The day after my wedding, my husband, fifteen years my senior, sent me abroad. Three years later, I sneaked onto his private yacht with a gift, only to find him kneeling before a pregnant woman, fastening a diamond-crusted crystal heel on her foot. The surrounding crowd cheered: “Nicholas was too soft getting tangled with that brat. Now with Miss Vance carrying the Hayes heir, things are set right.” “If not for Thea forcing the marriage, banking on their fathers’ friendship, Nora wouldn’t have fallen into depression… or her father died so suddenly.” “Let’s hope Thea lays low. If Nicholas gets angry, more than her father might end up dead.” Someone spotted me. The laughter died. Without looking up, Nicholas traced the woman’s foot: “No manners? Couldn’t even call ahead?” She eyed me curiously. “Who is this, Nick?” He finally glanced over. “Just a family kid. Ignore her.” Later, locked in a lower-deck storage closet as seawater seeped in, I heard Nicholas’s calm voice on the intercom: “All passengers are safe.” Someone asked, “What about Thea?” After a pause, his voice—once full of promises—replied, “She’s probably throwing a tantrum somewhere. She’ll show up when she’s done.” 1 I stood on the deck, the sea breeze whipping my hair across my face, but it couldn't drown out their venomous words. “Isn’t this my husband’s yacht? Why is my presence such a surprise?” Nicholas appeared beside me, reaching for my hand. “When did you get back? Let me take you to your room.” “Don’t touch me!” The moment his fingers brushed mine, I yanked my hand away. The force of my retreat sent me stumbling backward into a champagne tower. The sound of shattering glass drew every eye. Nora Vance gasped. Instinctively, Nicholas shielded her with his body. He didn’t even glance back to see if I was cut, his full attention on her. “Are you alright? Did it scare you?” Nora shook her head. “I’m fine, Nick. Don’t be angry with Thea. She’s probably just in a bad mood.” “A bad mood gives her the right to cause a scene?” Nicholas’s voice dropped, turning hard. “Thea, don't make a fool of yourself.” A fool? It felt like my throat was stuffed with cotton. I couldn’t speak. Who was it that held my hand and had me sign our marriage certificate on the day of my father’s funeral? Who was it that pinned me against the wall in the dressing room before our wedding, whispering that he couldn't wait to make me his bride? But now, in his eyes, I was nothing more than an intruder, ruining his perfect love story. Snickers erupted from the crowd behind me. “See? That temper.” “Nicholas has been more than generous these past few years. Paid for her education, gave her his name. What more could she want?” “I heard her father made him his guardian on his deathbed. The Hayes family had no choice but to take her in.” “Nora’s pregnant! What if the shock caused a problem? Could she even take responsibility for that?” Their words were poisoned daggers, each one piercing my heart. I was escorted away like a criminal, under the watchful eyes of the entire party. I pushed open the door to what was once our stateroom. The air was thick with a foreign perfume, clinging to every surface, announcing a new mistress. Her skincare products lined the vanity. Her silk nightgowns hung in the closet. On the nightstand was a photo of them, his arm wrapped around her waist, his eyes soft with a tenderness that burned. Nicholas followed me in. “You’ll stay here. We’ll be home in three days.” “Where are you going?” I blocked his path. “Nora can’t sleep. I need to be with her.” That single sentence shattered the last of my composure. I laughed, a raw, incredulous sound. “Be with her? What about me? Nicholas, are you really going to lock me in here while you go comfort another woman?” He didn’t answer, just tried to sidestep me. Watching his straight, retreating back, I suddenly didn’t care about anything anymore. Not reason, not dignity, not the tattered remnants of my pride. It all came crashing down. I grabbed the picture frame from the nightstand and hurled it against the wall. Glass exploded everywhere. Nicholas didn’t even flinch. He glanced at his watch. “Are you done?” His voice was terrifyingly calm. “Don’t be a shrew, Thea.” I reached for the table lamp, but he caught my wrist before I could throw it. “Thea, don’t make me hate you more than I already do.” “You already hate me, don’t you?” I twisted out of his grip. “The moment you got her pregnant, you were already done with me!” I swept the bottles and jars from the vanity, sending them crashing to the floor one by one. Nicholas lunged, grabbing my hands. In the struggle, the gift I had spent three months preparing fell and shattered. Inside, nestled among the broken pieces, was a document. My father had given it to his lawyer for safekeeping, to be given to me on my twenty-second birthday. It stated, in no uncertain terms, that his 18% stake in Hayes Corporation had never been legally transferred to Nicholas. It was being held in trust, to be returned to me automatically. I had planned to give it all to him, a birthday present to solidify his control. Now, that seemed like a joke. Nicholas didn’t notice the inconspicuous piece of paper. He pulled a file from the nightstand and tossed it onto the bed. The air went still. The words “Divorce Agreement” gleamed in gold foil. “Let’s end this amicably, Thea.” He held out a pen—the one I had given him last year. “Don’t make this difficult.” 