Page 131 of Sinful Lies

And then—footsteps.

Heavy. Steady. Cutting through the sand like they belonged to someone who wouldn’t stop until they had reached me.

Before the void could take me, Angelo’s voice cut through the storm—a beacon, raw and unrelenting, pulling me from the abyss.

“Jade!”

He didn’t waste time with empty words or pointless reassurances.

Instead, he crouched, his knees sinking into the wet sand beside me.

The silence between us was deafening, broken only by the crash of the waves and the shallow rasp of my breath.

I felt his hand hover near my arm, unsure, hesitant—like he wasn’t certain if his touch would calm me or not.

“Breathe, Jade. In through your nose, out through your mouth. You can do this.”

I shook my head violently, the freezing water clawing at my legs.

“I c-can’t?—”

“Focus on me. Just me.”

I tried.

God, I tried. But the air caught in my chest, refusing to obey.

My ribs locked, caging me in, each failed breath a punishment.

And then, I crumbled.

The cold water took me as I fell forward, the waves biting, the sand pulling. The icy grip numbed my body, but it couldn’t dull the terror. Salt water kissed my lips, streaked my face with ruin, makeup mingling with tears, hair plastered to my skin.

I still couldn’t breathe.

This couldn’t be the end.

Not like this.

Not now. Please, not now.

“Jade, stop!”

The cold only made it worse, the tremors rattling through me as I sank deeper into the panic.

He cursed sharply. Then he moved.

His hands were on me, rough, pulling me up, dragging me out of the water.

His heat was searing, melting the ice in my veins as his arms wrapped around me.

I clung to him, my nails digging into his skin, my face pressed against his neck.

“You’re freezing,” he growled, carrying me. “Fuck! What the hell were you thinking?”

I didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. My chest still burned, my breaths coming in stuttering gasps, but his warmth steadied something deep inside me.

He didn’t stop. Not until we were inside—past the echoing crash of the door, up the elevator, and into the bathroom in his room.

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