Chapter 2

To him, kicking me off the boat five years ago for his mistress was just a necessary evil. The fact that I had survived and hadn't crawled back to thank him made me ungrateful.

I dropped my grocery bag on the ground. A tomato smashed against Armie's leather shoes, splattering bright red juice everywhere.

Armie took a quick step back, his face flushing with anger.

"Freya! Don't push your luck when I'm being nice to you!"

I clapped the dust off my hands, my eyes full of contempt.

"Who gives a damn about being Mrs. Hoffman?

"Take your mistress and your precious son, and get the hell out of my sight right now.

"Trash isn't welcome here."

…

Armie's face instantly darkened.

In his memory, I was always meek and submissive.

Even back when he brought his mistress home, all I ever did was hide in the kitchen, silently wiping away tears before bringing out a lavish home-cooked dinner.

"I see you’ve stayed in this low-class slum for so long that you’ve forgotten basic decency!"

Seeing the tension escalate, Ben rushed to grab Armie's hand. Then he turned to look at me, his face filled with utter disappointment.

"Mom! How can you speak to Dad like that? You used to listen to Dad all the time. Whatever he said went.

"Can't you just yield for once? Do you really have to make everyone miserable?"

Rosie let go of Armie's arm and walked over to me. She reached out, attempting to take my hand, but I sidestepped her.

Her hand froze in midair before she pulled it back awkwardly.

"Freya, look at your hands..." Her gaze landed on the rough skin on the back of my hands, which were covered in tiny cuts and calluses.

"You used to play the piano with these hands. You took better care of them than your own face. How did they end up like this?"

She covered her mouth, feigning deep sympathy for me.

"Living this way must be so hard, right? Having to penny-pinch every single day over basic groceries, even arguing with people for two dollars.

"Freya, why put yourself through all this suffering?"

Armie's eyes lingered on my hands for a second. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a black credit card, holding it out to me.

"Go clean yourself up and buy some decent clothes.

"We're hosting a dinner party at home tonight. I will announce your return to the public and clear up the misunderstanding from back then."

I stared at the credit card, and my memory was suddenly yanked back to five years ago.

It was our tenth wedding anniversary, and I had spent a whole month carefully preparing a surprise for him.

I had even sold the heirloom jewelry my mother left me just to buy him a limited-edition watch.

When I held out the gift in front of him, my heart overflowing with joy as I tried to hand it over, Rosie suddenly pointed at the necklace around my neck and gasped.

"Wow, this necklace would go so perfectly with my dress."

That necklace was Armie's wedding anniversary gift to me.

Without saying a word, Armie unclasped the necklace with his own hands.

"Since you like it, Rosie, it's yours."

I stood there frozen in place, holding my gift, feeling like an absolute joke.

Back then, I actually swallowed my pride and endured it, continuing to play the role of the dutiful wife and loving mother.

It wasn't until the shipwreck happened and I was shoved straight into the sea that I finally realized that I wasn't even worth a single strand of Rosie's hair in this man's heart.

Looking at the credit card in front of me now, I felt nothing but pure irony.

I smacked the card out of his hand so hard that my palm went numb.

"Get lost."

Armie's face turned ashen, the veins on his temples pulsing violently.

"Freya! Have you lost your mind? Do you honestly think I'm begging you to come back?"

I let out a cold laugh and turned around to leave.

"I don't need your money or your charity.

"Take your filthy cash and get the hell out of my life."

…

After that day, the Hoffmans stopped bothering me.

I went back to my usual busy routine at the docks, counting the fresh-off-the-boat frozen seafood shipments and hauling them to the alley warehouse to await pickup.

During a quick break, I pulled out my phone and browsed through the local news to check on the current seafood market prices.