He Waited She Wilted (Ottilie and Yorath) novel Chapter 164

"Let's stay there for the night," Ottilie agreed, desperate for shelter from the downpour.

The rain hadn't stopped, her clothes had never fully dried, the air was heavy with moisture, and hunger was causing her body temperature to drop. If they didn't find somewhere warm tonight, she would undoubtedly catch a fever by tomorrow, which would be disastrous.

In the mountains, things that looked close were actually agonizingly far away.

After trudging for over two hours, they finally reached the base of the cliff just as the sky turned pitch black.

There was indeed a cave at the bottom.

It was wide but shallow, with fresh spring water dripping steadily from the ceiling in the center.

Ottilie walked over, cupped her hands, and drank until she was full.

She splashed water on her face, ignoring her already soaked clothes, found a relatively clean spot, lay down, and instantly fell asleep.

In her hazy slumber, she felt someone watching her.

Opening her eyes, she saw Fabian sitting a short distance away, the camcorder aimed right at her.

She simply closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

Fabian, however, couldn't sleep. He was an anxious wreck.

His watch was broken, severing all contact with the outside world.

He had brought Ottilie to the designated area just as instructed.

But after the mudslide, he had no idea if Heath and his men would still be able to find them.

Ottilie slept heavily, undisturbed by dreams.

She only woke up the next morning because the gnawing hunger became completely unbearable.

Having slept fitfully on the hard ground, she felt the chill sinking into her bones and shivered.

Touching her clothes, she realized her body heat had naturally dried them overnight.

The relentless rain continued to pour.

She stood up, her first priority being to start a fire with friction.

But the air was simply too damp. The wood was soaked, and after a long, exhausting effort, she gave up.

The dense canopy of the forest blocked out the sun, leaving the ground completely barren of vegetation.

There was no chance of foraging for mushrooms or anything else edible on the forest floor.

Her only option was to keep drinking water to suppress the hunger pangs.

Fabian stared at her, utterly speechless.

This famous celebrity... she was nothing like the rumors.

She broke the bulb apart, washed it thoroughly, and handed him five small cloves.

She ate five herself.

Coupled with the fresh water, they wouldn't be starving to death anytime soon.

Sitting in the cave, watching the torrential rain, Ottilie was filled with worry.

"We can't leave in this weather; we'll just get lost again. We have to wait for the rain to stop and the sun to come out so we can actually get our bearings."

"I'll follow your lead," Fabian agreed.

She appreciated that he didn't complain. She liked dealing with people like him.

Days bled into one another until the lily bulb was completely gone.

Just as they were on the verge of collapsing from starvation, the rain finally stopped.

They agreed to wait for sunrise to find their direction and leave the area for good.