Chapter 126

**Third person**

“Stop!” Chloe yelled. “Put me down at once!” she ordered, hitting Jeff’s back with her slender fists.

His back was hard, broad, and warm.

The warmth that radiated through his worn jacket felt strangely comforting, a faint echo of a memory she couldn't quite grasp.

Another feeling of deja vu washed over her.

Had she lived this moment before? Jeff had carried her like this before?

Perhaps while rain drummed against them?

“I’m so sorry, Chloe,” Jeff murmured. “I really want to, but I just can’t.”

There was no way he was leaving there without her. He’d finally found his wife, and the feeling alone made his heart warm.

“If hitting me makes you feel better, then don’t stop,” he urged, and her heart skipped a beat.

Her resistance faltered for a moment. The blows rained down with less force, a flicker of recognition battling with confusion in her eyes.

They reached the car, a sleek black behemoth waiting with its engine idling. Jeff's jaw tightened as he barked an order to