Laney gently grabbed Natalie by the wrist and helped her up.She said, “Miss Quinn, you should take off all your wet clothes so they don’t make you colder.And don’t sit still.Otherwise.you will get frozen easily.Stand up and exercise to generate some heat.”
Natalie had seen movies and heard stories of how people got frozen to death.She didn’t want to end up that way, so she stood upright and took off her coat with difficulty.She suddenly began to feel dizzy.
However, she remained standing.
“Are you sure someone will find us? What if no one comes?”
Natalie’s teeth clattered against each other after she finished asking that question in a weak voice.She was speaking to Laney because she wanted to remain awake.
Laney took off her wet coat and wrung it dry.
She then replied, “You need to keep your hope alive, Miss Quinn.Someone will definitely come.Look over there.” There were lights on the bridge in a distance.It meant that the rescue team was there already.
But due to their distance, the rescuers couldn’t spot them easily.
They would have to ride a boat towards them before they could be rescued.
Natalie’s hope was dwindling fast as her strength began to fail her.She had just put one of her hands on her waist when she saw Laney waving her coat above her head.
It was a white windbreaker, so it was a little conspicuous in the darkness.
“We might be stuck here for a long time. You’d better save your strength,” she said in a worried tone.
She was afraid that Laney would break down before help came.
After all, she had a petite and seemingly weak body.
Laney didn’t utter a word, nor did she stop waving her windbreaker: This wasn’t the first time someone was mistaking her for a weak woman.
Natalie, like most people, had no idea that Laney had been training since childhood and that she was much stronger than ordinary women.
With great agility, she continued to wave her coat in the air to attract the attention of the rescuers in a distance., “Not to sound pessimistic, but you are wasting your energy. It’s so dark here.I don’t think they would see the tinge of your coat from there.” Nonetheless, Natalie decided not to stand by and do nothing.She mustered up strength at this moment.
Cupping her hands around her mouth, she shouted, “Somebody help! We are here.Help!”
She called out for help more than a dozen times before her voice became hoarse and she got exhausted.
The sound of the flowing water had drowned her shouts, so it occurred to her that her efforts were in vain.
In the dark night sky, there were only a few stars and a crescent moon.
Time passed by quickly.
The wind blew and the temperature dropped further. The water drops on the grass had already turned to ice due to the cold weather.
Natalie and Laney were forced to hug each other tightly just to feel a little warmth.
This barely helped Natalie.Her body was an inch away from getting frozen after a few hours.
She was also trembling uncontrollably.She had no strength to talk and move anymore.
Instead, she felt tired and sleepy.
Laney was stronger than her, so she still had some resistance to the harsh condition they were in “Miss Quinn, please don’t fall asleep. The cold would get into you faster if you do.I believe that the rescue tearm will be here in an hour.”
When Laney saw that Natalie was dozing off, she called her name weakly and patted her face to wake her up.She knew from the paleness of Natalie’s face that she might not be able to hald on any longer.
Natalie was subconscious at this time and her eyelids were frozen shut.She had only her underwear on and the wind was blowing harshly on her.
Although she could hear Laney’s voice, she was so weak that she didn’t have the strength to respond.
Before she fell asleep, Sebastian’s handsome face appeared in her mind.He was smiling at her.It seemed very real.
Laney was at her wit’s end now.She had never been in such a difficult situation, so she didn’t know what else to do.She knew that they would both die here if help didn’t come soon.Her hope dwindled when she looked up and saw that the rescuers were still far away from them.
It was well past midnight, but the building of the Larson Group was still lit up on all fours Up in the CEO’s Office, the fragrant aroma of broth permeated the room.
Charis slowly wiped her lips and told the servant, “You may take this back now.”
She then turned to Sebastian and smiled.
“I’m sorry, about that.I guess I’m just used to it.”
“It’s fine,” Sebastian replied as he continued to type on his keyboard.
“Take a look at this and see if the plan is feasible after the modifications I made.”
He ignored Charis’ comment about her habits, and all but shut down her attempt to intimate at their shared past.
Back when they had just started their own business, Charis did like to drink some soup whenever they had to work overtime.
To her credit, she would also ask her servants to prepare a decent midnight snack for the rest of the staff.She was quite finicky like that, but it never affected her work.
Besides, Charis was already much better than most rich ladies.She leaned over and read his revised plan over his shoulder.She made a point of being meticulous about it, and was pleased to find that it was perfect, down to the finest detail.
Charis glanced at the clock in the bottom right corner of his laptop screen.It was just two in the morning.
This was surprising, since she hadn’t expected him to finish the revisions so quickly.She turned to Sebastian and grinned.
“You’re still an ace at your job! You managed to itemize the problems and their corresponding solutions in just a few hours.If it were Garrett, it would probably take him until morning.”
Sebastian began the process of shutting down his computer and methodically packed up his briefcase.
When he spoke, his tone was cool and business-like.
“Since there is no problem, I will be handing the new plans over to our tech guys as well as the financial department so that they can start working right away.”.
He paused then, as a thought occurred to him.
“But Charis,” he said, his eyes narrowed.
“These are all very simple loopholes.We’ve encountered things like this in the past, some even trickier. You used to solve them in less than two hours. You should have been able to take care of this easily without my help.” Charis faltered under his piercing gaze.
She took a second to compose herself before answering.
“Well… I’ve been learning a lot about the domestic market recently.I suppose I was overwhelmed by so much work all at once.Come on, Brandon.Surely, I’m allowed to take a break every now and then.”
Sebastian considered this for a brief moment.She had a-point, so he decided to drop the matter and said nothing more.
He grabbed his briefcase and suit jacket.He was done for the night.
Sebastian hadn’t even risen from the couch when the door to the office suddenly burst open.
Garrett rushed inside, his forehead beaded with sweat, his eyes wide with panic.
“Sebastian! Natalie got into a car accident. The taxi she was in was hit by another car and fell over the bridge.The rescue team is still on the river. We have no way of knowing whether Natalie survived or not.”
“What did you say?” Sebastian jumped to his feet.
All the color drained from his face.
He snatched his phone, intending to call his people to lead the search, but then he saw the notification on the screen.He had missed a call from Natalie.
Sebastian frowned and tried to put the pieces together.
The only time he had been away from his phone was when he had gone to the bathroom.
Natalie must have called then.
A heavy, suffocating silence fell into the room.