Marry My Billionaire Second Husband - Chapter 123

Chapter 123: Lost in Snow
Matteo squinted his eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of color in the sea of white. His feet sunk into the deep snow, making the climb harder than it needed to be.

“Amelia!” Matteo screamed out, cupping his mouth with his hands so that his desperate call would travel further. He strained his ears, hoping to hear her reply. However, it was futile. His voice was swallowed by the flurry of snow, and he could hear nothing but the howling wind.

“Amelia!” He called out again, but just like before, there was no answer. His fingers protested, now a bright red at being exposed to the harsh winds, and he reluctantly tucked them into the pockets of his jacket, allowing them to rest in the meager warmth provided.

It had been excessively foolish to rush out without ensuring he was properly geared up. But with Amelia’s life hanging by a thread that steadily frayed with every single second that passed, his own well-being had taken a back seat.

So what if he lost his fingers to frostbite? He had ten in total, and he didn’t need all of them. Amelia’s life was more important.

He blinked quickly, trying to get the wind out of his eyes so he could spot a sign of life.

If Amelia was stuck at the mountain, knowing her resourcefulness, she would have left some sort of marker for a rescuer to find. But with the way the snow was falling, even a mark left in the snow would have been covered in no time at all.

Matteo cursed under his breath, and continued his climb, while screaming Amelia’s name at periodic intervals. He wanted to rush to where Amelia was, but he also dared not rush through his search, for fear of missing Amelia on the way.

Fifteen minutes had passed. Matteo’s fingers were numb from the cold, but all he could think about was how bad a state Amelia would be left in.

Then Matteo’s eyes caught sight of a strange item jutting in the distance, the rounded corner at odds with the jagged rocks lining the path.

His heart raced and he quickly jogged towards it. Now that it was in front of him, it looked too thick to be a fallen tree branch. He bent down to dig away at the snow that had nearly buried it whole with his bare hands, gritting his teeth as his fingers screamed in pain as they were forced to touch the freezing snow.

But slowly, surely, he finally pulled it out.

His breath caught in his throat.

It was Amelia’s snowboard. For it to be stuck here, without her, meant that Amelia had most likely fallen on the way down. He checked the buckles― nothing was torn, which meant that Amelia most likely took it off on her own, rather than it being ripped away from her feet.

Small mercies. He quickly looked at the surrounding area, using the snowboard to scrape away the snow.

The board hit something solid.

He heard the slightest groan of pain.

“Amelia! Is that you?” Matteo exclaimed, frantic.

He leaned down and redoubled his efforts, and was rewarded with Amelia’s shivering figure, the face on her skin was a bright red. She had been exposed to the cold for too long, and if he dawdled any longer, she would lose her nose for good.

“Amelia? Can you hear me?” Matteo knelt down, his knees collapsing out of relief. He reached for Amelia, only to hiss in surprise as she fell straight into his arms without resistance.

Her eyes were glassy and unfocused, and she seemed to be staring at something behind Matteo than at Matteo himself.

“Ma… Ma…” Amelia mumbled weakly, and Matteo’s heart sank.

Amelia was now hallucinating her deceased mother. Desperate, he dug through the survival pack for anything he could use to help her. There was food and water, but Amelia had gone past the need for food or water. She was delirious at this point.

Desperate, he found several hot packs stuffed inside and quickly shoved them into Amelia’s hands. She barely stirred, but her eyes flickered weakly at the sudden warmth. Good enough. He then took said hot packs and stuffed them down her inner layers, so as to give her more warmth. His fingers once again protested at the preferential treatment Amelia was getting in comparison.

“You… You’re here…” Amelia whispered.

“Yes, I am,” Matteo said, cupping her face tenderly. “Amelia, do you know who I am? Do you know what happened?”

Amelia blinked slowly, as though her eyelids were incredibly heavy. “I… I’m… sleepy…”

“No! Don’t sleep!” Matteo exclaimed, horrified. If Amelia fell asleep, she might never wake up again.

However, Amelia seemed not to detect his urgency. She merely let out a tiny hum and closed her eyes. Matteo quickly shook her awake.

They had no time to waste. He had to get her back.

“Amelia, hold onto me, okay? I’ll get the both of us out of here,” Matteo promised fervently. The snow had obscured his footprints, but he knew the way back. “You have to stay awake. Promise me?”

Amelia let out another quiet hum. Matteo quickly gathered her in his arms and began the agonizing trek back to the resort

“Amelia, stay awake!” Matteo called out. “Focus on my words!”

“…What?” Amelia mumbled, her vision hazy. “Who are you?”

Just great. Amelia’s mind wasn’t working now.

“I’m Matteo,” Matteo said. At least Amelia seemed to be paying attention to his words, even though she didn’t look like she understood them, or believed them. He had to keep talking to maintain her focus.

“I’m your future husband.”

Her lips pursed together.

“Believe me, I’ve wanted to marry you for a very long time,” Matteo said, fear loosening his tongue. “If not for the fact that Caleb Walton found you before I did, we would already have a family together.”

Amelia’s eyes squinted. The gears in her head were stuck. None of this man’s words were making sense.

“It’s fine if you don’t believe me now,” Matteo declared. The resort was so close. “When you’re all better… When we’re married, I’ll tell you everything. I promise. But Amelia, you have to live!”