Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Splash! They pushed me off the cruise ship. I fell with a loud splash. Then, everything went silent in the water. I only remembered their faces as they pushed me into the sea. They did this because Violet’s necklace fell overboard while we were on holiday here. My husband, Shaun Doe, suggested that I go down to search for it because I was the only one who knew how to swim. My mouth tasted salt. I did not know whether it was because of the seawater or my tears. I felt as if something had seized my stomach. I shook my head in an attempt to remain clear-headed. For my baby’s sake, I had to stay alive. “Shaun, let me up!” I used all my strength to shout at the cruise ship, but my voice sounded incredibly feeble. The man beside Shaun shouted back, “That necklace is a memento from Violet’s mother! You have to find it, Minerva!” His voice was not that loud, but I heard it clearly and looked at Shaun. Was that what he wanted too? Trying to find a necklace in the sea was basically a death sentence. To my horror, Shaun got a stick from somewhere and pushed me further out into the ocean. Still, I remained not too far away from them and could see the words he mouthed at me. Just be good and do it. “Blurb… blurb…” I floated in the sea alone and struggled against the seaweeds that bound my limbs. My tears mixed with the seawater as they entered my mouth, and all I tasted was salt. It was as if there was some sort of pull from the bottom of the sea. It just kept pulling me under. Even so, my survival instincts pushed me to keep crawling my way upward. Fortunately, I managed to save myself and lay on the beach. Blood pooled between my thighs. The cruise ship was nowhere to be found. I hung my head. What a joke. I was actually hoping that Shaun would feel regret after seeing how pathetic I looked. But he was not even within sight. Very slowly, I lost consciousness. When I woke up again, I was the only one alone in the otherwise empty ward. Once the doctor came in, she adjusted the speed of the IV transfusion. She could not help but say, “You just suffered from a miscarriage. You have to take care of yourself. How could you go swimming and not care about your baby?” I closed my eyes and swallowed the endless wave of bitterness and grief. I grunted, but my heart was filled with great misery. The doctor was but a stranger to me, but even she showed concern for me. Yet Shaun, to whom I had been married to for five years, was the culprit behind why I ended up like this. Since we went on a trip to a seaside city, I was discharged three days later and returned to the hotel. This time, no matter what, I was going to drive back. When I arrived at the hotel, Violet saw me and was surprised. “Minerva?” I looked down to hide the ruthlessness in my eyes. Even though Shaun had done something horrible to me, Violet was equally involved in my baby’s death. “Why are you back?” The entire group of people had happily set up a grill by the beach and were eating barbecue. With displeasure clear on my face, I went to Shaun. “Tell me the password to my room. I tried just now and couldn’t get in.” I wanted to pack my things up and leave this stupid place to rest and recuperate. After that, I was going to go back home and settle scores with Shaun. But Violet butted in. “We’ve already checked out your room.” She looked sadly around to show that she did not do it on purpose. She whispered, “We thought you went home. How were we supposed to know that you were going to be back? Even though Shaun is rich…” At that point, she looked like she was about to start crying. “You still can’t waste his money like that.” I was so mad that I sucked in a deep breath and went to Violet. Just when I wanted to speak, a plate flew toward us. “Look out!” Shaun had never run toward someone in such a panic before. With quick reflexes, he shielded Violet in his arms. The grill beside us was flipped over. The coals burned my calf. In an instant, my calf turned a terrifying shade of red. “Hiss…”

