Chapter 46

Watching Ryan walk out of the Collins residence with that forced smile, Chloe's nose tingled—tears almost welling up. She mumbled, "Thank you… my angel." Hank softly tightened his grip on her hand and whispered, "He'll find the place he belongs." No one knew that Ryan, who never smoked before, had spent the entire night not far from their house, sitting alone in the cold wind, chain-smoking in silence. When dawn broke, he just quietly got up and left… Goodbye… my love… "By the way, Hank, where have you been these past months? Were you hurt?" After seeing Ryan off, Chloe wiped her tears away and turned toward Hank, her eyes full of worry. Hank gently pulled her over to sit by the bed, wrapping his arms around her as he explained, "I got swept away by the waves. Honestly, I thought I was done for. Next thing I knew, I woke up on some island with a bunch of folks who didn't speak our language at all. Took months before I could even talk to them." "It was Ryan's rescue team that found me.