Buying My Forever Wife novel Chapter 301

When Ivy Sawyer woke up again, she was already lying in a soft, expansive bed.

Her ears picked up the steady rhythm of a heartbeat, and her body felt like it was wrapped in the warmth of a furnace, making her feel incredibly safe and grounded.

She slowly peeled her eyes open.

Under the warm, amber glow of the lamp, a man's handsome face filled her vision, his even breath washing over her.

It was Alaric Foster.

He was lying in bed with his arms wrapped around her, his eyes closed as if he were fast asleep.

The hand resting on her waist was entirely well-behaved.

Ivy didn't want to disturb him.

She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, or when Alaric had changed her clothes and tucked her into bed.

Thinking back on what she had just survived, her heart still pounded with lingering terror.

Forced to jump into the river, she had been swept far downstream by the current. It wasn't until the waters calmed that she managed to desperately grab hold of some vegetation along the bank. After dragging herself onto the shore, she spent hours trudging through the dense forest toward the nearest town.

Even when night fell and it became so pitch-black she couldn't see her own hand in front of her face, fear and panic had constantly threatened to consume her.

But the thought that she would be saved if she could just escape and find Alaric kept her going.

Besides, he wasn't far away. He was right there in a hotel in town.

Clinging to that tiny sliver of hope, she had fearlessly navigated the pitch-black woods.

After trekking for a full day and night, she finally reached the town.

Utterly exhausted and unable to take another step, Ivy borrowed a passerby's phone to call him.

But the call simply wouldn't connect.

So, dragging her weak and battered body, she forced herself to walk in the direction of his hotel.

The moment she laid eyes on Alaric, Ivy knew she was finally safe.

Her tightly wound nerves snapped, and she passed out immediately.

Ivy had assumed Alaric would rush her straight to Metropolitan General.

But he hadn't.

It dawned on Alaric that she must have literally passed out from starvation. He immediately turned toward the door and barked an order.

"Leo, get some food ready immediately!"

Outside the door, Leo Archer, who had been dozing on the sofa, bolted upright and rushed to the open kitchen to prepare a meal.

Ivy looked surprised. "Your assistant is here too?"

Alaric gave a curt nod, pulling her small hand into his. He gently stroked her soft cheek, his dark gaze locked onto hers.

"Are you out of your mind? I was already on my way to find you. If you had just stalled them for another two hours, I would have brought you back safely. What if something had happened to you when you jumped into that river? How was I supposed to explain that to Stella?"

He would never let his young wife know the absolute hell he had endured during the day and night she was missing.

He had genuinely thought she was dead. He thought she was never coming back.

His chest had physically ached.

It was a devastating agony he had never experienced in his entire life.

Alaric realized how horrific that feeling was, and he swore to himself he never wanted to endure it again.