Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

"You're drunk," Zachary said.

Bella had definitely had a bit too much earlier, and it was starting to show.

Then I heard the sound of water, probably from the hot spring.

"Zachary, do you love me?" Bella slurred.

"I do."

"Then make love to me," she said, her words stumbling out.

I was floored by what Bella said.

She had to be really wasted.

If Bella hooked up with Zachary while she was this drunk, she'd totally regret it when she sobered up. I had to step in.

I rushed to open the door, but Ethan stopped me, pulling me into his arms and whispering, "Why are you getting involved in a married couple's business?" His words hit me hard.

They were married, and having sex was totally legit.

Who was I to interfere?

"Bella, look closely. Who am I?" Zachary was still keeping it together.

Bella giggled. "You're Zachary, Zachary Murphy, my husband. How could I mistake you?"

"Are you really sure? No regrets?"

"I married you; sooner or later I'd be yours. Why would I regret it?" Bella's voice was super slurred.

I'd seen Bella drunk before, but never like this.

Could it be?

Did Bella drink the spiked wine from Richard?

That was the only thing that made sense.

Soon, I heard intimate sounds from outside. Bella cried out in pain, and Zachary immediately apologized, saying he'd be gentle.

The pain soon turned into sounds of pleasure.

Zachary was still holding back a bit. But Bella probably had no clue where she was.

The changing room was cramped, Ethan was shirtless, and I was barely dressed. Hearing those sounds together was like an aphrodisiac in the air. Our breathing got heavier.

The earlier buzz from the alcohol hit me, my head felt hot and dizzy.

I could feel Ethan's arms tightening around me, pulling me closer. I could even hear his strong heartbeat.

Our skin felt like it was on fire.

As he pressed me against the changing room wall, he skillfully unhooked my bra with one hand.

With the little fabric pulled away, he kissed me hard.

"Zachary, this is my first time. I'm yours now, you can't abandon me," Bella sounded exhausted.

Zachary said breathlessly, "You're my wife, I'll treat you well forever."

"Will soaking too long make our skin peel?" Bella asked with a laugh.

"Then let's go back to the room."

"Carry me."

Some things, right or wrong, depended on the outcome.

Zachary and Bella seemed like the most unlikely pair. But now they were truly together, step by step.

As a bystander, what else could I do but give my blessing?

After they left, Ethan scooped me up and carried me to the hot spring pool, picking up right where we left off.

The water rippled, and with the steam rising, I could barely see Ethan's face.

Bella always said I made the right bet. But did I really? I had no idea.

Maybe one day, our fate would suddenly end, and we'd go our separate ways.

We got back to our room from the hot spring, and in the middle of the night, Lacey knocked on the door, saying Jason had a fever. She knew I used to be a nurse and wanted to see if I had any emergency tips.

Ethan and I quickly got dressed and went to Jason's room with her.

I felt Jason's forehead, and it was burning up.

"How did he get such a high fever?"

Lacey said, "He got drunk. When I found him, he was lying in the snow. Who knows how long he'd been there? How could he not get sick?"

Jason was still conscious. Seeing everyone gathered around the bed, he weakly smiled and said, "It's okay. I'll be fine after some sleep. I couldn't take care of myself and became a burden instead."

I asked Ethan to check with the resort staff for some common meds and Lacey to get alcohol and towels for cooling him down.

When it was just Jason and me in the room, I asked, "Why were you lying in the snow?"

He stared at the ceiling, his eyes empty and distant.

"At that time, I just felt really hot, and lying in the snow felt better."

I shook my head. "You're a doctor, you should know how unreliable that is."

"Emily, I..." He hesitated.

"What is it?" I looked at him.

He looked at me for a while, like he was thinking about something.

Just then, Lacey brought the alcohol, and Ethan got the fever meds. Since Lacey and I weren't really suited to wipe Jason down, we left that to Ethan. With the meds and cooling, the fever should drop soon. As we left the room, Lacey stopped me."Emily, can I sleep next to you? I want to talk."

Ethan would probably stay to take care of Jason and not come back to the room, so I nodded. "Of course."

After we went back to the room and lay down, Lacey couldn't fall asleep.

In the deep night of the resort, everyone who had been playing had long since gone to bed. It was so quiet; you could even hear the snow falling.

"Emily, is it true that Jason has feelings for you?" Lacey suddenly asked.

I was taken aback and hurriedly explained, "No, no. You misunderstood."

