To save

chapter 2

chapter 2

The rescue that Fabian mentioned arrived half an hour after I sank to the bottom of

the water.

His subordinates searched everywhere in the vast waters for my figure.

Unfortunately, I had already died.

My soul floated in mid–air, watching Fabian’s subordinates helplessly and anxiously.

“Captain, I can’t see her. Could it be that she?” one of the subordinates asked.

Fabian’s cold voice came through the walkie–talkie.

“What could have happened to her? Maybe another rescue team took her away.”

The subordinate, still unwilling to give up, hesitated and asked if Fabian could come over to help search for me.

After all, I was missing without a trace. If something really had happened…

Fabian became somewhat angry.

“What good would it do if I went? Can I dive or predict her location? Can I magically know where she is?

“Enough, don’t waste time. If you can’t find her, then stop looking.”

Hearing this, I felt a chill run through my body.

Eight years together, and even if it were a lost dog, one would still search.

Besides, I was carrying his child.

Yet he so easily gave up on rescuing me.

Fortunately, I was already dead, no longer needing to endure such torment.

I followed his subordinates and floated all the way to his side.

At this moment, he was by Layla’s bedside, wearing an expression of tenderness I had never seen before.

Layla clung to his neck, crying pitifully.

“Fabian, do you

know how scared I was when the flood came?

“I was so afraid I would never see you again.”

Fabian gently stroked her forehead, softly comforting her.

“I know, Layla. Don’t be afraid. No matter what happens, I will always come to you first.”

Watching them embrace each other so passionately, I felt a deep bitterness in my heart.

Fabian had always been indifferent to me. Even when my father died, he never comforted me so tenderly.

I had thought he was just cold by nature and always believed that given time, I would

20:04

1/4

chapter 2

move him.

I never imagined that he could be so affectionate, but only with someone he loved.

Fabian and I grew up together, and we originally had a marriage arrangement, but he had his own dream girl, Layla.

Before graduation, at a school–organized cruise party, I was standing on the deck talking with his brother, Bruce Obis.

Someone pushed us from behind, causing him to bump into me, and we both fell into the water.

Neither of us could swim. While struggling, I grabbed a piece of driftwood and swam desperately towards the shore.

Bruce was also rescued, but due to drowning, his brain was deprived of oxygen, turning him into a vegetative state.

Fabian didn’t see the driftwood I was holding. He thought I could swim and had deliberately refused to save his brother.

He never gave me a chance to explain and ignored me ever since.

The

year we graduated, Layla accepted two million dollars from Fabian’s mother and quietly went abroad.

Probably out of spite, one night, Fabian, reeking of alcohol, knocked on my door.

He pinned me against the wall and kissed my lips.

“Lucy, don’t you like me? I’ll give you a chance to marry me.”

His kiss was so aggressive that I couldn’t refuse.

All night, I was immersed in joy. Only at the peak of ecstasy did I lose focus for a moment when he held me and called out Layla’s name.

I loved him so much that even knowing I was just a substitute, I was willing.

But the next morning, he threw his clothes at my feet and coldly told me to get out.

After that day, he never came to see me again.

Though he eventually obeyed his parents‘ wishes and married me, he never touched me when sober, and even when speaking to me, he was always cold and distant.

Only when drunk did he treat me as if I were Layla.

I knew he hated me. If it weren’t for me, Layla wouldn’t have left him so heartlessly.

I always endured and tried to avoid quarreling with him, naively thinking that one day he would see my sincerity.

A month ago, it was the day I had scheduled my prenatal check–up.

I eagerly asked him to accompany me, but he refused without a second thought.

Even when I tearfully told him that the baby might have problems and the doctor had specifically instructed me to bring my husband, he remained unmoved.

20:04

2/4

chapter 2

I went through all the check–ups alone, anxiously waiting for the results at the hospital.

Fortunately, the final results showed that the baby was very healthy.

Happily, I took out my phone, ready to share this joy with him.

But I accidentally saw on his social media account a picture of two intertwined hands cutting a birthday cake together.

His caption read as follows:

[What was once lost has returned to me after all this time. This time, I’ll make sure to hold on tight. Happy birthday, my darling!]

Only then did I realize that his dream girl had returned, and I wasn’t even qualified to be a stand–in.

In that moment, I felt utterly disheartened, uncontrollably trembling all over.

I returned home in a daze, not even turning on the lights, and sat on the sofa the entire night.

In the early hours, Fabian stumbled home drunk.

Seeing the glaring lipstick marks on his shirt, I lost my composure and confronted him for the first time.

I grabbed his collar and demanded to know why he was treating me like this while I was pregnant.

He coldly watched me rant, completely disregarding the child in my belly, and pushed

me away.

Without a word of explanation, he went straight to the bedroom.

He left me to curl up on the sofa, crying until I lost voice.

my

This cold–hearted husband, however, was extremely attentive to his dream girl.

Layla merely coughed lightly in his arms.

Fabian’s face immediately changed, and he anxiously took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

“Layla, you’re weak. Be careful not to catch a cold.”

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

I once had a fever over forty degrees, unable to move in bed.

I begged him to take me to the hospital, and he just glanced at me indifferently and refused.

I cried and told him that I felt like I was going to die.

He just sneered, not even bothering to check my forehead.

“You’re a grown–up and still whining about dying. If you really want to die, do it somewhere far away.”

3/4

chapter 2

Now, I’d finally fulfilled his wish and died far away.

From now on, no one would stop him from pursuing his true love.