? ? ? ? ?

Eloise had hardly applied force, but Raegan's delicate skin could not resist even that light slap.

In the brief silence that followed, Eloise realized.

Eloise looked at Raegan's reddened cheek, then at her own palm, and understood the cause.

Drawn by the noise, Bryce confronted Eloise with lion-like fury: “Eloise, have you gone crazy? How could you hit him like that?

Although Bryce had no love for Raegan, he continued to defend her.

After all, he was the one who brought Raegan here with him. If any reprimand was meant for Raegan, it had to come from him, not from others.

Eloise had intended to apologize to Raegan. She was frank, but never malicious.

But as soon as she heard those questions from Bryce, who was younger than her, she immediately replied: "Why the indignation? "It was involuntary."

"Then offer your apologies," Bryce insisted.

Bryce's anger seemed to eclipse Eloise's, and he seemed ready to force an apology by grabbing Eloise by the throat.

Terrified, Eloise sought refuge behind Mitchel, clinging to his garment in her anxiety.

Mitchel intercepted Bryce's hand with a frown, his voice icy.

«Calm down. "It was an accident."

Bryce winced at the pain of his hand in disbelief.

"Mitchel, will you take his side?"

“Yes, is that a problem?”

Mitchel's gaze became colder.

"Should we continue with our excursion or not?"

At first, Raegan didn't mind at all, knowing that Eloise hadn't done it on purpose.

However, witnessing Mitchel's open protectiveness of Eloise made something change inside him.

She knew that the feeling of feeling defended was undeniably pleasant.

Eloise, smiling widely, trotted behind Mitchel and taunted Bryce with her face.

Bryce seethed with rage. He had thought he could have some fun when Hector was away, but he hadn't anticipated that Hector would assign Mitchel the task of keeping an eye on him.

Furthermore, Mitchel, the typically busy CEO, was keeping an eye on him personally and had even joined his outing with Raegan. What a disgrace!

Raegan found it surprising that Bryce defended her. She felt touched somehow, which strengthened her determination to improve his opinion of her.

«What is the plan, exactly? Could you tell me now? Raegan asked.

Bryce stood, one hand on his hip, pointing toward the mountain.

«Do you see that peak? If you can last two days and one night at the top, I will fulfill any request you have.

"Deal." Raegan's agreement came quickly, without a trace of hesitation.

With a satisfied smile, Bryce warned, “Just so you know, I will only provide you with a tent. You have to fend for yourself. No food or drink on my part.

He looked at Raegan's modest backpack and added gravely, "You still have time to give in and retreat."

Raegan's response was firm.

"Don't worry. "I'll take care of it."

Bryce's mockery was clear.

«Cry all you want in the mountains. No one will escort you down Raegan ignored their taunts and set off.

Bryce was completely taken aback.

The trail was treacherous, quite a challenge.

Despite a sprained ankle that had not yet healed, Raegan's resilience was commendable. In her school days she was an accomplished distance runner.

Instead, Bryce, who climbed for pleasure, had hired help for his team, allowing him to climb with ease.

Eloise, on her first ascent of a mountain, was enthusiastic and chatted animatedly with Mitchel.

His enthusiasm was contagious, though it soon faded and was replaced by a weary silence.

Raegan, who was initially lagging behind, gained ground on the group.

Exhausted, Eloise asked for a rest, thirsty and fatigued.

Bryce also showed signs of exhaustion, his forehead beaded with sweat.

As they drank, Raegan continued on, announcing, "I'll continue up."

Impressed, Bryce nodded, resting with Eloise at the edge of the path.

Higher up, Raegan's thirst intensified.

She reached for her water bottle, but a sudden whisper stopped her.

The nature was disturbing.

He turned around and backed away when he saw Mitchel's figure.

Raegan was about to fall, but Mitchel's quick hand caught her.

The next moment, Raegan fell into Mitchel's embrace, the water bottle slipping from her hands.

Surrounded by jagged rocks, a fall could be disastrous.

Instinctively, Raegan clung to Mitchel, her face against his sturdy chest.

And there, against him, he heard the rhythmic assurance of his heartbeat.

It took Raegan a while to realize they were too close.

He took a sharp breath and jumped away from Mitchel's embrace.

Her reaction made Mitchel's handsome features darken.

"Stop tricks," he said harshly. The mountain is crowded and I have no interest in you.

Raegan had opened her mouth to express gratitude, but his words stopped her in her tracks.

His complexion lost color.

Near her, a group of climbers cast meaningful glances at Raegan, mistaking her for someone eager for a one-night stand.

Annoyed by their stares, Raegan glared at Mitchel, turned around, and ascended silently.

He soon realized that the same group of men were resting. Their looks were disturbing.

Opting to wait for Bryce, Raegan stopped.

However, those men approached Raegan as she stopped.

Sudden anxiety washed over Raegan as one of them sneered, “That handsome man just rejected you. Maybe you prefer my company. We will have fun. What do you think?

Another man replied: "Don't think about having this lovely lady to yourself."

Not only did they flirt with her, but they even tried to take advantage of her.

With a wary face, Raegan grabbed her walkie-talkie, a gift from Bryce, and shouted, "Bryce, where are you now?"

There was silence. The battery was running out and those men had realized it.

One joked: “Fear not, we are decent people. "We can negotiate a price."

Anger whitened Raegan's face and her resentment toward Mitchel deepened.

Her words had painted her badly in the eyes of those men.

Grabbing the pepper spray from her backpack, Raegan stated, “Stand back. "I need to find my partner."

One of the men intercepted her and mocked: “Little liar. Your companion abandoned you a moment ago.

Raegan's attitude hardened.

"Do you want to check my honesty?"

These men had come looking for leisure, not trouble. When they saw the stunning Raegan, they tried to flirt with her. But they harbored no bad intentions.

One gave in first, saying: “Calm down, miss. "No offense intended."

As he led his friend away, he reassured Raegan: “All clear. You can go."

However, the man who stopped in Raegan's path stayed, his eyes fixed on Raegan.

As she took a few steps, Raegan noticed that his gaze was still following her.

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