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Violet’s arm was also burned by the coal that fell out of the grill when she tried to support me. “Minerva, I know that you hate me, but you can’t throw coal on my arm.” Everyone’s gaze landed on me. They also started blatantly criticizing me. “Minerva, how could you be so cruel? We know you’ve always found Violet an eyesore, but you can’t do this.” I shut my eyes briefly before opening them to look at Violet. She was not standing firmly on her feet but was leaning against Shaun. Her eyes were wet with tears, and she tugged at heartstrings. Everyone fell for it, and their scathing words dialed up by a notch. “You witch! Why didn’t you drown in the sea?!” I said flatly, “Don’t accuse me of something I didn’t do, Violet—” But before I could defend myself, Shaun interrupted me. “Enough!” he snapped and frowned as he stared at the red mark on Violet’s arm. “You’re the one who threw the coals at Violet’s arm. Why are you trying to twist the truth?” I opened my mouth. “Heh. So you’re treating her word as truth now? Would you believe me if I said I never did it?” I stared into Shaun’s eyes, but it only made him angry. “If you made a mistake, apologize! Say sorry to Violet, now!” The love Shaun had for me was gone. There was only a ferocious look left in them. The pain from the burn shot through my body, but it chilled my heart. After a long time passed, the people’s patience ran out. They glared at me. I looked down to stare at my burn. Since I wanted to go back sooner to deal with the burn, I scoffed. “Sure. I’m sorry.” While supporting my horribly mangled leg, I shuffled over to Violet and Shaun so that I could stare him in the eye. “Happy now?” No one dared say anything. I headed to the car as tears fell from my eyes. When Shaun saw the dejected look on my face, panic rose in him, and he followed me as well. But I flung his hand off when he tried to grab me. “I got into the sea and apologized. Can’t you leave me alone to treat the burn on my right leg?” I did not want to sound sad in the slightest, but my endless grief still crept into my words. I scowled at Shaun. Just how much more torture was he going to put me through for Violet? Shaun trembled and opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped when he saw how downhearted I looked. He gulped. “Minerva, I’m not trying to get you to do anything.” I just glared at him warily. He gulped again in frustration and came over to put his hand on my belly. The chill from the night disappeared a bit due to the warmth from his palm. His voice became gentler. “You know how Violet is. Giving way to her a bit is nothing. “Why did you hurt your leg just because you’re angry? Have you forgotten about your baby?” I closed my eyes, and my tears rolled down my cheeks as if to announce to the world about my grief. I said dispiritedly, “Do you even still care about our baby?” He was stunned. As if to get into my good books, he said, “Of—” But before he finished speaking, one of the boys in the group ran over. “Shaun, bad news! Violet went to the sea!” We looked over because of what he said. Violet was indeed walking toward the sea while mumbling, “Minerva must be mad because we made her jump into the sea that day. If I go in too, she won’t be mad anymore.” She teared up. “That way, Shaun won’t be put on the spot anymore.” Shaun turned around completely and could not stop his worry and panic. “Has she lost her mind?! She doesn’t know how to swim!” He went over to my car. I grabbed his pant leg and shouted, “Have you lost your mind, Shaun?! “That car is my dad’s wedding gift to me! “If you drive it into the sea, it’ll be ruined!” Shaun was exasperated. “You’re the one who has lost your mind! Violet is about to die, and you still care about your car?!” I was furious. “Why should I sacrifice my car just because she’s throwing a tantrum?! Just because she’s your first love, I have to pay with my things?!” Something I said must have made Shaun mad because all the gentleness in his eyes disappeared. He shoved me away, got into the car, and drove off. The wound on my calf started bleeding, and blisters had shown up in some parts. My stomach started hurting as well, and everything before my eyes turned blurry. I fainted.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

I remembered how we first got together. One time, I fell into a river when our friend group had a gathering. Shaun did not know how to swim, but he still fearlessly grabbed a lifebuoy and ran to the river. He had jumped in and held me in his arms. At that time, both of us fought hard to swim to the shore. I believed that we left that dark river together. From that moment on, I was sure he was the one for me, and we started dating and even got married. Everyone said you should never date someone in your friend group, but I refused to believe it. I thought that he loved me. When Violet showed up after, I woke up to reality. She was Shaun’s first love, and all of his knowledge about love came from her. I had been blinded by love, and I even learned how to swim