Chapter 2

My body trembled as memories of the past rushed over me. Victoria noticed it and gave me a once-over from head to toe.

She sneered, "It's just a flood, and it hasn't even fully hit yet. Yet, you're already shaking all over? I honestly don't know what Rick ever saw in you."

I did not say a word. Instead, I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down.

I had heard those kinds of remarks too many times to count. To everyone else, Patrick and I were a mismatch. After all, he had the looks and charm, and Victoria was the college belle, adored by everyone on campus.

Meanwhile, I was ordinary.

After graduation, Victoria dumped Patrick for some wealthy man, claiming his family was too average and broke for her tastes.

After that, I had a crush on Patrick. Through a twist of fate, we somehow ended up married.

As I thought about it, a sharp ache spread across my chest like tiny needles pricking at my heart. I could not help but think that Patrick had regretted marrying me the moment he reconnected with Victoria.

They could have been together—openly and proudly—if Patrick had not married me. That must be why they could not stand the secrecy anymore, so they chose to die together.

A powerful gust made me instinctively shudder, and I snapped back to reality. In the distance, I saw our neighbors being rescued by the emergency crew.

Someone on the boat held a loudspeaker and shouted, "If you didn't make it onto this round, don't panic! We'll come back and get everyone we can!"

Not far away, I spotted Patrick furiously paddling our way. When he saw me, his expression twisted in frustration.

He barked, "Why are you home today? I told you, Vicky's just crashing at our place for a few days. We're married now, so what are you so afraid of? There's only one seat left on this boat, and the water's rising fast. Tell me—what are we supposed to do?!"

His eyes bounced between me and Victoria, filled with hesitation and guilt. That exact look and that exact scene had played out before.

In my last life, I watched him look at Victoria with a tenderness I had never seen in his eyes for me. I broke down and cried, screaming at him like a madwoman.

Maybe Patrick was sick of my outbursts because he suddenly threw the only lifebuoy at me and shouted for me to leave. I felt only revulsion as I watched them exchange that same heartfelt gaze again.

When he tossed the lifebuoy over, I caught it and immediately handed it to Victoria. I said, "Victoria, get on the boat and go."

She stared at me, eyes wide in disbelief. "Seriously? Don't you want me dead more than anything?"

Patrick's face twisted with panic as he shouted, "Esmeralda Spencer, if you've got a problem, take it out on me. Don't you dare hurt Vicky!"

The two of them looked at me warily, and anyone watching would have thought I had handed them a live grenade.

The strong wind whipped my hair across my face, blinding me for a second. I brushed it aside and looked straight at Patrich.

I said calmly, "This place is about to be completely underwater, and I just gave your beloved first love, Victoria, the only chance to escape. Shouldn't you be thanking me? If I wanted to hurt her, I would've drowned her before you even got here."

Patrick pressed his lips together and stared at me silently as if trying to see straight through me. A flicker of emotion crossed his eyes—one I could not quite read.

The next moment, Victoria hurriedly took the lifebuoy from my hands and slipped it on, her eyes teary. She sniffled, "I shouldn't have come to stay with you two. But since Esme said I can go first, Rick, please pull me onto the boat!"

Then, she continued to say, "Rick, Esme should be grateful she ever landed a man like you. And if things go bad today? Well, my child will owe her, and we'll visit her grave often with her favorite flowers—"

Patrick snapped out of it. With trembling hands, he grabbed the rope gently. "You're right. Esme is quite lucky to have gotten married to me. We'll make sure she's buried properly when this is all over."

Without another word, Victoria jumped into the water, clutching the lifebuoy, and Patrick carefully pulled her toward the boat. Then, he bent down and lifted her aboard.

Right in front of me, he checked her over meticulously to make sure she was not hurt, then strapped her into a life vest with tender care. After that, neither of them looked back.

Patrick started the motor and drove off without hesitation. As soon as their boat disappeared from my sight, the floodwater surged and quickly rose past my ankles.

I lowered my gaze, staring at the glinting ring on my left hand. Then, I slowly slipped it off and held it up to the light.

That was when I noticed, for the first time in all these years, that the inside of the band was engraved with their initials. It finally made sense why he treated the ring like it was sacred.

The one time I misplaced it in the living room, he completely lost it and snapped at me. "Do you even know how important this ring is? What if you'd lost it for good? Where am I supposed to find you another one exactly like it?"

Back then, I had carved a little figurine of the two of us out of wood and cut my hand doing it. I had taken the ring off to apply ointment and forgot to put it back on. I was so naive to believe that his outburst was proof of love.

I laughed bitterly at myself. I never would have guessed that the moment I removed it myself in this lifetime, I would discover its real secret.

As I thought that the ring must have been their little love token all along, a wave of nausea hit me. I immediately hurled the ring into the water and let the flood carry it away, along with all the years of my misplaced devotion.

Maybe it was the approach of death for the second time that made me so calm, but my mind suddenly wandered to Patrick's locked room.

I waded through the rising water and kicked the door open without hesitation. Inside, the room was filled—wall to wall—with memories of him and Victoria.

I let out a dry, mocking laugh.

In the past, I had only ever seen that kind of thing in TV dramas. I used to think it was romantic, so deeply emotional. Nonetheless, when my own husband was one doing it, all I felt was disgust.

I walked further in and started looking through their shared belongings. There were gifts from their younger days—a watch, dried flowers, bracelets, and so on.

So, Patrick had kept the artifacts of their relationship in our home—less than a hallway away from me—for seven years.

On the left wall, there were photos of the two of them. I casually pulled one off the wall and saw a message written behind it.

[Today marks our first anniversary. I swear I'll be with Vicky forever. If she dies, I won't go on living either.]

Tears welled up unexpectedly, and when I touched my cheek, my fingers came away wet.

So, they had already made a vow like that long ago. No wonder he had jumped so decisively in our last life despite how fiercely he usually clung to survival.

My heart finally shattered completely. I looked at the rapidly rising water, took a deep breath, and jumped in.