Chapter 467

The dark figure drifted closer. It was unmistakably a person—more specifically, a man. His arms flailed weakly, barely keeping him afloat. He was clearly struggling, exhaustion weighing down every movement as the sea carried him toward the shore. His soaked body gleamed under the sunlight, water droplets trickling from his form like tiny crystal beads. Eleanor did not move. She stood rooted in place, her gaze sharp and unreadable as she observed the man’s slow and arduous progress. There was no panic in her expression, no urgency in her stance. She had been waiting too long for an outsider to act on impulse now. At last, the man’s body reached the sandy beach, his limbs collapsing beneath him as he half-knelt, half-fell onto the shore. Now that he was closer, Eleanor could finally see him clearly. He was tall, strikingly so. His black shirt clung to his lean frame, the fabric soaked through and molded against his skin. Though the sea had ravaged his appearance, drenching his clothes an