Melissa exhaled sharply, her expression torn between exasperation and frustration.

    She motioned vaguely toward the beach, toward the people scattered around, enjoying their day under the sun.

    "I''ve been trying to get in touch with you for two days," she said, crossing her arms again. "But, oh, Ethan''s too busy. Ethan''s out dealing with business. Ethan''s ignoring his texts."

    Ethan frowned slightly. "I''m not ignoring — "

    Melissa held up her phone and tapped the screen a few times before turning it toward him.

    Ethan stared.

    It was a long string of messages.

    Some from yesterday. Some from earlier today.

    All from Melissa. Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire

    And he hadn''t responded to a single one.

    "Ah."

    That explained the attitude.

    Ethan cleared his throat, suddenly feeling like an idiot.

    He didn''t even have an excuse.

    "...Okay, yeah," he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "That''s on me."

    Melissa narrowed her eyes. "Damn right, it is."

    Ethan sighed. "Look, I''ve been handling a lot. It wasn''t personal — I wasn''t intentionally ignoring you."

    Melissa studied him for a moment, then rolled her eyes. "Fine. You get a pass. This time."

    "Appreciate it," Ethan said dryly.

    Melissa pocketed her phone with a small sigh, but this time, her irritation seemed to ease just a little.

    She hesitated, glancing at him, then looked away quickly — her posture stiff, her fingers fidgeting slightly.

    "I was... worried, you know," she muttered, barely audible over the sound of the waves.

    They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore filling the space between them.

    The girls were still busy rebuilding the sandcastle, laughing as they worked, completely lost in their little world.

    Ethan glanced at Melissa from the corner of his eye, noticing how relaxed she looked now compared to earlier.

    "Hey," he said suddenly.

    Melissa turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

    "Thanks."

    She blinked. "For what?"

    "For checking in," he said simply. "For looking out for the resort while I was gone." He offered a small grin. "And for, you know... worrying about me."

    Melissa quickly looked away, but he caught the way her blush returned. "Yeah, well," she muttered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Someone has to."

    Melissa opened her mouth, ready to say something — maybe a joke, maybe something sarcastic, or even something that would make Ethan crack a smile.

    But before the words could leave her lips, her gaze flickered past him toward the shoreline, where the girls were giggling and playing.

    Her amusement faded instantly.

    A massive wave was building in the distance, rolling toward the shore with an intensity that had disaster written all over it.

    Melissa wasn''t the only one who noticed.

    Ethan, who had been stretching his arms after their conversation, froze for half a second before turning his head.

    The moment his eyes landed on the incoming wall of water — and then on Julia and Megan, who were completely oblivious — he moved.

    "Jules! Megan!" His voice cut through the chatter on the beach as he broke into a sprint, sand kicking up behind him. "Get back, now!"

    The girls turned at the sound of his voice, but they were a little too late to process the urgency.

    Ethan could see it — the realization dawning on their faces, the way their tiny bodies tensed up as the shadow of the wave loomed over them.

    The problem was, they were too close to the water and still tangled up in their excitement.

    They weren''t moving fast enough.

    Ethan didn''t think. He just acted.

    With quick strides, he reached them just as the wave came crashing forward, scooping Julia up in one arm and scooping Megan up with the other.