Free Web NovelChapter 159: Chapter 155: I Will Drag You to Die With Me
Georgia instinctively started to object, but the man beside her just hummed in agreement.
A traffic cop was directing cars up ahead. The driver turned the wheel, offering them a sincere blessing. "Congratulations on your marriage!"
"Thank you!"
Elliot Sheridan offered his thanks, pulling Georgia into his arms and looking at her tenderly.
His adoring gaze was so intense you could get lost in it.
It felt as if they were a real newlywed couple on their honeymoon.
She lowered her head, the corners of her lips turning up uncontrollably.
Her mood was brighter than the sunny day outside.
Today’s Elliot was a little different from usual.
The usually silent man, who was normally so sparing with his words, was actually making small talk with the driver for once.
Along the way, the driver told them all about Kyoria’s tourist spots, hot springs, and temples.
At nine o’clock, they arrived at the ski resort.
It was an outdoor ski resort. According to the driver, it was the largest one near Kyoria, attracting over seven million visitors annually.
The two of them bought tickets, went inside, and changed into ski suits.
They sat in a cable car, slowly ascending the mountain.
Georgia pressed her face against the window and looked down.
Below, everything was covered in a blanket of white snow, a world of silver and white. It was like they had arrived in the Ice Age.
Georgia looked excitedly at the other cable cars, then turned to the man beside her with a curious question. "Hey, what if the cable suddenly snapped? Would we die?"
"I don’t answer hypothetical questions."
"I’m just curious! Just answer me!"
Georgia pestered Elliot, determined to get an answer out of him.
Eventually, left with no other choice, Elliot slowly opened his mouth and spoke two words. "We wouldn’t."
"Why not?"
"The cable car won’t break. The scenario you’re proposing is impossible."
"Ugh..." Georgia couldn’t help but roll her eyes and tug on his sleeve.
She looked at him earnestly. "Let’s just suppose. The cable suddenly snaps, the car plummets, and we’re about to die. What would you do? Can’t you just answer the hypothetical question?"
The man turned his head to meet Georgia’s expectant gaze and said, "I’d drag you down with me."
’Ugh... what kind of answer is that?’
Any other man would have said something romantic, like "I’ll use my body to protect you," or "If you die, I won’t live alone."
’And he just comes right out and says he’d drag me down with him?’
Georgia huffed, turning her head to look out at the scenery again. "So unromantic!"
Just as Elliot had said they wouldn’t fall, the cable car reached the summit safely.
The temperature on the mountain was a good ten-plus degrees colder than at the base, and the wind blew in sharp gusts.
Thankfully, they were wearing ski suits, which did a great job of keeping out the cold.
At the ski rental area, Elliot looked at the skis hanging on the rack before turning to Georgia behind him.
"Have you ever skied before?"
Georgia shook her head. It was her first time at a ski resort, so of course she couldn’t.
Hearing this, Elliot picked out a shorter pair of skis and tossed them to Georgia. "Hold these."
Georgia held the skis. "Am I going to have to ski later?"
"Why else would I bring you to a ski resort? Just to watch other people?"
"Uh..."
Georgia gave a weak smile. She felt that just watching others ski, or maybe building a snowman by herself, would have been enough.
Skiing seemed a lot like ice skating.
Georgia had never been very athletic. When she’d tried learning to ice skate, she’d fallen so often that she developed a real fear of it. It left such a mark on her that Justin Sullivan eventually gave up trying to teach her.
The ski resort was filled with enthusiasts.
Following behind Elliot, Georgia saw that even children as young as seven or eight knew how to ski.
"Put on your skis."
Georgia mumbled an okay, put the skis down, and studied them for a moment, only to realize she had no idea how to put them on.
"How do you put these on?"
Georgia looked at Elliot sheepishly. Elliot crouched down, lifted one of her legs, and helped her into the ski binding.
Georgia lowered her head and saw the back of his fuzzy head. In the bright sunlight, she couldn’t tell if it was a trick of the light, but she thought she spotted a few silver strands in Elliot’s hair.
After he secured the skis, he said, "Lift your feet and see if they come off."
Georgia did as she was told, wiggling both feet. They were on tight.
"So, uh, do I really have to ski?" Georgia swallowed hard as Elliot led her to the top of a slope.
It was a gentle, shallow slope, perfect for beginners, and many people were practicing there.
"I’ll be right here to teach you."
"But I’m not very athletic." Georgia frowned, trying to stall for as long as possible.
Elliot grabbed her arm. "Do you trust me?"
"I do."
"Hold the ski poles. They help you push off, control your balance, and change direction..."
Elliot quickly gave Georgia a crash course on skiing. "When you ski, you need to lean forward, bend your knees, and keep your center of gravity forward..."
But Georgia was so nervous she didn’t hear a single word.
She only felt Elliot give her a little push from behind. She immediately straightened her back, staring at the snowfield ahead in terror, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to jump out of her throat.
