Chapter 1068
The river made its usual soft hush against the rocks, birds wheeling above in lazy circles, as Jude sat on a mossy boulder with his hands buried in his hair. The island was quiet, deceptively so, the way it always was before things began to change. He had spent the entire morning pretending to forage, but his eyes were not on the forest floor. They followed movements, Rose’s, Layla’s, Zoey’s, each too perfectly timed, like dancers in a strange choreography only they understood. It wasn’t the closeness that disturbed him. His wives had always shared affection, even playfully blurred the lines between love and desire, especially during lazy afternoons or stormy nights. That wasn’t new. But this, this was deeper, thicker, a thread of something that didn’t feel like them at all.
He could no longer pretend it wasn’t happening. There was a pattern forming. A slow orbit around Rose, as if she had become the island’s sun. And the more time passed, the more he felt like a planet growing colder and smaller.
He found Sophie in the shade of the large palm tree by the forest’s edge, sorting through some roots she’d unearthed from the deeper thickets. Her hair was damp with sweat, strands clinging to her temples, and her fingers were stained with soil. She didn’t look up when he approached, but she sensed him, the way she always did.
"You’ve been watching them too," he said softly, crouching beside her.
Sophie blinked up at him. Her eyes were calm, expectant. "Who?"
He hesitated, not because he didn’t know what to say, but because part of him still hoped he was wrong.
"Rose. Layla. Zoey," he said. "They’re different. You know it."
Sophie smiled faintly and returned to scraping the bark from a root. "They’re not different. They’re just close. It’s been intense lately. Rose nearly drowned. The others were scared. They probably bonded."
"No, Sophie." His voice tightened. "It’s not just that. They’re not just close. It’s more like... they’re connected in a way that isn’t normal. I know how Rose is. How Layla is. How Zoey is. I’ve lived with them for years. This, this is something else. They speak in half sentences. They finish each other’s thoughts. And the way they look at me..."
Sophie didn’t meet his gaze. "Are they hurting anyone?"
"That’s not the point."