2 I remember the first time I saw Nicholas. I was nineteen. My father had taken me to the Hayes Corporation’s anniversary gala. I stumbled in my heels, and he was the one who caught me. His eyes, behind gold-rimmed glasses, held the warmth of a benevolent elder. “Careful, kiddo.” After that night, I was obsessed. I collected every scrap of information I could find about him. The youngest visiting professor at the business school, the iron-fisted heir to the Hayes empire, thirty-four and still unmarried. I started showing up everywhere he was, even sneaking into his lectures. “Miss Rhodes, that’s enough.” He cornered me in a hallway after a reception, his voice a low warning. Fueled by champagne, I stood on my toes to kiss him. He turned his head, and my lips met his cheek. “Uncle Nick,” I whispered, “you like me too. I know you do.” He slammed me against the wall, his breathing ragged. “Do you have any idea what the consequences are for provoking me?” The worst consequence I could imagine then was my father’s anger. I never dreamed the price would be his life. On my twentieth birthday, I got drunk at his favorite bar. When he dragged me out, his face a thundercloud, I managed to slip a drugged drink past his lips. Everything after that went exactly as I had planned. Until I woke up at dawn to see him by the window, knotting his tie. “Satisfied? Now the whole city will know how the Rhodes heiress climbed into her father’s best friend’s bed.” I just smiled, wrapped in the sheets. “Then you’ll have to take responsibility.” A month later, my father, who had always been the picture of health, had a massive heart attack. At his hospital bedside, Nicholas, who had been cold to me for weeks, held my hand and had me sign our marriage papers. I was so consumed by grief, I didn't see the flicker of something complex and dark in his eyes. A sudden lurch of the yacht pulled me back to the present. In the mirror, my own swollen eyes stared back, merging with the image of the girl who had cried and screamed in the airport lounge, refusing to board the plane. “Study hard,” he had told me then. “Come back and be my Mrs. Hayes.” It was never a promise. He hated me for disrupting his life, for causing Nora’s depression to relapse, and most of all, for holding the 18% of the company that stood between him and his ultimate ambition. My fingers trembled as they brushed the red marks on my neck where he had grabbed me. He had never been this rough before, not even in our worst fights. After the sound of his footsteps faded, I shakily picked up the divorce agreement. The paper tore in my hands with a crisp, final sound. Then, from a hidden compartment in my suitcase, I pulled out the divorce papers I had prepared. They stipulated that all Rhodes family assets were mine alone, and that half of Nicholas’s personal property would be transferred to me as compensation. He would not get a single thing that wasn't rightfully his. I signed my name, tucked the papers under his pillow, and sent him a text: The agreement is under your pillow. Make sure you read it. The moment I hit send, my phone buzzed. A friend request. From Nora. “Thea, sweetie, Nick is already asleep. Let’s talk tomorrow. From now on, I’ll take care of you like a little sister.” I stared at the message and started to laugh. My fingers flew across the screen. “A little sister who’s slept with my husband? You have unique tastes, Nora.” The next morning, I was woken by a violent pounding on the door. Nicholas stormed in, his face dark, my text message displayed on his phone. “Are you insane?” He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Nora saw your message. She got so upset she almost had a miscarriage!” I looked into his bloodshot eyes and the absurdity of it all hit me. “So? What do you want? An apology? Should I kneel at her stomach and say I’m sorry for interrupting your affair with my husband?” “Thea!” His fist smashed into the wall next to my head. “Don’t push me.” I tilted my head back, meeting his furious gaze. “What else can you do, Nicholas? Throw