His Devious Rule

If the camera was in the room, there is a ninety percent chance it could record the voice. So when Alvin tugged her closer, she chose not to fight. She was sensible enough to behave.

His forefinger gently pressed on her jawline causing her to turn right. He whispered again slowly, tucking her hair behind her ear, while he looked at the tiny sparkling diamond stud on her earlobe and her delicate ear that would be hidden under the curtain of her hair.

"The bedside lamp has a spy camera. I am not sure if there are more in the room." If there was one camera they could just cover it and speak in a low voice but they can't be sure how many might be inside without checking.

Anya: "..."

Probably his attention was on her ear, his deep, low voice was seductive. Although she didn't want to focus on his voice, her mind left off track for a second before focusing on his words. 

He sensed her staying calm and analyzing the situation. Anything related to computers or networks never scares her due to her confidence in her field. 

But isn't she the general secretary who just built a few software for money? How could she be so confident with the improved software?

Anya had no idea his suspicion of her job was getting deeper and deeper. Yet he trusted her. His doubt wasn't on her but her job.

He didn't bring it up. He focused on the situation and instructed while his forefinger played with her strand of silky hair causing it to roll around his finger, "I will pretend to look around here. You check in the bathroom." He didn't explain to her how to inspect as she was smart about such devices.

He cued her, "Our luggage is inside the bathroom." Since the closet was inside, their luggage was left there. So the laptop was also there which she could use and start her game to trick the ones who were spying on them.

Anya pushed her head back and looked at him. Since they were sitting right in front of each other and he was leaning closer to whisper, it didn't leave much space. He could see her baby hair on her skin, her dark long lashes were a contrast against her silvery-gray eyes, her nose looked so straight and perfect on her face. Her pink lips slowly parted…

Alvin jerked his gaze back to her eyes and tried his best not to look back. He also tried his hardest not to think anything stupid when she was so guardless next to him without being affected by their distance.

Anya didn't have to go near his ear, her low mellow voice only reached his ear, "Any idiot who will put the camera here, will put it in the bathroom too."

Alvin: "..."

He was aware of that. He lifted his hand and flicked on her forehead, causing her to pout instantly and rub her forehead. "My dear wife, you might get a blind spot." A blind spot where she could use her laptop. 

Anya blinked at him hearing his affectionate address. Since she wasn't his wife, it sounded nothing but a tease. She chose to ignore it and tilted her head to look at the bathroom. She noticed the bathroom door open. She could see the closet was inside the bathroom. The ship staff had unpacked their clothes from two travel bags and cleanly hung them in the transparent doored wardrobe. 

She looked at the third luggage aside that had a laptop and other devices that were hidden with the shoes, belts, and metal items. Those metal items diverted the attention from the devices.

Apart from handling the room privacy, she recalled that she had to fetch the video of the corridor in case those three men tried to tail her later. Then she will have to hack the radio room. 

"Deal." She accepted in a low voice and swung her legs down. Wearing her heels, she stood up but ended up hissing in pain and falling back on the bed. She had forgotten that the swelling still needed time although the root cause was eliminated.

Alvin shook his head in resignation and looked around for slippers. He noticed two pairs of white slippers. "Don't wear heels." He commanded and went to fetch them.

Anya snorted in her mind. This was the real him, cold and autocratic. He was far from behaving sweet and tender. She suddenly smacked herself. She shouldn't be annoyed or have any expectations.

Alvin: "..."

"..." Anya bit her tongue in embarrassment when she noticed Alvin caught her smacking herself.

He placed the slipper in front of her. She quickly removed her heels and wore slippers on her own. She stood up, prepared to feel the pain but it wasn't unbearable. She ran towards the bathroom before he could add a sarcastic remark.

Alvin: "..."

She was in pain, yet she recklessly ran with that swelling leg. He should change her name from Little Donut to Goofball. Sometimes naive, sometimes silly, and the rest of the time stupid.

He first reached for the intercom that was on the desk. He asked for an ice pack for her swollen leg. Then he pretended to be lazing and checking around while waiting for his wife to come out of the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, Anya didn't bother locking the door and stood by the door patting her chest. She was going to have a breakdown at this rate. 

How was she going to handle so many emotions?

Worried about her family safety, bothered about her name pinned as a criminal back in the country, afraid of Alvin finding out about her son, headache of Matthews family falling on her back, distressed about their safety on the ship, unwanted memories surfacing her mind, and finally Alvin making her go through many more emotions. He makes her frightened, confused, annoyed, and whatnot.

She took a deep long breath trying to calm herself down. She was ready to face everything but one. She wanted her parents and darling son to be safe, no matter what.

She looked around in the ensuite. Unlike the passageway and room, the bathroom was all white and luxurious. Just as in the room, the one side of the wall was a glass panel giving a serene view of the sea. The bathtub was in the corner arranged in a way one could look outside enjoying the jacuzzi.

There were two washbowls with mirrors, easier for a couple to do their routine together. In front of her, there was a white closet with a see-through door. Their clothes were arranged side by side. To the right of the ensuite, there was a shower block enclosed in the through-glass and a water closet.

Anya: "..."

Even if there is one camera in any corner, it could cover the whole room due to the minimalistic and see-through design. Anyway, she has to find the camera location in case she could come up with any plan.

Alvin was looking around in the room so if she just went around like him, it might raise suspicion. Hence she grabbed a toothbrush and put some paste and started brushing. She went around the room carefully looking around yet appearing curious. 

She spotted the camera, she didn't stare at it, just brushed her eyes over it. Since the interior was white, it was easier to locate. Washing her face, she dabbed her face with the white towel while feeling glad Alvin noticed the camera due to her tantrums. Else they would have been in deep trouble.

A cold ran down her spine just by thinking she would have changed her dress and bathed there right after controlling the network.

Anya's eyes glinted sharply and clenched her teeth when she had a sudden realization. Harper Johnson turned out to be smart and was fooling them. Harper knew getting the hard disk wouldn't ensure his safe living in the country. He recognized and also feared Bernard and his team might have a copy of the information even if they gave him the hard disk.

Hence Harper was creating an impression that he was going to kill all the people on the ship if he didn't get the hard disk. Whereas his real plan was to obtain information that he could use against Bernard and his political team. And that information was private life videos of people on a cruise ship.

The cameras were probably installed in every room while renovating the interiors of the ship. So Harper will get the videos of the sexual life of many wealthy socialite couples, and the cabinet minister's family members. 

Which family would like to see the videos of their female family members bathing or changing clothes? 

Which couple would be able to accept when they get to know they were secretly filmed while they were intimate? 

People would rather sacrifice their money to avoid humiliation. It was important to have dignity in society to live peacefully.

Harper held the weakness of everyone. He could use those videos and threaten those families. Those families will pressurize Bernard to keep the hard disk information hidden forever. They truly underestimated Harper Johnson.

Anya stared at her reflection in the mirror. Sometimes she was proud of herself that she was able to help so many people and put the criminal behind the bars. This time, her family was in trouble. Though she blamed herself, she was determined to get out of this misfortune smoothly.

Her eyes glinted, brewing a plan, then her face flushed. How was she going to tell that to Alvin? Uneasy and hesitant, she went out of the bathroom and saw him standing by the floor-to-ceiling window.

She made her way to him and whispered her plan. 

Alvin turned to her. Her cheeks were pink in embarrassment, yet he summarized shortly gazing at her face, "In short, you want to watch me shower."

"...." Anya's face flushed bright red as though all the blood rushed to her face.