The room was dark, and Lacey's voice sounded gentle.

"When I helped him back from the snow, he was somewhat delirious and kept murmuring 'Emily.' Isn't that you?"

I opened my mouth in surprise, unable to speak.

For a moment, I thought of Jason's hesitant expression earlier.

"He must have been delirious from the fever," I said.

Lacey chuckled. "Even if he was delirious, it means he was calling out a name buried deep in his subconscious."

I fell silent.

Lacey smiled again. "Emily, I don't mean anything by this. So don't overthink it. I have no right to have any other intentions; I'm not anyone special to him." "Lacey..."

"But I won't give up. I know that happiness is something you have to fight for." She interrupted me with a determined tone.

The next morning, Lacey and I got up and first checked on Jason; his fever had subsided.

Because of what Lacey said last night, I felt it was necessary to keep a certain distance from Jason. So, after confirming his fever was gone, I didn't stay long and left. Bella's room door happened to open, and she stood there in her pajamas, her hair a mess.

The marks on her neck hinted at the intensity of the previous night.

"What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?" Bella, still half-asleep, touched her face.

She should know what happened last night. But she seemed quite calm at the moment. Did this mean she had already accepted Zachary in her heart?

"Nothing," I said with a faint smile.

"Then why are you smiling so meaningfully?"

I shrugged and teased. "I'm just curious about how wild you were last night."

Bella glanced down, perhaps a bit embarrassed, and ruffled her already messy hair in frustration.

Zachary might have heard my words too; he walked up behind her, naturally wrapping her in his arms and kissing her hair. "Sorry, I'll be gentler next time. I was too excited yesterday."

I didn't expect Zachary to be so straightforward in front of me. And Bella seemed even more embarrassed.

To ease the awkwardness, I deliberately joked. "Alright, it's early in the morning. Tone it down."

Everyone freshened up and went to have breakfast together.

After sitting down, Bella picked up her phone and muttered, "Why is it off?"

Then she plugged in the charger.

As soon as it powered on, the phone started buzzing with messages.

Bella frowned at the screen, "Why did Leonard call so many times? And..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

I leaned over and saw Oliver's name among the missed calls.

Just then, Oliver's call came in again.

Bella glanced at Zachary, hesitated for a few seconds, and then answered the call.

After the call, her face turned pale.

We had planned to stay for three days, but we hadn't even finished breakfast before we rushed down the mountain, leaving some senior company members to continue the fun.

Bella stayed relatively calm on the way. When she saw her father lying quietly on the hospital bed with an oxygen mask, she didn't have any extreme reactions.

Oliver leaned against the window, staring expressionlessly as Bella walked in. When he saw Zachary follow her in, he looked away, slightly annoyed.

This was the first time Ethan and Oliver had met since their fight. They acted like strangers, not even exchanging a glance.

"What happened?" Bella asked calmly as she approached the bed.

Oliver said, "He took a large amount of sleeping pills."

"Why?" Bella's voice was soft as she stared at Leonard on the bed.

Oliver said, "He came to the bar looking looking for you. When he couldn't find you, he left. I sensed something was off, so I followed him home. I knocked, but no one answered, so I had to call the cops. That's how we found him in time." He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Bella. "I found this on the coffee table."

Bella took it and opened it. I glanced at it and saw the words "suicide note" at the top.

It turned out that Andrea and his assistant had conspired to drain all the assets from his company, leaving it heavily in debt.

Leonard probably called Bella yesterday to see her one last time, but she didn't get the call. Fortunately, Oliver saved him; otherwise, Bella would have felt guilty for the rest of her life.

Although their father-daughter relationship had never been good, it didn't mean Bella could face Leonard's death indifferently.

While we stood there, Leonard woke up.

Seeing Bella, the once-mighty Leonard was now in tears.

After the doctor checked him, he said Leonard was out of danger.

Who could predict life's twists and turns? I knew Leonard had worked hard to build his business. But now, with most of his life's work destroyed, he felt life was no longer worth living.

Andrea and Leonard's assistant had probably fled long ago. And since they dared to do this, they must have planned it well. Leonard's extreme reaction likely stemmed from knowing they did it but being unable to gather solid evidence. Now, only a large amount of money could fill the deficit and pay off the debts. But that wasn't a small amount.

Oliver, who had been leaning against the window with his hands in his pockets, stood up straight and took a deep breath. "I..."

"I'll figure it out." Zachary interrupted Oliver.