Dear Ex-wife, Marry Me novel Chapter 1517

Maja's heart skipped a beat as she sat motionless on the wooden bench of the boat, her eyes staring blankly into the distance.

When Beck boarded the vessel, the first thing he noticed was her faraway gaze.

He immediately walked over and gave her shoulder a gentle pat.

"The sea's chilly, and dawn's breaking soon. You should change out of those wet clothes," he said with a touch of concern.

Maja almost shook her head in refusal, but the first light of dawn was already spreading across the horizon, followed by a shout that jolted everyone to attention.

"Over here!"

She quickly stood up and made her way towards the commotion.

It wasn't so much that they had found Ian, but rather his jacket, aimlessly drifting on the water's surface.

From her vantage point, Maja could see the island's sky, where smoke slowly ascended, hinting at the horrific battle that had raged the night before.

She withdrew her gaze, ready to plunge into the sea, but Beck stopped her.

"There are plenty of people searching down there. If Ian's in the water, he'll be found."

Without a word, Maja grabbed a pair of binoculars and began scouring the sea.

Helicopters buzzed overhead as part of the massive search effort. With such a large-scale operation, even if Ian had drifted far, he should have been found by now.

Maja's brow furrowed as she peered into the deep, vast ocean. Could he have sunk to the bottom?

Ignoring Beck's protests, she insisted on launching a lifeboat to search for Ian herself.

Beck couldn't stop her, so he simply spoke into his walkie-talkie, asking the chopper pilots to keep an eye on her position.

As Maja rowed and scanned the area with her binoculars, she searched for any blind spots that others might have missed.

Her gaze landed on a cluster of trees in the distance, and without hesitation, she rowed towards them.

When she finally saw the person sprawled among the branches, her heart felt as though it had been torn to shreds.

Ian lay on the central tree, obscured by its girth and the leaves floating around, making him invisible from the air and the sea unless someone came close enough to take a careful look.

Maja signaled to the helicopter above and then plunged into the water with a splash, determined to bring Ian back.