Loved You Once But He's My Forever

Chapter 494 A Hair's Breadth

"Whitney!"

Just before Carter reached me, Whitney broke free from my grasp and fell off the cliff.

In that moment, it felt like I had been thrown back 20 years, reliving the same nightmare. Once again, I watched her slip away before my eyes.

"No!" my heart-wrenching scream echoed across the cliff.

Everything went black, and I felt my body falling, powerless to stop it.

"Chloe!"

Carter's anguished voice called out behind me, but it felt distant, fading.

Am I going to die again?

Is this how it ends for me?

I lost consciousness.

In my dream, I was back on that night, at just five years old.

A little figure in the water waved at me, her voice urgent, "Chloe, help me!"

Without a second thought, I jumped into the water and grabbed her hand.

People on the shore tried to save us, but the river's current was too strong, and we were quickly swept away.

Caught in the raging waters, I clung to her and pleaded desperately, "Don't let go, no matter what happens. Please, don't let go."

"Chloe, I can't hold on anymore."

Her expression shifted, and suddenly, the little girl I was holding turned into the grown-up Whitney. Her face was calm and resigned as if she had already accepted her fate. "Chloe, please forget me." "No, Whitney!"

I shot awake from the dream, gasping, only to meet a pair of red, tear-filled eyes.

The next moment, Carter pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly. "Chloe, you almost gave me a heart attack," he said, his voice trembling.

as if grounding myself.

a deep breath, steadying himself. "From what we found at the scene, it seems Luther and Taylor fought, and both likely went over the cliff. Whitney must have followed them. Chloe, you

I blacked out, I remembered hearing Carter's desperate, heart-wrenching cry. It was unlike anything I had ever heard from him, raw

whispered. "I passed out. You were

how scared I was? My whole body was shaking,

spoke, I could feel

I brushed his face gently. "I'm so sorry, Carl.

I forgot I

me like that

rough,

stroking the back of my

even though I already knew, "What about

were too rough. The rescue team has been going

sea is vast.

chest aching. Deep down, I already knew. That faint sliver of hope I had been clinging

my voice faint,

choice. What was the point of searching

was finally with her

still

my face into his chest, letting the tears flow. "Yes, I still have you, and the babies.

the

just starting. She never got the chance to fall in love again, to be

gentle, his gaze full of

out. "Carl, I had her hand. I'm

but just like before, I could only watch

arms holding me tightly. "I know you did everything you could. You're incredible, Chloe. You didn't fail her

I really wanted to protect her," I said, my voice trembling. "I finally got her out of that place. I truly believed she could start over. It didn't matter if she

gently wiped the tears

see it that way. She had no desires left and hadn't been close to her family for years. Taylor had become her everything, entwined with her very existence. Chloe, if

not respond, the weight of his words sinking in even as

decision," Carter continued. "Even if it were you, no one-human or divine-could have

you're right,

hard to accept that Whitney is gone. If there had been no hope from the start, there wouldn't be this overwhelming despair now. The

was safe.