Chapter 75
Chapter 75:
He was completely soaked, his shirt plastered to his chest. He collapsed to his knees on the sand, gasping for air — but his hands went immediately to Chloe’s neck to check her pulse.
June watched him from the window.
She thought about Cole. Cole, who had stood perfectly still in the restaurant, watching her burn, paralyzed by a twisted sense of duty to a woman faking an injury.
Then she looked at Silas. A man who had thrown himself into a black ocean to save a junior intern he barely knew.
The difference in their character was staggering.
Down at the resort dock, the engines of the private yacht roared as it met the pier.
Cole marched down the wooden ramp, Alycia limping behind him trying to keep up. He saw the crowd gathered on the beach. He saw Silas kneeling in the sand, dripping wet, surrounded by people treating him like a hero.
Cole stopped walking. His eyes darkened.
Then the clinic door opened.
R𝗲𝘢𝖽 𝗐𝗂𝘁𝗵𝗈𝘶𝗍 𝘪𝘯𝗍e𝘳𝘳𝗎p𝘁𝗶о𝗇𝘀 о𝘯
June stepped out onto the sand in Silas’s shirt and walked straight toward him. She carried a thick white towel. She knelt beside Silas and draped it over his shivering shoulders.
Cole was close enough to see her face clearly. He saw the look in her eyes as she looked at Silas — deep respect, admiration, and a softness he recognized instantly. It was the exact look she used to give him.
A bomb went off inside Cole’s skull. The jealousy consumed him whole. He shoved Alycia out of his path so hard she stumbled. Then he began walking toward the beach, fists clenched, looking like a predator ready to kill.
The panic on the beach slowly faded as the resort medics arrived to check on Chloe.
June left the crowd. The cold night wind pressed against her bare legs. She pulled Silas’s oversized shirt tighter around her chest and climbed the wooden stairs toward the resort’s main lobby.
The lobby was bright and warm. Several female researchers from Apex Bio were gathered near the front desk, talking excitedly about Silas’s rescue. When they saw June walking in, they immediately rushed over.
“Dr. Erickson! Are you okay? How are your burns?” one of them asked, her eyes dropping to the bandages peeking out from the shirt collar.
“I’m fine. The painkillers are working,” June said softly.
Another researcher — Sarah, who had a well-known fondness for office gossip — looked at the large men’s shirt June was wearing and smiled teasingly.
“Dr. Vance is such a hero. And he’s so protective of you.” Sarah tilted her head. “Honestly, June, doesn’t your mysterious husband get jealous? We’ve never even seen a picture of him p>
The other women nodded. There had always been rumors about June’s invisible husband — some thought he was an older billionaire, others assumed they were separated.
June stopped walking. The light from the crystal chandelier reflected in her eyes. She thought about the Instagram photo. My forever safe harbor.
A strange, absolute calm washed over her. There was no anger left. Only a cold, hard truth.