CHAPTER 279: CHAPTER 279 GOING INTO THE FOREST

We trekked a good distance without finding anything else from the yacht.

My legs began to ache, and I rubbed them absently. Ahead stretched only more endless beach.

Frustration rose inside me. This island was far too big for just the two of us to finish searching, yet it was too small to be spotted easily by the rescue teams, if there were any.

I kept the thought to myself. The more I dwelt on it, the more I wished I could travel back in time and slap myself for rushing into a diving trip, and for dragging Ashton into this mess with me.

Then I noticed that Ashton had veered off the beach.

He was heading straight into the forest.

I stopped.

Daylight made it safer, but I still felt uneasy. The thick trees pressed close, heavy with shade. I had always feared that kind of suffocating place.

‘Are we really going in there?’ I called.

Ashton glanced back. He paused mid-step, then turned fully to face me.

He reached out and caught my hand.

The heat of his palm startled me.

Then he spoke in a voice gentler than I had ever heard. ‘Don’t be afraid. I’ll be with you. Every step along the way.’

I stared at our interlaced fingers, dazed.

How had Ashton and I suddenly become so close?

I blinked, still stunned, and missed the moment to pull away. By the time I came to my senses, Ashton had already been leading me for a while.

The warmth in my palm felt almost scalding. Yet when I glanced at him, I saw no flicker in his calm gaze.

Was I overthinking? When he said he’d be with me, it didn’t imply what I thought it did. Perhaps he was simply being kind, helping me.

Ashton turned his head and glanced at me. I felt the faintest tightening of his fingers between mine.

Further in, I realised the forest was not as terrifying as I had imagined.

Maybe it was because many of the trees along our path had been blown down by the tsunami. What should have been a dense, suffocating forest now seemed strangely open.

Without the oppressive weight of thick woodland, I wanted to pull away from Ashton’s hand, which shifted and rubbed against mine with every step.

Skin against skin made it too easy for the body to release dopamine, the very chemical that unsettles judgment and blurs reason.

But...

I blinked and touched the leaf still tangled in my hair. In the end, I did not let go.

We walked on until we reached a stream.

The water was clear and fast-flowing, yet it was no shallow brook I could step across in one stride. The stream was easily three or four metres wide, and by rough estimate, deep enough to reach my chest.

I frowned and looked at Ashton. ‘Swim across?’

Ashton shook his head. ‘No. We can’t risk hypothermia. If we go in now, our clothes will be soaked. The island’s temperature drops sharply at night, and losing heat is dangerous. With only this one fish for food, we won’t have enough calories to keep ourselves warm. It isn’t worth the risk.’

Almost without thinking, I tightened my grip on his hand, clinging to the reassurance. ‘Then how do we cross?’

Ashton looked around, his gaze pausing a short distance to the right. Then he released my hand and walked towards it.

I hurried after him. Being alone in a dense forest did not feel wise.

He vaulted cleanly over a fallen tree ahead. His movement was fluid and precise, the kind that only came with training. Watching him, I felt a pang of envy as I clambered clumsily around the trunk instead.

When I finally caught up, I found him standing with his arms folded, waiting by the tree.

His brows drew together as he saw me. ‘Why didn’t you follow directly behind me?’

I muttered inwardly: Not everyone has legs like yours, capable of vaulting over half the forest.

He started to speak, then stopped. ‘That was careless of me. From now on, I’ll...’

‘Hm?’ I looked up when he didn’t finish his sentence.

Ashton held my gaze for a long moment, then changed the subject. ‘Nothing. I’ve found a way across.’

‘How?’

He lifted his chin towards the stream. ‘There are boulders in the water. If they’re rooted firmly in the riverbed, we can use them as stepping stones.’

I followed his gaze. Indeed, a cluster of large rocks stood unmoving against the rushing current.

A flicker of relief spread through me, a fragile happiness seeping into my chest. ‘Then let’s go.’

We made our way there.

Ashton asked me to wait while he leapt across first, testing each rock’s stability. Only when he had reached the far bank did he turn back and signal an ‘OK’.

It meant the path was safe.

Yet I did not move.

Standing on the near side, I looked from Ashton to my own feet as the water lapped against them. My head dipped as I clutched the edge of my makeshift leaf dress.

I had realised the problem earlier, when I tried to climb over that fallen tree.

This so-called dress, woven from leaves, was good for covering me, but useless for movement. A single large step sent the hem riding dangerously high. It was only the bikini underneath that kept me decent. Even so, one sharp pull and the fragile weave would likely tear.

As I hesitated, a shadow fell over me.

Ashton had crossed back.

The next instant, the ground vanished from under me. The world spun, and when it settled, I found myself cradled in his arms.

I stared up at the hard line of his jaw. ‘What are you doing?’

I struggled, trying to slip free. His palm pressed firmly against my thigh, and my body betrayed me with a shiver.

The more I tried to escape, the tighter his hold became.

His gaze dropped to me, his jaw taut, his voice clipped. ‘Don’t move.’