Chapter 35: Chapter 35

Athena’s P.O.V.

As I was about to fix myself from the fall, I stayed focused because I seemed to hear something strange amidst the loud raindrops. Were my ears fooling me when I heard someone who called me Helena? Am I only imagining things that someone was looking for me, whistling and shouting my twin sister’s name?

“Ouch!” I tried to stand up, but I could not do it while closing my eyes due to pain. I got a sprain on my left foot, and I sensed like it was already swelling. Still not giving up, I decided to crawl even though the ground was so murky and my wounds were quite inflicting. That was when I heard another yell that seemed to be approaching me.

“Helena!” It was a male voice that sounded so desperate.

Tears immediately welled in my eyes because I was sure now that I was not only imagining things. I knew it was real—that someone was actually looking for me here. That like me, who did not give up on myself, someone also took the risk and did not give up to search for me in this unsafe and death-defying forest.

But is that Cristoff? I narrowed my eyes in question. It was too late for me to realize that it could be him.

So, he searched for me? But why would he even do that? Didn’t he think that it was too dangerous here? What if he gets hurt?

Could it be because of— I parted my lips due to realization.

I like you so much, Helena. I didn’t know when, I didn’t know how.

I just like you… and I think, I’m starting to fall for you.

That was when I remembered Cristoff’s message on my Mezzenger. I lied to him. I was the one who accepted his friend request, no one else.

That said, it was actually me who had seen his message. Why would I even ask Paula to manage my social media accounts in the first place? But I pretended not to mention it, let alone care about it because he apologized and said that he was only kidding.

What if his message wasn’t only a joke? That he was only trying to cover up the truth because he was afraid that I would reject him and hurt his ego? After all, why would he even type the message on the keyboard?

Is he really falling in love with me? Is that the main reason why he came here to save me?

But in my situation now, would that even matter? I should thank him for coming here.

“Helena!” He screamed again, followed by the repeating sound of a whistle.

The second shout seemed to be much louder than the first, so that was when I realized that Cristoff was closer and indeed the owner of that voice. It made me dismiss my thoughts, and that was where my hopes soared high while feeling a sudden flare of joy. My mind and my heart were trying to be the first one to get ahead—anticipating what might happen next.

“Cristoff, here! I’m here!” Gratitude flowed throughout my spine as I used all my strength to call for his name. Tears began to stream down one by one because I knew that I would never be alone again.

Lord, thank You for answering my prayer. Just one more thing, please let him find me.

After a few minutes, I felt someone’s steps were slowly approaching my exact location. It was as if that person was in a hurry to finally find what he had been looking for—until I saw Cristoff. When I looked into his eyes, everything does not matter anymore. The rain might frighten me earlier, but now, in just a blink of an eye, I knew I found my way home.

For a moment, it felt like everything suddenly stopped, and the dazzling moonlight reflected on his face like he was in the spotlight. I felt a glimmer of happiness as tears of joy were streaming down from my eyes.

He quickly held my shoulders and assisted me to stand to my feet. He took off his leather jacket and immediately wore it on me. I slightly leaned my right side against his body as I could not step on my left foot. I had to bend my left knee because of my sore ankle. I could bet that it now became reddish—the contusion felt so agonizing.

“God, Helena! Are you okay? Does anything hurt? Where did you even go? Did you know how much I worried about you, huh? The forest was too harmful, and here you are all by yourself, alone! I should not have agreed with your decision of taking the gold flag and bringing it here. I should have done it myself, or we could instruct someone else to get it—”

Cristoff threw me a series of questions but abruptly stopped sermonizing me when I suddenly clasped my arms around his neck, throwing myself on him. I could not stop myself from sobbing and murmuring my thanks.

Previously, I could easily get annoyed every time he would follow me around, so I had to do my different walkout stunts. After our accidental kiss, I avoided him for three months because I did not want to be friends with him until we were paired to organize this Annual Camp.

Suddenly, I found myself secured whenever I was with him—something that I had never experienced or would never experience with Daddy. I was still hesitant, and there were a few times that I still tried to stay away from him, but I knew for a fact that the true reason why I was avoiding him was that I got too scared of falling for him completely.

That was the main reason why a part of me got so excited after receiving that private message. My heart blissfully leaped, and I must admit that I already assumed that it was true. But after a few minutes of indulging in joy, I got hurt when he said that his private message was only a joke.

It was like pulling me with one hand but pushing me away with the other. So I decided to just forget about it and acted like I did not have any idea of that message Cristoff was telling me earlier. For the second time around, I could not accept that he would only treat it as a joke. I might trick him with my deceiving face, but I could not change the truth.

I am slowly falling for him, and I could not stop it anymore.

Having him beside me in this kind of situation—silently crying while hugging him in the rain—was one of the best feelings I had ever experienced in my entire damned life. My fears were all gone and suddenly replaced by hope. Contentment filled my heart, and I could not think of a time I had ever been happier. It felt like I had just been saved again by my knight in shining armor, and I could spoil this moment all night long.

“Ssh, hush now. You won’t be alone anymore, Helena. I’m here, and I promise that everything will be alright.” Cristoff said while gently caressing my back. He even fixed some of my hair strands that covered my face. “For now, we need to find a place because it was raining so hard. We need to find a shelter, but can you walk?” he asked.

As the rain continued to drop at us, I looked at his wet face. I wanted to touch it but opted not to. Cristoff was indeed handsome—it was something I had never seen before, or I just did not pay attention to. Maybe, I literally drooled over him during the swimming pool scene, but I was just too afraid to admit it and ended up denying everything. But I reminisced that it was the first time I asked myself if what I was feeling way back then was love already.

For that, I smiled while nodding at him. He supported me carefully, but in just my first step to the ground, my face frowned, and my lips twitched downwards due to the pain that I felt. I tried to hide it, but still, I could not walk properly. My left ankle was indeed swelling, and it began to hurt more as if a hammer was pinning a nail on it. I could not tolerate the excruciating feeling.

“You should have told me right away that you could not do it, hard-headed princess,” Cristoff commented, but before I could even react, I got surprised when he suddenly carried me in his arms without even asking for permission. I had no other choice but to encircle my arms into his neck. “Tsk! You see? You are as light as a feather, Helena. In fact, I can even throw you in the air. Do you know why? It’s because you are not eating well,” he teased me. I could feel the warmth of his breath close to me.

I didn’t mind him anymore. I would just plan my revenge, get even, and argue with him once more after I got fully recovered. For now, I would just give all the credits to him because I was feeling so cold and too weak to shoot back with his teasing.

Silently leaning my head on his chest like a pretty damsel in distress, it felt like I found my new haven where I could actually feel free, safe, and sound. With his heroic act, my heart skipped a beat for Cristoff. He carried me in a bridal way long enough, before we saw a small nipa hut where we could use as a shelter.