just so that Shaun would not worry about me. Once I mastered the art of diving, I sent a photo to Shaun. He praised me at that time, but later, it became a weapon that would hurt me. At present, I was dreaming, and I dreamed about feeling helpless while I was pushed into the sea again… The doctor’s words slowly brought me back to wakefulness. “She’s awake. You can stop injecting glucose in her.” I opened my eyes. When the doctor saw that I was fully conscious, she said, “Miss Zimmer, your body can’t handle any more abuse. You have to stay calm.” She then handed me a glass of water. My head was blank. After some time, I finally realized my current situation. “Thank you.” Even a doctor in a city I was a stranger to showed me bits of kindness, but my husband… Buzz… Buzz… My phone’s vibrations brought my attention to it. It was Shaun. I answered the call. “Why are you only answering your phone now?” he immediately yelled at me. I said, “I’m at the hospital.” He was stunned for a moment before he said hoarsely, “Did something happen to the baby?” The moment he talked about the baby, my eyes stung. The air stilled for one second, two seconds… I sucked in a deep breath. “I’m injured—” But before I could finish what I wanted to say, Shaun started criticizing me again. “It’s just a mild burn, and you went to the hospital? Seriously? “We’re married, and I’m the one who provides for you. Can’t you be more frugal? “You could have just applied some burn ointment on your calf.” I shut my eyes, but I still could not stop the wave of grief in my heart. Violet was sent to the hospital because she had a mild burn on her arm. Meanwhile, I had blisters from the burn on my calf, but I was wasting Shaun’s money when I went to the hospital. How had I never realized just how disgusting he was? “Got it,” I said coldly. But he remained displeased. “We’re about to go home. Think about a way to head home before us to cook for us. Then, wait for us to get back.”“Why should I?” I would no longer let him push me around like he did before. Shaun might not have been expecting his usually considerate wife to fight back against him after the trip, and he could not help but become angry. “Don’t forget. You have a baby. “If you’re going to be stubborn and think about divorcing me, then how are you and the baby going to survive?!” At that thought, Shaun’s frustration disappeared a little. He thought, ‘That’s right. Minerva is still pregnant with my baby. She won’t leave my side so readily.’ “Beep… Beep… Beep…” The sound of the phone being cut off was so loud it was like hammers ramming against my eardrums. Due to my exasperation, I even started trembling. Yet I remembered what the doctor had just said. She told me not to get too emotional. I closed my eyes, and tears fell. From that moment on, I buried all the loneliness I had suffered over the years. After I was discharged, I went back ahead of them. While I was on my way back, I subconsciously scrolled through Instagram and saw a post Violet had made. [The 20th year we spent together.] Quite a number of observant people could tell that there was some romantic tension between Shaun and Violet. A lot of people also congratulated them. Some, along with the people who went on the trip with us, started cheering them on. All of them had forgotten that Shaun was a married man. I commented as well. [Hope you’re together forever.] Once I returned to the house I had lived in for years with Shaun, I started packing up. In approximately two hours, I had already packed up everything I owned into one measly luggage bag. I removed my ring and placed it on the table, along with a divorce agreement and a notice of my miscarriage. I looked around. The pan I bought was in the kitchen, and the wardrobe around the window, which I had set up, was in the bedroom. Shaun once said that he loved my cooking the most. His group of friends thus ordered me around to cook for them because my cooking was good. At that time, I enjoyed it and was happy because Shaun needed me. But I finally saw the reality of the situation. He did not need me. I was simply easy to manipulate. After shutting the door behind me, I turned on my phone. [Dad, I’m getting a divorce.] My parents had never favored my relationship. In an instant, my father sent me a reply. [Come back, then. We’ve opened a private kitchen restaurant lately, and I need you there.] What I had left in my bank account was not enough to sustain my living after my divorce, so I had to think of a way to earn money. Once I blocked all of Shaun’s numbers, I went home.

