On our tenth wedding anniversary, my husband, Noah Bennett dragged me, despite my thalassophobia, to go freediving and “accidentally” ran into his childhood sweetheart, Ruby Fraser. When a massive sea creature appeared, Noah ripped away my oxygen tank. He abandoned me with my foot trapped in the coral reef, choosing to save Ruby instead. After being rescued, I begged Noah, an avid gamer, to keep the noise down as I was having a nervous breakdown. Instead, I was forced to listen to their passionate lovemaking next door all night long. Noah blamed me for being immature, while my own mother, Ashley Ford, advised me to learn to tolerate it. Little did anyone know that I had already accepted my professor, Edward Langley’s offer to study abroad that night. Noah, you wouldn’t be able to catch up to me. My feet throbbed with excruciating pain as the coral had torn through my ankles, leaving them bleeding badly. I hunched over, my hands trembling as I desperately tried to free myself from the coral branches. Even with my broken nails, I couldn’t make any progress. Yet I remembered Noah insisted on bandaging even the slightest bruise whenever I got hurt. “Please, Noah, help me!” I begged. As I waved my arms frantically, seawater rushed into my mouth while I tried to call for help. With only one lung, I was on the verge of suffocation and quickly pulled my breathing mask back on like it was my lifeline. “Noah, I think I’m running low on oxygen,” Ruby said sweetly, her fingers trailing suggestively across Noah’s muscular chest beneath his diving suit. Noah gently took Ruby’s hand in his. “Zoe, switch tanks with Ruby,” he ordered. The color drained from my face as my bloodied hands instinctively clutched the oxygen tank on my back. How could you do this to me? I shook my head frantically. Fear crept over me like an invisible net, squeezing the breath from my lungs. The deep blue water surrounding me seemed to close in as the feeling of suffocation wrapped around my throat like an invisible hand. Dizzy and lightheaded, I gave up trying to free my feet and hunched over the coral, taking deep breaths through my mask. The underwater current shifted suddenly. Small fish darted away as a large, dark shadow slowly approached from the distance. “Oh my God! What is that monster? Grab the oxygen tanks, and let’s get out of here!” someone screamed in panic. Noah was freaking out, too, swimming frantically towards me. “You should have given them to us earlier! Are you trying to get us killed?” he shouted as he roughly yanked the oxygen tank off my back, causing me to stumble and sink toward the ocean floor. My foot got caught on something, leaving me hanging upside down. The combination of weightlessness, suffocation, and pain was unbearable. I felt like I was dying! In the last second, before losing consciousness, I desperately grabbed the edge of Noah’s clothes. A sharp pain shot through my chest as my body swayed from the impact. Did he… just kick me? Through my fading vision, I saw Noah clutching Ruby with one arm and gripping the oxygen tank with the other, his fins moving at lightning speed. I had given Ruby one of my lungs, let him force me to get an IUD, and now he kicked me and left me to die?
The massive sea creature finally revealed itself before my eyes. It was a giant octopus! Its eight enormous tentacles swayed as it glided past me, not even sparing me a glance. The octopus’ slimy secretions splashed onto my skin, releasing a nauseating stench of decay. I tried to console myself with the small mercy that octopuses weren’t known to eat humans, though it felt like cold comfort in my despair. I let my body go limp as the seawater flooded into my lungs. As death approached, my most bitter memory played over and over in my mind. It had been an ordinary evening, with me lying anxiously on the cold operating table. Ruby lay unconscious on the bed next to mine. During this surgery, one of my lungs would be transplanted into Ruby. Noah had promised that if I saved his cousin, he would get a vasectomy and commit to our child-free lifestyle. Though he had agreed to this before marriage, he only backed out because of pressure from his parents. On the operating table, I naively thought that I should make some sacrifice for Noah, even if I didn’t want kids. I spoke up, “Doctor, I have a low tolerance for anesthesia. Noah must have told you about this.” The lead surgeon, a middle-aged man in his fifties, just frowned and silently signaled the anesthesiologist to increase the dosage. I froze. Hadn’t Noah mentioned it? As the anesthesia started to kick in, I drifted in and out of consciousness. However, I could still hear the clinking of surgical instruments. The harsh fluorescent lights above were