Chapter 29 A Foolish Competition and Bet

Elena Garcia's POV:

I turned my head, trying not to get lost in Marco's gaze.

William glanced between Marco and me. "Elena?"

I heard William call my name. Maybe he was waiting for me to say something. If I agreed, he'd probably be cool with teaching both me and Marco at the same time.

But I couldn't say a word.

Sure, I mentioned a little competition with Marco to see who could learn to swim faster, but I didn't mean we should take William's lessons together.

I said, "Wouldn't it be more efficient if we found different teachers to learn swimming?"

Oh man, I just told William that Marco was hard to approach and rarely showed any emotion.

Marco never smiled at anyone and always turned people down.

I noticed a few of the pretty girls Albert invited standing nearby, eyeing Marco. They probably wanted to ask him to join them, but he ignored them and came over to me and William instead.

He even brought up our swimming competition. Was Marco being childish?

I added, "Maybe you could ask Albert? He seems pretty good at swimming too."

At the edge of the beach, Albert was walking out of the sea onto the sand, looking like he just conquered the ocean, laughing as he slicked his hair back.

Marco saw him too. He said, "I think it's fairer to have one teacher. Maybe you should consider switching to Albert as our swimming instructor."

This wasn't about switching instructors!

I hoped Marco could sense my feelings for William, but he seemed clueless about my looks at William.

"Marco, I think Albert wouldn't want to teach two people at the same time, and I prefer William to teach me swimming." I looked at William, hoping he'd get my silent plea for help.

Sofia noticed us and walked over. "What are you guys talking about?"

She handed a juice cup to Marco, then smiled at us.

I was about to answer her, but William suddenly put his arm around my shoulder. "I'd be happy to give Elena some swimming lessons."

Marco stared at William, looking a bit annoyed.

I paused my response to Sofia and kept showing my refusal to Marco's suggestion.

But Marco, being stubborn, wouldn't give up. He looked at me and asked in a low voice, "Are you choosing William over Albert because you think he's a better swimmer?"

Seriously, what was Marco talking about?

Poor Albert had become a scapegoat. He was lying on a beach chair, sunbathing, completely unaware of the drama he was being dragged into.

"Listen, Marco, I'm not comparing Albert and William's swimming skills." I really didn't know how to respond anymore. It felt like Marco was messing with my head, and no matter what I said, I'd fall into a trap.

If I bluntly said I had feelings for William, I might be able to shut him down and have a better reason to criticize him, but I couldn't do it.

Sofia and William were both here. If I revealed the truth, it would make things even more awkward.

At the same time, I noticed Sofia's face seemed a bit awkward.

I felt bad for ignoring her, but she quickly caught on and joined our conversation. "So, it's about Elena learning to swim? You guys are discussing who would be a better swimming teacher for her?"

"Yeah." With Sofia here, I couldn't insist on choosing William without making things awkward, so I just confirmed her guess.

"This is really tough to decide. Mr. Bianchi, I remember you said you couldn't swim either. Do you think Albert's better at it?"

"I'm still thinking about it because I believe the one with better skills should teach." Marco didn't even glance at Sofia, his eyes locked on me.

Being stared at like that was starting to get on my nerves.

And he kept pushing, "What do you think, Elena?"

"Alright, I get your point, but how can you be sure who's better at swimming? Plus, you're making decisions for others. Maybe Albert just wants to chill and enjoy his vacation without teaching anyone."

As soon as I said that, I regretted it because Marco started smiling.

His smile was so confident, it made me uneasy.

Then it hit me.

Damn it. Albert and Marco were in on this together!

Albert wouldn't miss a chance to watch a good show, even if it meant he had to be one of the actors!

"Maybe Albert would love to compare swimming skills with William," Marco said confidently.

And honestly, he was probably right.

When we approached Albert, we explained the situation. After hearing Marco's words, Albert, who loved a good show, didn't react at first.

He was just lying on the beach chair, annoyed that we were blocking his sunlight. "So, is this a bet? If I win, I'll teach Elena and Marco to swim?"

"No, it's not. Marco shouldn't have dragged you into this." I apologized to Albert.

Albert grumbled, "I think so too. Marco, my friend, why would I want to spend time with my sister instead of those pretty girls?" I felt a bit annoyed, but since Albert's words matched my thoughts, I couldn't show it.

I looked at Marco with a bit of pride.

Although I was surprised that my judgment of Albert was wrong.

Maybe I really had a bias against him, which was unfair.

I said, "Marco, you should—"

Before I could finish, Albert cut me off. "You guessed right, Marco. Of course, I'd be very willing."

Albert, this shameless troublemaker, went from irritated to gleeful in the blink of an eye, confirming my assessment of him perfectly.

"Elena, my sister, nothing is more important than family. Of course, I'd be happy to teach you to swim." He winked at me, clearly seeing through my feelings for William.

He definitely saw through my affection for William and couldn't wait to stir things up.

He was eager for chaos, and breaking my plans excited him.

And when Albert expressed his willingness, William hesitated.

Albert was my family. He shouldn't compete with William.

And I think, for William, this wasn't something worth fighting over. The conflict could be avoided.

But Albert was quite the instigator. "So you're going to be a coward, I get it."

Albert's words sparked William's competitive spirit.

In the end, they decided on a swimming race.

1500 feet from the shore was a water quality monitoring buoy. Albert and William would start together, swim to the buoy, and then return.

The first one back to shore would win.

I stood on the shore and watched Albert and William dive into the sea, unable to stop them.

And that jerk Albert laughed out loud at me before diving in. "Elena, I'll show you who the most handsome man in this ocean is."

"Shut up," I shouted.

This was such a ridiculous bet!