ELENA'S POINT OF VIEW
My head felt like it was splitting open.
I groaned and buried my face deeper into the pillow, hoping the darkness would soften the pounding behind my eyes. My eyelids felt swollen, heavy, as if I'd cried myself to sleep.
Had I?
I forced my eyes open slowly.
Soft morning sunlight slipped through the curtains, casting warm gold across the room. Everything was quiet except for the distant hum of waves drifting up from the beach.
I tried to piece together last night.
The drinking game.
Shot after shot.
Alex across from me, barely blinking, watching.
Then...
Oh God.
I asked him why he hated me.
Heat surged up my neck as I pressed my hands over my face. Mortification washed through me, sharp and hot.
What else did I do? What else did I say?
I could only remember pieces, everything after that question was a blur of alcohol and emotion.
I pushed myself upright, wincing as the room tilted for a moment. My hair fell over my shoulder, messy and tangled, and that's when I noticed something strange.
A blanket was tucked around me. Neat. Smooth. Pulled all the way up to my shoulders like someone had been careful not to wake me.
Alex.
My chest tightened.
I reached up to fix my hair and my fingers caught on something small.
A flower.
Tiny. White. Slightly wilted, but still holding its shape. One of the festival flowers, the ones they used for the crown.
Someone had placed it in my hair.
I didn't know what to think about that, so I set it aside and stood, steadying myself on the nightstand.
An empty glass sat there.
I clenched my jaw and closed my eyes. I didn't need a recap to know I'd embarrassed myself.
After splashing cold water on my face and pulling on something comfortable, I stepped out into the villa.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
"Alex?" I called out.
No response.
I walked past the living room, past the kitchen, toward the terrace. That's when I heard him.
His voice. Low. Rough. Coming from outside.
He was on the phone.
I didn't mean to listen. I just didn't want to interrupt.
"No. She won't be a problem. I can get rid of her. Just let me handle it."
My heart stopped.
She.
Her.
Me.
I stepped back instinctively, my hand flying over my mouth.
I can get rid of her.
The words echoed in my head, louder than my headache, louder than the waves.
He wanted me gone.
I was a problem. A burden. An obligation he wanted to erase.
Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked hard, refusing to let them fall.
No more crying.
I grabbed the nearest scarf, slipped into my sandals, and walked straight out the door. I didn't think about where I was going.
I just needed to breathe.
The morning air hit my face, warm and humid, but it did nothing to stop the ache settling in my chest.
I kept walking. Down the path. Into the trees.
Why did it hurt so much?
Why did I care what he thought?
Why did last night feel like it meant something when clearly it didn't?
My vision blurred again, but I kept walking until the path beneath me narrowed, becoming unfamiliar and uneven.
I didn't stop.
I walked past the last signs of the village, past where the trees grew closer and the sunlight barely filtered through. Bird calls sounded sharper here. The air felt thicker.
At some point, I realized I didn't recognize anything around me.
I turned in a slow circle.
Trees.
Vines.
Leaves.
Everything looked exactly the same.
Panic flickered through my chest.
"Hello?" I called out.
My voice disappeared into the forest.
I took a shaky step backward, then forward, then spun again, searching desperately for any sign of the path.
Nothing.
I swallowed hard.
"Okay. Don't panic," I whispered.
But my heart was racing, my breath uneven. I walked again, choosing a direction at random, hoping it would lead me back.
But all it did was drag me deeper.
The birds sounded louder. The light dimmer. Something rustled in the brush behind me and I froze, my skin prickling.
I wrapped my arms around myself, sinking down onto a fallen log.
Tears slipped out before I could stop them.
Why am I like this?
Why do I keep hurting myself?
Why do I keep caring about someone who doesn't care back?
Somewhere between his cold silences and his rare flashes of softness, I'd fallen for him.
My own husband.
And he wanted to get rid of me.
I cried harder, my shoulders shaking.
I lost track of time. The sunlight shifted, turning softer, more orange. Fear clawed at my throat when I realized the jungle would soon be dark.
Dark.
Cold.
Alive with things I didn't want to think about.
I called out again, louder this time.
"Help! Someone! Please!"
Nothing answered except the hum of insects.