The results of making a completely unathletic person learn to ski were predictable.
She herself couldn’t remember how many times she had fallen. The moment Elliot let go, she would take a spectacular tumble.
When she scrambled back up, she would be so dizzy she could barely see Elliot clearly.
Luckily, she was wearing protective gear on her elbows and knees. Otherwise, she probably would have gone home covered in bruises.
Elliot was far more patient than she’d expected, teaching her for nearly three hours.
Georgia wanted to give up multiple times, but Elliot would just pull her back up and force her to try again.
She wasn’t going to get any practical use out of learning, and she didn’t understand why he was so insistent.
Finally, Elliot only let her off the hook when she complained that she was hungry.
Neither of them had done any real skiing; all that time had been spent on her.
There was a food court at the ski resort. Stepping back into the air-conditioned room from the freezing world of ice and snow, she instantly felt flushed with heat.
Georgia went to the locker room to change back into her own clothes. When she came out, she saw Elliot standing not far from the women’s locker room, surrounded by a crowd of women.
She knew he was popular, but seeing beautiful women swarming him, asking for his number and for photos, still made her angry.
’Weren’t Akashiman women supposed to have a different taste in men than Sinean women?’
As Georgia glared at him, he happened to glance her way. The icy expression on his face cracked, finally showing a trace of warmth.
Elliot lowered his head and said something to the women clinging to him, then strode over to her.
He pulled Georgia into his arms and introduced her in Akashiman, "Sorry, this is my wife. If you want my number, you’ll have to ask her permission first."
Seeing that such a high-quality man was already taken, the women were both envious and jealous.
Assuming Georgia couldn’t understand them, they started chattering away in Akashiman, saying nasty things about her.
This wasn’t the first time someone had asked for a photo with him.
Georgia hated the disdainful looks they were giving her, muttering that she and Elliot were a mismatch.
Her eyes darted back and forth. She pretended not to understand a word, instead linking her arm intimately with Elliot’s and asking in a sweet, coquettish voice, "Darling, what are they saying?"
That one word, "Darling," coming from Georgia’s lips, was soft and sweet—a kind of coquettishness that melted Elliot’s heart.
They had been intimate before, but at most, Georgia would shyly call him by his name.
This was the first time she had called him that.
Hearing it made Elliot’s chest tighten. His gaze was suddenly filled with desire; he wanted nothing more than to push her onto a bed right then and there.
"Don’t worry about them. Weren’t you hungry? Let’s go."
His voice hoarse, Elliot wrapped an arm around Georgia’s slender waist and led her away, completely ignoring the stunned group of women they left behind.
As they walked away, Elliot leaned close to her ear, his warm breath tickling her skin. "Say it again."
"Uh..." Georgia’s cheeks immediately flushed red, and she glared at him fiercely.
’He’s pushing his luck!’ she thought. ’No way I’m saying it again!’
Georgia’s heart was also pounding—THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. It was the first time she hadn’t denied the fact that they were husband and wife.
And she had even taken the initiative to call him "Darling."
After filling their stomachs, they took another taxi.
It was a long drive. Georgia had been forced to exercise for three hours and was exhausted and sleepy.
She tried to prop her head up with her hand to sleep, but it was uncomfortable. Before long, her hand went numb and her neck ached.
Seeing this, Elliot wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pressed her head against his. "If you’re tired, just sleep. I’ll wake you up when we get there."
"Mmm."
Georgia hummed in agreement, leaned against his shoulder, found a comfortable spot, and fell asleep.
When Georgia woke up, she found that the sky outside was already dark.
Still groggy from sleep, she instinctively snuggled against Elliot’s chest. "How much longer?"
"Almost there."
He loved this version of Georgia, the one who relied on him completely.
Georgia sleepily sat up from Elliot’s arms, rubbed her eyes, and let out a huge yawn.
She seemed to have slept for over two hours. By all accounts, they should have arrived long ago.
She looked around. This didn’t look like the road to the city center.
They had checked out of their hotel that morning and were now headed to a hot spring resort.
It was on the other side of Kyoria, so of course the drive was a bit longer.
In the lobby of the hot spring resort, Elliot held Georgia’s hand. While checking in, he turned to her and said, "I need your ID."
Georgia obediently took out her ID and handed it to him.
After checking in, the two of them went to their room, which was decorated in a traditional Akashiman style.
The heating was turned up high inside, and the blast of warm air made their faces flush the moment they entered.
She took off her heavy coat and went to pull open the nearby curtains.
It was a large, transparent glass window, and outside was a small hot spring pool.
"Wow, a hot spring!" Georgia turned and pointed it out to Elliot.
She then excitedly slid open the glass door and stepped outside.
It was an open-air bath. Georgia tilted her head back to look up at the sky, where a crescent moon hung in the blackness.
