Chapter 60  Chase had just raised a cup of coffee to his lips when Derek suddenly brought up the earthquake incident from years ago. The o slipped from Chase’s hand, spilling its brown–amber liquid onto the carpet, soaking in slowly.  Chase’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What did you just say…?”  Seeing the shock etched on Chase’s face, Derek smirked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “That foolish woman’s boat got caught in a storm. Her boat was lost, and she clung to a plank, drifting for two whole days. If my cargo ship hadn’t stumbled upon her, she would’ve been lost to the sea.”  “When my crew finally pulled her aboard, she was barely hanging on, having gone two days and nights without food or water. Her skin was sunburnt raw, and she was as weak as a rag doll.  “It was I who had the ship’s doctor tend to her, and I who ensured she was cared for. The moment we docked, she dashed back to the Kennedy family home.”  Having lived through that ordeal myself, hearing it again through Derek’s words felt strangely distant.  I vaguely remembered the sun searing my skin. I was like a piece of meat roasting over a fire, adrift in the endless ocean. I had no food or water. It was scorching heat by day and bone–chilling cold by night. The wind and waves lashed at me, and the saltwater burned where my skin was raw.  The physical pain was nothing compared to the fear that gripped me. I was used to the bright lights of the city, even on the boat. But there, I was swallowed by darkness, the sky so overcast I couldn’t even see the stars. The ocean felt like a giant beast, ready to devour me whole.  Every time the waves surged, I was tossed around, desperately clinging to the plank. I gulped down seawater, somehow managing to survive.  And now, Derek had exposed it all. Chase muttered, “You’re lying! If Amanda really went through all that, why didn’t she say anything?” I did speak up, but not a soul believed me, all because Nicole claimed I was off on vacation. My family called me heartless. Chase called me cold and cruel. Now, he was blaming me for staying silent. How absurd!  “Is that so?”  Derek whipped out his phone and projected a video onto a screen. There were images and footage that I hadn’t seen before. It showed me being hauled out of the sea, captured by surveillance cameras. The next images were of me, barely recognizable, lying on a bed, clinging to life.  So, that was how bad I looked back then,  Derek spoke with deliberate weight, “We thought she wouldn’t pull through, so we took these photos as a keepsake, never imagining they’d be needed today. If Amanda knew she would pour her heart into you only to be misunderstood, I think she’d regret ever loving you. Chase, you don’t deserve her love!”  Derek’s words hit hard, voicing what I’d been thinking all along.  Chase stumbled back into a chair, his eyes repeatedly flicking to my pale, worn–out face, thoughts racing through his mind.  After what seemed like ages, he finally spoke, “Did you help Amanda hide? If you did, please tell her to come back. Пll forgive and forget everything”