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Damien was still shaking his head in amusement as he carried the last few items back towards the campsite. Even now, he could still picture Sophia’s terrified expression after seeing the fake crocodile in the water.
“You’re unbelievable.” Her angry voice replayed in his head and made him chuckle softly again.
Honestly, he had only wanted to tease her a little. He had stayed behind briefly to pack up some of their things near the river properly before following her back to the tents, fully expecting to find her sitting there with her arms folded dramatically while pretending to ignore him.
But the second Damien stepped into the campsite, his movements slowed down.
The tents were empty which wasn’t what he expected.
He frowned slightly. “Sophia?”
But there was no response.
Damien looked around calmly at first, expecting her to emerge from somewhere nearby because he felt maybe she had gone to another part of the campsite or she was still annoyed and intentionally hiding from him.
“Sophia,” he called again, louder this time, still nothing.
The amusement on his face slowly disappeared.
Damien walked around the area quickly, checking near the chairs, the grilling station, and the small path leading towards the hiking trail, but he saw no sign of her.
Now a faint uneasiness settled into his chest.
“She couldn’t have gone far,” he muttered.
He immediately started walking back towards the river path.
“Sophia!”
The forest answered only with silence and Damien’s brows furrowed deeply.
At this point, irritation had already turned into concern.
The mountain area was safe overall, but wandering around alone at night without knowing the paths properly was still dangerous. Especially for Sophia, who got distracted easily.
Damien moved faster through the trees while searching the different paths they had passed earlier during their hike. Every few seconds, he called her name again.
“Sophia!”
His jaw tightened, hearing nothing.
The forest had grown much darker now, making visibility harder between the trees. Damien pulled out his flashlight and scanned the area carefully while continuing forward.
“She better not have wandered off somewhere ridiculous,” he muttered under his breath.
But deep down, worry was beginning to grow heavily inside him now. He checked near the stream they had visited earlier, then the rocky trail and another narrow path nearby.
Still no Sophia.
Damien stopped walking for a second and immediately pulled out his phone. He dialed his chauffeur’s number quickly. If Sophia had somehow made her way back towards the roadside, maybe she had gone to the car.
The phone rang several times, but no answer and this made Damien frowned harder.
He tried again immediately, but still got the same results.
“What the hell?” His irritation deepened now.
“Why isn’t the chauffeur answering?” he thought to himself.
Damien shoved the phone back into his pocket and continued searching, his pace growing quicker with every passing minute. The forest suddenly felt far less peaceful than before.
His flashlight beam moved rapidly across the trees as he scanned everywhere around him.
“Sophia!”
This time, his voice carried clear tension, then a scream suddenly pierced through the darkness.
Damien froze instantly.
His heart dropped violently the moment he recognized the voice and he was sure it was Sophia.
The scream sounded terrified.
Without thinking twice, Damien immediately ran towards the direction of the sound, branches snapping beneath his feet as he pushed through the forest quickly.
“Sophia!” he shouted loudly.
Another frightened cry echoed faintly somewhere ahead. Damien’s pulse pounded hard now as panic rose sharply inside him for the first time that night. All kinds of thoughts rushed through his mind instantly.
Had she fallen somewhere? Was she hurt? Did she encounter an animal?
Damien ran faster through the trees, his flashlight beam shaking slightly from the speed of his movement.
“Sophia!”
The fear in her scream replayed painfully inside his head. And suddenly, he no longer cared about the joke or the camping trip or anything else.
Right now, he only needed to find her.
~
Meanwhile, far away from the mountains, the atmosphere inside Alex Sterling’s penthouse was far from peaceful. Soft music played quietly from the television while city lights reflected beautifully through the massive glass windows surrounding the luxurious bedroom.
Charlotte laid comfortably across the bed scrolling through reels on her phone with little interest in anything else around her. Alex walked into the room after finishing a business call, loosening the buttons of his shirt slightly as exhaustion mixed with irritation settled across his face.
The moment his eyes landed on Charlotte, his expression softened faintly, at least for a second.
Without saying much, he climbed onto the bed beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist while leaning closer to kiss her shoulder lightly. But Charlotte immediately moved away from him.
Alex frowned instantly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked dryly.
Charlotte didn’t even look up from her phone at first.
“Nothing.”
Alex stared at her.
For the past several days, she had been distant, cold and completely different from the woman who once eagerly entertained every conversation about their plans together. And actually, it was beginning to irritate him badly.
“Charlotte,” he said more firmly this time. “What exactly is your problem lately?”
Finally, she looked at him.
“My problem?” she repeated with disbelief before sitting upright on the bed. “You really want to ask me that?”
Alex sighed heavily. “Yes.”
At least, it was much better than not knowing what was going on.
Charlotte scoffed softly and folded her arms.
“My problem is that absolutely nothing is happening.”
Alex’ brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” she snapped. “Our agreement.”
Silence settled briefly and Charlotte’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“You promised me Damien would eventually lean towards me again while you handled taking over the company.”
Alex’ jaw tightened.
“But instead?” Charlotte continued bitterly. “Everything keeps working out perfectly for him.”
Alex immediately looked irritated.
“I’m trying.”
“Trying?” she repeated in a mocking tone. “That’s your answer?”
Alex stood from the bed now, frustration visibly building inside him.
“You think this is easy?” he asked sharply. “Damien somehow keeps fixing every single problem thrown at him.”
Charlotte laughed coldly. “Well then maybe you’re not trying hard enough.”
That statement instantly worsened Alex’ mood. He dragged a frustrated hand through his hair before walking back towards her.
“Charlotte,” he said more calmly now, trying to control himself. “Just trust me.”
She looked away. “I’ll figure something out eventually.”
Charlotte remained silent while Alex leaned closer again, his voice lowering slightly.
“For tonight at least… stop being angry.”
His hand brushed lightly against her arm.
“Come here.”
But Charlotte immediately pulled away from him again and stood from the bed.
“No.”
Alex blinked in annoyance. “Seriously?”
“I’m not in the mood,” she replied coldly while grabbing her phone.
Then without another word, she walked towards the bedroom door.
“Charlotte.”
She ignored him completely and left the room.
The second the door slammed shut behind her, something inside Alex snapped.
“Damn it!”
He grabbed the nearest decorative object from the table and threw it violently across the room and it shattered loudly against the wall.
Alex breathed heavily while anger burned fiercely inside him. Nothing was going the way it was supposed to.
Not the company, things with Charlotte, Damien.
Especially Damien.
No matter what happened, Damien somehow always remained composed, untouched, successful. And Alex hated it.
He swept another item off the dresser angrily before pacing around the room.
“What exactly can I do to make you fall, Damien?” he muttered furiously.
His fists clenched tightly at his sides.
“I swear…” he said through gritted teeth, “I won’t stop till the ends of the earth to make sure you fall.”
His breathing remained heavy as darkness settled deeply inside his expression.
“No matter what it takes.”