Semua Bab The Billionaire Married Me, Then Forgot How to Love Me: Bab 191 - Bab 200

(Serena)By the time the lights of Ivalo glimmer ahead, my whole body is tense from holding myself steady.We touch down rough but alive. My legs are shaky when I step onto the icy tarmac.Rick kills the engine, pops his door. “I’m refueling now. I’ll keep a close eye on the weather tech. You got time for a hotel, hot shower, hot meal. I’ll send word when there’s a window to head north.”“No.” My voice is sharp. “I’ll stay close. Where are you staying?”His brows lift. “Bunkhouse at the depot over there.” He nods in the direction of a large blue shed. “Washroom, heat, bad coffee. But it’s always clean and there’s soup.”“That’ll do me.”He studies me. “You’re not like any rich person I’ve ever met.”“Thank God for that. If they’re anything like the ones I know, I’d rather not be like them.”That earns the faintest twitch of a grin before he engages the refueling pump into Black Betty.Once he’s done he heads to the depot.I follow him into the building. The warmth hits me and the smel

(Serena)“You not done before. Out there. Like this.” Sven tells me.“Neither has James.” My voice rises again. “And if he’s out there, freezing or bleeding or worse, he’s not going to see your face first. He’s going to see mine.”Rick tries to cut in. “Serena—”“No,” I snap, turning on him too. “You told me Pete landed that way to give James a chance. I am not sitting here waiting. And we’re just wasting time talking about it.”I go to head out the door.There’s no way to call Theo. No way to tell him what I’ve seen and what I’m doing.Rick grabs my arm and pulls me back.He looks me in the eye. “You understand what you might see out there?”“Yes.”“The pilot couldn’t survive that,” he says again. “So we’ll have one dead body.”“Pete deserves to be brought back and get home,” I tell him. “I’m ready.”Rick nods and heads out first. I follow and Sven is behind me.The moment I step outside, the cold bites deep, but the dogs are already barking and lunging against their traces, eager.I

(Serena)Rick’s last words echo in my head, stay warm, stay hydrated, get him to eat. Little by little. Daylight will be in six hours for around six hours.If weather is still bad, we might be here another night….and then they were gone, taking Pete’s body back with them.The storm beats at thick canvas fastened over the opening, but the insulation and heaters keep the air inside comfortable.It’s not the same as a hospital, but compared to what’s outside, it’s heaven.James is stretched out beside me, his leg splinted and padded, the foil blanket tucked snugly around him. The meds have taken the edge off his pain, and his breathing is steady.We have thermal blankets, inflatable pillows and mattresses. A stack of dehydrated foods and battery operated everything. We are fine.His eyes flicker open now and then, unfocused, before drifting shut again.I curl on my side next to him, one arm resting lightly over his chest, feeling the slow rise and fall beneath my palm. “It’s still dark,”

(Serena)Sunlight.After days of white and wind, it feels like magic to see a ray of sun peeking into the side of the canvas covering the opening of the wreck.I get up and go out there. It’s beautiful. Still. Blue sky.Just as I’m looking around I hear the chopper.I give him a wave as he lands.Rick jumps out and then Sven gets out too.“We’re heading straight to Ivalo. I’ll radio ahead as soon as I can and get an ambulance on standby. How is he?”“Rough night,” I say. “In and out of consciousness.”“Shit. Might be infection.”They lift him together on a stretcher and carry him to the chopper.A mechanical click locks the stretcher in place. Rick taps the frame, checks the tie-downs with quick, neat motions, and then tilts his head toward the cabin jump seat.“Hour fifteen to Ivalo in this sunshine,” he says. “Betty’s will ping them our ETA as soon as we hit range.”“Thank you,” I say, and it isn’t nearly enough. “For everything. You didn’t have to do all the extras.”He shrugs. “We

(Serena)Sven just plants his hands on his hips and widens his stance. “Say now. Then we go.”I narrow my eyes at the scene.Is Sven asking Margot to go with him or just saying him and Rick are leaving?Margot clears her throat, and I see the submission soak over her body. “Thank you, Serena.”It’s clipped, reluctant, but it’s there.Sven nods once, slow. “Better. Now say sorry.”“Sorry, Serena, I just—”“Enough!” Sven interrupts her. “Just sorry enough.”Then he shifts his stare to James, like Margot has ceased to exist.“James grown man. Not your baby now.”His eyes lock back onto Margot with a weight that makes my spine prickle.It’s not a glare. It’s something more expectant, steadier.Margot’s power arc shifts. It’s tiny, but it’s there.She tries to hold his gaze. She can’t.Silence. But it’s loaded. With everything that doesn’t need to be said. Sven is in charge here.And then he just… stands there. Still as carved stone. Like a boulder with arms and legs. Margot glances at The