ALEX'S POINT OF VIEW ( same chapter -Alex's perspective)
I ended the call and slid my phone back into my pocket, jaw still tight.
Henry. He would always call with problems he expected me to fix. Always needing me to clean up messes that shouldn't exist in the first place.
"She won't be a problem. I can get rid of her. Just let me handle it."
The investor was threatening to pull out. One conversation and I'd have her back in line. Simple. Annoying, but simple.
I turned back toward the villa, running a hand through my hair.
Elena was probably still asleep. After last night, she'd need the rest.
Last night.
Her tear-stained face flashed through my mind. The way she'd looked at me when she asked why I hated her.
My chest tightened.
I didn't hate her.
I hated how she made me feel things I'd sworn I'd never feel again.
I walked inside. The villa was quiet, filled with morning light and the sound of waves.
"Elena?"
Nothing.
She was still asleep. Good. She needed it after drinking like that.
I poured myself coffee and tried to focus on the emails piling up, but my mind kept drifting.
The way I carried her to bed last night. How light she felt in my arms. How she'd whispered my name in her sleep.
I shook my head and took another sip of coffee.
An hour passed. Then two.
The silence started feeling wrong.
I set my cup down and walked toward the bedroom.
"Elena?"
I knocked. No answer.
I pushed the door open.
The bed was empty.
I checked the bathroom. Nothing.
The terrace. The pool. The beach.
She wasn't anywhere.
My chest tightened again, sharper this time.
She probably just went for a walk. To clear her head.
But something felt off.
I walked back to the front of the villa and saw one of the workers sweeping the path.
"Excuse me. Have you seen my wife?"
He looked up and nodded. "Yes, sir. She walked that way this morning." He pointed toward a narrow path disappearing into the trees. "Maybe two, three hours ago."
Two or three hours?
My pulse quickened.
"Which path?"
He pointed again. "That one. It goes into the jungle. Beautiful, but many people get lost."
Lost.
The word hit me like a fist.
"How easy is it to get lost?"
He shrugged. "Very easy. Tourists often get turned around. Sometimes they come back. Sometimes we search."
I was already moving.
"Get help. Now. Tell them to start searching. And get me a radio."
His eyes widened at my tone, but he nodded and ran off.
I didn't wait.
I grabbed a flashlight, a bottle of water, and started down the path.
My mind raced.
She'd been gone for hours.
Alone.
In the jungle.
Without water. Without her phone. Without knowing how dangerous it was.
What the hell was she thinking?
"Elena!"
My voice echoed through the trees.
Nothing.
"ELENA!"
Still nothing.
The path narrowed, harder to follow. Vines and roots tangled across it.
I pushed forward, my heart pounding harder than it should.
She was fine. She had to be fine.
But images kept flashing through my mind.
Elena falling.
Elena hurt.
Elena lying somewhere alone, scared, calling for help that wouldn't come.
"ELENA!"
I shoved through thick vines, branches scratching my arms and face.
I didn't care.
I just needed to find her.
Why did I care this much?
She was my wife. My responsibility.
But the fear clawing at my chest didn't feel like an obligation.
It felt like something I didn't want to name.
"ELENA! WHERE ARE YOU?"
I kept walking, kept calling, my throat going raw.
The sun shifted lower, turning the light from gold to orange.
If I didn't find her soon, we'd both be trapped out here in the dark.
Then I heard it.
Faint. Distant. But real.
"Here! Alex, I'm here!"
Relief hit me so hard I stumbled.
I ran toward her voice, crashing through the undergrowth, not caring about the branches whipping my face.
"ELENA!"
"I'm here! I'm here!"
And then I saw her.
Standing by a tree, her face streaked with tears, her eyes wide with fear and relief.
She was alive.
She was okay.
For a moment I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
Then my feet carried me forward and I grabbed her shoulders, needing to feel that she was real.
"What the hell were you thinking?"
The words came out harsher than I meant, but I couldn't stop them.
She started crying again. "I'm sorry. I needed air and I just..."
"Air?" My voice rose, all the fear I'd been holding exploding into anger. "You walked into the jungle alone without telling anyone where you were going!"
"I didn't mean to go so far..."
"Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? There are cliffs, wild animals. You could have..."
I couldn't finish.
Couldn't say the words.
You could have died.
And I would have lost you.
My hands tightened on her shoulders.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice breaking.
I stared at her tear-stained face, her trembling lips, her eyes filled with genuine fear.
That crack in my chest became wide open, and I pulled her into my arms.
Hard.
So hard I probably hurt her.
But I couldn't help it.
She was here. She was safe.
She was alive.
Her arms came around me and she sobbed into my chest.
I held her tighter, one hand cupping the back of her head.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she kept saying.
I couldn't speak.
Couldn't find the words.
Just held her.
When her crying finally slowed, I forced myself to pull back, my hands still on her shoulders.
"We need to move. It's getting dark."
She nodded, wiping her face.
I started walking, keeping her close, my hand on her back to make sure she didn't fall.
After only a few minutes, I stopped.
The shadows were too deep. The path is too dangerous.
One wrong step and we could both go over a cliff.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
I looked around, assessing.
"It's too dark. The path isn't safe."
Her eyes widened. "What does that mean?"
I turned to face her.
"It means we're staying here until morning."
"Here? In the jungle?"
"Unless you want to risk falling off a cliff in the dark."
She shook her head quickly.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair.
This was the last thing I needed. Stuck in the jungle overnight with Elena.
