After They Pushed Me into the Sea

The cold sea water, heavy with a salty, fishy stench, flooded into my mouth and nose. My limbs felt like they were filled with lead; no matter how hard I paddled, I only drifted farther from the yacht. I'll never forget the faces of that man and woman on the deck—not even in death. The man was my husband of three years, Simon Gabriel. The woman was my best friend, Tina Jones, whom I'd cared for with all my heart for half a year. Tina Jones, her baby bump proudly showing, smiled so brightly it felt like she was blossoming all over. "Wendy, if you hadn't taken me in, how would I have met such an incredible man like Simon?" "Now that I'm carrying his twins, the place of Mrs. Gabriel should belong to me." Simon Gabriel's voice was colder than the ocean. "Wendy Scott, you barren waste, how dare you push me to go childfree?" "The Gabriel almost had no heir because of you." I clung to the rope hanging from the yacht's edge, screaming for help with everything I had. Simon bent down and sliced through the knot with a utility knife. As my body plummeted, I caught a glimpse of Tina Jones waving an insurance policy in her hand. It was the high-value accident insurance they had coaxed me into signing before we left. Even my death was something they planned to squeeze every last bit of value from. As my consciousness faded, I remembered today was our third wedding anniversary. So this deep-sea fishing trip was a trap laid out for me from the very start. When I opened my eyes again, the blinding sunlight made me squint. Familiar sobbing filled my ears, just like the nightmare that began in my past life. "Wendy, you're my best friend!" "Harry Carter left me. I don't even have a place to stay now. You can't just walk away!" I turned around and saw Tina Jones crouched under the building in my neighborhood, her hair messy and tears still streaking down her face. It was exactly the same as the day Harry Carter dumped her in my previous life. Back then, holding onto four years of friendship from college, my heart softened and I took her in. I showered her with delicious food and casually gave her the new bags and jewelry I'd bought. I thought I was raising a best friend, but it turned out she was a venomous snake that bites. She took from me while eating my food, all the while crawling into Simon Gabriel's bed. In the end, they even teamed up to push me into the sea. Tina Jones saw I was silent, then reached out and grabbed my sleeve. Her fingertips were ice cold, and I instantly recalled the chill of seawater wrapping around me in my past life. She clearly knew I almost drowned as a child, that water was my greatest fear. Yet she still had the heart to push me down without mercy, watching me struggle in the sea. A flash of rage surged from deep inside me, and I raised my hand to slap her. "Why should I?" "Who was it that was so blinded by love back then, clinging to Harry Carter and refusing to let go?" "I told you a long time ago—he's a scumbag. Did you ever listen?" I slapped Tina Jones so hard her head jerked to the side, her face instantly flushed red. Her sobbing stopped dead; she covered her face, eyes wide with disbelief. Maybe the hatred in my eyes was too much—she shrank back, her voice trembling. "I... I was just blinded. I'm leaving right now, right now." Watching her turn and walk away, I suddenly changed my mind. Leave? How can I just let her off that easily? Debts from my past life—I have to collect them bit by bit. "Wait, leave? What do you mean leave?" "Since you have nowhere else to go, come home with me." Tina froze, her eyes full of confusion as she looked at me.