I became quite curious about Alex's siblings. He hadn't really mentioned how many of them there were, as it never occurred to me to delve into the details of his life. So, I decided to ask Addison, who was now sipping her juice while Chelsie and Claudette were engrossed in their conversation.

"Addison, is it true that Alex has seven identical twins?" I asked, and she burst out laughing, spewing some of her juice, which startled the others.

"What the hell, Addison!" Claudette exclaimed, standing up indignantly. Instead of apologizing, Addison continued to laugh loudly, drawing the attention of passersby and even the guys, who were now looking in our direction.

"What's wrong with her?" Chelsie asked, looking at me with a puzzled expression. I was just asking a question.

She slapped my arm playfully while still laughing. She looked like she was about to roll on the sand in amusement. We waited for her to calm down, but when she glanced in my direction again, she burst into laughter once more.

"Addison... I was just asking," I said, scratching my head. She finally stopped and looked at me, still with a mischievous glint in her eyes, as if she enjoyed my question.

"My brother was just messing with you. Seriously, seven identical twins? Come on, I haven't heard of any twins, let alone seven. And besides, it's annoying to have so many people who look like my brother. Even our real brothers don't look identical to him, but they share his knack for being odd," she explained.

"Is that so? I almost believed it," I admitted.

She giggled. "My brother likes to play mysterious. But, yes, there are seven of us siblings, but not all of us look like him."

"Really? So there's some truth to it even though it's far from reality," I said.

She thought for a moment. "Well, let's just say they're our half-siblings from my dad's second marriage. We're only three full siblings from our mom, and the other four are from my dad's new wife. They're step-siblings, technically."

I fell silent. My question had touched a sensitive spot. "I'm sorry," was all I could say. Perhaps it was better not to ask any more questions.

She gently slapped my arm. "Oh, come on, it's okay. Besides, you're Kuya's girlfriend, so you have a right to know."

"We don't have a relationship, though. He just matched with me," I said, feeling my cheeks flush. I hadn't even considered the possibility of becoming Alex's girlfriend.

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, future girlfriend then!" she assured me with a grin. I blushed again, as the idea of being Alex's girlfriend hadn't fully sunk in.

"You know what? I like you," Addison suddenly said when I didn't respond. The two of them also turned to look in our direction upon hearing it.

"I told you, you will like her. She's easy to get along with, right?" Chelsie happily remarked, and I couldn't help but smile at the compliment. Aside from Shena, no one had ever told me something like that.

"Yeah, and you're better than Lavinia," my smile faded as Addison spoke those words. They both paused and exchanged glances.

Addison continued, "I don't like cheaters."

However, Claudette, the sassy one in the group, chimed in, "But girl, if Alex hears that, he might get mad at you again," she reminded Addison of her brother's possible reaction.

"I don't care!" Addison declared, looking at her friends. "Come to our house sometime. I'll tell Kuya to bring you there. Will you come?" she asked me, and I hesitated. Alex hadn't mentioned anything to me, and I didn't want to embarrass myself or cause any awkwardness.

"Isabella," I looked up to see Alex standing nearby.

"Kuya! Are you leaving tomorrow? Why don't you both stay one more day?"

He glanced at his sister. "No, Isabella has classes. One week is enough."

"Then invite her when we visit next week!" I got nervous, so I spoke up.

"Addison, maybe not, I might have some—"

"Okay, we will be there," I was wide-eyed as I looked at Alex, who didn't even crack a smile. Addison's face lit up, and she approached me.

"Oh my gosh! We'll see each other again! I'll be counting on you, okay?" I just nodded in response because I didn't really have a choice.

We walked back, and the cool breeze sent shivers down my spine. My goosebumps appeared due to the cold. It was getting late, so we decided to head back to our cabins.

We planned to meet again at ten by the beach. They wanted to enjoy our last night here in Maui since Alex and I would be leaving tomorrow. Alex initially didn't want to agree, but I convinced him. I wanted to enjoy myself too because it's not often that I get to hang out with so many friends. It was just Shena and Kalel with me before, so I was happy now.

As I neared the cabin, I noticed that Alex had been following me in silence for a while. I didn't know what was going through his mind now. He seemed a bit bipolar, smiling earlier and now being quiet again.

"I'll stop here, Alex. You can go back to your cabin. Let's meet at the meeting place later," I said, turning away. I thought he would respond, but I didn't hear anything from him, so I started walking.

Whatever! I sometimes don't understand Alex.

I continued to the cabin and was about to open the door when I thought about checking on him. He wasn't there, so I sighed. He didn't even answer me; he just left suddenly. Sometimes, his behavior can be disappointing.

I sighed deeply and began to twist the doorknob when someone's hand grabbed the back of mine. I was taken aback and instinctively punched whoever it was. "Ouch! My nose!" My eyes widened when I saw Alex clutching his nose in pain after I had accidentally punched him in the face. Why did he have to startle me? I thought he was a ghost!

I felt guilty and rushed to him. "S-sorry, why did you have to startle me? I thought you had already left," I took his hand away from his nose and examined it. I got nervous when I saw a bit of blood on his nose. I must have punched him harder than I thought.

"T-take a seat for a moment, let's go inside," I quickly turned the doorknob and pulled Alex inside. I sat him down on the bed and tilted his head back.

I pinched his nostrils together to stop the blood flow while my eyes searched for a small towel. When I found one, I handed it to him and stood up. "Stay here and don't remove that; I'll get a proper cloth," he didn't respond and just looked up.

