Ryder’s POV
I don’t rember the last ti my body felt like it belonged to .
Sleep stopped mattering days ago. Hunger cos and goes in waves I ignore. Even pain has beco background noise, like sothing happening to soone else while I keep moving out of sheer refusal to stop.
We had been chasing ghosts for weeks.
False sightings. Dead ends. Cruel almosts.
Every ti my phone rang, my heart jumped like an idiot, hoping it would be her.
And every ti it wasn’t.
Until today.
The call ca just after dawn.
A transport worker. One of the n Mr. Valerio had contacted earlier in the search. His voice had been uncertain at first, like he didn’t want to sound stupid.
“I think I saw her,” he said.
I rember my hand tightening around the phone so hard I thought I might crush it.
“Where.”
A pause.
Then, “South town. Near the old market stretch. I saw a girl matching the description. Dark hair, tired eyes, carrying small bags. She looked like she hadn’t slept properly in days.”
Renzo was already moving before I even hung up.
Ronan didn’t speak. He just grabbed his jacket and walked out.
That was all the confirmation we needed.
No debate. No planning session. No hesitation.
Because if we stopped to think too long, we might lose her again.
We drove like n possessed.
The SUV tore through roads, dust kicking up behind us. Traffic ant nothing. Rules ant nothing. Every mile felt like it was both too slow and too fast at the sa ti.
Renzo was in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead like blinking would waste ti.
Ronan was in the back, jaw clenched, fingers digging into the leather seat like he was holding himself together by force.
I was driving.
Or maybe I was just moving the car forward while my mind ran ahead of it.
She’s alive.
That was the only thought I could hold onto.
Alive.
But alive didn’t an safe.
Alive didn’t an okay.
The road into the town was narrow. Crowded. Loud in a way that felt unfamiliar after days of searching empty roads and silent fields.
When we finally entered the main stretch, everything slowed.
Too many people.
Too many faces.
Too many places she could be and not be.
My eyes scanned everything automatically.
Shops.
Sidewalks.
Market stalls.
Doorways.
Every woman who passed made my chest tighten before I forced myself to look again and realize it wasn’t her.
Not her.
Not her.
Not her.
Then Renzo suddenly went still.
“Stop,” he said sharply.
I hit the brakes without thinking.
“What is it?” Ronan leaned forward imdiately.
Renzo didn’t answer.
He was staring across the street.
I followed his gaze.
And then I saw her.
Ti didn’t stop.
But it definitely fractured.
Across the road, near a small cluster of worn down shops, she was walking.
Jade.
At first my brain refused to accept it.
It felt like a mistake.
A hallucination built from exhaustion and desperation.
But then she moved again.
And it was definitely her.
She was thinner.
Not dramatically. Not enough for anyone who didn’t know her to notice.
But I knew her.
Every line of her face.
Every way she held her shoulders.
And this version of her looked like she had been surviving instead of living.
Her hair was tied back loosely, not styled. Her clothes were simple. A little oversized. Like they didn’t quite belong to her.
She had a small bag in one hand and a paper grocery sack in the other.
Her steps were careful.
asured.
Like her body was still unsure it could trust itself.
My grip on the steering wheel tightened until my knuckles hurt.
“She’s here,” Ronan whispered from the back.
Like saying it too loudly might make her disappear again.
I couldn’t speak.
My throat had closed completely.
She turned slightly as she crossed near a vendor stall.
For a second I saw her face clearly.
And sothing in my chest broke.
Because she looked tired in a way sleep couldn’t fix.
Not just physically.
It was deeper than that.
Like sothing inside her had been worn down over ti.
I opened the car door before I even realized I had made the decision.
“Ryder,” Renzo said sharply behind .
But I was already out.
Feet on the ground.
Air too loud.
Heart too fast.
She’s real.
She’s real.
She’s real.
I crossed the street without waiting for traffic to clear properly. Horns sounded sowhere. Soone shouted. None of it registered.
My entire body was focused on one point.
Her.
Jade stopped at a small stall, shifting her bag slightly as she spoke quietly to the vendor. I couldn’t hear her words. I didn’t need to.
Just seeing her move was enough.
Alive.
Standing.
Breathing.
A strange, overwhelming relief hit so hard my knees almost gave out.
Then terror followed imdiately after.
Because relief ant I had almost lost her.
And terror ant I could still lose her again.
I stopped a few steps behind her.
Close enough now that I could see the slight tension in her shoulders.
Like she knew sothing was off.
Like her instincts were warning her before her mind could catch up.
“Jade,” I whispered.
It ca out broken.
Barely a sound at all.
Her body froze instantly.
Not slowly.
Not confused.
Instantly.
Like the word itself had struck her.
The grocery bag in her hand tilted slightly.
Her fingers tightened.
She didn’t turn around.
Not yet.
But I saw it.
The mont everything in her went still.
And in that stillness, I realized sothing that made my chest tighten painfully.
She wasn’t expecting us.
Not at all.
And maybe, deep down, she hadn’t believed we would co.
My feet moved again before I could stop them.
One step closer.
Then another.
“Jade,” I said again, louder this ti.
My voice cracked.
I didn’t care.
All that mattered was that she was here.
Right here.
Finally.
And then she slowly turned around.
The mont her eyes t mine, everything else disappeared.
But she didn’t speak.
She just stood there.
Frozen.
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