me overboard to the sharks?” His expression froze. He loosened his tie, a muscle jumping in his jaw. “Thea, it’s not what you think.” “My feelings for you, and my feelings for Nora… they were never the same.” “Spare me the platitudes!” I screamed, grabbing a water glass and hurling it at the mirror. “You didn't seem to have a problem with it when you were on top of me, Nicholas. Tell me, how long have you been sneaking around behind my back? When you stood at my father’s funeral and swore you’d take care of me, were you still warm from her bed?” He exploded. He dragged me in front of the shattered mirror. “Look at yourself! Is it any wonder everyone says you can’t compare to her?” “You’re right, I can’t!” I shrieked, my voice breaking. “I don’t know how to play the victim, and I can’t stand by and watch my husband cheat on me and pretend to be gracious! You chose her, Nicholas. You made the right choice.” 3 After Nicholas slammed the door, I collapsed amidst the wreckage. Hair disheveled, eyes swollen, I was the very picture of a madwoman. I heard laughter from the hallway and crawled to the door, pressing my ear against the wood. “So, the proposal was a success?” a slick voice asked. I slid down the door, my legs giving out. So yesterday wasn’t just his birthday. It was his carefully orchestrated proposal to another woman. “Seriously, Nick, why did you ever agree to marry Thea in the first place?” Nicholas’s reply was casual, dismissive. “A young girl throwing herself at me? It would have been rude to say no.” A wave of laughter followed. Someone else added, “What you guys don’t know is that her old man’s 18% was just what Nick needed to leverage that Southside project. Without it, Hayes Corp would have gone under.” “The old bastard died at the perfect time.” “Oh, you have no idea. Rhodes was in good health, had at least another six months. But then he saw those hotel pictures of Nick and his precious daughter. Massive heart attack, right on the spot. Couldn’t be saved.” My world tilted on its axis. A roaring filled my ears. Of course. The memories flooded back. My father, on his deathbed, clutching my hand, his lips moving, trying to tell me something, but only blood came out. And Nicholas, on the other side of the bed, calmly pressing the call button. They were best friends. I stumbled out of the room and retched over the deck railing, but nothing came up. No wonder he had kissed me in the back room of the funeral hall before my father’s coffin was even in the ground. While I was crying myself unconscious, clutching my father’s portrait, he was probably calculating how to get his hands on the rest of the company. I stared into the black, churning sea. All those years of tenderness, the passion in our bed… it was all a performance for a dead man. “Thea, what are you doing out here all alone?” Nora’s voice came from behind me. “Get lost,” I rasped. “Nick told me everything,” she said with a sigh of faux sympathy. “He said it was all a beautiful misunderstanding. You were so young, you didn’t know any better. I understand.” I turned to face her, my eyes locking on the smile playing on her lips. “A misunderstanding? You and he are soulmates, destined to be together?” A cold laugh escaped me. “Then I guess he forgot to tell you how he spent our first year of marriage. He liked it from behind… has he ever done that with you?” “Shut up!” Nora’s mask of composure finally cracked. She raised her hand to slap me. I caught her wrist in a vice grip. “Can’t keep up the act? Save your sweet, innocent routine for Nicholas. It doesn't work on me.” “You—!” She gasped, her chest heaving. Then, her eyes darted to the side, and she threw herself backward with a theatrical scream. Before I could even process what was happening, a powerful force shoved me aside. Nicholas was there, his eyes burning with disgust. “Thea, are you looking to die?” “Yes. I am.” I stumbled, catching the railing. A wild, broken laugh bubbled up from my chest. “Go on, push me in. Feed me to the sharks. Get me out of your sight.” “I’m not going to kill you. But if you want to live the rest of your life in peace, you will sign those papers!” In that moment, I knew I couldn’t give him what he wanted. “And if I don’t?” I taunted. “As long as I refuse to sign, that thing in Nora’s belly will always be a bastard. She’ll always be the mistress, hiding in the shadows. You want to give her a name, Nicholas? I won’t let you.” He laughed. A cold, chilling sound. He snapped his fingers. Several large men appeared, dragging three people with them. My best friend, Maya. Mr. Chen, our old groundskeeper who had watched me grow up. And Mr. Zhang, my father’s lawyer and closest confidant. They were bound and gagged, their eyes wide with terror. “Recognize