Chapter 1

"Believe me. I may not have water, but I can locate it! I'm the only one besides Jasper who can find water sources now!" I exclaimed.

The crowd clearly didn't believe me. After all, they only knew me as the wife of the famous geologist, Jasper Curran.

However, even Jasper had forgotten that I was also a talented and well-renowned geologist before I married him.

My mentor, Dr. Daniel Brown, was a very famous geologist as well, and all the other top scorers and geniuses in my field had to treat me with respect.

Yet, after getting married and becoming a housewife to take better care of my daughter, Sasha Curran, even I had already forgotten about my glorious past.

As a last resort, the crowd surrounding me handed the water-detecting equipment from my bag to me.

I sighed in relief.

I began fiddling with the device and started trying to locate water under the crowd's watchful eyes. I started out a little clumsily at first, sweat completely drenching my entire back, and eventually got more familiar with the equipment.

Finally, I managed to find a small water source in the middle of the desert before the crowd lost their patience with me.

They looked at me gratefully. I then asked in a hoarse voice, "Since I've located the water source for you, can you let me go?"

The people exchanged glances with each other and gulped hard.

"We just want to survive. Since you've brought water to us, we won't make things hard for you anymore."

They then returned the backpack that they had confiscated from me earlier and then began drinking the water thirstily. They also filled up their water bottles after that.

I took out the communication device from deep inside my backpack, took a deep breath, and dialled my designated rescue number.

"I've decided to join your team. Please come and get me as soon as possible," I said. "Also, please ensure Sasha's safety."

I had been married to Jasper for eight years, and we had a daughter together. However, she was weak and sickly since she was a baby.

If it weren't for my wanting Sasha to receive more help, I would never have left her alone back at the base camp while Jasper and I went out in search of a larger water source.

Before leaving, Jasper promised me that his parents would take good care of her in our absence. However, judging from how quickly Jasper abandoned me, I no longer trusted him with our daughter's life.

I had to rush back as quickly as possible.

The sun had become twice as hot and intense ever since the start of the apocalypse. My legs were shaky as I returned to the temporary shelter that the search team had built while in search of the larger water sources.

When I pushed the door open, I saw that the other teams had already returned. They had all gathered together for a meeting.

The other team members who had abandoned me and left in safety with Jasper earlier all looked at me in shock. It was as if they had never expected me to ever survive getting away from the crowd of criminals they'd encountered earlier.

However, Jasper didn't seem surprised to see me. He looked as though I had only been out for a short trip instead of narrowly escaping death.

He casually dismissed the meeting and paid no heed to my disheveled appearance or my cracked, peeling skin.

When the rest of the people had fully dispersed, he looked at me calmly and said, "So you're back."

My throat was parched. I didn't want to say a single word to him.

Jasper didn't repeat his question either. He just tossed me a water bottle that still had a few drops of water left in it.

"Water is very scarce and precious right now, Ari. It wasn't easy to find just a bit of it. Ave left this water for you out of the kindness of her heart."

I caught the bottle and saw my initials were on it—it was my own water bottle. Suddenly, I felt like a clown.

Jasper knew how rare and precious water was. However, he still didn't hesitate to trade my life for this bottle of water to give to Avery Grayson, my so-called sister who claimed that she was the true heiress in my family.

He didn't care whether I'd survive the ordeal or not.

Seeing that I didn't drink up the water gratefully as he thought I would, Jasper's face turned dark.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Arianne Grayson?"

I looked at him coldly and said, "Every little bit of water counts. I need to save it all for Sasha."

Jasper's face froze for a second. Then, he hurriedly changed the topic.

"Don't worry, Ari. We'll find more water and return to base camp very soon."

I gripped the water bottle in my hand and couldn't stop the surge of resentment rising within me.

"If you really wanted to go back quicker to see Sasha, Jasper, then carry out your mission properly instead of treating this expedition like you're on vacation with Avery!

"Otherwise, you'll never find another water source and return!"