The lively chatter of the ballroom raged on.
Gian was boxed in by several corporate executives, holding a flute of champagne with a polite, yet detached, smile, though his eyes kept darting toward the terrace.
He had only been apart from Kirsten for ten minutes, but an inexplicable, restless anxiety was gnawing at him.
Throughout the tedious networking, his mind had been consumed by the image of her standing on the balcony earlier, her eyelashes lowered and a faint, lonely smile gracing her lips.
He pressed his lips together, about to invent an excuse to slip away.
Suddenly, a frantic, piercing scream echoed from the pool area. "Someone fell in! Help! Someone's drowning in the pool!"
That single cry shattered the night.
Everyone's gaze whipped toward the terrace, the festive atmosphere freezing in an instant.
Gian’s stomach dropped violently as a sickening sense of dread gripped him.
Running purely on instinct, he shoved past the executives and sprinted toward the water.
His mind went completely blank, leaving room for only one terrifying thought—
Kirsten was out there.
He skidded to a halt at the edge, scanning the gathering crowd as panic squeezed his chest so tight he couldn't breathe.
Draped over a nearby lounge chair was her beige trench coat—the one he had personally picked out for her that morning.
A few feet away, a pair of white stilettos lay abandoned on the concrete, a few blades of grass clinging to the toes. They were her shoes.
But she was nowhere to be seen.
Gian's pupils contracted sharply as every shred of his composure shattered.
He didn't even bother taking off his suit jacket or loosening his tie. He simply dove headfirst into the freezing water.
The biting cold instantly enveloped him, shocking his system and stiffening his muscles, but he ignored the pain, thrashing through the depths with desperate urgency.
He was terrified—terrified that the girl who was always laughing by his side, the one who playfully rolled her eyes at him, was going to be swallowed alive by this icy tomb.
Holding his breath, he kicked harder, diving deeper into the deep end.
The water pressure crushed against his chest. He kept his eyes wide open, searching frantically through the chlorinated haze.
Finally, near the drain at the very bottom, he spotted that familiar silhouette.
A sharp, agonizing pain ripped through his heart.
He propelled himself toward her, wrapping a strong arm around her waist. His fingers trembled wildly when they brushed against her freezing, unresponsive skin.
Using every ounce of his strength, he hauled her toward the surface, clutching her tight against his chest as if she would vanish if he let go.
Supporting her weight, he dragged them both to the edge.
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