blinding, and through the haze, I felt them cutting into my stomach. Sharp, stinging pain shot through my nerves, making me cry out. I heard the medical staff whispering among themselves. “What’s going on? Why is she still conscious?” a female nurse asked. The lead surgeon lowered his voice, “Her husband never said she was this resistant to anesthesia! We shouldn’t even be doing this surgery!” “What do we do now? We’ve already cut her open!” “Keep going. Actually… her husband slipped me some cash and said his wife had a high pain tolerance.” An eerie silence fell over the operating room after those words. Tears welled up in my eyes as I felt the cold surgical instruments moving through my organs. The pain was unbearable, with every cell in my body screaming in agony. My limbs twitched helplessly as I lay there, unable to speak. At this point, I had no choice but to let the doctors finish the surgery. It was either that or die. The torture-like procedure seemed endless, and in my hazy state, I watched as they removed my blood-soaked lungs. Finally, it was over, and I felt a wave of relief wash over me. By the time they started stitching, I must have been too numb to feel anything anymore. “Can we start closing her up now?” asked the squeamish nurse, her voice trembling. “Yes, we’ll do the IUD insertion after the sutures.” IUD? Wasn’t that for sterilization? He promised he would get a vasectomy instead! My heart sank, and the tears I’d held back streamed uncontrollably down my face. My body started to move slightly in protest. No! Please stop! I told him about my uterine fibroids! An IUD was dangerous for me! The two doctors forcefully spread my legs and inserted the IUD through my body into my uterus. The combination of rage and unbearable pain made me pass out. When I regained consciousness, it was dawn. I struggled to open my eyes, feeling like every bone in my body was broken, consumed by pain. In the morning light, the man I had loved for years was leaning over the adjacent bed, his arms braced on either side. He placed a tender, lingering kiss on Ruby’s forehead. Ruby’s sleeping profile suddenly matched the lock screen I had glimpsed on Noah’s phone. It wasn’t just some random picture from the internet! The girl on Noah’s phone was Ruby all along!
I smirked bitterly as the cold ocean water surrounded me. Suddenly, a hand grabbed my waist and pulled me up from the water. I instinctively wrapped my arms around my rescuer’s neck, staring into his worried eyes. Oliver Reed? What was he doing here? We were both PhD students under the same advisor. Before I could speak, his lips crashed into mine. He was giving me rescue breaths, and I froze in shock. My conservative upbringing made me want to push him away, but he pinched my side hard to keep me still. Too weak to resist, I let him carry me back to shore. I collapsed on the beach, coughing and gasping for air, feeling half-dead. My anger and disappointment peaked when Noah approached with his fake concern and that smug smile. I slapped him across the face hard. Ruby jumped to his defense. “What’s wrong with you? He’s your husband! How could you treat him like that?” I said, “Oh, so you remember he’s my husband? Funny, that didn’t stop you from throwing yourself at him, you cheap homewrecker.” The three of them stood there stunned, shocked to hear such crude words from my mouth. Noah’s guilty eyes darted between me and Oliver, finally fixating on Oliver’s mouth. His face contorted with rage. “You’ve got some nerve! Here I was feeling bad, and you’re cheating on me? You slut! You whore!” Following Noah’s gaze to Oliver’s mouth, everything suddenly clicked into place. During our struggle earlier, I had accidentally bitten Oliver’s lip. Oliver, ever the gentleman, furrowed his brows in disgust. He spoke calmly but firmly, “What kind of monster tries to feed his wife to the fish?” Then, with a knowing smirk, he added, “By the way, you can’t afford this brand of diving equipment on your salary.” He was right. I had paid for all our diving gear and even covered most of our daily expenses. Noah’s face and neck flushed red with shame. He stood there speechless momentarily before shaking off Ruby’s hand to hug me. He tried to sound casual, “Let’s put this behind us, okay? How about we go get some dinner?” With false cheerfulness, he added, “You’ve been looking forward to that seafood feast!” What a joke! Me? Looking forward to it? I was allergic to seafood, but he insisted on going! He just told me to order something else at the restaurant! Ignoring him completely, I turned to Oliver. “Let’s go eat together. Thank you for saving my life!” Oliver smiled warmly, “I’d love to!” Noah stood frozen in place, his face darkening with anger.
