Chapter 5

The lights reflected off the sea, flickering like pale moonlight. Through her blurred vision, Arden saw a figure break through the water. He reached out, grabbed her by the waist, and guided her toward the surface.

The moment her body rose above the water, she started coughing violently. It was only after the man led her toward the shore that she finally started to catch her breath.

She turned to look at her savior. His white dress shirt and black slacks were soaked, clinging to him and outlining his broad shoulders and trim waist. His features were striking, all clean lines and sharp angles. He was so handsome that he hardly looked real.

Arden was sure she'd never met him, yet he felt familiar somehow. She started, "You are—"

"Arden Jacquet!"

Graham's furious roar cut through the air as he charged toward her. "How could you have been so vicious? What did Irene do to you to make you push her into the water? You almost made her drown, you know!"

The blind accusation made Arden's ears ring. Graham could only see that Irene had fallen into the water, but he didn't seem to notice that she was just as soaked. The affection and tenderness he'd worn like a mask were shredded in an instant, exposing the ugliness beneath.

So, this was the truth Irene wanted her to see.

Arden ignored his hysteria. She staggered to her feet, ready to leave. That movement snapped Graham back to reality. He caught sight of how pale her face was, almost translucent. Something twisted in his chest.

"You—"

"Graham, I feel awful…" Irene whimpered, yanking Graham's attention away before he could say anything else.

He jolted, hurried to her side, and checked her over. "Are you hurt anywhere? Don't talk. I'll take you to the hospital right now."

With that, he rushed off with her.

Soon, everyone at the scene drifted away, leaving only Arden and the man who had saved her. A gust of night wind cut through, and the bone-deep chill made her shiver. Before she could react, warmth settled over her shoulders. The man had draped his blazer over her.

She instinctively tried to refuse. "Thank you, but I don't need—"

"Keep it on."

The man's voice was low and cool. His sharp features, accentuated by the shadows, looked even more forbidding. The pressure he exuded shut down anything Arden might have said.

She had no choice but to accept his kindness.

"Come with me," he said evenly.

He sounded like someone used to being in charge; he exuded a natural authority that made compliance feel inevitable. By the time Arden realized it, she had already followed him back onto the cruise ship.

"Mr. Fulton," a server greeted as they approached.

Damien Fulton gave a slight nod and led Arden into a cabin. The heat, already turned on, chased the cold from the room.

"Clothes are in the bathroom. They're brand new, so help yourself," he said.

Arden didn't move. She felt a little uneasy being alone with a man she barely knew in an enclosed space. The whole setup felt strange, and a flicker of caution rose in her chest.

Damien seemed to catch her unease and soon said, "I'll go freshen up in the next room. If you need anything, there's a call button by the bed for room service."

With that, he left.

The door swung shut. Arden listened to his footsteps fade before finally letting out a breath of relief. She went into the bathroom, took a hot shower, and changed into the athletic wear that had been laid out for her.

Just as she finished, a sharp pain shot through her abdomen. Too many things had happened that day that she'd forgotten to take her meds.

Breathless from the pain, Arden found a pen and paper by the bed and wrote a note to thank Damien. She thought about leaving her contact information so she could return the blazer and the clothes later, but she froze halfway through writing her number.

Her condition was getting worse by the day. There might not be a "later". And besides… maybe Damien didn't want any entanglement with her.

At that thought, her gaze landed on her diamond ring. It was the engagement band Graham had spent a fortune getting custom-made for her. She'd been thinking about returning it or getting rid of it. Maybe she could use it to settle this debt instead.

Whatever feelings she'd once had for Graham had been worn down, so there was no need to keep a ring that was supposed to symbolize those feelings.

Arden slipped off the ring and set it on the bedside table.

Shortly after she left, Damien knocked on the door and came in. Instead of seeing her, all he saw was the half-written phone number on the note and the diamond ring beside it.

…

Exhausted in both body and spirit, Arden drifted home, took her meds, and collapsed into bed.

Her dreams were a jumble of scenes. One moment, Katherine was screaming at her to get out. The next moment, Irene was smiling as she vowed to take everything away from her.

The last scene was of Graham condemning her sharply. "Arden, how could you be so vicious?"

Arden jolted awake, only to find the face from her dream blown up to life-size right in front of her. She gasped. "What are you doing?"