Chapter 7

Leo’s tone was serious, ordering everyone to immediately pack up and retreat into the forest.

“I don’t want to go… there are tigers in the forest.”

Serena whimpered pathetically.

“Are you deaf?! Something bad is about to happen!”

Leo retorted, his face grim.

At that moment, a strange rumbling sound began to rise from the ground.

“Tsunami! It’s a tsunami!”

I was the first to react.

“Run!”

Serena was also frightened by the eerie rumbling. She grabbed whatever was at hand and ran into the forest with the others.

“Head for higher ground!”

Caleb directed everyone to evacuate. Before long, towering waves suddenly erupted from the sea, crashing violently onto the coast.

Seawater surged inland, trees snapped.

We were minuscule like specks of dust, chased by the waves.

The ground shook violently. We scrambled desperately up the high ground behind the coast.

I was agile, no worse than the men.

But Serena was useless. After climbing for a while, her limbs gave out. Her foot slipped, and she lost her balance, on the verge of falling.

In that instant, she instinctively grabbed my foot, which was above her.

“Ah!”

She yanked me hard, and I slid directly down the slope.

Serena, however, managed to regain her balance and miraculously escaped falling.

“Jocelyn!”

Caleb watched as I fell. I landed heavily between two large rocks at the bottom of the cliff.

My eyes were half-open; I had lost the ability to move.

“Jocelyn!”

Caleb turned to jump down, but Serena clung to him tightly.

“You can’t save her now! If you die, what about the company? What about the Vance family?!”

No sooner had she spoken than another towering wave swept across the ground.

In my last second of consciousness, Caleb was simply staring at me, unmoving.

“No, I have to go back and save her!”

Caleb’s heart ached as if it were dying. It felt as if something vital was slowly draining from his body.

He went down step by step. By the time he reached the bottom, the world had returned to calm.

As if nothing had happened.

“Jocelyn! Jocelyn!”

He searched for what felt like an eternity but still couldn't find me.

The massive waves had carried me back to the beach.

I used all my strength to cling to a reef, preventing myself from being swept into the deep sea.

When it was all over, my entire body felt like it had been run over by a car. Every bone ached agonizingly.

I was still wearing the red jacket Leo had given me.

It was dazzlingly red.

Lying on the cold sand, I suddenly heard a whooshing sound above my head.

My heart pounded fiercely. I thought I was dreaming.

It was… a helicopter!

I saw the helicopter circling in mid-air. I cried out through the pain,

“Help! Help!”

Perhaps the helicopter heard my faint plea, or perhaps it was drawn by my red jacket.

In any case, it stopped.

The roaring sound was deafening. I saw the helicopter land on the beach not far away.

Several people in uniform got out and were running towards me!

After so many days, I was finally going to be rescued.

I let out a long sigh of relief. After telling them I had other companions, I peacefully closed my eyes.

As my consciousness faded, I remembered everything I had endured during those days.

Being slandered, being hit, being violated…

And the person closest to me had always watched with cold indifference.

Well, Caleb, you finally made me give up on you for good.

The rescue team pulled everyone from the deserted island and took us to the hospital.

I had been severely injured by the storm, suffering from lung infection and multiple fractures all over my body. I was barely recognizable.

When I woke again, a day and a night had passed.

Both my legs were in casts, and moving even slightly caused excruciating pain.

I was grateful to be alive. After surviving such a life-or-death experience, I finally understood.

The others had only sustained minor injuries. I was the abandoned one; my survival was nothing short of a miracle.

That afternoon, Leo came to see me.

Aside from a few scrapes on his face, there was barely any sign that he too had endured nearly half a month of survival on that deserted island.

“Jocelyn… I wanted to go down and save you then, but you were already gone. I’m sorry…”

I shook my head.

“In a life-or-death situation, everyone’s choices are their own. You don’t need to apologize to me.”

Leo’s eyes were red, filled with guilt.

My expression, however, was a stark contrast to his. My gaze was calm, as if I no longer cared about anything that had happened.