Elara’s eyes shot open in pain. She was back at the Blackwood estate.
Damien was sitting on the edge of her bed, his gaze dark and menacing. “What did you just say about leaving?”
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Her heart leaped into her throat. She feigned confusion, her voice hoarse. “Leaving? What leaving? I must have been delirious from
the fever, just talking nonsense…”
Damien stared at her for a long moment, then seemed to accept her explanation, releasing her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me you were on your period? And you stayed in that lake for so long.”
Elara managed a weak smile. “If my suffering could earn her forgiveness for you, I’d rather not say anything.”
Damien’s expression grew complex. He asked again, “Do you really love me that much?”
Elara lowered her lashes.
It wasn’t love.
She just had to maintain the fragile peace between the two families until Seraphina returned. Then, she could finally be free.
The door was suddenly pushed open, and Isabelle walked in. “Damien, when are we leaving for the fishing trip?”
She saw that Elara was awake and feigned surprise. “Miss Vance, are you alright?”
Before Elara could answer, Isabelle smiled. “I was just angry when I said that. I can’t believe he actually threw you in the lake. I’m so
sorry.”
“I heard you were the one who donated blood for me. Why don’t you come fishing with us? Consider it my apology.”
Just as Elara was about to refuse, Isabelle grabbed her hand warmly. “Don’t say no. I’ve already cleared it with Damien.”
Damien glanced at her, a silent warning not to spoil the mood.
Eiara had no choice but to nod.
Aboard the luxury yacht, the sea breeze was tinged with salt.
Isabelle clung to Damien’s side the entire time, laughing as she asked him to feed her fruit, apply her sunscreen, and even give her
a piggyback ride to see the ocean view.
Elara stood on the deck, her gaze fixed on the horizon, as if she were in another world entirely.
It wasn’t until Damien stepped away to take a call that Isabelle approached her. “You know, sometimes I really don’t get you.”
Elara turned to look at her.
Isabelle squinted. “Everyone says you’re madly in love with Damien, that you’d do anything for him. But shouldn’t love involve some
possessiveness?”
“I frame you, I make you apologize, and you show no emotion. He throws you into an icy lake, and you show no emotion. Even now, watching us together, you show no emotion…”
She leaned closer to Elara, her voice a low whisper. “Do you even love him at all?”
Elara’s lips twitched. Isabelle had guessed right, She didn’t love Damien at all.
Before a word could leave her mouth, a massive wave crashed against the yacht.
“Ah-!”
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Chapter 5
Both women lost their footing and were swept into the sea.
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The frigid water instantly closed over their heads. The sharp metal edge of the yacht sliced a long gash in both their arms, and blood immediately began to cloud the water.
“Someone fell overboard! Man overboard! We need help!”
The deck descended into chaos. A rescuer quickly dove into the sea but resurfaced moments later, his face grim. “Mr. Blackwood, their blood will attract sharks! And they were washed in opposite directions! To be safe, we can only rescue one of them at a time!”
Damien’s face turned ashen as his eyes scanned the churning waves frantically.
On one side, Isabelle was struggling desperately. On the other, Elara was being carried further and further
“Save Isabelle first!” he roared.
By the time Elara heard his command, she had already swallowed several mouthfuls of salty seawater.
She watched the rescuer swim toward Isabelle, watched the panic on Damien’s face, and slowly closed her eyes.
She should have known.
In his heart, she would always be the one he was willing to sacrifice.
Water filled her lungs, and her consciousness began to slip away.
In a daze, she saw a dark shadow approaching rapidly.
A shark.
a
away by the current.
bitter
smile touched her lips
as she
1
A sharp, tearing pain shot up from her leg. Her last conscious image was of the azure water being stained, little by little, with her
own blood.
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