Bitcoin Billionaire: I Regressed to Invest in the First Bitcoin!-Chapter 304: The Drowning Hacker

"ILEANA!" Darren roared.

Without a second of thought or hesitation, Darren launched himself into the pool.

Olivia followed after him, wanting to help while the other women were frozen with fear, some swimming to Ileana as well.

But Darren was faster. He cut through the pool with a speed that left a wake behind him, and then plunged deeper, desperate to catch her.

Just then, he found her, her pale, sinking form, her dark hair floating around her face like seaweed.

Her eyes were wide, her mouth open in a silent scream, bubbles streaming past her lips. Her legs and hands were still flailing helplessly.

But help was coming.

Darren dove deeper and reached her in time. He hooked an arm around her chest, under her arms, and kicked hard for the surface.

SPLASH!

They broke through the water with a gasp— his from exertion, hers from ragged, panicked inhalation, followed by a fit of coughing that wracked her entire body.

She clung to him, her fingers digging into his arms like a lifeline, her slight frame trembling violently.

Water poured down from their bodies, their wet hair sticking to their skin.

"I’ve got you," he murmured, his voice a low, steady anchor in her storm of fear. "I’ve got you."

The women gathered closer, worry in their gazes.

"Is she okay?"

"What happened?"

"She’ll be fine," Darren said as he carried her out of the pool, water streaming from both of them.

He ignored the workers that had gathered to give a helping hand, his entire being focused on the terrified girl in his arms.

But then he stopped, turning to the other women.

"I’ll be right back. Don’t stop the party because of this."

He moved on past the loungers, carried her straight into the villa, through the living area, and into her own room.

Gently, he laid her down on the soft velvet. She was still coughing, her breath hitching in ragged sobs.

He grabbed a thick, woolen throw from a nearby armchair and wrapped it around her shoulders, rubbing her arms briskly to generate warmth.

"Hey? Hey?" he said to her as he warmed her up. "Are you alright?"

Ileana nodded as he wrapped another towel around her shoulders. "Yes, I’m fine."

"Good. Just breathe gently, try to find your normal breath," he coached, his voice incredibly calm.

Her coughing subsided, replaced by silent, shaking tears that traced paths through the pool water on her cheeks.

She looked up at him, her eyes huge and filled with a vulnerability that cracked something open in his chest.

"You should dry up," he said.

Her lips pressed to a line.

Darren got up, ready to leave. "I’ll come check on you later."

But Ileana suddenly reached out a trembling hand and clutched his wrist.

"P-please," she stammered, her voice hoarse from the water she’d swallowed. "Stay."

Darren stared at her, then nodded simply. "Okay..."

He stood there, watching as she silently as she dried her body.

Her pale skin glistened with the pool water that traced every curve of her slender, curvy frame. She took off her bikini bra, and Darren gulped, watching as she used the towel to wipe across her full, rounded breasts.

This... was unexpected.

Her slim waist twisted slightly, accentuating the soft flare of her hips and the firm, plump curve of her ass, each motion sending a jolt through Darren’s chest.

Water droplets slid down her toned legs, and she wiped those too, her vulnerability only amplifying the raw, sultry heat of her body.

"I’m so stupid," she whispered finally, her voice thick with shame.

Darren found his voice. "Why do you say that?"

Ileana turned to him, pulling the towel tighter. "Because it’s true. I’m stupid for being here. For thinking I could be... like them." She looked down at her hands. "You saved me. Again."

"You still think about that."

"The Triad."

"It was the horror of my life, one I thought I would never escape," she continued, her gaze distant, lost in the memory. "You saw something in a scared, hacking girl surrounded by thugs. You brought me to America. You gave me a job... a purpose. You gave me a life." She trailed off, fresh tears welling up.

Darren stepped closer, abs glistening. "I don’t want you to think of me as a Messiah, Ileana."

"But I still want to thank you," she confessed, the words a broken whisper. "That’s all I want to do."

"You don’t have to thank me, Ileana. You’ve more than earned your place a hundred times over. Your work at Steele Investments—"

"No," she interrupted, a sudden, surprising strength in her voice. "Not like that. I want to thank you. For everything. Personally."

The air in the room shifted, growing thick and charged. Darren looked into her eyes, seeing her struggling to escape the scared girl, and become something braver.

A person not afraid to show her loyalty and fierce, desperate affection for him.

"How?" he asked, his own voice dropping to a whisper.

Ileana took a deep, shuddering breath, gathering all her courage. "I didn’t... I didn’t even know how to swim," she admitted, the confession tumbling out.

"I never learned. But I saw them... Olivia, Cheyenne... they were so beautiful in the water. So confident. And you were watching them. You were spending time with them. I just... I wanted you to look at me like that. Just for a second."

The raw honesty of it hit him like a physical blow. It wasn’t a calculated seduction or a power play. Ileana wasn’t like others.

For her, it was the pure, terrifying vulnerability of someone risking everything for a moment of his attention.

It was the most powerful thing any woman had offered him all weekend.

"Listen... Ileana," he breathed, now very close to her, his thumb pushing a hair behind her ear.

"You never, ever have to be anyone but yourself to impress me. What you did was brave... but it was incredibly dangerous. Don’t ever do it again."

He leaned closer, his forehead almost touching hers. "I see you, okay? I have always seen you."

Ileana’s eyes lowered nervously. "Is there any way you could show me?" she asked.

Darren smiled, adjusting his shoulders. "What way would you like?"

Ileana shrugged with one shoulder, then looked up at him with her love-ridden eyes. Slowly she began to move her head closer and closer, until their lips were close enough to touch.

And then they did.