I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis novel Chapter 327

Chapter 327 Ashton’s POV: I Can’t Fail Her Again

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Chapter 327 Ashton’s POV: I Can’t Fail Her Again

When I reached the lakeside, the place was already crowded with people, and police were everywhere.

I turned to Harry. ‘Get divers. As many as possible. Call Cassian and Ryan.‘

‘On it, boss.‘ Harry nodded.

I threw off my jacket and plunged straight into the water.

‘Boss!‘ Harry shouted.

The police on the bank yelled; the divers already in the lake shouted too. But I didn’t hear any of

them.

I just kept swimming, kept searching.

Logically, I knew it was useless. The professional divers would find her faster than I ever could. But I couldn’t help myself.

The last time Mirabelle had ended up in the water, she’d been terrified. She’d been pushed into a pool, and it brought back all her childhood trauma.

I’d never forget how she trembled in my arms, how she mumbled, ‘Help…‘

I hadn’t protected her well enough then.

I wasn’t going to fail her a second time.

Straining to keep my eyes open underwater, I scanned for any sign of her, but the lake was wide and deep, with thick weeds blocking my view. It was impossible to see far.

When my lungs felt like they were about to burst, I had to resurface.

Cassian was on the bank, pointing furiously at the lake. ‘Get up here, Ashton! Are you out of your

mind?‘

I shouted back, ‘Get more divers!‘

Then I went under again, pushing myself to keep looking.

Eventually, I was forced to come up for air once more, gasping.

I saw that Ryan Fenty had arrived too, and he’d brought his pregnant wife, Naomi.

‘Ashton?!‘ Both Ryan and Naomi stared at me in shock as I treaded water.

Police officers waded towards me, grumbling, and insisted I return to the bank.

1/6

Chapter 327 Ashton’s POV: I Can’t Fail Her Again

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When I refused, they moved in and physically dragged me out of the lake and back onto solid ground.

One of them said, ‘I know the missing woman is your wife, and I understand you’re worried. But you jumping in doesn’t help anyone. It only gets in our way.‘

He tossed me a thick towel and turned to Cassian. ‘You a friend of his?‘

Cassian nodded. ‘As much as I don’t want to admit it, yeah.‘

‘Keep an eye on him. Make sure he stays away from the water, alright?‘

‘Leave it to me, officer.‘

‘Ashton, what on earth happened? I heard Mirabelle fell into the lake?‘ Naomi sounded far more anxious than her husband Ryan, who remained calm and was already on the phone.

I shook my head. ‘I don’t know.‘

I’d only got the call from the police fifteen minutes earlier. All they told me was that someone had phoned in saying they’d seen a person jump, and a phone left on a bench suggested it might be

Mirabelle.

Soon, boats appeared on the lake–search teams called in by Cassian, Harry, and Ryan.

I started toward the water again, but Cassian yanked me back.

‘Don’t even think about it!‘ he shouted. “The water’s freezing! If you carry on like this, you’ll freeze to death before we find her. And if you’re dead, who’s going to save your wife?‘

Cassian alone couldn’t have held me back, but with Ryan, Harry, and several police officers blocking my path, I had no choice.

I stood on the shore, tense and useless, as the search dragged on.

Naomi gripped Ryan’s hand tightly. ‘Do you think something’s happened to Mirabelle?‘

Ryan held her close. ‘Don’t think like that. How about I take you home? I’ll call you the second we hear anything. You shouldn’t be standing out here in the cold.‘

‘No. I don’t want to go.‘

“Then at least wait in the car,‘ Ryan coaxed gently. ‘You need to rest. It’s not good for the baby.‘

Naomi rubbed her lower back and finally relented. ‘Alright. But promise you’ll tell me immediately if

there’s news.‘

‘I promise. The second I know anything.‘

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Chapter 327 Ashton’s POV: I Can’t Fail Her Again

+25 BONUS

Watching them, my heart ached all over again for Mirabelle.

I refused to believe she would take her own life, or that she’d slipped in by accident. She wasn’t

careless like that.

But there were no cameras near the lake, and the police still hadn’t found any witnesses. The call had been anonymous, and the number was no longer answering.

I knew she was mad at me, but she wouldn’t punish me by taking her own life. That simply wasn’t

her.

I knew she thought I was protecting Genevieve, that Genevieve was behind everything. 1

I knew she was waiting for me to come clean, to apologise, to explain.

But I couldn’t explain, not until I knew the whole truth myself.

The search continued all day.

‘Maybe we should call it off, don’t you think?‘ Cassian finally said what everyone was thinking: if something had happened to Mirabelle, by now it was almost certainly too late.

‘What if someone pulled her out?‘ Ryan suggested carefully when he saw the stormy look on my face.

‘If that happened, wouldn’t we have heard by now? Besides, no one’s come forward saying they saw anyone rescue her, have they?‘ Cassian said bluntly.

The air had turned bitterly cold. Between the chill wind and my earlier dip in the lake, I was shivering uncontrollably.

‘Why don’t you at least go change into dry clothes?” Ryan suggested for what felt like the tenth time.

I shook my head.

As evening drew in, the lake grew darker and even colder.

‘Let’s go back. Standing here waiting isn’t helping anyone,‘ Cassian said gently.

I swayed on my feet.

‘Ashton!‘

Someone shouted my name just as everything went black.

***

I woke up in hospital.

Chapter 327 Ashton’s POV I Can’t Fail Her Again

+25 BONUS

Cassian let out a heavy sigh of relief. Before I could even ask, he said, ‘I know what you’re going to say. The answer’s no–they still haven’t found her.‘

I lay there for a moment, my head pounding, my temples throbbing. My whole body was burning up

with fever.

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