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

At that moment, Shaun did not know that Minerva was no longer at home. One of his friends said, “It’s been a long while since I’ve had Minerva’s cooking.” He nodded. Indeed, after Minerva became the champion of Masterchef, she married him. Since she had a pretty face, everyone said that she was Helen of the Kitchen. Because of what his friends said, Shaun remembered how Minerva looked when she cooked in the kitchen. He bowed his head and smiled. ‘Oh well. Minerva has been with me for years. I’ll tell her that I sent her car for repairs. After that, when I start trying to offer an explanation, Minerva will start thinking of how to give me a graceful way out of the situation, just like before.’ Once they got home, his friends went to the sofa and waited for Minerva to leave the kitchen. But when Shaun stepped into his house, he sensed something was wrong because Minerva had not come out to see them, unlike before. Someone finally realized that something was wrong. “Shaun, something’s off. Look what’s on the table.” Shaun’s smile froze. A bad feeling rose in his heart. Minerva had indeed thrown a really large tantrum this time, but she had been acting unusually… He looked at the paper his friend picked up, and his anger made him frown. That was a divorce agreement! Violet said, “Why is Minerva so mad? I already went into the sea to make it to her! But if she’s still mad, then I’ll—”“Quiet!” Shaun pursed his lips, and he let out a really gloomy air. Had Minerva lost her mind? Was she seriously throwing a jealous fit by threatening a divorce, all so that he would pay more attention to her? Had she forgotten about her baby? He had to teach her a lesson so that she could learn from her mistake. That thought made his frown lessen slightly, but he immediately noticed something else was wrong. The divorce agreement was not the only thing on the table. Even her wedding ring was on it, and there was another piece of paper… Shaun was standing not too far from the table. For some reason, no one in the house said anything. The sound of his footsteps was the only thing audible as he walked to the other piece of paper. He drew nearer. Just when he saw the words printed on that paper, the divorce agreement he had taken from his friend flew slowly to the floor. It fell on the floor at the same time Shaun widened his eyes. In an instant, shock filled his entire being as he saw the words clearly. Proof of miscarriage. Thump! Shaun collapsed on the floor. The house fell so eerily silent that it sent chills down the people’s spines. Violet came over. “Shaun…” But Shaun did not praise Violet for being considerate like he usually did. Instead, he gave her a cold look. “That paper says that Minerva suffered a miscarriage when she dropped into the sea,” he said so darkly that Violet moved backward subconsciously. Panic welled in her heart, but she still composed herself and said, “I’ve already done everything I can to calm Minerva down. Why don’t you go with me to apologize to her?” Shaun continued sitting listlessly on the floor. The comment he saw while he was on his way back kept repeating itself in his head. [Hope you’re together forever.] He thought it was just a minor temper tantrum and Minerva would come around after a few days. Once he repaired the car and brought it back, she would surely return to his arms like before. It was only when he saw the miscarriage notice that he started trembling. A long time passed before Shaun said hoarsely, “You guys, leave.” Everyone shared looks. Violet sent all of them back before she sat down beside Shaun. “Shaun.” Her voice was sweet. In the past, when Shaun heard her speak so sweetly, he would not be able to find it in himself to yell at her. But at that moment, he clenched the paper tightly and said dispiritedly, “You should leave too.” Violet pursed her lips and gave Shaun a look that said she did not want to leave. But after sparring another look at the report, she left. Shaun sat on the floor for a long time as he remembered things about the past. If Minerva were still around, she would drag him to the floor and tell him not to catch a cold. When he saw the wedding ring on the divorce agreement, he shut his eyes. Back then, they had visited plenty of jewelers before Minerva eventually decided to study how to make her own rings in a jewelry shop. After three months of crafting, she produced their wedding rings. Shaun clenched his fists. Had Minerva truly decided to give up on all those things? He looked around the house before he thought, ‘It’s going to be okay. We’ve been together for years. She can’t just give up on it like that.’ That night, he recalled how Minerva looked in the kitchen. When he lay in bed, he looked at the bedside table that had no warm milk on it. All these things made him decide to go to Minerva’s parents’ house to look for Minerva the next day.