NovelEnglishChapter 314 Snow was swirling in the air, blanketing everything in white.
On the winding mountain road, a black SUV sat parked on the shoulder.
Archie slumped in the passenger seat, breathing heavily. His head pounded, a wave of dizziness washing over him. Frowning, he pushed away the portable oxygen tank Mila offered.
"Just- Just givea minute. Letadjust." Mila, bundled up in her puffer jacket, glanced at the altimeter and sighed. "We're already at about 13,500 feet. You've made it this far-just hang in there." But Archie was stubborn. He insisted on toughing it out.
Mila gave up arguing and simply pressed the oxygen mask to his face. He had no choice but to take a breath. After just one inhale, he fell silent.
"Still dizzy?" Mila asked, her tone cool and matter-of-fact.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"No," Archie admitted after a moment, catching his breath. Frustration crept into his voice. "I just don't get it. I'm supposed to be the healthy one here. You're the fragile one. Why am I the one with altitude sickness, and you're totally fine?" She shrugged. "Maybe you're just too healthy for your own good." He shot her a look, speechless at that answer.
"Con, get srest," Mila said, her tone softening as she tried to salvage his pride. "Who knows, maybe the altitude sickness will hitlater. I'll need you to drive the rest of the way, tough guy." With that, Mila started the engine and they pressed on, racing the clock.
At one point, Mila grew too exhausted to continue, so Archie took over-driving while hooked up to the oxygen tank. Somehow, they made it to Zionia before dawn.
Both were completely spent.
They stumbled into the hotel Archie had booked, barely making it to their beds before collapsing.
*** Back at Northpoint University.
Miranda was still digging around, trying to find out more about Lysander's rumored engagement.
Mila, torn and anxious, finally decided she needed answers straight from Lysander himself. She couldn't just sit back and accept being cast as the "other woman" without knowing the truth.
She'd asked him at the very beginning-he'd said nothing about being engaged, nothing about a fiancée. Why keep it a secret? Why all the games and lies? What had she ever done to deserve this? Seething, Mila dialed Lysander's number again and again, finally getting through after several attempts.
"Why didn't you tellyou were engaged? Why did you draginto this?" Her voice shook with anger and disbelief.
A pause. Then Lysander's voice cthrough, cold, impatient, and tinged with exhaustion. "Mila, what does this have to do with you?" He didn't stop. "I just wanted to sleep with you. I never thought you'd be so difficult. I tried for ages, and you never gave in. Honestly, I'm over it. I could pick up a girl at any club who'd be so much more fun and attentive. Wasting my twith you was pointless." "Don't callagain. You're ruining my mood." In the background, Mila thought she heard a woman's mocking laughter, followed by a sultry giggle.
The line went dead.
She stood there, surrounded by the crimson and gold of the maple grove. Autumn leaves drifted down around her, the air heavy with loneliness and the ache of the season drawing to a close.
A bitter laugh escaped her lips.
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It was true. She'd been lied to, unwittingly dragged into someone O else's relationship Cult, shame, and a surge of complicated emotions crashed over her, threatening to drown her. Mila sank onto a bench at the edge of the grove, staring blankly ahead, her mind emptied and directionless for the first tin her life.
The sky darkened. Rain began to fall, light at first, then heavier. She didn't move, letting the dold drops soak her hair, her face, her clothes. Her thoughts spun in chaos. What now? As she sat lost in confusion, the rain suddenly stopped. A soft white umbrella appeared above her, shielding her from the drizzle. Light flooded her vision.
Forrest stood before her.
*** "Professor?" she murmured, bewildered. Her mind was too numb to process why he was here.
Forrest adjusted his silver-framed glasses, gazing down at her. His eyes were warm and gentle behind the lenses. "It's raining, Mimi. You'll catch a cold like this." Mimi?
Over the past few weeks, Forrest had been her mentor on the om project-patient, kind/always easy to talk to. But they weren't close enough for such a familiar nickname... were they?
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