Filed to story: The CEO’s Wife Is a Secret Boss Novel (Allison & Jeremy) Free Online
“Mr. Parker! There are traces of a hiker over here!” someone shouted agitatedly.
In that instant, the dejected gaze in Jeremy’s eyes turned sharp. He charged forward and noticed the shoeprints. With one glance, he recognized them to be Alyssa’s shoeprints. They could not belong to anyone else other than her.
Relief washed over him, a momentary reprieve from the crushing weight in his chest.
“We are searching in the right direction. She has passed by this place. According to the length of her strides and her pace in such a heavy snowstorm… she wouldn’t have gone far,” Jeremy analyzed in a quaky voice.
“But her shoeprint trail disappears here. She might be buried in the snow!”
Elias frowned deeply; his worry etched onto his face.
“We’ve been shouting Ms. Alyssa’s name the whole way. With so many of us calling out, she should’ve heard us by now if she were nearby!”
In a deep voice, Jeremy said, “The wind is too strong, and then there’s the heavy snowfall. Our voices are being drowned out. Lyse might not hear us at all.
Lyse.
Her nickname slipped from his lips before he even realized it.
“I’m just afraid she’s injured-or worse, fainted. If she blacks out in this cold…” Elias trailed off, his voice heavy with dread. “On a day like this, she won’t survive long. She’ll freeze to death.”
The group exchanged uneasy glances, the reality of his words tightening their chests.
It wasn’t that Elias was being a doomsayer. Rather, this was the cruel reality that might actually happen.
Crater Mountain claimed lives every year. Danger lurked unpredictably in the woods on the mountain-anything could unfold.
“Let’s split up,” Jeremy commanded, his eyes fixed on the shadowy forest. His voice carried an edge of desperation. “We’re not leaving until we find her.”
Elias hesitated. “But what if-
“If anything happens to her,” Jeremy cut him off, his voice trembling with fierce determination, ‘I’ll make this place my grave. I mean it.”
Before anyone could respond, Jeremy turned and strode into the darkness, his figure quickly swallowed by the night.
Elias watched him disappear, exhaling a heavy sigh. “They’re right when they say aristocratic families raise people with fiery hearts.”
Jeremy trudged through the snow, his mind racing.
When Alyssa finally convinced him to make her a promise, all she asked was for him to go hiking with her. But she didn’t mean just a hike. She wanted them to retrace their past. If he were Alyssa, where would he go? Jeremy’s heart raced as he strained to stay vigilant. He arrived at the cave-the very place where he and Alyssa had once sought refuge during the landslide.
As he stared into the empty cave, memories of that day surged back-the harrowing brush with death, the suffocating fear, and the unspoken bond of survival that had tethered them together.
“If God doesn’t protect you, I will.”
That promise wasn’t just words; it was carved into his heart. He had not forgotten it. He had remembered it. Jeremy’s world swirled in dizzying chaos. A heavy thud echoed as his strength gave out, sending him crashing to his knees. His eyes, bloodshot and weary, glistened with the weight of exhaustion and turmoil.
“Alyssa… I have to find you…”
Clenching his fists, he clawed at the frozen ground, forcing himself to stand. His muscles screamed in protest, but he pushed forward. “I have to… find you!”
In the midst of hopelessness, the temperature continued to plummet.
The weather was as ruthless and cold as reality.
Alyssa huddled into a tight ball, pressing herself against the rock. The pure white snow blanketed her almost entirely, rendering her nearly invisible to anyone who wasn’t looking carefully.
She squeezed her eyes shut, her lips a chilling shade of purple as hypothermia took its toll. Disoriented and barely clinging to awareness, her mind wavered in a haze of confusion.
Soon, her entire body would be frozen stiff, and she would be at death’s door.
Alyssa trembled violently as she curled tighter into herself. Lost in a daze, fragments of heartwarming childhood memories flickered in her mind-a fleeting warmth against the encroaching cold.
