Chapter 103 An Unexpected Encounter
Sloane's POV
As soon as I pulled open the door, two tall, dark figures silently blocked my path—the bodyguards Jared had left behind.
"Ma'am, where are you going?" The lead bodyguard's voice was respectful, but his attitude left no room for argument. "Sir has instructed that you cannot leave this room alone."
Looking at their vigilant stance, I felt somewhat helpless, though I knew they were just doing their job.
"I can't sleep. I want to go out for some air." I pointed to a nearby area. "Just around here. I won't go far."
The bodyguards exchanged glances. Seeing that I really didn't look well, they finally compromised: "We'll go with you."
The night breeze, carrying the disaster area's unique mix of earth and disinfectant, cleared some of the restlessness from my mind.
I had no specific destination, just following the intermittent sound of a harmonica, walking wherever it led.
The bodyguards followed at a distance, like two silent moving fortresses, separating me from all potential dangers around us.
The music grew clearer, leading me to a small mound on slightly higher ground.
Moonlight poured down like water. I looked up and saw the silhouette of a lean man standing on the mound. His back was to me, the cool night breeze lifting the hem of his shirt, and that melodious harmonica sound was coming from him.
In that instant, my breath caught.
That silhouette, that figure stretched long in the moonlight, was like a key that instantly unlocked the floodgates of my memory.
I seemed to see again the young man who had saved me from despair after the car accident.
Was it him? Grayson?
My heart skipped a beat. Almost instinctively, I wanted to call out that name.
Just as I was lost in thought, a bodyguard behind me suddenly let out a suppressed, excited shout: "Sir!"
I snapped back to reality and looked in the direction of his gaze.
In the darkness not far away, a tall, upright figure was walking slowly toward us.
He was still wearing the suit I had personally straightened for him, but now, that devastatingly handsome face no longer held any trace of the warmth from our morning goodbye. Instead, it was covered with a gloom cold enough to freeze someone.
How could he be here? Wasn't he supposed to be on the plane?
Enormous joy instantly swept away all the darkness in my heart. Almost instinctively, I went to meet him, my lips curving upward uncontrollably, my eyes filled with an overflowing happiness I hadn't even noticed myself: "Jared, how did you..."
My words weren't finished before they all got stuck in my throat.
He acted as if he didn't see me at all, looking straight ahead, striding forward on his long legs, walking right past me.
He walked so fast that the wind he created even messed up the hair on my forehead. The icy aura radiating from him made the smile on my face freeze instantly.
I stood there stunned, watching helplessly as he brushed past me. My heart felt like someone had struck it hard with a blunt instrument—dull and painful.
What happened?
Just then, the harmonica on the mound stopped.
The man turned around and slowly walked down from the mound.
Moonlight illuminated his face. The eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses flickered imperceptibly when they saw Jared and me.
It was Harrison.
He just glanced at us indifferently, his expression complex and hard to read. In the end, he said nothing, turned around, and silently disappeared into the night.
I couldn't care about him. My heart and eyes were filled only with Jared's cold, resolute back. I clenched my hands and, no longer caring about anything else, hurried after him.
"Jared!" I grabbed his arm, looking up at his tense profile. The grievance and confusion in my heart intertwined, making my voice tremble slightly. "How did you get here?"
He stopped, slowly turned around. Those bottomless eyes no longer held even a trace of tenderness, only a thick, undissolvable gloom and mockery.
"What," his thin lips curved into an ice-cold arc, each word seeming to squeeze through his teeth, "seeing me makes you unhappy? Or did I interrupt your moonlight rendezvous with Mr. Rex and ruin your mood?"
What was he talking about?
The joy in my heart from his unexpected return was instantly washed away by his accusatory questioning.
A huge wave of grievance and confusion surged up, making my throat tight.
"No, Jared, you've got it wrong!" I waved my hands frantically, desperately trying to explain. "I just couldn't sleep so I came out for a walk, and happened to run into him..."
"Happened to?" He laughed coldly, cutting off my words. The distrust in his eyes was like a sharp knife, stabbing deep into my heart. He stopped looking at me, turned around, and continued walking forward on his long legs. That cold, hard back was like an impenetrable wall, shutting out all my explanations.
He didn't believe me again.
This realization made my chest tighten, sour and bitter.
Watching his resolute departing figure, I could no longer care about any grievance. I hurried after him. "Jared, let me explain!"
The night was deep, and the ground beneath my feet was uneven.
I was chasing too frantically. My foot suddenly caught on something, and my body instantly lost balance, falling forward uncontrollably.
"Ah!" I cried out. In that split second, all reason was replaced by the instinct to survive.
Instinctively, I curled up my body, my hands desperately protecting my abdomen.
The expected sharp pain didn't come. Instead, I crashed into a solid, burning embrace. That familiar scent, carrying a faint smell of gunpowder and morning coolness, instantly enveloped me.
Jared had turned around the second before I fell, reached out his long arm, and caught me firmly in his embrace.
I leaned against his chest, my heart still racing, pounding in my chest so hard it felt like it would jump out of my throat. The belated fear, like icy floodwater, instantly submerged me.
If he hadn't caught me, if I had fallen... my child...
Just thinking about that possibility, my body began to shake uncontrollably, and tears welled up.
"Be careful." His hoarse, tense voice came from above. He still held me, his arms around my waist trembling slightly from the scare.
I clutched the front of his shirt, lifted my tear-stained face, and could no longer care about his earlier coldness and suspicion. I just urgently poured out the whole story: "I had a nightmare, about the car accident. I couldn't sleep at all, then I heard a harmonica outside. That sound reminded me of some things from the past. I followed the sound and came here, only to find it was Harrison. I hadn't even had a chance to say a word to him when you showed up..."