Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1302

Harlene started stomping her feet, almost on the edge of tears. She wanted to help, but she was scared of heights herself and couldn’t even make herself look down, much less jump.

Suddenly, a dark figure came tearing through the crowd like a storm. It was James. His face was set in a dangerous glare, sweat running down his forehead. He shot over to Harlene, his voice low and sharp. “What’s going on? Where’s Emmy?”

The fear got to Harlene. She could barely speak, her words tumbling over each other. “Emmy was just about to jump, and then Isabel rushed out and yelled. It startled Emmy, she lost her balance, and... she just fell straight down. She still hasn’t come up yet. Isabel went in right after her to save her, but I swear, she’s not doing it out of the goodness of her heart.”

At the mention of Isabel, something dark flickered behind James’s eyes. For a split second, it looked like he could explode, but he pushed it aside. No time for that right now.

He sprinted to the highest spot on the cliff, barely slowing as he reached the edge, and dove into the water with a fierce determination—a perfect arc, slicing through the air and plunging straight into the sea.

...

A minute earlier.

Emmy was sinking, deeper and deeper, but under all that water, the need to survive snapped her awake. The pressure pushed in on her ears, but it steadied her nerves. Even though it felt like her whole body was breaking apart, she forced herself to move, thrashing her arms and legs as hard as she could for the surface.

The moment her head broke through the waves, before she could even gasp for breath, she saw a cluster of people heading toward her, splashing through the surf. The sunlight, the spray, the froth—they all blurred together until she couldn’t make out any faces, just the rushing movement coming right at her. For a split second, panic kicked in. She felt like some wild animal being chased, surrounded.

On instinct, Emmy spun and swam hard for the nearest rocky outcrop. She sliced through the water, fast and desperate, reaching the reef in seconds.

She came up, coughing, grabbing onto the rough stone, heaving in breaths of salty air.

Behind her, the others weren’t far behind. There was a splash, then Penny’s voice. “Ma’am, are you okay?”

Emmy wiped water from her eyes, still coughing. “Yeah... just give me a sec. I’m fine.”

Penny saw she was all right and finally relaxed, letting out a long sigh.

For a second, nobody said a word. The instructor just gaped, frozen halfway between anger and horror, standing dumbstruck in the water.

Emmy finally caught her breath. She wasn’t upset. She knew he was just doing his job, and the shouting came from caring about everyone’s safety.

She swam a little closer to the rocks, trying to smooth things over. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have lost focus at the wrong moment. I’m really sorry for the trouble.”

That took the wind right out of Andre. He went red and waved his hands frantically, stammering that it was no big deal.

Right then, there was another round of splashing nearby, and Isabel popped up in the water.

She swam over, brushing away the drops on her face, her expression all apologetic worry. “Emmy, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have called out to you like that, but I just got scared for you. You don’t usually do stuff like this, and cliff diving is risky even for pros. I got nervous and… my voice just got away from me.”

She paddled closer, her face full of earnest concern. “Back in the States, I used to do this a lot, so I kind of know what I’m doing. If you want, let me take you through it. I can guide you, keep you safe. I promise nothing like this will happen again if I’m with you.”