The famous seafood restaurant’s large wooden table was loaded with abalone, crab, sea cucumber, and more delicacies. Noah was focused on picking the crab meat, carefully placing the tender white flesh onto my plate. “Zoe, I was wrong before. Can you forgive me?” Noah asked. I remained silent, staring blankly at the crab meat on my plate. I told him about my seafood allergy when we were dating, but he had forgotten. I had even reminded him again before this trip. His first formal apology should have meant something, but I couldn’t find any joy. “She’s allergic!” a voice called out. “Waiter, bring some pasta and a light salad!” the same voice commanded. Oliver whisked away my plate and replaced it with a portion of pasta from the waiter. “You just had surgery, and you’ve had a rough day. You need something gentle on your stomach,” he said softly. “Thank you,” I gave him a grateful look. How ironic that my boyfriend of nearly 10 years knew me less than a senior classmate I’d only known for just over a year. “Ungrateful bitch,” Noah muttered under his breath as he dumped the plate on the ground, where several stray dogs immediately scrambled for the food. My heart sank even further as I watched Noah peel off the crab roe and feed it directly to Ruby’s waiting mouth. Ruby made a show of it, deliberately running her tongue across Noah’s fingers in a suggestive way. I turned away in disgust, the warm pasta in front of me now tasting like cardboard. In the past, Noah would always eat whatever I was having. He never complained and never chose differently. His answer was always the same. “Whatever Zoe loves, I love it too. Because I love Zoe.” Now I realized it had all been an act. My chest felt heavy with emotion as tears began to blur my vision, dropping into my pasta. Under the table, where no one could see, Oliver discreetly slipped two tissues into my palm. Noah was too busy flirting with Ruby, constantly calling her “baby” and “sweetheart” loud enough for everyone to hear.
After enduring the long dinner, a new problem arose when we returned to the hotel. Ruby looked at Noah with teary eyes. “Please, I’m broke. Can’t you let me stay with you? Pretty please?” Her mascara was starting to run from the fake tears. Noah shifted uncomfortably, his beady eyes darting around. “But… my wife might not like that!” Wouldn’t I like it? It was as if he couldn’t afford to pay for his mistress’ room. I turned to head to my pre-booked double room. I was absolutely exhausted. Ruby yanked my arm, her sharp acrylic nails leaving scratches on my bare skin. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing? This is Noah’s room!” I shot Noah a tired look, hoping he’d show some decency. He scratched his head and said, “Why don’t you… let Ruby have the room? Don’t worry, she’s just like a sister to me!” Great. Just great, Noah! I’d had enough of this drama. Without another word, I headed to the front desk to book a single room. “Hold on, Zoe! Let’s exchange WhatsApp. I’ll pay you back another day,” Ruby said with a sweet smile, though her eyes gleamed triumphantly. I took a deep breath to calm my irritation before adding her contact. Money matters were not something to mess around with. The receptionist informed me that the only available single room was next door, freshly cleaned after the previous guest had left. I nodded in agreement. Once I got to my room, I collapsed onto the bed. I thought I would spend the night crying and tossing in bed after everything that happened. Instead, I fell into a deep sleep. “Oh yes… Noah, you’re still such a beast in bed!” “Scream louder, baby! I love hearing you moan like the little minx you are!” “She’s nothing like that nerdy bookworm who just lay there like a corpse! It’s no fun in bed!” The noises from next door jolted me awake. As I listened to Noah’s words, everything became crystal clear. He was nothing but a complete fraud! He had performance issues, and I wasn’t interested in putting on a show… Did I want to spend my life with someone like him? After so many years of marriage, my desire for divorce had only grown stronger with each passing day. Unable to sleep, I mindlessly scrolled through Instagram on my phone. The first post I saw was Ruby flaunting herself in a bikini on the beach. In the comments, Noah wrote: [Wait for me to bump into you! My love!] All the bitterness I’d been bottling up inside finally reached its breaking point when I saw that post. Like a fish out of water, I clutched at my collar, struggling to breathe through the pain. So, even our annual honeymoon trips have been part of your shopping list. What a fool I had been, covering all our expenses because I worried about your self-esteem over not having an income. Without hesitation, I got up to pack my bags and booked a red-eye flight. I quickly told Edward: [Professor Langley, I’ve decided to pursue further studies abroad.] Noah, you wouldn’t be able to catch up to me.
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