Christian Hanson POV:
The explosion ripped through the night, a brutal, visceral shockwave that slammed into my chest. The light, the heat, the concussive force – it was all a blur. All I heard was the roar, all I saw was the inferno where the yacht had been. My blood ran cold, retreating from my extremities, leaving my hands and feet icy, numb.
Alexandra.
No. Not Alexandra.
A sickening realization dawned on me, slow and torturous. Her silence, her composure, her eyes… I had misunderstood. I had always misunderstood. She hadn't been defeated. She had been decisive. She had chosen. Not to disarm the bomb. To die. To finally escape me.
You only chose Gisselle once, right? My own voice, the justification I used for every slight, every neglect, echoed in my head.
No. I chose Gisselle every single time.
The memories, like shards of broken glass, pierced through my consciousness. Alexandra, in the hospital bed, her face pale, her shoulder bleeding, asking me if Gisselle's public image was more important than her "temporary discomfort." My cruel, unfeeling response. Alexandra, patiently enduring Gisselle's manipulative theatrics while I, blind and self-absorbed, defended Gisselle. Alexandra, standing for five years like a cactus in a desert, needing nothing, complaining never, just being there, while I watered Gisselle's every whim. I had praised her strength, her resilience, her independence. But what I had really done was used it. Exploited it. And then neglected her until she withered.
A sharp, stabbing pain shot through my chest. My breath hitched, a gasp tearing from my throat. My legs buckled. I stumbled, nearly falling over the railing of the rescue boat. The phone in my hand, the very device that had carried her last words, shattered. Shards of plastic and metal dug into my palm, but I didn't feel it. I felt nothing but an overwhelming, crushing weight of regret.
"Alexandra!" My voice was a roar, raw and guttural, tearing through the quiet night. "Find her! Search every inch of this ocean! I don't care what it costs! Find her!" My men, usually so efficient, hesitated. "She's not dead! She can't be! Find her, damn it! I'll pay a billion! A trillion! Just find her!"
I lunged towards the churning water, intending to dive in, to search for her myself. Strong arms grabbed me, pulling me back. "Mr. Hanson, no! It's too dangerous!"
"Let me go! She's out there!" I screamed, struggling against their hold, my eyes fixed on the burning wreckage.
The searchlights from my fleet of ships crisscrossed the dark expanse of the ocean. Helicopters hovered overhead, their spotlights cutting through the smoke. Divers plunged into the water. Hours passed. The search was relentless, but fruitless. The ocean, vast and indifferent, had swallowed everything.
Finally, the rescue boat carrying Gisselle returned. She was wrapped in a blanket, sobbing hysterically. "Christian! Oh, Christian! I thought I was going to die!" She lunged at me, seeking comfort, her voice a desperate plea.
I stepped back, a flicker of disgust crossing my face. My gaze was fixed on the inferno, on the empty ocean. "Gisselle," I said, my voice flat, devoid of emotion. I didn't even look at her.
"But my leg!" she wailed, clutching at her knee. "It hurts so much! You saved me, Christian! You chose me!"
I stopped, my eyes still on the horizon. "My rivals," I muttered, more to myself than to her. "They're relentless. They almost took you from me." The lie tasted bitter on my tongue, but in my shattered state, it was a convenient shield.
I turned, finally, to face her. Her face was streaked with dirt and tears, but she looked triumphant, already basking in the glow of my "choice." "Yes, Gisselle," I said, my voice carefully modulated. "I saved you. Now, let's go." My tone was cold, dismissive.
I strode towards the waiting helicopter, barking orders for more men, more resources, more ships. Gisselle, still whimpering, trailed behind me, her "injured" leg forgotten in her haste to keep up.
The search continued through the night, through the first grey streaks of dawn. But there was nothing. No trace. No body.
"Mr. Hanson," one of my most trusted men said, his voice hesitant, "it's been twelve hours. At this point, with an explosion of that magnitude... I'm afraid there's little hope."
My eyes, bloodshot and burning, fixed on him. "She's not dead," I snarled, my voice a low growl. "Alexandra Manning does not die. Not like this. Not ever."
"But, sir," he began, "no one could have survived that. Perhaps... perhaps she managed to swim to shore? Made it out somehow?" He offered the suggestion, a desperate straw he knew I would cling to.
My eyes widened. Hope, a fragile, desperate thing, ignited within me. Yes. Alexandra. She's strong. She's resilient. She would find a way. "To shore!" I roared, pushing past my men. "Get me to shore! Now!"
I sped back to the Manhattan penthouse, breaking every traffic law, my heart pounding with a desperate, foolish optimism. The lights were on. A faint glow emanated from the master bedroom. She's here. She came back. She's waiting for me.
I burst through the front door, ignoring the shocked gasps of the staff. I ran up the grand staircase two steps at a time, my lungs burning, my mind racing. I threw open the bedroom door, a hopeful cry on my lips. "Alexandra!"
My voice died in my throat.
Gisselle stood there, bathed in the soft lamplight, a shy, triumphant smile on her face. She was wearing one of Alexandra's silk nightgowns, a delicate piece of lace that had once belonged to my wife.
The warmth, the desperate hope, drained from my eyes, replaced by an icy, soul-crushing emptiness.
