THE BILLIONAIRE'S FORBIDDEN OBSESSION

THE GIRL

As if Gabriel was sleeping on the sand out of consciousness. Letting the sunlight baking his exposed skin until it burned.

His cheek was pressed against the white sand, and with every shallow breath, the tiny, coarse grains scraped against his skin. He winced slightly at the stinging sensation, yet he is lacking of strength to move.

Well, it is never meant to be his peaceful rest right now.

When his consciousness finally returned, the agonizing pain and disjointed fragments of his body crawled back to him. First came is the black and white sensory that was overloaded in his mind.

Then the noise hit him, the explosion, gun shots, thunderous roar as ocean waves violently thrashed against the shoreline nearby, that vibrating straight through the earth and into his bones. Next, he is experiencing physical agony. His shoulder throbbed with a fierce, blinding heat, radiating pain with the steady pulse of a second heartbeat. He tried to take the deepest breath, but the simple act of inhaling sent sharp, splintering waves of tension tearing across his torso.

He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were crusted shut with dried salt. He groaned, attempted to push himself up from the wet sand. His muscles refused to cooperate. As he lay there, his cheek pressed back into the dirt, then he felt a strange sensation..

Something was dragging him.

Rough yet strangely slick hands, their skin covered in large, fish-like scales, gripped his firmly beneath his arms. Despite their unusual texture, the hold was steady as they slowly pulled his weakened body across the sandy shore, away from the crashing waves and toward the cool shade beneath the dense forest canopy.

He struggled to lift his head, desperate to catch a glimpse of whoever, or whatever.. had rescued him.

But his vision blurred. The towering trees and shafts of sunlight melted into streaks of green and gold before darkness swallowed his sight once more, stealing away the last of her fading consciousness.

When Gabriel woke up a second time, the sun had been replaced by the soft, amber glow of twilight. He was no longer on the hard sand. He was lying on a makeshift cot woven from soft palm fronds inside a small, weathered timber cabin. The structure was ancient; the wooden beams were smooth from decades of salt air, and the ceiling was thatched with dried leaves that rustled softly in the evening breeze.

Gabriel braced himself as he shifted his weight, expecting agony to tear through his wounded shoulder.

Instead, only a dull, cooling ache greeted him.

His brows drew together.

Slowly, he lowered his gaze to the thick band of emerald paste wrapped around the wound. It was made from crushed tropical herbs woven with unfamiliar strands of sea plants. The poultice released a faint, sweet fragrance, fresh as the ocean after rain, that spread through his body, easing the pain until it felt distant.

He frowned. Because there is no healer from his place who knew a medicine like this.

"Don't. move."

The soft voice drifted through the cabin like the whisper of an incoming tide.

Gabriel's head snapped toward the doorway.

For a heartbeat, he forgot to breathe.

The voice was unlike any he had ever heard, gentle yet haunting, carrying a melodic rhythm that echoed through the quiet room like waves caressing the shore. It lingered in the air long after the words had faded.

A young woman stepped from the shadows.

Golden sunlight spilled through the bamboo walls, wrapping around her slender figure as though the light itself welcomed her presence.

Gabriel stared.

She looked no older than twenty, yet there was something ancient hidden beneath her quiet beauty.

Her long golden-blonde curls fell in wild, untamed waves around her shoulders, still damp, as if she had only moments ago emerged from the sea. Tiny droplets clung to the loose strands, catching the sunlight like scattered pearls before slipping silently to the wooden floor.

Her flawless skin shimmered with an almost imperceptible iridescence, as thought like smoothed by the water of the ocean. Every graceful step she took was unnaturally light, leaving no sound behind.

Then she lifted her eyes.

Gabriel's heart skipped. Because those eyes of her were unlikely in any eyes he had ever seen. Her eyes were like a deep mesmerizing sea-green. The pupil was clear enough to resemble the tranquil depths of tropical waters, yet hiding mysteries as endless like the ocean floor. Within them a smoothing covered by silver-like that glimmered whenever the light touched her face, like moonlight reflecting across gentle waves.

For one impossible moment, Gabriel could have sworn he heard the distant song of the sea.

The young woman met his gaze without fear. A quiet smile curved her lips.

"You, died. ocean. You're fortunate because fate decided to bring you here" she whispered.

She said it so naturally that Gabriel couldn't tell whether she was speaking like the sound of the sea because it tingled to his ear na may maliwanag na tunog na nag echoed

She spoke so naturally that Gabriel couldn't tell whether it was truly her voice or the whisper of the sea itself. Because it lingered in his ears, clear and melodic, echoing with a haunting beauty of a strange sound.

"Where... where am I?" Gabriel croaked, his throat raw and painfully dry, each word scraping against it like sand.

The young woman remained silent.

Without a hint of emotion, she turned away and crossed the small hut. The soft creak of the wooden floor echoed beneath her bare feet as she reached for a large coconut shell resting on a weathered table. She returned to him with slow steps.

For a fleeting moment, Gabriel's instincts screamed at him not to trust her. He watched every movement of her, his pulse quickening. He didn't know who she was... or what she wanted...

The girl gently raised the coconut shell to his lips.

"Drink," she said, her voice was calm but hypnotic.

Despite every warning in his mind, Gabriel obeyed. Cool, fresh water flooded his mouth, washing away the bitter taste of salt and blood. He drank desperately until the shell was empty, then drew a shaky breath.

His eyes searched the unfamiliar hut, the woven walls, the scent of damp herbs, the distant roar of crashing waves outside.

Then he remembers something, about the storm last night. The hugest waves, the explosions, and the ship he built, for his personal use, was broke apart beneath his feet.

His heart lurched.

"My ship... it sank." he whispered before looking back at the mysterious woman.

His breathing became uneven.

"Did... did anyone else survive?"

His voice faltered before another question escaped his lips.

"Who are you?"