BookToReadChapter 166 He held her tightly, forcing her into his arms. The fire cast their tangled shadows across the cave wall. He grabbed a fistful of her long, dark hair, making her look at him, whether she wanted to or not.
But in her eyes, he could no longer find even a trace of the deep love she'd once had for him.
They spent the night intertwined. When dawn broke and Victoria woke, she found herself curled up in McNeil's arms.
She quickly pushed him away, and McNeil stirred awake as well.
Neither of them said a word. It was as if the passion of the previous night had been nothing more than a dream.
Outside, the weather had cleared. Violet was the first to find them.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe moment she saw Victoria and McNeil-just the two of them alone in the cave -her expression immediately turned cold.
She strode over and stood beside McNeil, her gaze sharp as she looked Victoria up and down, her eyes filled with suspicion.
"You two. Everything all right?" Her tone left little doubt about what she was implying.
Inside the cave, only the remains of the extinguished fire remained. Both McNeil and Victoria were fully dressed, and Violet couldn't spot any obvious signs that anything inappropriate had happened between them.
Maybe McNeil really had only cto check on Victoria out of concern for the team during the retreat. Maybe he'd never loved her at all. Even after spending the night together, McNeil wouldn't have done anything out of line with Victoria.
Violet compared herself to Victoria. Aside from looks, she felt she had the upper hand in every way. McNeil hadn't loved Victoria six years ago, and he certainly wouldn't love her now.
"Ms. Turner, everyone's waiting for you. Now that I see you're safe, I can finally relax." Looping her arm through McNeil's, Violet made a display of her claim over him, as if staking her territory.
Victoria grabbed her backpack and headed for the exit.
McNeil acted as though nothing had happened and followed her out of the cave.
Curtis arrived just behind them and, spotting Victoria, let out a sigh of relief. "Victoria, are you okay? We've been searching for you all night." "I'm fine. Sorry for making you all worry." A strange guilt washed over Victoria. She and McNeil were still married, and nothing about their behavior had been out of line, yet she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd just been caught doing something wrong.
It was as if she was the one having an illicit affair with McNeil.
Curtis glanced at McNeil, his throat tightening.
"So... you and Mr. Langford spent the night here together?" He wasn't sure if he should even ask. As far as he knew, McNeil was in love with Violet-or at least, that's how he acted.
Surely McNeil wouldn't cross the line with Victoria. After all, she was married, and McNeil supposedly was too. Curtis looked at Violet, suddenly suspicious.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmMcNeil was married, yet he was involved with Violet anyway. So if he and Victoria had been alone together all night... was he really trustworthy? "No, I was here too," Violet interjected smoothly. Technically, she had spent the night searching for them.
But the rain had been relentless. After she'd taken the female staff to the nearby spa hotet, she'd waited until the downpour let up before coming back to look for them. Violet had acted on her own; no one really knew where she'd been.
"The storm was so bad last night, McNeil, Victoria, and I all get stuck and I all ge here. I'm just glad everyone's safe En now. Let's head back." Curtis believed Violet's story without question.
With three of them together, he figured there wasn't anything to worry about.
The four of them started down the mountain trail. Violet quickened her pace to catch up to Victoria.
"Ms. Turner, let's walk together." Victoria didn't reply, and Violet simply walked alongside her, unfazed.
"Whatever happened last night I m between you and McNeil, I really don't care," Violet said lightly. I just want you to understand this: for men, sex is just sex, and love is love. They keep those things very separate." Victoria stared down at the brittle leaves and twigs beneath her boots, tuning out whatever Violet was saying.
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