Even in Darkness She Chose to Rise (Tatiana and Jasper) novel Chapter 428

Chapter 428 A Choice Between Life and Death

Beep… beep… beep…

Another life signal vanished.

Finished

After losing seven men in rapid succession, the captain’s arrogance had completely evaporated. His face was ashen, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and the hand gripping his weapon was trembling slightly.

They had truly hit a brick wall this time.

Finally realizing that searching in smaller groups was a death sentence, the captain roared, “Regroup! Everyone regroup! No one moves alone!”

The remaining members, sensing the shadow of death looming over them, panicked. They abandoned all attempts at stealth and raced toward the signal point. However, their desperation only led to more openings.

More of them died.

When they finally met up, only four men remained. Out of an elite twelve–man search team, eight were

dead. The losses were staggering. The captain’s expression was grim, but he didn’t dare hold his ground. “Retreat! Report back to base!”

These hardened killers were now terrified, fleeing like cornered animals.

They had no way of knowing that if they had held on for just one more minute, Tatiana and Jasper would have reached their breaking point.

Jasper was out of ammunition. Tatiana had fired her last arrow. Worse still, while covering her retreat, Jasper had taken a bullet to the calf. The wound was through–and–through, making every movement an agony.

Tatiana, her face deathly pale, struggled to support him as they limped toward the edge of the forest. Her breathing was labored, sounding like a broken bellows.

“Hold on, Jasper! Stay with me!”

The blood loss from his leg was severe. Even though she had used her survival skills to forage for hemostatic herbs and applied an emergency bandage, she couldn’t stop the deep, crimson flow. After only a short distance, the ground was marked with a trail of his blood–a perfect map for any pursuer.

Jasper, his face white as a sheet, used the last of his strength to shove her away. His voice was a raspy whisper. “You… go first. Cough, cough…”

“The hell I will! Shut up and save your breath!”

Jasper’s vision was swimming in darkness. “If you stay with me, neither of us makes it. They retreated to call for reinforcements. When their main force arrives, we won’t stand a chance.”

Tatiana knew he was right. She bit her lip until it bled, her eyes hard. “That’s exactly why we can’t stop. Let’s go!”

She reached out to help him again, but he struck her hand away.

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Chapter 428 A Choice Between Life and Death

“Go! We can’t both die here. Hubert and Ann still need you.”

ficher

That final sentence made Tatiana’s hand freeze mid–air. She couldn’t deny it; they had children to think about.

“I’ve already finalized my will,” Jasper wheezed, his breathing becoming even more erratic. “You are the primary beneficiary of everything I own, followed by the children. Go back… and raise thern.”

By the time he finished speaking, his strength had vanished. He slumped to the ground, gasping for air–the telltale sign of hypovolemic shock.

“Tatiana, go!”

Tatiana bit her lower lip so hard she tasted copper. She looked at his blood–soaked trousers and the cold logic of the situation warred with her heart. She knew he was right–at least one of them had to survive for the children. But she couldn’t bring herself to abandon him.

If she hadn’t insisted on skydiving, they wouldn’t be in this hellhole, If he hadn’t protected her, he wouldn’t be bleeding out. This disaster was her fault.

Seeing her hesitation, Jasper raised his voice into a jagged roar. “Tatiana! Don’t be a fool! I’ve done so many terrible things to you; I’m just getting what I deserve! But you don’t deserve to die here with me!”

“That’s not true…” she tried to protest.

“You’re free now… you can live a good life. You don’t need me anymore. So… please, just go…”

A bone–deep cold began to settle into Jasper’s body, as if he were falling into a frozen abyss. He was a liability now, a shackle that would drag her down. He would rather rot in this forest than see her come to any harm.

Tatiana suddenly turned and began frantically gathering branches and dead leaves. She piled them over him until he was completely hidden, not a trace of him visible to the naked eye.

“You stay right here! Do not let them find you!”

Jasper offered a faint, ghostly smile. “Mm… okay.”

“Wait for me! I’m coming back for you!”

She threw those words over her shoulder and sprinted away, her figure vanishing into the dense shadows of the trees. Jasper leaned back against the cold earth, knowing in his heart he likely wouldn’t last that long. He stared up at the sky through the canopy, his consciousness fading.

He wasn’t ready to go… He truly wasn’t.

Was this it? Dying in a nameless forest in a foreign land? He hadn’t won her back yet. He hadn’t seen his children grow up. There was still so much beauty in the world he wanted to experience with her.

He let out a self–deprecating breath. “Tatiana… I don’t think I can wait…”

When Tatiana returned with a team of heavily armed special forces, the spot was empty. Her heart skipped

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