With nowhere to run.
Nowhere to hide.
"Come on. We need to find somewhere safe."
I found a spot where several trees created a natural shelter. The ground was clear and the canopy would provide some protection.
"Sit."
She sat, watching as I gathered branches and leaves, building a barrier to block the wind and cold.
My hands moved automatically, muscle memory from training I'd done years ago.
My father had insisted on it. Said a man should be prepared for anything.
I thought it was pointless then.
Now I was grateful.
"How do you know how to do this?" she asked quietly.
"Survival training. Years ago."
I finished the shelter and sat beside her, my back against a tree.
The temperature was already dropping. Jungle nights were cold.
Elena pulled her knees to her chest, trying to conserve warmth.
She was shivering.
Without thinking, I shrugged off my jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
"You'll be cold," she protested.
"I'm fine."
I was. Or I would be. I'd been through worse.
She pulled it tighter around herself and I tried not to notice how small she looked.
Silence settled between us, broken only by jungle sounds.
Then I spoke.
"What were you thinking, Elena?"
The question came out softer than I intended.
"I just... I needed to get away."
"From what?"
She was quiet for a long moment.
"From everything. From last night. From embarrassing myself."
Last night.
When she'd asked why I hated her.
"You didn't embarrass yourself."
"I got drunk and cried and asked you why you hate me. That's embarrassing."
My jaw clenched.
"I don't hate you."
The words hung between us.
I could feel her looking at me but I kept my eyes forward.
"You say that," she whispered. "But you don't act like it."
She was right.
I knew she was right.
"I know."
What else could I say?
I couldn't explain that I pushed her away because letting her close terrified me.
I couldn't tell her that I noticed everything about her and it was driving me insane.
Couldn't admit that seeing her in danger today had scared me more than anything in years.
She started shivering harder, her teeth chattering.
"Come here."
The words were out before I could think.
She looked at me, surprised.
I held out my arm.
"You're freezing. Come here."
She hesitated, then moved closer.
I pulled her against my side, wrapping my arm around her.
She was so cold. How long had she been out here shaking?
My other hand came up, rubbing her arm, trying to generate warmth.
She rested her head on my shoulder.
And I let her.
Because she needed warmth. Because it was practical.
Not because I wanted her there.
Not because having her tucked against me felt right in a way nothing had in years.
"Why did you come looking for me?" she asked quietly.
The question caught me off guard.
Why had I?
Because she was my wife. My responsibility.
That's what I should say.
"Because you're my responsibility."
The words tasted wrong.
But they were safer than the truth.
My arm tightened around her slightly, involuntarily.
"Thank you," she whispered.
For what? For finally acting like I gave a damn?
"Don't thank me. Just... don't run off like that again."
"I won't."
Silence fell again.
Her breathing slowed. Her body relaxed against mine as exhaustion took over.
My hand moved without permission, brushing her hair back from her face.
Her hair was soft. Tangled from the jungle but soft.
She made a small sound and settled deeper against me.
And I sat there holding her, trying to understand what was happening to me.
I was terrified today.
Genuinely terrified.
When I couldn't find her, when hours passed with no sign of her, something in my chest felt like it was being crushed.
I'd imagined finding her hurt. Finding her gone.
And the pain of those imagined scenarios had been unbearable.
Why?
She was Elena. My contract wife. A woman I'd married out of obligation.
Except she wasn't.
Not anymore.
Somewhere between the silences and the forced proximity, somewhere between her quiet strength and her rare smiles, she'd become something else.
Something more.
Something I didn't want to name because naming it would make it real.
And if it was real, it could hurt me.
Like Mia had hurt me.
But Elena wasn't Mia.
That's what scared me most.
Mia had been fire. Consuming and destructive.
Elena was different.
Quiet. Steady. Present.
She didn't demand. Didn't push.
She just existed beside me.
Waiting.
And somehow that was more dangerous than anything Mia had ever done.
I looked down at her sleeping face, peaceful in the dim light.
Beautiful.
When did I start thinking she was beautiful?
My hand moved again, my thumb brushing across her cheek.
So soft.
"What are you doing to me?" I whispered.
She didn't answer. Just slept, trusting me to keep her safe.
Trusting me.
When has anyone trusted me like this?
The night deepened. Jungle sounds continued around us.
But I didn't sleep.
I just held her, my mind racing with thoughts I couldn't control.
By the time dawn broke, painting the sky pale pink and gold, I still hadn't figured anything out.
I just knew one thing.
I'd been terrified of losing her today.
And that changed everything.
Elena stirred against me, making a small sound as she woke.
Her eyes opened slowly, confused, then focused on my face.
We stared at each other.
Neither of us moved.
The moment stretched, loaded with things neither of us could say.
Then reality crashed back and I cleared my throat, pulling my arm away.
"We should go."
She nodded, standing and brushing dirt from her clothes.
I stood too, gathering what was left of our shelter.
The awkwardness returned.
But something had shifted.
Something I couldn't take back.
"This way."
I started walking and she followed.
We made our way through the jungle in silence, morning light filtering through the trees.
My mind was still racing.
I'd held her all night.
I'd been terrified of losing her.
I'd touched her hair, her face, like she was something precious.
What did that mean?
What did any of it mean?
I didn't know.
But as we emerged from the jungle and the villa came into view, I realized something.
I couldn't keep lying to myself.
I couldn't keep pretending Elena didn't matter.
Because she did.
More than I wanted to admit.
More than was safe.
And I had no idea what to do about it.