Chapter 0165


    Abby


    The shock of seeing Karl drenched and out of breath still hangs in the air as my mind races, trying to


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    piece together why he’s in this state, why he’s been missing all day.


    “Karl, what happened? Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?


    We needed you today!”


    The words tumble out in a rush, fueled by anger, annoyance, and although I won’t admit it, maybe a


    hint of relief at seeing that he’s here and that he seems okay.


    Karl looks at me, his eyes apologetic. “I’m sorry, Abby. I know I messed up, not showing up and not


    answering your calls, but it’s because I was trying to do something for you.”


    My brows knit together in confusion. “For me?”


    Karl exhales, as if weighing his words carefully. “I went to find those ck truffles you needed for the


    My eyes widen. “You what?”


    With a deep sigh, Karl begins telling me his story: about the sketchy dealer that turned out to be a


    scam artist, about Adam, and finally…


    “So I went to the ce that Adam told me about,” he says, still drying his soaked hair with a dish towel.


    “Turns out, Adam wasn’t kidding about those guys. The whole ce is crawling with security guards


    armed to the teeth. It’s close to where we were mushroom hunting the other day. In fact, those were the


    gunshots we heard. Maybe they caught a trespasser, or maybe they were warning shots… for us.”


    A chill runs down my spine after hearing this. Suddenly, I don’t care so much about the truffles


    anymore, but rather about his safety. “Karl, are you insane? That’s dangerous! What were you


    thinking?”


    “I almost got caught, Abby. Had to jump into a creek to escape.”


    My stomach twists into knots, both from relief and the sudden realization of how close I came to losing


    something—or someone—important. “You could have been hurt, Karl. God, you could have been


    killed.”


    Karl shrugs, his eyes downcast. “Yeah, but I wasn’t. I’m here. And I’m sorry I couldn’t get those truffles


    for you. I really wanted to bring them to you, but I failed.”


    It takes a second for his words to register, for me to process the depth of what he’s saying, the lengths


    he went to. But when they do, I feel my heart leap, even for just a moment. “You… You went to all


    those lengths for me?”


    Karl nods. “Yeah, I did. But like I said, I failed. I couldn’t find any truffles.”


    The disappointment on his face is palpable, and it breaks my heart to see him like this. Suddenly, all of


    my frustration, all of my anger toward him throughout the day dissipates, and I’m left with nothing but


    pure, unadulterated admiration.


    As much as I’ve been frustrated about those elusive truffles, seeing Karl standing here, wet and


    Without thinking, I find myself crossing the distance between us and hugging him tightly, my head


    resting against his damp chest. I can hear his heartbeat, warm and steady against my ear.


    For a moment, I’m thrust back into the days when we were married, when we were always beside one


    another for times like this. And for a moment, I almost miss those days.


    “Karl, you didn’t fail. You came back, and that’s what matters. The truffles... they’re not worth risking


    your life over.”


    He hugs me back, his arms wrapping around me as if to assure both of us that he’s really here, that


    he’s safe. In this moment, I can feel my wolf, can feel her approval. “I just wanted to help, Abby,” he


    murmurs.”


    “And you did,” I whisper, pulling back to look him in the eye. “You tried, and that means the world to me.


    But don’t ever do something like that again, at least not without me. Please.”


    Karl nods, his eyes meeting mine in a silent promise.