Chapter 119 - 120
Elodie’s POV~
After four hours of nonstop work, my brain felt like it was going to short-circuit. The screen had started blurring together, and even Johnny’s voice was beginning to sound like white noise.
"Alright, let’s take a break," he said, and I could hear the exhaustion in his tone too. "We’ll pick this up again in two hours."
"Sounds good," I muttered, closing my laptop and rubbing my eyes.
I sat there for a moment, staring at the wall, trying to process everything we’d just covered. My thoughts were tangled, overlapping, refusing to settle into any kind of order.
I needed air.
I grabbed my coat and decided to head outside. Maybe I’d pick some apples while I was at it, then bring them back for Johnny and the others tomorrow. A small gesture, but it felt like something normal to do. Something that didn’t involve divorce papers or cold marriages or half-sisters stealing my life.
The resort was massive, sprawling across the mountainside. I had no idea where Dante and the others were, and honestly, I didn’t care. I slipped downstairs without running into anyone, which felt like a small mercy.
The sky was still light, painted in shades of gold and pink as the sun started to descend. I grabbed two staff members to help me with the baskets and headed up the mountain trail.
The air was crispy there, it was biting at my cheeks, but I was bundled up in a thick coat, so the cold didn’t bother me much. If anything, it felt good. Like it was washing away the fog in my head.
We picked apples for a while, the staff helping me fill two or three crates. My hands got sticky with juice, and I could smell the sweet, earthy scent of the fruit mixing with the pine trees around us.
When we finished, I didn’t want to go back down just yet.