Even in Darkness She Chose to Rise (Tatiana and Jasper) novel Chapter 28

Chapter 28 The Edge of the Cliff

Tatiana stepped forward without a word and followed him.

+8 Pearls

“Tatiana!” Quinton called after her, wanting to chase, but she was already shoved into that low- key black Cullinan, swept away in a blur.

For the first time, Quinton realized that man’s connection to Tatiana wasn’t simple at all.

Moments later, Bianca returned from the restroom, only to find the table empty. She froze. “Jasper?”

Where was he?

She dialed his number, but his phone was turned off.

The black Cullinan roared down the winding mountain road, speed climbing, scenery whipping by until it blurred into streaks.

Tatiana sat stiff in the passenger seat, both hands clenched tight on her seatbelt. She didn’t dare speak.

Up ahead loomed a U–shaped curve, one side pressed against rock, the other dropping into a cliff. One wrong move meant certain death.

She thought he would slow.

Instead, his foot slammed the accelerator. The brutal force of acceleration and the sheer drop right beside them tore a scream from her throat. “Ahhh!”

The SUV shot forward like an arrow, skidding into the curve, tail swinging, tires shrieking against the guardrail. At the last possible instant it drifted through, skimming past the cliff’s edge.

Her breath stopped altogether. Even when the car straightened, her heart still pounded out of control, her face drained ghost–white.

Jasper’s eyes stayed cold. “Get out.”

They were still halfway up the mountain. No houses, no lights, no people. Even the last bus had long since stopped running.

She didn’t resist. Silently, she unbuckled her belt and stepped out.

12:10 Sun, Oct 26

Chapter 28 The Edge of the Cliff

92

+8 Pearls

The moment her feet touched the ground, the SUV brushed past her arm and tore off again, wind whipping her hair, gone in seconds.

She exhaled softly, glanced around for direction, and started down on foot.

Her gait was slow, unsteady, swaying like she might topple.

From this height, even a healthy person would struggle to descend. For someone crippled, it was punishment.

The Cullinan stopped just three kilometers ahead. Jasper got out, leaned against the door, and lit a cigarette – – a rare indulgence. Smoke curled through the night as his black eyes fixed on the darkness behind him.

He checked his watch. An hour had passed.

Even crawling, she should have made it by now.

Impatience mingled with something he refused to name. He crushed the cigarette out, back into the car, and turned around.

Dying out here would be bad luck.

That was the excuse he told himself as he searched the road.

Finally, he spotted her.

Bent over by the roadside, reaching desperately for a plastic bottle snagged in a branch.

Just a little more.

slid

She clutched at brittle weeds, inching closer. But the dry soil cracked, the roots gave way-

Her hand slipped. Gravity yanked her down.

She squeezed her eyes shut, shielding her head, bracing for the crash.

But a hand clamped her wrist hard, yanking her back into a solid chest. The impact stung

her

nose.

A furious voice thundered above her. “How many times are you going to try killing yourself?”

Instinctively, she flailed, terrified. “S–sorry! I’m sorry!”

“Don’t move!”

2/4

12:11 Sun, Oct 26

Chapter 28 The Edge of the Cliff

La 2

+8 Pearls

He tried to haul her up, but the earth crumbled under his shoes, and both of them tumbled.

Rolling down the steep slope, he wrapped his arms around her, shielding her head with his hands as they crashed through brush and branches.

Only when a tree trunk blocked their fall did they stop.

Tatiana, held tight the whole way, came away with little more than a scrape on her arm.

Panic still in her chest, she pushed at him. “Jasper, are–are you okay?”

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