?Chapter 653:

    A shrug was all Adah could manage as she watched the jet shrink into the night. “Honestly, I have no clue. It’s been ages since I saw her take the controls. If she’s leaving like that, it must be something big.”

    Elliana didn’t have time to worry about what the others at Regal Grove were thinking. Determination carried her through the clouds, pushing the jet as fast as it would fly. In barely two hours, her wheels kissed the runway on Cole’s ind.

    This wasn’t a sprawling stretch ofnd, but rather a jewel—tastefully designed, with a sleek mansion overlooking rows of emeraldwns and tangled gardens that danced down to the sea.

    Cole stood at the edge of thending pad, having waited for Elliana for a while. Without missing a beat, Elliana climbed out of the jet, her medical kit swinging at her side. Cole didn’t hesitate and crossed to her in a heartbeat, wrapping her up in his arms. She felt his lips pressed against her hair, desperate, hungry for reassurance.

    He missed her dearly. She wasn’t wearing any disguise. This was the real her, clean and stunning, just as he remembered.

    She returned his embrace, tucking her arms around his waist, unwilling to let go. Only a couple of weeks had passed, but the toll on him was obvious. His cheeks were hollowed out, skin stretched tight, and the haunted look in his eyes betrayed sleepless nights. Her heart ached at this sight. She wished the cure had been developed sooner, sparing him these dark days and nights alone.

    Some distance away, Myles, Aron, and Hugh stood silently. The three siblings traded…

    Knowing nces and small smiles passed between them. They all agreed this was how it was meant to be—two lovebirds finding their way back to each other.

    Elliana slowly released her hold, tipping her face up to take in every detail of Cole’s face.

    Cole’s gaze met hers, gentle and searching.

    Her instincts as a doctor flickered to life, quietly cataloging his symptoms. However, his expression was nothing like a patient’s—it brimmed with tenderness and affection.

    Her hand rose, and she brushed her fingertips across the tired lines at the corners of his eyes, then down to his jaw, tight with fatigue. “You haven’t slept well, have you?” Her words trembled with worry, and she didn’t bother hiding it. Fatigue clung to him, and the dark shadows beneath his eyes betrayed countless sleepless nights.

    Cole nodded and said quietly, “Barely slept an hour a night, in fits and starts. When I do sleep, there are nightmares… I wake up from the nightmares, and when I finally fall back asleep, nightmares consume my dreams again. It’s torture.”

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    Words could barely cover that kind of agony. It could shatter the strongest person.

    Understanding washed over Elliana. No human being could withstand such endless exhaustion.

    Just then, the thunder of an engine shattered the stillness. Overhead, a jet dipped low, ready to touch down.

    “My grandfather has arrived,” Cole announced, his gaze fixed on the jet above. Elliana stood silently beside him, her presence steady as they watched Ruben’s private jet make its descent toward thending pad.

    The jet touched down with measured precision, its rotors gradually slowing. Elliana and Cole moved forward to greet Ruben.

    What they hadn’t anticipated was seeing Cole’s father, Jarrett, step out alongside Ruben.

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