Chapter Fourteen

That evening Alice headed for the dance class. The dance room was alive with energy as she stepped in. The polished wooden floors gleamed under the soft glow of the lights, and the air buzzed with laughter and music. Several people were already present, some practicing basic steps while others chatted amiably. Alice was a bit overwhelmed, being in the crowd was never her thing, but her love for dancing gave her the courage.

Kimberly spotted Alice first and waved enthusiastically, her vibrant smile a stark contrast to Alice’s reserved demeanor.

“Alice! Over here!” Kimberly called, motioning her over.

Alice crossed the room, feeling slightly out of place among the people. She was dressed in a simple attire of a fitted blouse and trousers, just as most of the people there were.

“Hi, Kimberly,” Alice greeted, her tone warm but tentative.

“You made it!” Kimberly said, beaming. “I was worried you’d bail on me.”

“I almost did,” Alice admitted, glancing around the room. “This… isn’t exactly my scene. I try to avoid the crowd as much as I can but at the same time I love dancing.”

Kimberly laughed, looping her arm through Alice’s. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it - the crowd. Just ignore all these people, focus on your dancing and have fun.”

Alice gave her a nod and allowed herself to be led to the group gathering at the center of the room. A charismatic instructor stood before them, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Welcome, everyone!” he began, his voice carrying easily over the light chatter. “Tonight, we’ll begin with some classic ballroom steps. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned dancer, I promise you’ll leave here with a smile on your face.”

As the lesson began, Alice found herself paired with a middle-aged man whose jovial personality made her feel more at ease. Kimberly ended up with a tall, lanky man who seemed nervous but was clearly enjoying himself.

The instructor guided them through basic waltz steps, demonstrating the movements with a graceful ease. Alice enjoyed every bit of it, dancing effortlessly to the rhythm.

After an hour of dancing, the instructor announced a short break, and Alice and Kimberly made their way to the refreshment table. As they sipped on glasses of water, Kimberly turned to Alice with a curious expression.

“So, Alice, tell me more about yourself,” she said, leaning against the table. “What brings you on this cruise?”

Alice hesitated, her fingers tightening slightly around her glass. “Well, I'm on my honeymoon” she said finally, her voice measured.

Kimberly tilted her head, a huge smile plastered on her face “Congratulations! But aren't you supposed to be doing fun things together with your husband? So far, I've seen you alone”

Alice couldn’t help but smile at Kimberly’s bluntness. “The matter is a complicated one. He prefers to be somewhere else than to spend this time with me”

Kimberly's smile reduced and a flicker of sadness came over her, "Men I tell you can be horrible, you know"

Alice faced her, surprised at her words and suddenly reduced energy, "You've had bad experiences with them?"

"Yeah" came Kimberly's reply "I was married

once" she paused, sighing, "I thought he was the best thing that has happened to me till I realized how much of a dog he is. He cheated on me shamelessly, got the woman pregnant and

actually brought her home to spite me"

"I'm sorry about that." Alice could say, empathetically.

"Yeah" Kimberly adjusted herself, "Well, I filed for a divorce and got myself a huge percentage of his assets as compensation for adultery and now I'm taking a break of men and their nonsense and I just wanna have fun"

Alice found herself thinking, "I wish I could do like you. But the society will taunt me for the rest of

my life"

"Hey, I didn't let those idiots compel me to be miserable in marriage. They taunted me, my parents abused me at every opportunity they get. They said I brought a bad name to them to them in the society.....so I left and decided to settle in the city. I'm happier now and at peace, that's all that matters." Kimberly said.

Kimberly had an easygoing nature that made her seem trustworthy. Alice was moved to open up to her, "My husband married me just to claim his inheritance. He plans on divorcing me afterwards. His grandmother arranged this marriage and compelled him to it. I thought that he was actually in love with me. it wasn't till our wedding night that he revealed everything and left me to be with his girlfriend. And now, he brought her here, on this ship, without his grandmother's knowledge"

"I'm so sorry. Why don't you tell his grandmother. I'm sure she won't tolerate this since you're her choice for him" Kimberly asked, feeling compassion for her.

"It would break the old woman's weak heart. I'm not sure she would survive it." Alice replied.

"So, you let him walk all over you?" Kimberly felt little anger surging in her for Alice's husband.

"No. He thought that he could treat me like trash because I want privileged to complete my education and I'm a villager but I proved him wrong. He is to get his inheritance in three years and I made him sign a contract stating that he would give me half of it." Alice spoke with pride.

A huge smile plastered on Kimberly's face, "That's good. Our society maltreats women and it's

because we the women allow them to. These men don't get to treat is like dirt. We're more than

that. All these gender discrimination does not happen in the western nation. Too much for being Asian"

Alice found herself smiling widely too, "That's not all. I got him to agree to send his useless girlfriend away by the next port."

"Fantastic!" Kimberly raised her hand for a high-five to which Alice reciprocated.

"I'll always be here for you if you need anything. You can count on me. These men need to know that we can't be walked all over and treated like we're nothing" Kimberly added.

"Thank you" Alice replied warmly.

"Anything for a friend" Kimberly replied.

Before their conversation could continue, the instructor called everyone back to the floor. Kimberly grabbed Alice’s hand, pulling her toward the center.

“Come on,” she said, her enthusiasm unwavering. “This next dance is going to be even better.”

As they returned to the group, Alice felt a small flicker of something she hadn’t felt in a long time—an inkling of enjoyment. She has gotten a friend, someone who was on the same boat with her. Thank God she's on that ship, she was gradually building connections and allies for herself and she was sure that she would need them. After the dance, she exchanged numbers with Kimberly.

That night after, dinner, as Alice lay alone in her suite, on her bed, she thought to herself. There was no need allowing her situation to put a

hold on her. There was no point wallowing in her misery. Kelvin never loved her and she was sure that he never will. All she needed to do was to focus on herself, ignoring every negativity around her.

She took a deep breath. Kelvin thought he had played her but she will not let him have his wicked and heartless way. Thank God she was given a good opportunity to have her way till the divorce, and just like Kimberly, she would not care about whatever nonsense the society would have to say. She would leave the marriage as a billionaire and have a decent life.

******

The next two days was fun for Alice. Hanging out with Kimberly was definitely exciting for her. They got to do a lot of fun things. They played arcade games, enjoyed spa treatments, had their hair and nails done, continued with their dance class every evening. Kimberly also took Alice for swimming in the ship's pool area. Being a fast learner, Alice caught up fast with the swimming lessons. They also enjoyed a karaoke night, with both of them singing awful off-key, but it was another wonderful moment, especially for Alice.

Kelvin and Anita sulked over having to miss spending quality time together on the ship. There was nothing they could do about it. Grandma Janet had called for those two days, raising an eyebrow of suspicion to Alice's absence. And for those two days, the threat of showing up on the cruise to investigate the matter kept increasing. Alice had bluntly told Kelvin that she would only do the video to assure grandma Janet that things were working out between them, after she would have bidden Anita a good bye from the ship. So, Kelvin could not wait for the next port to send Anita home. Even Anita was not more important than ensuring his inheritance at that moment.