Chapter 4

"Alice, have you no shame? Put your clothes back on!" His voice was grating.

The livestream chat went wild: [Mr. Cole's wife has an amazing figure] [Throwing away a goddess like this for his secretary?] Some even private-messaged asking for "resources."

I floated on my back in the sea, wearing only my underwear. Thank God I had lingerie under the gown, or I'd be naked in front of the entire nation.

"Hurry up and get someone to—" His words were cut off by Nina's interruption: "Mr. Cole, please have someone rescue your wife. She's in a bikini—what if she attracts sharks?"

She added with her passive-aggressive tone: "Your wife would rather risk her life than apologize. Just go along with her wishes, sir. She's a Hart family daughter, of course she looks down on people like us."

He sneered: "If you've got the guts, strip naked and let me see just how shameless the Hart family upbringing really is. So noble and all that, but in bed, you're all the same."

Every word was a dagger. Three years of love, one year of marriage—I'd turned my back on my family to support his startup, and after he made it big, this was how he humiliated me. Even my life had become a toy to placate his little secretary.

The crowd egged him on: "Teach her another lesson!" "I heard there are sharks—throw some animal blood to scare her."

He nodded: "Go get some blood."

Soon, two basins of blood were splashed down, covering me. The bloody scent spread across the sea surface, and massive shadows writhed beneath the water.

Panic rising, I swam toward the yacht, but they deliberately pulled up the rope ladder so I couldn't reach it no matter how hard I tried to jump. Terror climbing, I shouted: "There are sharks! Drop the ladder!"

Nina was quick to respond: "Mr. Cole really knows his wife—her weakness is all an act. Look how energetic she is, still lying."

He sneered: "Same old tricks. Let's see if the sharks will actually eat you." He then ordered the yacht to speed up, and the massive waves threw me far from the boat.

Shark fins broke the surface like a fleet of small sailboats approaching.

His face changed, and he was about to have someone rescue me when Nina stopped him: "Rescuing her now would get the boat capsized by sharks—everyone would be in danger. I read in a book that sharks don't eat dead people. Have her play dead."

Through the drone, he shouted at me: "Close your eyes and play dead. Once the sharks leave, I'll rescue you. Don't be stubborn—no one else will save you."

Just when everyone thought I was doomed, a speedboat cut through the waves and stopped right in front of me.

A tall, handsome man pulled me up, wrapped me in a towel, and said coldly to the camera: "Who says no one will save her?"