Their Punching Bag Became The Storm novel Chapter 49

Chapter 49 Emily’s Judgment

Emily thought, ‘No. I can’t lose my cool now. I need to figure out how to get ahead of Whitney.

‘If I can outshine her and snatch the top spot, that’ll prove I’m the stronger one by any means necessary.‘

A dark, murky glint flickered in Emily’s eyes. She gently patted her face, careful not to smudge her flawless, natural–looking makeup.

Once she’d recomposed herself, she stepped out of the cabin. “Chase, I’m fine.”

She gave him a sweet, obedient smile, but her red–rimmed eyes made it look unbearably bitter.

Chase frowned, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and pulled her close. “If we can‘ t catch anything, so be it.

“If we lose, we lose. Worst case, I’ll talk to Darian later, and maybe we can reach out to Brandon.”

Chase thought, ‘If Brandon steps in, he can probably pull some strings behind the scenes and get us two extra dinners.‘

“No,” Emily said, lifting her head from his chest, her reddened eyes brimming with determination. “I can’t give up like this. I promised you, Chase, that I’d win that seafood feast for you. I have to make it happen.”

She couldn’t afford to lose. She refused to be the kind of person who only existed to make Whitney look good.

But she would never admit she wanted to win for her own reputation, or that she was using this moment to make Chase fall even harder for her.

Even though Chase still had plenty to say about Whitney, Emily could sense his feelings toward her were beginning to shift.

And she was right. She felt Chase’s arms tighten slightly around her.

She forced herself to stay composed, her voice unwavering. “Chase, I already have a plan. We’re going to win today. No matter what.”

Whitney was towing seven enormous buckets, all lined up and trailing steadily behind the raft.

Nora and Ryan were working up a serious sweat, grunting as they paddled with everything they had.

After a brutal slog, they finally made it back to shore. Whitney hopped straight off the

Chapter 49 Emily’s Judgment

raft, her feet splashing into the seawater.

She was wearing an athletic tee and shorts, showing off her smooth legs that practically glowed under the sunlight.

Wading into the shimmering water made her legs look even more flawless, like something carved from marble.

Nora squealed, “Oh my god, Whitney, you look incredible! Honestly, it’s unfair.”

“Give me a break and get down here to help,” Whitney said, deadpan, waving her over. Nora’s eyes went wide. “I worked my butt off! I haven’t even caught my breath.”

Whitney arched a brow and shot her a sideways glance.

With a splash, Nora jumped into the water. “I’m coming, Whitney! As your star employee, I live to serve, no complaints.”

Ryan, always quick to lend a hand, rolled up his pant legs, ready to jump in.

“Hold up. You stay put,” Whitney said, lifting her eyes to look at him. The sunlight played across her face, making her alluring eyes sparkle.

Ryan paused, momentarily caught off guard.

Whitney went on, “Stay on the shore and help move the buckets.” As she spoke, her eyes narrowed, and the sparkle faded.

Ryan caught the undisguised exasperation in her expression, the look that said, ‘ Seriously? Do you even know your own condition?

“With that fragile body of yours, you want to get in the water? If you catch a cold, guess who’s stuck dealing with it? Me. That’s who.”

11

Ryan thought, ‘Fine. I know my body’s not built for endurance, but I’m not about to collapse or anything. Still, having Wild Beauty fuss over me like this feels pretty good.”

With the three of them working together, they quickly hauled the seven massive buckets onto the shore.

Nora was so spent that she sprawled out flat on the ground with zero regard for dignity. She didn’t want to move another muscle.

The seven buckets were overflowing with fish and barely any water.

Whitney struck a deal with Darian. She’d grill him a fresh fish tonight, and in return, he handed over special containers to keep the catch alive until the other team returned.

Darian rubbed his hands together with a sly grin. “Miss Harrington, care to share what kind of herbs you mixed into that bait?”

That was the burning question on every fisherman and angler’s mind. Some people were even throwing out serious cash, hoping to get their hands on Whitney’s secret

Chapter 49 Emily’s Judgment

recipe that made the fish

go wild.

Whitney knew this was exactly what everyone watching the stream was dying to find

out.

She was happy to share. “It’s just a few herbs in the right proportions,” she said with a smile. “I’ll write down the names and amounts for you in a bit.”

Darian clapped his hands. “Fantastic! Thank you, Miss Harrington.” His grin stretched so wide it nearly split his face in two.

But before the excitement could even settle, a wave of panicked shouts erupted from the crew.

Cohen came barreling over, one shoe on and one bare foot, practically out of his mind with alarm. “Darian, we’ve got a situation!”

Darian’s smile froze. His eyelid gave an involuntary flutter. A cold feeling settled in his gut. “Let me guess. Emily and Chase. What mess have they made now?”

“They’ve really done it this time!” Cohen clutched his hair, his face turning an alarming shade of purple. “Their team couldn’t catch anything in the safe zone, so they took the boat way past the boundary.”

Darian’s face went completely blank. He slapped his sandals against the floor as he bolted back to the director’s tent.

He was grumbling under his breath through clenched teeth. “It’s them again. Always them! They can’t go a single day without causing chaos.

“Are they trying to put me in an early grave? What did I do to deserve this? Do I owe them or something?”

Whitney and Ryan exchanged a glance, then stepped forward in perfect unison and followed him.

Inside the director’s tent, Darian was gripping the walkie–talkie, unleashing a torrent of

curses at the contestants on the other end.

At first, Chase was still responding, insisting they’d only gone a short distance and everything was fine.

Darian kept swearing without stopping for breath. Chase eventually had enough and simply switched off his walkie–talkie. That only made Darian erupt with even more profanity.

Whitney stood off to the side, watching as Cohen frantically flipped through every camera feed until he found Emily and Chase’s and zoomed in.

On the screen, Chase was steering the boat, slicing straight across the open sea. Emily stood right beside him, her voice brimming with confidence. “Chase, relax. The

Chapter 49 Emily’s Judgment

sea is calm, the weather is perfect, and the sun is shining. Nothing bad is going to happen today.”

But the three followers on the boat were huddled together, looking deeply uneasy.

Emily soothed them ima gentle voice. “Come on, trust me. This isn’t my first time at sea, and with both Chase and me here, what could go wrong?”

She meant it as reassurance, but after spending so long acting superior to everyone around her, everything she said came off as condescending.

The live chat was already tearing her apart.

[Guess the Anderson siblings are too special to follow the rules. With those two on board, what’s a little danger to the rest of you peasants?]

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