Ex's crazy pursuit After Divorce (Chloe and Adrian) novel Chapter 4

Chapter 4 The Avalanche in Svalbard?

Darkness swallowed her like an abyss.

All around her, cries for help echoed in different languages…

When she opened her eyes again, she was staring at a white ceiling.

“You’re awake?”

Chloe turned her head. A young doctor was looking down at

her.

“How are you feeling?” The doctor pushed his glasses up and asked gently.

“I…” Her voice was completely shot.

“You’ve been out for five days. Getting rescued from an avalanche like that? That’s a straight–up miracle. Just rest up and recover, then we’ll get you discharged.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Chloe nodded.

“Nicholas Foster.”

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Chloe blinked. “Huh?”

“My name’s Nicholas Foster.” He introduced himself. “If you need anything, just find me.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks, Dr. Foster.”

After thanking him, she remembered something and said, “Dr. Foster, could you help me buy a phone and get a SIM card? I need to let my family know I’m okay.”

“Sure, I’ll take care of it.” Nicholas nodded.

“Thank you so much.”

After Nicholas left, Chloe realized all her documents were still at the hotel in Svalbard. There was no way Nicholas could get her a replacement SIM card.

But an hour later, Nicholas came back with a brand new phone and a working SIM card.

“Thanks a lot, Dr. Foster. I’ll send you the money later.”

“All right,” Nicholas nodded.

He pulled his phone from his white coat pocket and handed it to her.

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“Add me on Facebook so you can send it over.”

Chloe didn’t think much of it and nodded, immediately logging

into Facebook.

The second she opened it, messages started flooding in with constant pings.

First, her mom, Margaret Hart—

[Chloe, I just saw the news. There was an avalanche in Norway a few days ago. Are you okay?]

[Chloe, don’t scare me. Please call back.]

Then messages from several colleagues at the hospital-

[Dr. Hart, I heard there was an earthquake and avalanche in Svalbard. I remember you went there to see the northern lights. Are you okay?]

[Reply as soon as you see this. We’re so worried about you.]

[…]

There were tons more messages from various people.

Only the pinned conversation at the top stayed empty and

quiet.

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Chloe touched her chest. It still felt heavy, but not as bad as she’d expected. It didn’t hurt nearly as much as she thought it would.

She quickly called Margaret back. The phone was answered immediately.

“Chloe, are you okay? You scared me to death.”

Margaret’s choked–up voice came through the phone.

“Mom, I’m sorry. I’m fine. I changed my plans last minute and avoided the whole thing. I was just staying somewhere with no signal, so I couldn’t contact you.”

She made up an excuse–no point worrying her mom even

more.

“No wonder. I couldn’t reach you, and Adrian’s phone was off. Thank god you’re okay.”

“Yeah, don’t worry. Tell Dad, too. I’ll be home in a couple of days after I sort out my documents.”

After hanging up, she replied to everyone else to let them know she was safe.

That’s when she noticed Nicholas was still standing there

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waiting.

Chloe watched Nicholas open his profile, and her cheeks warmed.

“Sorry, Dr. Foster. Didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”

“It’s fine. Can you add me now?”

Nicholas smiled, and Chloe hurried to send him a friend

request.

“Dr. Foster, how much was it? I’ll transfer the money.”

“Just send whatever you think is fair.”

Chloe was stunned.

Seriously?

Nicholas didn’t seem to care at all about the money for the phone.

After they became friends, a nurse called him away.

Chloe couldn’t help but feel confused.

If he didn’t care about the money, why did he insist on waiting

for her to add him as a friend?

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She figured he was just worried she’d skip out without paying.

During her stay, Nicholas brought her meals most of the time.

She felt guilty about all his kindness, but he just said meeting another American abroad was fate, and helping out was no big deal.

With Nicholas looking after her, Chloe recovered pretty quickly.

“Thanks so much for everything these past few days, Dr. Foster.”

