I stared desperately at the surface of the water, swallowing my tears. I kept glancing at Chris; he was composed at first but became more restless by the second. He held his hand on my shoulder as if he was saying that Aren would be all right, but he couldn't know that. It was unimaginably dark under the surface of the water, and the currents were unpredictable. Down there, Max wasn't Aren's only opponent; he needed to fight the forces of nature as well."Aren…" I wept quietly, my hot and salty tears falling down to the bay waters.Chris cleared his throat. "He'll be all right. He is an excellent swimmer." He didn't sound convinced at all. I guess he wanted to reassure himself just as much as he wished to bring me comfort.A few minutes passed, Jack joined us, and finally, Chris admitted that it was time to call for a rescue mission. I sat in the same place, numbly watching the divers go under the water while the lifeguards swam in boats, flashing lights at every corner."This cannot

I was still extremely pissed at Jack and Chris for treating me this way, but apparently, my glaring daggers at them only brought them more amusement. Luckily, the tape Chris used wasn't too strong, and I finally managed to glue off the piece that was gagging me."Seriously guys?!" I yelled. "You could have told me what you were planning, not kidnap me!"Chris, who was driving the car, snorted. "Really? Do you want us to believe that you would willingly leave your husband even if you haven't left the clinic for the last eight days?"I wanted to protest, but when I opened my mouth I realized that there was no way I would have left Aren. I already felt anxious, as I had left his room nearly ten minutes ago, wondering if he had started to wake up while I was away from him."I don't want him to see that I'm not there when he wakes up..." I mumbled.Jack, who was sitting in the passenger's front seat, turned around and looked at me with a frown. "Cora, you must be aware that this is insane.

"Are you worried, Cora?" Jack couldn't hide his amusement. "I can almost smell jealousy coming from you!""It might sound irrational to you, but there's something like a female instinct, and it screams that I shouldn't underestimate the fact that Aren's ex-girlfriend suddenly appeared in the city," I said. "I'm aware that it is quite shallow of me to worry about his ex while he is still unconscious. Nonetheless, it bothers me more now that I've just heard how Aren couldn't cope with her leaving him. What if someone brought her here on purpose? What if it was someone who knew how much she meant to Aren and wanted to mess him up?""Don't you think that you are a little bit paranoid, Cora?" Chris mocked. "Aren seemed to be happy with you. I doubt that he would take a trip down memory lane and reminisce about some chick that double-crossed him."I frowned and clenched my fist. "He already did! He had nightmares the night after someone sent him pictures of her, walking around the streets o

I dodged the bullet, but this battle exhausted me beyond my limits. The only good thing about that meeting with the board of executives was that my hangover had been chased away by the rush of adrenalin. Nonetheless, I was aware that I could pull off this kind of stunt once. I was stalling for time, and it was the only thing I could do. I had given Aren an additional two weeks to wake up and come back to me, but I knew that those who had just walked out of Aren's office would use those two weeks to sharpen their teeth and claws. I didn't know what they would plan next, but I needed to step up my game as well. It was time to get to know the company so that I would be better prepared for another blow to come. I asked Neil to bring me reports on every single ongoing project and the most and least successful ones in the company's history. I had assumed that there would be a lot of documents to read, but once Neil and a few other coworkers started bringing the boxes into Aren's office, they

I took out the rest of the pictures from the envelope; they made me feel even worse. I had never met Aren, who was in those pictures. He seemed happy. He was smiling and laughing and was definitely in love with the woman standing next to him. I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever see him smile like that at me. I wondered if the moment Lanfen had left Aren had broken something within him irreversibly. Was the way he looked at me all the affection he could ever give me? If he met Lanfen now, would he look at her the same way he did then? I knew that my thoughts were pitiful and selfish, but I was unable to think of anything else. I was afraid and uncertain of what was going to come. Throughout those final days, my only anchor had been the hope that Aren would awaken soon and offer me his support. I couldn't lose this belief, but that whole situation with Lanfen kept messing me up. I called Chris while I was on my way to Aren's private clinic, and I confirmed that the woman from th