Betty Adams sat in the front seat of the car and tried her best to keep her gaze on the road. She couldn’t believe her heart was still beating so fast and loud underneath her chest. Why? Because every second spent in the company of Josh Matthews was like standing in front of the burning sun.A part of her was terrified of getting burned, while the other part remained in shock, unable to believe this was actually happening. It wasn’t exactly her fault, though.For almost two long years, she had seen the man play hide and seek with death. If not for the steady beat of his heart, a passerby could easily have declared him dead. The man hardly moved over the span of several months and gave hardly any signs of waking up soon. And now, seeing him not only awake but also walking and talking and brooding in silence, she felt mad anxiety pool deep in her stomach.Even now, as the three of them (including the driver) sat in silence, her shoulders remained stiff and her eyes sharper than ever. It
Elena returned from the mall, lost in her thoughts, while Caleb raced through the living room and hopped around the maids, who looked happy to see him.Elena was still thinking about what that woman named Mary had said about Simon and the island, about the island being the haven for those betrayed by the ones they trusted the most. Elena wondered if that could be the reason Simon brought her to the island in the first place.After Danika did what she did, he might have thought…Thought what? That she needed to be rescued? That she needed his protection or she would die of depression? What the hell did he think in that big ass head of his?Gosh, this man was so confusing. Why the hell was he like this? Why did he think he was some kind of savior who was born to save the world?The truth was, she didn’t even know if she wanted to be mad at him, to adore him, or just look at him, confused, and ask: what the hell are you? Why are you the way you are? Why do you do what you do? What makes
Josh sat on the bed and watched as the servants of the Matthews residence pulled apart his sister’s room. If the circumstances were any different, he wouldn’t have even stepped into her room, not wanting to disturb her privacy. But this was not a normal circumstance.This was different. Very different.She had something that belonged to him, something that had the power to bring even the most powerful man in the world to his knees, something that he needed to even the scores with those who ordered the attack on him and ended up killing his wife.They needed to pay for what they did to him, and the only way to do that was to possess the key. If not, attacks would resume as soon as the news of his waking up spread worldwide, regardless of whether he had the key.“Nothing,” one of the servants said, standing up and wiping the sweat off his forehead. “There’s no key here.”But Josh had always been hard to satisfy. He stood up, not even sparing the tired man a glance. “Keep looking.” Then h
Simon sat in his office and watched Elena pacing across the room.She threw her hands in the air and glared hard. “You know, this is what your problem is,” she said to him, stopping and leaning on the table. “This. All this secrecy. I hate it.”And so did he. But what choice did he have? If he told her the truth—any truth at all—there was a huge chance she would walk out on him. And as far as Simon was concerned, that couldn’t happen. He would never allow her to walk out on him, not in this lifetime.She continued, “Why can’t you just be honest with me? Why can’t you trust—?”“I trust you enough,” he said, cutting her short and earning another hard glare from those beautiful, bright eyes of hers. Right now, she looked at him as if she didn’t believe a word he was saying. And maybe she was right to think like that. He hadn’t exactly been a model husband—or lover for that matter. He would be the first to admit that he had been… complicated.She propped her hand on her waist, shaking her
[Flashback]“You’re making a huge mistake,” Simon said calmly, his steely gaze fixed on the dark-haired man across the expanse of the long table. “I’m not someone you would want to make an enemy of, Mr. Matthews. I suggest you think again.”Josh Matthews scoffed, a self-assured smirk playing on his lips. “My apologies, Mr. Walsh, but once I make up my mind about something, it’s set in stone. I’m a man of my word, you see. Once I give my word to someone, even I can’t retract it.”Simon had never hated anyone so deeply. Not only had this man in front of him threatened his business, but also his reputation. And that, in Simon Walsh’s world, was an affront of the highest order.His eyes flashed with seething annoyance. “Fine. If that’s how you want to play this.” With that terse remark, he surged to his feet and stormed out of the conference room, his assistant trailing dutifully behind.As he settled into his car and closed the door, Simon finally allowed his emotions to surface. He retri
“What do you mean I don’t know my brother?” Elena couldn’t help but snap, feeling her veins tighten around her face, her fingers curling into fists.It was happening again, wasn’t it?She asked him to tell him every truth he had been hiding from her and he was going to start with how little she knew of her brother. The same old song Derek had sung not too long ago. Upon asking how close he was to her sister-in-law, he had tossed the same bitter words at her, telling her how much of an asshole her brother was, how he was nothing as she had always assumed him to be.Before she could help it, her brows were furrowing and she was scooting to the edge of her seat, wanting to leave as soon as he started to say trash about her brother.Just because Josh wasn’t there to defend himself, didn’t mean everyone would speak poison behind his back. No. She wouldn’t let this happen. She wouldn’t be the witness of this idiocy.To her dismay, however, Simon seemed unfazed by her snap and continued to st
Josh stood outside on the lawn, a steaming cup of coffee waiting for him at the table set outside.“We are ready, sir,” Hudson said as he sat on the table, laptop in front of him.Josh nodded and turned around. “Elena is wearing a neckpiece with a GPS, while my son is wearing a digital watch. Should that be enough?”“Yes, absolutely, sir.” The man continued typing something on the screen, his fingers deftly working over the keyboard.After a few seconds, he lifted his head again. “It’s all yours, sir. The moment you feed in the password and your fingerprints; the system will unlock for 59 seconds. That’s all the time we have before it shuts down again.”Josh sighed, feeling anxious. Do you think it’s enough time?”“It’s hard to say, sir. Depends on how far they are and how quickly our satellites can find them. It might take a few seconds or minutes depending on the location of the GPS devices. But the moment it finds them, we will get the exact coordinates in seconds. It will appear o
“How much more time?” Josh asked as he looked through the window of the jet, gazing at the vast blue ocean below.Hudson checked the time on his wristwatch, humming. “Almost there, sir.”———Simon brought Elena back into their room. She seemed upset by everything he had just told her, but as much as it hurt to see her like that—lost, sad, and heartbroken—he knew it was important for her to know, now that Josh was awake from his coma.He hadn’t told her that part yet, but it was only a matter of time before he had to.He helped her sit on the bed, offering her a glass of water. “Here.”“Thanks,” she said to him, and his chest clenched at how sad she sounded.His phone came alive just then, and even though he could have ignored it and stayed with his beautiful wife to show that he cared, that he was always there for her, he had to answer and see how far Josh had gotten.He leaned down to press a kiss on her forehead. “I need to take this. Will you be alright?”She nodded, not really look