The sky was getting darker, casting a shadow over the already challenging search and rescue efforts. With each passing moment, hope seemed to slip further away. Selena had been through a harrowing ordeal, kidnapped for a whole day and night, and she waspletely drained. She needed rest but refused to leave the cliff''s edge, clinging to the spot as if tethered by some invisible force.


    It was as if she couldn''t tear herself away until sheid eyes on Everett again, no matter the oue. Whether he was alive or not, she needed to see him.


    ine tried to coax her back home, reminding her that her kids were waiting, that there was nothing she could do here. Even Alex, unable to watch her suffer any longer, urged her to go, promising to keep her updated.


    But Selena shook her head, determined. "Mateo and Haley are safe with Ava. I''m staying right here."


    Everett had plunged into the sea to save her, his fate hanging by a thread. No matter their history-love and heartbreak tangled together-she couldn''t abandon him now.


    Alex was about to protest when ine, without warning, delivered a swift chop to Selena''s neck, catching her as she slumped into his arms.


    "ine, what the heck...?" Alex was stunned, words failing him.


    "This is the only way. She''d copse before we find Everett if she keeps this up," ine exined, casting a nce at the restless sea. Despite their differences, he respected Everett''s courage in taking a knife for his wife. He silently hoped Everett had enough luck to make it through because he didn''t want Mateo and Haley to grow up without their dad.


    ...


    Selena drifted into a long, vivid dream. She was back to her first encounter with Everett—a frail, distant teenager who, despite his good looks, never smiled. She longed to see that elusive smile.


    Whenever he yed the piano alone in the mansion, she would echo his tunes from outside. It was her way of reaching out, like the age-old tradition of connecting through music.


    Her efforts paid off. One day, he stopped isting himself, stepping into the backyard to enjoy the sun, nt flowers, and, finally, he smiled at her through the blooms. Her heart raced, cheeks turning a deep shade of red. That''s when the crush took root.


    She fell for him, but with no one to confide in, she poured her heart into journal


    after journal, capturing their shared moments in meticulous detail.


    Eventually, she married the


    grown-up Everett. On their wedding night, she intended to gift him one of those journals, to reveal her long-standing love and devotion. But he never showed up. Later, s?è learned he had forgotten her and loved someone else.


    The dream turned bitter, the pain of their three-year marriage crashing down on her, even in slumber. The scene morphed quickly,nding her back at the cliff''s edge.


    A car came hurtling toward them; he pushed her out of the way, falling into the sea: The biting sea breeze whipped his blood-stained shirt as he hung between life and death, yet he still managed to smile at her. And tofe her to forget him.


    Everett, that maddening man. Sacrificing himself for her in such a heart-wrenching


    way-how could she ever forget him? It was deliberate, leaving the deepest scar


    on her heart. He better not die, or she''d never forgive him.


    ...


    Selena was jolted awake by the sound of fireworks outside. Sitting up, she found herself momentarily lost, the festive noise pulling her back to reality, unsure of the day or time.