them?” Nicholas strolled to the railing. “I hear there’s a school of tiger sharks in these waters. They haven’t eaten in a while.” “What are you doing?” The screech of a winch grated on my nerves. Maya was pushed over the side of the yacht, a rope slowly lowering her toward the dark water. She shook her head violently, tears streaming down her face. “Will you sign?” Nicholas lit a cigarette. “Mr. Chen is next.” The water below Maya began to churn. Dark fins sliced through the surface. She let out a muffled scream, trying to pull her legs up. “I’ll sign!” I lunged for the pen. “Let her go!” As the tip of the pen touched the paper, I caught Mr. Zhang’s eye. He was shaking his head frantically, his swollen lips mouthing the words, “Don’t sign.” The pen hovered. Nicholas’s eyes narrowed. “Not enough motivation, I see.” He gestured to his men. “Lower her another ten feet.” “No!” I screamed, but it was too late. The rope unspooled, and Maya plunged into the sea. In the splash, I saw a shark lunging for her. “Pull her up!” Nicholas barked. The men scrambled to winch her back. When they hauled her onto the deck, her pant leg was shredded, a gruesome gash bleeding freely down her calf. Her eyes had rolled back in her head. She was unconscious. I knew that if I signed, I would lose everything. My father’s legacy, my own life, any chance of revenge. But if I didn’t, the man who had bounced me on his knee as a child would be next. “Last chance, Thea.” 4 “I’ll give you three hours to think about it,” Nicholas said, his thumb brushing a speck of blood from the corner of my lip. “Don’t disappoint me, Thea.” I stared at the pool of Maya’s blood on the deck. “Nicholas,” I whispered, “did you kill my father?” His hand, adjusting his cufflink, paused for a fraction of a second. His eyes were unreadable. “I’ve never been a good man.” “You monster!” Mr. Chen, suddenly free, lunged at him, his white hair flying in the wind. “My boss treated you like a brother! When your company was about to go bankrupt, who mortgaged his own home to save you? When your board tried to oust you, who rallied his own men to back you up? Is this how you repay him?” Nicholas’s eyes hardened. The guards immediately restrained Mr. Chen. He took off his glasses, polishing them with a handkerchief. “Your Mr. Chen is getting old. Talking so much is bad for his health.” He nodded to the guards. “Help him find some peace and quiet.” Before I could even scream, Mr. Chen’s struggles ended in a choked, gurgling sound. The sickening crunch of a needle piercing flesh made my entire body tremble. They were sewing his mouth shut with a coarse thread. I tried to run to him, but the guards held me back. Bile and tears spilled from me, splashing onto the deck. “Can’t handle this?” Nicholas forced my chin up. “Think about the blood your father coughed up before he died. It was much more than this.” “You will pay for this, Nicholas. You will get what you deserve.” “Do I look like a man who fears retribution?” The sound of heels clicked on the deck. Nora appeared, holding a velvet box. “Nick, darling, the designer just delivered the engagement rings.” The box opened, and the light from a massive pink diamond blinded me. A priceless, rare gem, set in platinum, a hundred times more extravagant than the modest ring I wore. “Nora, go back to the room,” Nicholas said, his voice unusually gentle. “But…” She glanced at me nervously. “I’m worried Miss Rhodes will be upset at the engagement party.” “Upset?” Nicholas sneered. “Don’t worry. Tomorrow, she’ll be in the bilge.” He waved a hand at the guards. “Take her below.” I spent the night huddled in a damp, dark storage closet. The next morning, I could hear the sounds of a waltz and the laughter of guests from the deck above. At midnight, the ship shuddered violently. An alarm blared through the ship. “All passengers proceed to the lifeboats immediately! I repeat, this is not a drill!” I heard the frantic stampede of feet overhead. I pounded on the steel door, screaming, but no one answered. “Let me out! Is anyone there? Open the door!” Salty seawater seeped under the door, quickly rising past my ankles. A short while later, Nicholas’s voice came over the intercom, chillingly calm. “All passengers have been safely evacuated.” “What about Miss Rhodes?” someone asked. After a beat of silence, I heard the voice that had once been my world. “Thea? She’s probably hiding somewhere, throwing a tantrum. Don’t worry about her.” In my last moments of consciousness, I was nineteen again, at the gala. Nicholas was catching me as I stumbled. If I could do it all over again, I would tell him: Nicholas, I never wanted to be your kiddo. I wish I had never met you.
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