Chapter 209

No.1

The impact was violent.

August smashed feet-first into the deep end of the infinity pool, sending a massive geyser of water exploding into the air. The sheer force of the five-meter drop drove him instantly to the bottom of the pool.

The water was a chaotic blr of blue and white bubbles. August ripped his eyes open, ignoring the stinging chlorine.

He saw her.

Elisa was suspended near the bottom, her white linen suit billowing around her like a shroud. Her eyes were closed. Her arms had stopped thrashing.She was drifting downward, completely still.

A soundless scream tore through August's chest.He kicked his legs with explosive, desperate power,shooting across the bottom of the pool like a torpedo.

He reached her. His strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her limp body flush against his chest. The moment he felt how cold and lifeless

she was, a violent shudder of pure terror ripped through his spine.

No.2

He planted his feet on the bottom tiles and launched them both upward.

They broke the surface. August gasped for air, his lungs burning. He immediately shifted his grip,supporting the back of Elisa's neck to keep her face above the water.

"Pull her up!" August roared at Cyprian and the lifeguards who had gathered at the edge.

Multiple hands reached down, grabbing Elisa's arms and hauling her dead weight onto the wet tiles.

August didn't wait for help. He grabbed the edge of the pool and hauled his massive frame out of the water in one fluid, adrenaline-fueled motion. His expensive clothes were ruined, plastered to his skin, but he didn't care.

He dropped to his knees beside Elisa.①

Her face was terrifyingly pale. Her lips had a sickening blue tint. She was not breathing.

August didn't hesitate. He interlocked his fingers,placed the heel of his hand on the center of her chest, and began aggressive CPR compressions.

No.3

"Breathe," August commanded, his voice cracking,sounding completely unrecognizable. "Elisa,breathe!"

He pressed down, the physical exertion burning his shoulders. He was terrified of breaking her ribs, but he was more terrified of losing her.

"Don't you dare do this," August whispered frantically, his wet hair dripping onto her face."Wake up!"

On the fifteenth compression, Elisa's body violently convulsed.

She rolled onto her side and vomited a massive stream of chlorinated water onto the tiles. She gasped, a horrible, rattling sound, her hands clutching her chest as her lungs desperately pulled in oxygen.

The moment August heard her breathe, the last thread of his sanity snapped.

He lunged forward and pulled her into his arms. He crushed her against his chest, burying his face in her wet hair. His massive body was shaking uncontrollably. He held her so tightly it bordered on painful, as if he were trying to physically fuse their bodies together so she could never slip away again.

"August!"

No.4

A shrill, hysterical scream shattered the moment.

Allena pushed through the crowd of onlookers.She saw August kneeling on the wet ground,holding his ex-wife like she was the only thing that mattered in the universe. Her face twisted into a mask of ugly,venomous jealousy.

She reached down and grabbed August's wet shoulder, trying to yank him away.

August's head snapped up.

He looked at Allena. His eyes were completely devoid of human emotion. They were the eyes of a predator looking at a threat.

"Roll," August snarled. The single word was a guttural, terrifying threat that made the lifeguards step back.

Allena stumbled backward, her face draining of color. She fell onto her hands and knees, trembling in fear.

August didn't look at her again. He scooped Elisa up into his arms, ignoring her weak protests, and carried her straight to the VIP elevator.

No.5

An hour later, inside the silent, freezing air

conditioning of August's Presidential Penthouse.

The concierge doctor had just left. He had administered a heavy dose of anti-inflammatories and warned that Elisa's fever would spike due to the water in her lungs and the severe shock to her damaged nervous system.

Elisa lay in the center of the massive king-sized bed,shivering violently under the thick duvet.

August sat in a leather armchair in the corner of the room. He had changed into dry clothes, but his mind was still drowning.

He watched her chest rise and fall. The sheer,apocalyptic terror he had felt when he thought she was dead was slowly morphing into something else. It was morphing into a violent, suffocating rage. He hated that she had this much power over him. He hated that he had exposed his ultimate weakness in front of a crowd. He hated the pathetic, desperate version of himself that had thrown his own life away to dive into that water without a second thought. She _had effortlessly stripped away all his armor, reducing him to a frantic madman for everyone to see. That loss of control was unacceptable. It had to be eradicated.

To survive, his pathological defense mechanisms slammed back into place. He began to rebuild the

ice wall in his mind.

No.6

Elisa groaned softly. Her heavy eyelids fluttered open.

The room was dark, lit only by the city lights outside the window. She tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in her spine forced her back down with a gasp.

"Why am I in your room?" Elisa rasped, her throat raw from the chlorine.

August stood up. He walked slowly to the edge of the bed. He looked down at her, his face a mask of absolute, impenetrable cruelty.

"You threw yourself into my pool to put on a show,"August said, his voice dripping with venomous sarcasm. "I dragged you out because I didn't want the Four Seasons making the evening news with a corpse. It's bad for business."

He leaned over, placing his hands on the mattress,trapping her.

"Did you really think a pathetic suicide stunt would make me feel sorry for you, Elisa?" August sneered."It's disgusting."

Elisa stared up at him. The fever was burning her brain, but his words were like liquid nitrogen.

No.7

Any tiny, microscopic fraction of gratitude she might have felt for him pulling her out of the water instantly died. He was a monster. He would always be a monster.

A weak, rattling laugh escaped her lips.

"Don't worry, Mr. Chambers," Elisa whispered, her eyes locking onto his with absolute, dead certainty."Next time, I will make sure I die much further away,so my corpse doesn't dirty your view."