Claimed By My Husband's Enemy novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

(Eli)

The first thing I noticed was how the girl’s hair color changed as she sank further into the river. From dark, it became platinum. It was the reason why it became easier for me to search for her. Her helpless eyes found mine. She looked afraid and desperate as she pointed towards the direction of her bracelet as if she wanted me to save it first before her even if she was obviously having a very difficult time.

How stubborn.

I shook my head and swam to her direction instead. People’s lives should always come first before anything. As soon as I grabbed her, I led her out of the river and after making sure that she was out of danger, I left her gasping for breath before going back to retrieve her bracelet.

Judging from that little conversation I overheard, her mother was either somewhere far away, or she could be in the hospital like mine. And as a daughter who was also missing her mother so badly, my emotions got the best of me.

It was white gold and the little heart pendants glistened underwater. When I finally recovered it, I emerged from the water and saw the girl cry with relief upon seeing me with her bracelet. She was coughing as she approached me weakly and slowly.

“Thank you!” she said after I handed it to her and then she hugged me so tightly I almost couldn’t breathe. “Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me.”

I wanted to scold her for doing something so reckless, but she was still shaking like a leaf. She almost drowned. Maybe her guardian could do the scolding for her later.

She may be stronger but right now, she looked so young and so vulnerable that bit back the words and found myself saying something else instead.

“Calm down. You and your bracelet are safe now. Everything is going to be alright…” I cleared my throat. “Good thing you ended things with your ex. He’s a major pain in the ass. You don’t deserve him. Besides, believe it or not, I know the feeling,” I answered in a hoarse voice and gently patted her back. “My mother is also not with me right now although she did give me something that I also treasure a lot. In fact, I have it with me today-”

I froze upon seeing my bracelet. The very thing that I thought was cursed because I could not remove it no matter what I did had turned red. I was about to touch it when it suddenly fell from my wrist and dropped on the ground, turning into ashes all at once. When I tried gathering the ashes, the damn wind blew away, carrying the ashes with it.

Leaving me with nothing but the memory of years of wearing it.

My mother’s bright smile after putting it on me. The little thing had been my quiet company since then. It was with me when I struggled while working, when the staff wanted me to take it out because it was ruining my style, but later gave up when even they couldn’t take it off. It was with me when I was still a dreamer, while I was hustling until my hard work paid off and my name became known in the modeling world.

It was with me through my darkest times.

Now that I think about it, while I lost everyone and everything, my faith included, it was the only thing that stayed and stuck with me like… a loyal best friend, like a mother would have done for her daughter, like my mom would have done if she were

awake.

“Oh, no. W-why is that happening?” the girl asked, looking as dumbstruck as I was. “Why did it become like that?”

I looked at the stranger for a few seconds to process what just happened and then broke down into tears as I sank onto the ground helplessly. This time, she was the one who hugged me and comforted me by patting my back. When I sobbed, she sobbed harder with me.

She found her bracelet.

While I lost mine.

“Goddess, what am I going to do? I’m sorry,” she whispered again and again in a guilty voice. “It must be because of the river’s curse. I’m so sorry.”

I had a love-hate relationship with my mother’s gift. Some days, I hated it for scaring the hell out of me, for tightening around me so painfully each time I wanted to take it off But there were days when I was thankful for it. It reminded me of my purpose. It reminded me that no matter ho Successfully unlocked!e and fight for mom who was also fighting

for her life every single day in the hospital.

The bracelet was with me through thick and thin. And now, it was gone. Like magic. Like it deliberately let me go.

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Chapter 16

I did want to take it off, but I never wanted to lose it. Why did it have to happen now when it was the only thing I was holding onto in this foreign land? It was the only thing I managed to carry with me.

“Eli!”

“Are you alright? It’s a miracle you’re still alive, you idiot! Why the heck did you do that? Do you have a death wish?!”

“Save that for later, Shanty. Just call a doctor! Hurry!”

I quickly wiped my tears away before facing the girls. I was sure my eyes were as swollen as the teenager’s. When Lizbeth and her friends saw us, their eyes widened as if they had seen a ghost. And then they all bent their knees and lowered their

heads.

“Greetings, Princess Emmanuelle,” they all said together.

Stunned, I glanced at the girl who was still holding my hand. “You are a princess?”

“Princess Emmanuelle is the Alpha King’s only grandchild, Eli,” Lizbeth explained before giving her full attention to the royalty beside me. Her voice was surprisingly polite when she said, “We are sorry we didn’t notice you sooner. Where are your guards? And why are you alone, princess? May I ask what happened?”

“It’s a long story, Lizbeth. All I can say is that there was an accident and Eli here helped me. She jumped off the bridge and saved my life at the cost of something very important for her.”

My eyes watered once more. I tried to hide it but before I knew it, tears rolled down my cheeks, leaving the girls stunned.

“Vicious!”

Through my blurry vision, I saw the alpha bastard who brought me here. He came with other men I didn’t recognize. Their princess was sitting beside me, but his sole focus was on me.

“You silly woman! What am I going to do with you?”

“Mr. Black…” Was all I could say and then my shoulders shook.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” he whispered and then he gently lifted me up in his arms.

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“Right here.” My voice cracked as I patted my chest. “It hurts so much I can’t breathe.”

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