Stranded with the Billionaire

S A G E

Bushes surrounded them as they stood in the trees. It takes more than an hour to cross the mountain to reach the top of the forest. A thick fog coiled around them, but Sage  could see below the hill that looked like a deep canyon. He felt a little hopeful. It could mean a river was  there.

He stops and throws his bag over his shoulder. He sat up, arching his back as he stretched. He gave the flare gun and bear spray to Irena . It helps his joints with only bags and guns to carry.

Titan  is walking around, sniffing everything. Irena  glanced  at Sage . Her expression hurt for a moment before she forced a smile.

“Where to go?” she asked.

Sage  studies her. Why does she have to be so tough all the time? He doesn’t care that she’s out of his element. In fact, he loved taking care of her. He just wished she’d let go of her pride  long enough to let him in.

“We’re going  down the hill. I hope there’s a river  there. Once we’re done, we can stop. Then I went to get food. “He took out a bottle of water  and gave it  to her.

She took it and brought it to her lips. He tried to ignore the charm of her neck  as she tilted her head back. Memories of her body pressed against his flashed in his mind. He cleared his throat and looked down. It’s best to focus on something else.

If she feels heat running on her skin, she doesn’t show it either. Instead, she returned the water bottle.

“Okay. Let’s do it,” she said.  Before giving up, he decided that frankness was the best policy. “Do we need  to wait a little longer?”

Her expression hardened as she looked at him. “Why should I  wait any longer?”

He sighed, tired of her insistence that vulnerability was a sign of weakness. “You almost died yesterday.” His chest tightened at that thought. “It’s normal to need help.”

Her gaze softened as she watched him. Then her shoulders sagged as she looked around. “I know.”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

He reached out and put his finger on her shoulder. “I’m sorry you lost all  your belongings.”

She glanced  at him as if she had just remembered  her belongings were gone. “Oh.” She shrugged. “Too good. It’s just underwear and furniture.

He studied her. “Yeah. And the picture of you and your boyfriend.” Sage  paused. “What’s his name?”

She reached out and massaged his calf. “Brent.” was calm. After a few seconds, she nodded. “Yes.”

Sage  uncaps the water bottle and takes a sip. Why did the fact that this guy dated Irena  for three years bothered him so much? It seems to be an eternity. Admittedly, he was never  engaged. Or even came close. He usually knows within the first few months whether a relationship is working. He will free the girl  when that happens.

“What?” His question popped into his mind.

“What’s that?”

“Your face looks weird.” She straightened up and looked around her.

“It’s weird that you’ve been dating this guy for years and he’s not moving forward in a relationship.”

She has a cough. “Do you like getting married?

Sage  nodded. “Or is this not part of your life plan?”

Irena  twisted her toe into the gravel beneath her feet. “No. I want to get married.”

For some reason that sentence made Sage ‘s heart skip a beat, so he turned his attention to the red and yellow  leaves stretching out in front of him. “Greenland is beautiful,” he said, hoping to change the subject.

“And you?”

Damn. She won’t leave him alone. “Me and marriage?

She wrapped her arms around his chest and nodded. “Yeah. From what I read, you’re a gamer.”

Sage  laughed. What a joke. It was a  desperate attempt by a magazine to sell subscriptions.

Irena ‘s eyes opened. big. “Is not right?”

He shook his head. “I wish. They make me  more of a gamer than I really am.” He chuckles, shoving his hands in his pockets. “They make my life so much more interesting than it actually is.”

“On all counts. continents?” Her cheeks flushed, and for a moment that intrigued him, there was no girl.

“I don’t have anyone waiting for me.” The words he was about to say were comfortable, but the thought of being alone throbbed in his chest, so he lowered his face. “It was better to be alone. No one. hope.” He cleared his throat and stirred, ready to start over.

“Are you feeling better?” Sage asked.

Irena  studies him. It made him feel exposed. Did he confess too much? What is she thinking? I wish I could read it.

“Brent’s not my boyfriend,” she said, her voice low.

Sage  leans forward. “What?” Did he mishear?

“Brent. He’s not my boyfriend. Actually, I don’t know where it is. He is my ex-fiance. He left me a month before the wedding day.” She looked down at her hands resting on her knees.