“No problem.” Nicholas casually adjusted his glasses. “We’re both Americans. No need to be all formal.”

He’d said this about a million times, but hearing it again made Chloe smile.

Nicholas walked her out of the hospital and asked, “Flying home today?”

“Yeah, my vacation’s up tomorrow, and I’ve got a ton of work waiting back at the hospital.” She paused, smiling at him. “I never properly introduced myself—I’m also a doctor.”

“What a coincidence. We should swap some war stories

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sometime.”

“Definitely. But I’ve gotta head out now.” Chloe nodded.

“Okay, safe travels.”

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On the plane to the US, Chloe stumbled across Natalie’s Facebook again.

“Who’s watching the northern lights with me? Oh wow, it’s my prince charming!”

Nine photos in a grid.

The northern lights in Sweden, absolutely breathtaking.

Even through the screen, you could see how incredible they

were.

Under the aurora, two silhouettes stood together, one tall and one short, leaning into each other.

Had to be Adrian.

“So he went to Sweden with Natalie to see the northern lights.” She stared at her phone screen and whispered.

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She wondered if the aurora in Sweden was more beautiful than what she would’ve seen in Svalbard.

She clicked on Adrian’s profile and unpinned their conversation.

Meanwhile, in Sweden…

Adrian stared at his phone, totally lost in thought.

Since they’d split up that day, he hadn’t heard a word from Chloe.

This was seriously weird.

Chloe was the type to share everything. If she saw a pretty leaf on her way to work, she’d snap a pic and send it to him, even though he found it kinda boring and never knew what to say back.

He wasn’t one for emotional drama.

If he didn’t know what to say, he just… didn’t say anything.

But now, almost two weeks had passed since they’d split, and not a single message from her. That was so unlike Chloe.

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With the northern lights so beautiful, how could she not send him pictures?

Was she mad at him?

Because he left to save Natalie?

If that was it, she was being completely unreasonable.

It was life or death–how could he have just ignored that?

As these thoughts ran through his head, Adrian’s frown deepened.

“What are you thinking about, Adrian? Come help me take some photos.” Natalie called out.

She ran up to him with a camera. When she glanced at Adrian’s phone screen, her smile faltered for a moment, but she quickly recovered.

“Are you thinking about Chloe?”

She tilted her head and gave him an innocent look.

“It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t had my episode and called you back, Chloe wouldn’t be mad at you and giving you the silent

treatment.”

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Natalie’s expression dimmed. She looked up at Adrian and casually suggested, “Chloe must be really pissed at you right now. Why don’t you reach out first and apologize?”

Natalie knew Adrian better than anyone–proud, cold, always the one being chased. He’d never apologize first.

The more she pushed him, the more stubborn he’d get.

Sure enough, Adrian’s expression hardened.

“If she’s gonna stay mad over a life–or–death situation, then she can stay mad.”

He shoved his phone in his pocket and grabbed the camera from Natalie.

“Come on, I’ll take the photos for you.”

“Yay!” Natalie’s face lit up as she skipped off.

But Adrian’s expression stayed sour. The more he thought about that profile that had been silent for so long, the deeper his frown grew.

He told himself that Natalie had faked the kidnapping because of her depression–it wasn’t intentional.

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northern lights had been a good way to help her feel better. Chloe shouldn’t be throwing a tantrum over it.

He was saving someone. He wasn’t wrong.

Adrian convinced himself of this.

But even with all that justification, there was still this weird unease gnawing at him.

Even after they finished watching the aurora and went back to the hotel, the unease didn’t go away. If anything, it turned into a silent panic.

He stared at his phone, then clicked on Chloe’s profile..

Their last conversation was from two weeks ago, the night before the trip, when she told him about working late at the hospital.

After that… nothing.

Fine. She was always the one to reach out first. This time, he’d make the first move.

He started typing, then felt off about it and deleted everything to try again.