The cold seemed to fade from her senses, replaced by an unexpected warmth. In the depths of her daze, her late mother had appeared, her arms wide open, enveloping Alyssa in a comforting embrace.
“Lyse, my sweet girl. Don’t be afraid. I’m here.’
The beautiful and gentle woman stroked her hair. “I know that you’ve been through a lot. Go to sleep. I’ll keep watch over you…
“Mom… I’m exhausted…
Alyssa felt so weak that it felt as if she could crumble at any moment. Tears welled up in her eyes, her voice barely a whisper as she murmured, “Mom… Jeremy doesn’t want me anymore. I can’t hold on anymore. Mom…. Take me away. Mom…
Just as she was on the brink of losing consciousness, she heard the sound of a familiar voice calling out to her, albeit vaguely.
“Alyssa!”
Was that Jeremy?
Alyssa was startled, as if a jolt of electricity had gone through her. Her eyes fluttered open while she was still in that woman’s arms, whose face was now blurry.
“Lyse, Jeremy has already abandoned you. He no longer wants you, so why would he be here to search for you? Go to sleep. Sleep tight,” the woman in Alyssa’s imagination uttered bewitchingly. Her voice ate at her willpower.
Feeling despondent, Alyssa let out a bitter laugh.
Yeah, how could that be Jeremy’s voice?
She no longer had any hope in that man.
Nevertheless, in the next second, Alyssa felt a pair of hands gripping her shoulders tightly. It was as if they were about to dig their fingers into her flesh to anchor her soul.
Dazedly, she opened her eyes.
In the darkness and gloom, Jeremy’s sharp eyes shined brightly like the stars in the night sky.
“Jas…”
Alyssa looked at Jeremy with an unfocused gaze. Her breaths were shallow, and she was slipping in and out of consciousness. Mentally, she was confused.
“Yes, it’s me-Jeremy!”
Jeremy’s heart clenched as he saw the color drain from her face. Her body trembled uncontrollably, fragile as a leaf caught in the wind. She resembled the kitten he had saved as a child-frozen and alone in the alley that bitter winter night. A deep sorrow flooded his chest.
“Jas… per…” Alyssa murmured his name, her voice strained, her tongue numb from the cold.
A faint, mocking smile tugged at the corners of her lips, and tears streamed down her cheeks. “It seems… like I am about… to freeze to death… How could he be here… He will not come back… He doesn’t want me anymore…”
Alyssa’s vision blurred as her eyelids grew heavy. She began to lean, her body sagging to one side.
“Alyssa! Stay awake!”
Jeremy’s heart was pierced, the pain unbearable as he saw the denial in her eyes. He forced himself to push through the agony, opening his arms to cradle her.
“I am Jeremy! Open your eyes! Look at me!”
For someone in a state of hypothermia, falling unconscious could be fatal, even more so when the will was lost.
Jeremy’s heart raced with terror as he watched Alyssa. He feared she might never wake up if she closed her eyes now.
The oppressive darkness around them felt suffocating, as though it were closing in, swallowing any hope they had left.
Alyssa, her eyes still wet with tears, gazed at the man before her. His eyes burned with a fire she hadn’t seen in so long. Her heart skipped a beat, racing uncontrollably.
But that fire had long been replaced by shadows ever since he’d woken from his coma. His eyes, once full of light, had become darker than the night, colder than ice.
Yet, it was him-Jeremy-the last person she wanted to see at this moment.
A bitter laugh escaped her lips. Her bloodshot eyes fluttered closed, and with what little strength remained, she pushed him away.
“You are Jeremy… but… I don’t need you anymore…”
Jeremy’s brow furrowed, a wrenching pain twisting inside him. He knew the cold had clouded her mind that she was just speaking nonsense. But every word sliced through him, deep and raw.
Ignoring her protests, he reached for the soaked fabric clinging to her, the icy slush weighing her down.
“Don’t touch me… Don’t tou-“