Sage  looked at her. Why did she lie to you? Why does she always carry a photo of herself? And why does he want to punch the guy in the face? “He abandoned you?”

She nodded. “He said he needed to find himself again. Linsday said that I need to move on and hope to be able to join this trip. She insisted that I take the photos and destroy them at some point.” She covered her face with her hand. “I’m such a loser.”

Sage  kicks a stick. “You’re not a loser. This guy is a loser. You’d be better off without him.

She pursed her lips and watched him. A worried look crossed his face. She shook her head, then pushed  the rock away. “Let’s go.”

Sage stopped. He wanted to talk more about it, but Irena  seemed to want to end the conversation. So he nodded and hissed at Titan , who was sitting a few feet away, gasping and looking around. They packed up their things and walked towards the tree line.

As they entered  the forest, a crash resounded in the air. Sage  jumped up and turned around. Irena  raised her flare gun. Smoke rises as the rocket lights up the sky.

“What are you doing?” He panted. Why is she firing flares?

Her hands trembled as she pointed upwards. He followed her gesture. A small speck crosses the sky. It’s a commercial airliner.

“Are you reporting this plane?” His mind was trying to catch up with what had happened.

She smiles. “Saved!”

Sage  stammered. “It’s a commercial plane. They fly at 30, 000 feet. They’ll never  see flares.” He stepped forward and held out his hand to her. “I can’t believe you wasted a fire on that.”

Irena ‘s cheeks heated up as she stared at her open hand. “How do I know?”

Sage  wiggles his fingers. “I trusted you,” he whispered as she placed the gun in his hand.

“I -” she began.

When he looked  at her, he saw  her jaw clenched. Regret fills my chest. He shouldn’t have been so harsh on her. She really didn’t know. “I didn’t mean to make it so difficult for you. But we only have two flares. And now we only have one. ”

Irena  just nodded, wrapping her arms around his chest. Sage sighed. It was as if the connection  they had just had had suddenly faded and died. Why did he have to put her down so harshly? Man, he can be an idiot sometimes.

“I’m sorry,” he tried again.

She shrugged. ” Carry on.

He nodded, shoving the gun into his coat pocket.

They turned into the woods and let the foliage engulf them  as they continued on. Soon, he became too preoccupied with himself. navigating the terrain rather than thinking about their previous conversation. He did his best to guide them around the devil’s club, a thorny plant that the natives revered for its medicinal uses, but it was everywhere.

Irena  mumbled curses as they entered each patch. Titan  gave up and left. Sage  thought about calling him back but decided not to. It’s a dog. It’s best to let him do what he wants.

The further they went, the more worried Sage  became. This is a country of bears, and most bear attacks are carried out by a frightened animal. He glanced at Irena , who was red and sweaty. She had her hair up in a high bun, but a few curls were let loose and surrounded her face. When she looked up  at him, her heart pounded. His disappointed look made his  green eyes light up. It was a strange feeling.

“So tell me about your obsession with saying random things,” Sage  said, raising his voice as he turned and pushed through the large leaves that surrounded them. It is better to make as much noise as possible.

“Why are you yelling?”

“To drive the bear away. They attack when taken by surprise. ”

When Irena  fell silent, Sage  looked  at her. She looked around with wide eyes.

“Don’t worry. If we say it out loud, we’ll be fine.

Irena  looked  at him, biting her lip.

“Let’s go,” he said, gesturing for her to follow him.

He heard it patting the foliage behind him.

“So what?” He asks.

“So what?”

“Why do you have this obsessive need to repeat information when you’re nervous?” ” He stopped himself. “Do you have any other quirks?” For example, do you need to press a light switch a certain number of times?

She scoffed. “There’s nothing like it . . . His voice trails off. “Irena? We should talk. You know, bear. He pushed a branch aside and gave it to her as she passed.

“I guess I don’t see why we have to talk about it,” she yelled.

Sage  looked behind him as he followed  her. There’s something there. Something  she doesn’t want to talk about. He considered asking her more questions. After all, didn’t she push him back to his father’s funeral? Instead, he bit  his inner cheek and decided to change the subject.

Maybe she just needed a little more time to trust him with personal information. And from the expanse of the desert around it, time is all they have.