Chapter 60
Chase had just raised a cup of coffee to his lips when Derek abruptly mentioned the earthquake incident from years ago. The cup slipped from Chase’s hand, spilling its brown-amber liquid onto the carpet.
Chase’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What did you just say…?”
Seeing the shock on Chase’s face, Derek smirked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “That foolish woman’s boat was caught in a storm. It was lost, and she clung to a plank, adrift for two days. If my cargo ship hadn’t stumbled upon her, she would have been lost at sea.”
“When my crew finally pulled her aboard, she was barely clinging to life, having gone two days and nights without food or water. Her skin was sunburnt and raw; she was as weak as a rag doll. I had the ship’s doctor tend to her and ensured she was cared for. The moment we docked, she rushed back to the Kennedy family home.”
Hearing it again, recounted by Derek, felt strangely distant. I vaguely remembered the sun searing my skin; I was like a piece of meat roasting over a fire, adrift in the endless ocean. I had no food or water. It was scorching hot by day and bone-chilling cold by night. The wind and waves lashed at me, and the saltwater burned my raw skin.
The physical pain was nothing compared to the fear. I was used to the city lights, even on the boat, but there, I was swallowed by darkness—the sky so overcast I couldn’t even see the stars. The ocean felt like a giant beast, ready to devour me.
Every time the waves surged, I was tossed around, desperately clinging to the plank. I even gulped down seawater, somehow managing to survive.
And now, Derek had exposed it all. Chase muttered, “You’re lying! If Amanda really went through all that, why didn’t she say anything?” I did speak up, but no one believed me because Nicole claimed I was on vacation. My family called me heartless. Chase called me cold and cruel. Now, he was blaming me for my silence. How absurd!
“Is that so?”
Derek produced his phone and projected a video onto a screen. It showed images and footage I’d never seen before. It showed me being hauled from the sea, captured by surveillance cameras. The next images showed me, barely recognizable, lying on a bed, clinging to life.
So, that’s how bad I looked.
Derek said, with deliberate weight, “We thought she wouldn’t pull through, so we took these photos as a keepsake, never imagining they’d be needed. If Amanda knew she would pour her heart out to you only to be misunderstood, I think she’d regret ever loving you. Chase, you don’t deserve her love!”
Derek’s words hit hard, voicing what I’d been thinking all along.
Chase stumbled back into a chair, his eyes repeatedly flicking to my pale, worn face, thoughts racing through his mind.
After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke, “Did you help Amanda hide? If you did, please tell her to come back. I’ll forgive and forget everything.”