Buying My Forever Wife novel Chapter 298

Staring down at the raging river below, the sheer drop of the cliff was dizzying.

How could a girl as delicate as her possibly survive a fall like that?

Alaric's heart felt as though it were being shredded. His eyes burned blood-red.

Several times, he nearly broke down entirely, but he gritted his teeth and forced the tears back, ruthlessly reminding himself that this was not the time to wallow in despair.

He had to find Ivy immediately.

Pushing himself up from the dirt with trembling limbs, Alaric turned to the stunned men beside him.

"Get everyone you know to start searching. Whoever finds her first gets $1,000,000. And where is the nearest cell signal? I need to make a call."

Hearing the billionaire casually multiply the reward, the men lost their minds. They practically scrambled over each other, rushing back to the village to mobilize their entire families for the hunt.

One of the men gave Alaric a ride up to the highest peak of the mountain where he could catch a bar of service.

Dialing Leo Archer's number, Alaric fought down the suffocating tightness in his throat and ordered him to dispatch a massive search and rescue team immediately.

He also had Leo contact the authorities.

Afterward, he returned to the jagged edge of the cliff. He stared down at the terrifying drop, unable to comprehend where a girl as tiny as Ivy had found the courage to jump.

Did she truly believe there was absolutely nothing in this world worth living for?

Did she ever stop to think that if she died, her husband would be shattered by the loss?

Alaric dropped to his knees once more. This time, the agonizing grief tore through his chest, and he could no longer hold back the tears spilling down his face.

He didn't understand why this was tearing him apart so completely, why the thought of losing Ivy terrified him to his very core.

They had only known each other for a few months. They supposedly barely had a real connection.

Yet, in this horrifying moment—terrified she would never come back, terrified she had been erased from the world so young—he wept for her.

It was the first time in his life Alaric Foster had shed tears.

He wanted to maintain his composure.

But he couldn't stop the excruciating pain radiating from his chest, as if a vise lined with spikes was crushing his heart.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't speak.

Hours later, Leo Archer finally arrived with a specialized search team.

During those excruciating hours, Alaric had dragged himself along the riverbanks, frantically searching the perimeter.

Finding nothing, he had returned to the cliff edge, completely hollowed out.

Gemma, after reaching Silverton and failing to find the mysterious Mr. Foster, had rushed to the police.

Combined with Alaric's immense pressure, local law enforcement and rescue teams mobilized immediately, blanketing the area.

When Leo reached the top of the cliff, he saw his boss kneeling in the dirt, looking like a man who had his soul violently ripped from his body. Leo hurried forward to pull him up.

"Boss, I've got teams sweeping every inch of the river. Mrs. Foster is going to be okay. The heavens will watch over her."

Alaric looked utterly destroyed. His legs shook as Leo supported his weight, and when he spoke, his voice was nothing more than a ragged rasp.

"I never should have let her go back alone. I should have stayed right beside her."

"Leo... I can't let her go. I need her back in my arms unharmed. Can you promise me that?"