My fiancé said I was disobedient. During our vacation, Nicholas abandoned me on a deserted island and sailed away with the fake heiress my parents had adopted.
For ten days, while I was missing, he never once checked on me.
I repeatedly pressed the survival button on the watch he had given me, hoping he would return to save me—but each time, I was met with disappointment.
When I fell into a crevice and broke my leg while trying to escape a wild beast, left starving and unable to move, a delicate yet strikingly handsome wild man rescued me.
He hunted for me, treated my injuries, and in return, I taught him to speak and read. Gradually, I fell in love with him.
Accepting my fate, I decided to stay on the island with him forever.
But one night, I accidentally discovered that he had been secretly using a phone to contact the outside world behind my back.
It turned out he had been concealing his true identity all along—he was the loyal bodyguard wholeheartedly devoted to the fake heiress.
"Miss Collins’ engagement has been settled. Why haven’t you abandoned that woman and left the island yet?"
"Only by staying behind to watch her can I ensure she never escapes the island and competes with Miss Collins for the family inheritance."
"Even if I have to play the role of a wild man for a lifetime, it doesn’t matter."
I clenched my fist as I listened to him. I thought our fateful encounter was destiny. But from beginning to end, I was nothing more than a pawn in his elaborate scheme for someone else.
A tsunami swept across the island, and I leaped into the waves.
Even if I were to die, I would never want to see him again.
——
"Jaren, it was a good idea to set up that trap on Reese’s only escape route, making her break her leg. Otherwise, she might have actually managed to flee the island."
A different voice came through the phone.
The moment I heard it, I recognized her—Suzzette, the fake heiress who had stolen my identity and lived a privileged life for twenty years.
She was gloating, proudly praising Jaren’s intelligence.
Jaren replied in a crisp, articulate tone, devoid of the rough accent he had always used around me. "Miss Collins, if she hadn’t insisted on coming back to take what belongs to you, I wouldn’t have had to treat her this way. She brought this upon herself."
He had deceived me so thoroughly!
I thought he was my confidant, someone who shared my suffering and relied on me as much as I relied on him. But in the end, everything was just part of a conspiracy.
Jaren reassured Suzzette again and again that I would never have a chance to escape the island.
Yet, Suzzette still had her concerns.
"But Reese grew up in the mountains—she’s strong and resilient. What if she recovers one day?"
Jaren didn’t even hesitate as he replied, "That's impossible, but rest assured, Miss Collins. The medicine I’ve been giving her will only worsen her leg injury. Soon, her broken bones will never heal."
Suzzette let out a satisfied chuckle. "Jaren, with you by my side, I can finally be at ease. But… that medicine, doesn’t it have serious side effects? If she takes too much, not only will her leg be crippled, but she won’t be able to have children either, right?"
How... how could this be?
Just last night, he held me close, whispering about having children together.
He had talked about turning this desolate island into a real home, where we would raise a family and build a future.
But the moment I turned my back, he was poisoning me?
His soft “Yes” shattered my world and plunged me into the depths of despair.
I couldn’t bear to listen any longer. Stumbling, I dragged my broken leg away, my whole body trembling uncontrollably.
I hid in a patch of dense grass, muffling my sobs.
My injured leg throbbed with pain.
What should I do?
One devastating blow after another left me breathless.
"Reese, where are you?"
Jaren was looking for me.
I wiped away my tears, forcing myself to appear indifferent as I gazed up at the sky.
When he saw me, he sighed in relief.
He sat beside me, his strong hands wrapping possessively around my waist.
In front of me, he still played his role as the dutiful wild man.
"Reese, why did you run off?"
I pointed at the sky, making up an excuse. "Looking at the stars."
Jaren carried me back to the cave we called home, then leaned in to kiss me.
