Chapter 547

Chapter 547:

He rarely spoke to me that way. I wanted to argue, to push back, but I realized it was pointless, a waste of energy.

Beneath the wetsuit, I wore only a bikini, and it was more revealing than I would have liked. Still, I couldn’t afford to look weak in front of Ashton. Besides, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen me naked before.

I stripped quickly, peeling off top and bottoms in a few movements, though I instinctively held the clothes across my chest. For a long moment, Ashton said nothing. I looked up, confused, and found he was no longer there. On the sandy patch lay an even larger leaf, folded neatly.

I scanned the shadows until I spotted his tall figure bent near the edge of the dark forest, rummaging for something. “Ashton?” I called.

He didn’t turn. “Use the big leaf. Wrap yourself up, the night wind is strong p>

I hurried to the makeshift bed, picked up the leaf, and held it against myself. It fit perfectly around my body. I wrapped it around my chest and back, the ends meeting at my side. The hem reached just above my knees. The torn strip tied neatly at the side, fastening it securely.

As I knotted it, my eyes kept drifting toward Ashton. “Where did you go?” I asked when he came back.

“Collecting dry twigs.” He sat with his back to me, fiddling with the sticks. “You should rest. I’ll keep watch p>

On a deserted island with no shelter, someone had to stay alert. Ashton had simply taken the task on himself. To my ears, it sounded as though he didn’t trust me, as though I wasn’t capable. Irritation pricked. I dropped down beside him. “No. You can’t make all the decisions. Let me do something too p>

Ashton said nothing. He kept working with the twigs.

The silence stung. I didn’t want him to see me as dead weight. The calm I had just managed to recover unraveled again. Anger coiled inside me, hot and restless, waiting for release. I tried to tamp it down with reason.

I didn’t even know why I was furious. Was it his indifference? Or was I lashing out to smother the guilt gnawing at me? Because the truth was, if not for me, he wouldn’t be here at all.

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My palms dampened with sweat, though moments earlier, my body had been chilled. Irritation welled up, wave after wave.

He remained silent, but his mind was clearly at work. Was he thinking the same thing? That he was stranded here because of me? Was he regretting following me? But I hadn’t asked him to come. Why should he blame me? If there was any blame to be had, wasn’t he the one who had ruined my peaceful cruise, the one who had paraded a new girlfriend in front of me?

The emotions twisted tighter and tighter until they suffocated my reasoning.

I snatched the bundle of branches from his hands. “Why won’t you say anything? Do you think I’m useless? A burden? That I can’t do anything? Why should you keep watch alone? I can do it too! These branches, whatever you’re trying to make, I can do it! Why won’t you let me? Why do you always decide for me?” Sweat rolled down my forehead as I glared at him, my face burning with heat, my eyes wild. I wasn’t sure if I was trying to prove something or desperately holding on to something that was slipping away.

Faced with my outburst, Ashton remained unnervingly calm. He didn’t answer.

My temper flared hotter at his silence. I opened my mouth, ready to unleash more, when suddenly, his hand shot out, knocking the branches from my grip. In the same instant, he seized both my wrists, holding them tightly.

His face came close. He gave me no space. He pressed forward, forcing me down.