Chapter 904

Isabella Montgomery spoke first. "There was a mudslide, but we were fortunate. It didn't head toward our escape route."

Evelyn Sinclair thought, 'Thank God! What incredible luck!'

"It was too close for comfort," Natalie Beaumont added. "If Preston Sinclair hadn't arrived when he did, we wouldn't have made it once the mudslide spread."

Isabella nodded vigorously. "I always assumed Preston was cold and calculating beneath that polished exterior. How wrong I was. When you collapsed, Evelyn, I nearly lost my mind with fear. Then he appeared like some dark knight. He knew the storm was coming yet still raced after you, terrified you'd get caught in the mudslide. Honestly, it's been years since a man moved me this deeply."

Natalie flicked Isabella's forehead with her finger.

"Really? Now's the time for romantic fantasies?"

Rubbing her forehead, Isabella plopped down beside Evelyn's hospital bed. "Regardless, that man risked his life for you. I'd say he's completely irreplaceable!"

Evelyn's chest constricted.

As her friends spoke, Evelyn recalled the moment she'd opened her eyes to Preston's silhouette. How had he found them? What drove him to speed through that storm alone? The image of him navigating those treacherous roads in pounding rain sent shivers down her spine.

'What if he'd missed us?' Evelyn wondered. 'What if the mudslide had taken him too?' Each scenario meant Preston had gambled his life for hers. No wonder he'd reacted so intensely when she'd pretended to lose her memory. 'How devastated would he be if I truly forgot him?'

Natalie cut through the tension. "Enough speculation. We're still trapped in this village. The roads are blocked - no rescuers can reach us, and we can't leave either." Evelyn pressed her lips together, scanning the rundown hospital room. "That explains these conditions..."

This rural clinic was a far cry from Manhattan's private hospitals. Yet compared to last night's ordeal, it felt like paradise.

Isabella chimed in, "Preston didn't even consider the return trip when he came for you. Doesn't that make you want to pledge your eternal devotion?" The words pricked Evelyn's heart, though her pale face betrayed nothing.

She met Isabella's gaze evenly. "Does it move you?"

Isabella looked ready to shake sense into Evelyn. "I'm merely appreciating the gesture! He came for you, you impossible woman!"

Natalie remained the voice of reason. "Let's not get carried away. She's freshly divorced - hardly ready to dive back into romance. Caution is wise."

Isabella considered this. The wounds from Evelyn's failed marriage still looked raw enough to make bystanders wince.

Sebastian Hart, who'd been quietly observing, finally spoke up. "Remember how you all championed Nathan Blackwood before?"

"Shut up!" The three women snapped in unison. Even Evelyn shot him a glare that made her dizzy.

Regaining composure, Evelyn asked, "Did anyone contact our families? My father and brothers don't know I left the city..."

Natalie nodded. "Alexander called nonstop. I updated him. He tracked your watch's location but hit the roadblocks. He was relieved to hear you're safe and promised to come as soon as possible."

Evelyn exhaled. Good.

Sebastian added grimly, "That mudslide wiped out an entire village. Over a hundred people are still missing. We got incredibly lucky."