I dampened the small towel and squeezed it. Then, I went back to the bed, gently removed his hand from his nose, and wiped the remaining blood off the outside of his nose. I tilted his head back again.

"Does your head hurt? Do you feel anything else?" I asked, concerned. He still didn't look up and checked his nose to see if it was bleeding, which it wasn't anymore. I let out a sigh of relief. I really need to get used to Alex's behavior. I only got used to this because of bullies in the past, so I learned some basic martial arts and Shena also taught me occasionally.

"I'm okay. I didn't know you'd get startled like that. You're lucky you didn't punch me when you got startled in the parking lot; you just cursed," I remembered what happened. That was the time I saw Oliver with his lover in his car.

I chuckled. "Well, it's your fault. I thought you had left because I couldn't feel your presence anymore. I thought you were a ghost," I explained, and he thought for a moment, then looked at me seriously.

"But still, you hurt me, Isabella. You should pay for punching me," he said seriously, and I got nervous. Pay? I don't have any money! This is bad...

I twirled my hair and pleaded, "I-I don't have any money, Alex. I can't pay you."

He slowly smiled as if he had an idea that wasn't very pleasant. I got slightly worried. "W-what are you thinking? Please don't do something weird."

Maybe he'd dare me to do something, or he'd make me run around the entire island. That seems impossible. He thought for a moment, but there was something in his expression I couldn't quite read.

I lay back on the bed when he quickly climbed on top of me. He propped himself up with his two arms so he wouldn't crush me, and I stared at him with wide eyes, looking at his grinning face as he gazed down at me.

" A-alex" I gulped hard. My pulse quickened, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest like a drum.

His gaze lowered to my lips, and I held my breath as my heart raced, seemingly ready to burst out of my chest. I couldn't move my body, trapped beneath his strong arms.

"I badly wanted to kiss you right now, Isabella... I'm just holding back," he confessed, and it felt like all the blood in my body rushed to my face. How could he say this so casually? We've only known each other for a few weeks, and here he was, making such a bold move.

But what I couldn't understand was why I found myself liking what he was doing. Was this the result of being NBSB (No Boyfriend Since Birth)? Or was I just getting carried away?

I blinked, breaking our eye contact to avoid giving in. I didn't want to look at Alex because I was being swept away. It felt like this wasn't right. We hadn't mentioned anything about getting romantic, and after three months, we'd go back to being strangers. I didn't want to just give in like that night.

Because I had become so comfortable with Alex, I hadn't noticed that I was being carried away, and if I continued, I'd only get hurt, especially since we were only together because of a contract.

"We should stop this, Alex. You know I agreed because I had no choice, but it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want with me. We're not a couple," I said, my voice firm.

I heard him sigh and he sat properly before responding, emotion disappearing from his face. "I thought you already understood, Isabella."

I sat down on the bed and looked at him with confusion. "What do you mean, Alex?"

His expression became cold as he stared at me. "Do you think receiving a life full of luxury comes for free? Everything you received isn't without cost, and you have to give me something in return."

He pulled me closer to him, our faces inches apart again, but this time, there was no thrill; there was only fear and pain. The sparkle in his eyes vanished, replaced by boredom and disappointment.

"How will you make me happy starting now, Isabela? You are already bound by the contract, which means that everything I say, you will obey without hesitation, especially when I want to use your body. Isabella."

I couldn't believe what I had just heard. My heart pinched sharply after he said those words. I pushed him away with all my strength and stood up while keeping my gaze fixed on him. I felt betrayed and hurt.

I had expected him to say it was just a prank, but there was only silence. He stood up, his expression darkening. Panic surged through me as I rushed toward the door, but it wouldn't budge. My heart pounded in my chest. I had thought Alex genuinely wanted to get to know me, but what he was doing wasn't funny at all!

Fear quivered within me as I watched Alex approach, his expression remaining eerily unchanged. He came closer, and my voice grew fainter, as if it was gradually fading away.

"Why are you running away from me? I haven't touched you yet," he said, his words sending shivers down my spine.

My tears welled up and I couldn't stop, even though my hand was starting to hurt. The window was on the bedside, and if I tried to escape through it, Alex would surely catch me.

The room felt smaller, suffocating even, as his presence drew nearer. I was trapped, and my mind raced to find a way out of this unsettling situation. Alex is so different right now

And I felt that he wasn't the Alex I knew.

"Help! Somebody help me!" I shouted, hoping someone was outside. The door suddenly swung open, and I was relieved to see it, but my eyes widened when I saw Alex standing there, grinning at me.

"You can't run away, Isabella," he said, and just like that, my vision darkened.

A tap on my cheek woke me up. I saw Addison with a worried expression, along with two others.

"Thank God, you're awake!"

"Addison? What's happening?" I sat up on the bed and scanned my surroundings. We were in the cabin.

"Don't you remember? You fainted while walking back to your cabin, and luckily, brother was with you. The doctor checked you, and he said it was an allergy attack." Allergy? As far as I knew, I was only allergic to pineapples. Did I eat pineapples earlier? I couldn't remember.

"What time did I pass out?"

"Maybe around 6 in the evening? After we had shaved ice, you only took a few steps, and you fainted. I thought my brother had tired you out, but it was something else," Addison explained. Tired? My face flushed at the implication. It seemed to have a different meaning for me.

I remembered the dream again and couldn't help but feel scared. The dream was so realistic, as if it had actually happened. What if the matchmaking service had a hidden agenda? What if I had to pay with my own body? I was scared.