, who is now sitting crossed legged on the Hammock.

Sierra was scared, but she wouldn't tell that to Claire.

"No" she lied instead.

Claire's shoulders sagged with disappointment.

"Si, what happened to you? You were not like this before. You would have atleast shared your genuine feelings with me before. But now, I feel like I am talking to a stranger. Don't you think that it's time to live for yourself? I scared you now, I saw it on your face. Why don't you tell me that? Show some anger. Tell me if I disappoint you. Please open up and be yourself" Claire pleaded.

Sierra gave her a sad smile. Six months ago, she would have told Claire the truth. But her mother's death hit her harder and now she is stuck in between depression and insecurity. She lost all her family members, and Claire is the only anchor who is keeping her sane these days. She doesn't want to lose Claire too. 

For a split second Sierra remembered that last night was the first night after six months when she slept without being tormented by her nightmares. But she pushed that memory to the back of her mind. 

"I am was really not scared" she assured Claire, instead of agreeing the fact.

Claire hugged her best friend and prayed to whoever was listening to her.

'Please bless my friend with some peace' she thought sadly.

Xavier was watching everything from his private deck on the fourth floor. His eyes are glued to Sierra, who looked like a piece of puzzle which he wanted to solve.

'Why is she trying to please Claire? What is her end game?' he thought to himself.