I hugged my knees to my chest, trying not to break apart completely.
Then, faint and distant, I heard it.
"Elena!"
My heart jumped.
"Elena!"
Alex.
I scrambled to my feet. "I'm here! Alex!"
Branches snapped. Leaves rustled. Heavy footsteps pushed through the undergrowth.
"ELENA!"
"I'm here! I'm here!"
He burst through the trees, breathless, scratched, wild-eyed.
He stopped dead when he saw me.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then he grabbed my shoulders, pulling me toward him.
"What the hell were you thinking?" His voice cracked, not with anger, but with something closer to fear.
Relief hit me so hard my knees almost gave out. Tears filled my eyes again.
"I'm sorry. I needed air and I just..."
"Air?" His voice rose. "You walked into the jungle alone, Elena. Alone. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? There are cliffs. Wild animals. You could've..."
He cut himself off, his jaw tightening.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
He stared at me for too long. Then, suddenly, he pulled me into his chest.
The breath left my lungs.
He held me so tightly it was almost desperate.
I wrapped my arms around him, shaking.
"I'm sorry," I choked out. "I didn't mean to..."
"Don't," he said quietly. "Just don't do this again."
We stood like that until the sun dipped further, bleeding gold into the trees.
Eventually, he pulled back.
"We need to move before it gets dark."
We tried. We really did. But after only a few minutes he stopped, scanning the shadows.
"It's too dark now," he said. "The path isn't safe. We will stay here until morning."
My stomach dropped. "Here? In the jungle?"
"It's our only option."
He searched for a spot and found a semi-covered area beneath a cluster of trees. He gathered leaves and branches, building a low barrier around us.
"You've done this before?" I asked.
"Survival training. A long time ago."
He sat beside me, his back against a tree. I hugged myself, shivering as the night breeze slipped in.
Without a word, he took off his jacket and draped it around my shoulders.
"You'll get cold," I said.
"I'll manage."
We sat in silence for a long moment. Then he spoke, his voice low.
"Why did you run off?"
I picked at the edge of his jacket. "I just needed to get away. From… everything."
"What does that mean?"
I couldn't tell him the truth, couldn't say I heard him talking about getting rid of me.
"It means last night was messy and I didn't want to face you."
"You didn't embarrass yourself," he said.
I gave a humorless laugh. "I cried and asked you why you hated me. That's embarrassing."
"I don't hate you."
He said it simply. Calmly.
But it lingered in the air like something fragile.
"You don't act like it," I whispered.
He didn't argue.
The cold grew sharper. I shivered again.
He sighed. "Come here."
I hesitated.
"Come here, Elena. You're freezing."
I shifted closer and he wrapped an arm around me, pulling me against his side. Warmth seeped into my skin immediately. His hand moved slowly along my arm, steady and reassuring.
"Why did you come looking for me?" I whispered.
He hesitated.
Finally, he said, "Because you're my responsibility."
It should have hurt. But the way he said it, quiet, strained, it didn't feel like the whole truth.
"Thank you," I murmured.
"You don't need to thank me."
We fell silent, the jungle buzzing around us. Exhaustion caught up to me. My eyes dropped. My head leaned against his shoulder.
He didn't push me away.
Before sleep claimed me, I felt his fingers gently brushing my hair from my face.
When I woke hours later, the sky had softened to early morning gray. Birdsong floated through the air. I blinked, adjusting to the light.
Alex was still beside me.
Still holding me.
Still warm.
His head rested back against the tree, his breathing deep and steady. He looked peaceful in a way I rarely saw, like all the weight he carried had finally loosened.
Something tugged in my chest.
What were we doing?
What were we becoming?
He stirred suddenly, his eyes opening slowly.
They met mine.
For a moment, the whole world went still.
Neither of us moved. Neither of us looked away.
Then he cleared his throat softly and pulled his arm back.
"We should go," he said.
Just like that, the walls went up again.
I nodded and stood, brushing dirt from my clothes. He gathered what was left of our makeshift shelter and started walking.
I followed, the air cool and quiet between us.
Something had changed last night.
I didn't know what it was.
And as we walked through the waking jungle, I wondered if he felt it too.