After several attempts, he finally settled on: [Did you see the 11/17

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aurora? Why haven’t you sent me any photos?]

Once he sent it, his heart felt this strange kind of nervousness he’d never experienced before.

It was a weird feeling–something he’d never felt, even during high–stakes negotiations.

But he just stared at his phone, waiting for a reply from Chloe.

The longer he waited, the more the unease in his chest mixed with frustration and anger.

On the plane, Chloe had just unpinned Adrian’s chat when a flight attendant walked over.

“Excuse me, miss. We’re about to take off. Please turn off your phone or switch it to airplane mode.”

“Okay.”

She switched her phone to airplane mode and leaned back against the seat.

Back in Sweden, Adrian still hadn’t gotten a single message from her after waiting all night.

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The silent anger in his chest, mixed with an unfamiliar edge of panic, finally snapped.

He tossed his phone aside and went into the bathroom.

More than ten minutes later, he came out. The phone on the nightstand lit up.

He froze, then rushed over, not even bothering to dry his dripping hair.

The corners of his mouth twitched upward without him realizing.

But the second he picked up the phone, the smile vanished.

Chloe’s profile was still empty.

The notification was from Natalie–photos from their northern lights trip.

“Your photography skills are amazing. Every shot makes me look perfect. I don’t even need filters before posting.”

Underneath were a bunch of shots of Natalie under the aurora.

Adrian wasn’t in the mood to look and immediately exited the chat.

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“Chloe, you’re really something,” he muttered through clenched teeth, before throwing his phone aside again.

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******

On the plane to the US, Chloe was having an unforgettable nightmare.

Darkness, cold, fear, despair…

Like some hellish monster with this massive, endless mouth, trying to swallow her whole.

“Help… help me…” she mumbled, gripping the armrest tight.

She felt someone grab her hand, gently shaking her, trying to pull her from the abyss.

“Are you okay, miss? Are you okay?”

A gentle female voice kept calling to her, quickly pulling her from that terrifying darkness.

She suddenly opened her eyes, the terror still clinging to her, breathing hard. Her face and forehead were covered in cold

sweat.

“Are you okay?”

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It was the same gentle voice from her dream.

Chloe looked over. Sitting next to her was a round–faced girl with black–rimmed glasses, looking at her with concern.

“Were you having a nightmare? I heard you calling for help,” the girl asked, worried.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Chloe murmured.

“Not at all. You just looked so pale. Was it really bad?”

Chloe felt completely out of it.

A nightmare? Yeah. A pretty awful one.

The bitterness in her chest needed somewhere to go.

“Yeah, surviving an avalanche and almost dying. Pretty wild, huh?” she tried to joke, her voice still hoarse.

She hadn’t meant much by it, but the girl gasped and covered her mouth, staring at her in shock.

“The avalanche in Svalbard?”

Chloe nodded.

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“You must have been terrified.” The girl’s eyes filled with tears as she reached out and held Chloe’s hand.

Chloe froze.

Terrified?

Thinking back to being buried under all that snow, she couldn’t even recall the fear anymore.

But Adrian’s reaction–that was something she remembered all too clearly.

She’d once believed, so naively, that Adrian would eventually fall for her.

She thought being his wife gave her the home advantage, that she’d win him over little by little.

But reality was brutal.

When a guy doesn’t love you, he just doesn’t.

He wouldn’t even believe you were dying—he’d think it was just

another lie.

A stranger could tear up hearing about her avalanche nightmare, asking if she was scared.

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But Adrian?

“Well, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?” Chloe laughed bitterly.

“Yeah. Better things are definitely coming your way,” the girl said softly, trying to comfort her.

Twenty hours later, the plane finally touched down at a U.S. international airport.

After saying goodbye to the round–faced girl, Chloe rolled her suitcase out of the terminal.

The moment she turned her phone back on, a message from Adrian popped up: [Did you see the aurora? Why haven’t you sent me any photos?]