Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 819 - 821

Chapter 819: Chapter 821

He took a step forward, and with that single motion, the world around him changed again. He was no longer above the city. He was within it. The streets stretched before him, the hum of life surrounding him, yet no one seemed to notice him. He moved through the crowd, unseen, untouched, as though he were a shadow cast by something greater.

Then, a voice.

Familiar. Grounding.

"Jude?"

He turned, and for the first time since returning, he felt the weight of reality truly settle.

Lisa stood before him, eyes wide, breath caught in the moment between recognition and disbelief. She was real, solid, unchanged, and yet, something in her gaze told him she knew.

"You were gone," she said, her voice quiet but firm. "Not just missing. Gone."

Jude did not deny it. He could see the unspoken questions in her eyes, the search for an answer that could make sense of what had happened. But how could he explain? How could he put into words something that existed beyond them?

"I had to go," he said simply.

Lisa took a step closer, searching his face, and for the first time, Jude wondered what she saw. Did he still look the same? Did he still carry the weight of the man he had once been, or had something fundamental changed?

"You left us," she continued, the edge of something raw creeping into her voice. Not anger. Not accusation. Just something unshaped, unfinished.

Jude wanted to tell her that he had not chosen to leave, that this had never been about abandoning them. But he knew that words would not be enough.

Instead, he reached out, not to touch, but to connect.

For a moment, the space between them held something unseen. A bridge, a thread of understanding. And Lisa felt it. Her breath caught, her eyes widening, not in fear but in realization.

"You, " she started, but the words faltered.

Jude nodded. "I came back."

It was not an answer. Not a complete one. But it was enough.

The city pulsed around them, unaware of the shift, unaware of the moment that had just passed between them. And for the first time since returning, Jude felt something settle.

He was no longer just a part of something greater. He was here.

And the world had noticed.

Lisa took a shaky breath as she stared at Jude, her fingers curling into the fabric of her jacket as though grounding herself in reality. He was there, standing in front of her, and yet he felt different. Not just in the way he moved, but in the way the air around him seemed to shift, like he was something more than just a man. A part of her wanted to ask where he had been, what had happened, but she knew instinctively that whatever he said, it wouldn’t be something she could fully understand. Instead, she settled on the only thing that mattered.

"Are you staying this time?"

Jude looked at her, not with the hesitation of someone unsure, but with the certainty of someone who had already made a decision long before being asked. He nodded.

"Yes."

A shudder of relief passed through her, but it did not erase the wariness in her expression. He had vanished before, leaving behind nothing but questions and the hollow ache of absence. Now he had returned, stepping back into the world as though he had never left, but the wound of his disappearance had not faded so easily.

"You left without a word," she said, her voice quiet but firm. "No one knew where you went. No one even knew if you were still alive."

Jude did not look away, but he did not offer excuses either.

"I couldn’t stay," he said, and though his words were simple, they carried the weight of something far greater than she could comprehend.

Lisa searched his face, looking for something familiar, something unchanged, and for the first time, she realized that while he still looked like the man she had known, there was something different in his eyes. A depth that had not been there before.

"What happened to you?" she finally asked.

Jude hesitated, but only for a moment. He could not explain everything, not in a way that would make sense in words, but he could give her something.

"I saw the edge of everything," he said. "And I came back."

Lisa exhaled sharply, feeling frustration rise in her chest. It wasn’t enough. She wanted to understand, to grasp what had taken him away, what had brought him back. But as she stood there, looking at him, she realized that no matter how much she wanted an explanation, some things were beyond words.

"I thought you were dead," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

Jude’s expression softened. "I’m sorry."

It wasn’t enough to erase the pain of the months he had been gone, but it was something.

She let out a slow breath and finally nodded, accepting what little he could offer.

"If you’re back, then prove it," she said. "Don’t disappear again."

Jude nodded. "I won’t."

She wanted to believe him. She had no choice but to believe him.

The weight of the moment settled between them, but before either of them could say anything else, the city reminded them that it did not stop for anyone. The distant hum of traffic, the murmur of voices, the rhythm of life continued as though nothing had changed.

Jude turned his head slightly, his gaze flickering toward something unseen, and for a brief second, Lisa swore the shadows around them shifted. It was subtle, barely noticeable, but she felt it, the air growing denser, the faintest flicker of something unnatural brushing against the edges of her senses.

"Jude?"

He looked back at her, his expression unreadable. "I need to see Roy."

Lisa frowned at the sudden change in subject, but she did not argue.

"He’s not going to be happy to see you," she warned.

"I know."