Dumped My Cheating Ex. Now I'm Sleeping Next to a Billionaire CEO novel Chapter 1143

“Overlord!”

“James!”

“I knew it! Overlord’s alive!”

The wounded soldiers nearby started shouting, their voices shaking with excitement and relief. The admiration in their eyes ran deep, almost like worship.

Emmy couldn’t breathe.

She saw him—one hand braced on the doorframe, then a leap into the open air.

He landed with a heavy thud, tactical boots splashing muddy water everywhere. Even though he was hurt, he stood tall, his posture unbreakable, like a spear planted straight in the ground.

James pulled off his helmet, tucking it under his arm, which was already caked with mud. He didn’t even look at the crowd around him.

His face was covered in streaks of green camouflage, but it couldn’t hide the hard edge in his eyes, or the violence lingering there, like a man who had clawed his way out of a warzone. Blood was smeared across his features. Emmy couldn’t tell if it was his or someone else’s. His uniform was torn to shreds, his bulletproof vest dented and scarred with bits of shrapnel. But he walked like he didn’t feel a thing.

A doctor rushed over.

James frowned, pointing quickly at the stretchers being carried behind him, rattling off instructions about the wounded.

Emmy watched him, tears spilling down her face all over again. She felt so weak she could barely stand, her hand locked in Penny’s just to stay upright.

“He’s alive…”

“He’s really alive…”

She couldn’t take her eyes off him. He looked battered, filthy, and she could almost smell the blood even from where she stood.

But right then, to Emmy, James was the most heartbreakingly handsome man she’d ever seen. The raw strength, the intensity—she couldn’t look away. The cheers, the roar of the helicopter blades, all of it faded until her world narrowed to just him, standing there on the helipad, bloodied and unbreakable.

James finished with the doctor and refused to be checked first. He turned, leading a few of his men who were still able to walk toward the hospital. His steps were long, a little shaky, but there was still a force behind him that kept everyone at a distance.

Suddenly, his eyes swept over the crowd behind the security line.

“Holy crap, look at that presence. He’s scary as hell!”

“Salute! Come on, salute!”

In a single sweeping motion, everyone—wounded or not, logistics staff, medics—snapped to attention and raised their hands in a salute. Their eyes shone with absolute awe.

But Emmy couldn’t hold it together anymore. All the fear, worry, and relief inside her spilled over. She broke into a run, the wind whipping her short hair. She only saw him.

James watched her rush toward him, his eyes wide. He wiped his bloody, muddy hands on his pants, trying to clean them off. He reached out, wanting to catch her gently, not wanting to dirty her.

But Emmy didn’t care. She threw her arms open and flung herself into him, holding on tight, breathing in his scent—sweat, blood, and life. She buried her face in his battered vest, against the hard plates and sharp shrapnel, and cried quietly.

For a moment, the whole helipad went completely silent.

Everyone stared, wide-eyed, not daring to believe what they were seeing.