All Chapters of Tidebound Heart: Chapter 21 - Chapter 28

I stared at the huge number, then at him, and let out a short squeak of shock.The agent next to me jumped.I grabbed the phone and carefully counted every zero, afraid I had read it wrong."So..." I looked up at Malcolm, my voice trembling, "I'm really, really rich now?"He nodded. His expression was serious, but there was a hint of innocence in the way he tilted his head as he looked at me."Then... let's rent it." I took a deep breath and tried to make my voice sound calm, but my voice still cracked at the end.I turned to the frozen agent and waved my hand. "Let's sign the contract right away."As I walked out of the agency with the keys clutched in my hand, I felt like I was walking on clouds.Malcolm followed behind, carrying the groceries we'd just bought.We passed a pet store, and I stopped. In the window, a fluffy Samoyed tilted its head at me."Do you want a dog?" Malcolm asked.I shook my head, pointing at a huge glass tank inside the store. "I want to get you a

Malcolm looked at me with that wounded expression, and I could practically hear what his blue eyes were trying to convey. "I'm trying to be useful, so why won't you let me help?" I hardened my heart and refused to look back at him.When the movers arrived, they saw me running around like a whirlwind, doing everything myself, while a man so strikingly handsome he seemed unreal just sat quietly in the corner, giving me a complicated look.I figured they were probably cursing me in their heads, calling me some rich girl clinging to her pretty boy. I didn't bother explaining. I just directed them to load the last box onto the truck, then grabbed my "pretty boy" and walked out of the place I'd lived in for five years without looking back.When the front doors of the new place swung open, I couldn't help but let out a gasp. Giant floor-to-ceiling windows framed a skyline of tightly packed high-rises, and sunlight poured in freely, spilling gold across the floor.Malcolm didn't even gla

"Give it to me."I was about to hand Malcolm the laptop, then I hesitated. "It's... all wet here.""Put it on the floor and plug it in."I fumbled for an outlet and plugged in the power cord, set the laptop on a dry tile, then turned it on. The screen lit up, reflecting Malcolm's stern face.He didn't get out of the tub. He stayed standing in the water, leaning over as his long fingers flew across the keyboard.I had never seen anyone type that fast. His hands blurred into a shadow, the keys clattering like a torrential downpour. The screen filled with countless windows and lines of code I couldn't understand, flashing green, red, and blue in a dizzying blur.Then suddenly, the lights in the entire apartment flickered once and went out with a sharp pop.Darkness swallowed the room. Only the laptop screen glowed, casting an eerie light over Malcolm's face. His expression was focused, almost cold."A power outage?" I whispered."No." He didn't lift his head, his fingers never st

I looked at Malcolm, and I saw hope, nervousness, and a flicker of uncertainty in those ocean-blue eyes of his.This was the same guy who could shut down the world's networks, and yet right now he looked like a kid confessing for the first time.I suddenly laughed, then leaned forward and kissed his cold lips."What do you think?" I asked.He blinked, like he needed a moment to process my answer. Then suddenly, he scooped me up and held me so tightly it felt like I might melt into him."Yes. Yes, we are," he said in my ear, the laughter he couldn't hide bubbling through his voice.Outside, the city lights stretched out like a glittering galaxy.I used to think my life would just be surviving in this concrete jungle, struggling like a weed and quietly fading away. I never expected that with ten thousand dollars, I could buy a piece of the sea from a dark basement.From then on, my world had tides.