All Chapters of Drowned by Betrayal: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

When I woke up in the hospital bed, the first thing I heard was Elara laughing.She was showing Everett a video on her phone. "Look at Tessa kicking. Doesn't she look like a turtle flipped onto its back?"Everett murmured something, and they both laughed, lowering their voices.The sound grated on my nerves. I tried to speak, but before I could get a word out, I coughed several times.Elara noticed I was awake and immediately put away her phone, her expression changing to one of concern.Her eyes turned red in an instant as she rushed to my bedside and took my hand. "Tessa, you're finally awake. You had me so worried. It's all my fault. If I hadn't accidentally pushed you into the water fifteen years ago, you wouldn't have developed a fear of water. And this time, I was so eager to help you overcome it that I almost caused another accident."Everett immediately put an arm around her shoulders and spoke gently. "It's not your fault. You were only ten back then. What could you have

On the morning of my third day in the hospital, I was discharged.I had planned to go home and pick up a few things after I was discharged. But when Elara found out I was leaving, she and Everett showed up to pick me up, acting all mysterious.She covered my eyes with a silk scarf, her voice full of excitement. "I got you a present to celebrate your discharge."…After a twenty-minute drive, Elara took my hand and led me the rest of the way.The stronger the smell of disinfectant became, the more uneasy I felt.When she took off the blindfold, I found myself standing on a 33-foot diving platform, with a deep blue pool far below me.My fear of water hit me with full force. The world spun around me, and my legs went so weak I could barely stand.Elara put a hand on my shoulder from behind, her tone light. "Tessa, here's to your recovery. Once you jump from here, you'll be reborn. This is the best gift Everett and I could think of."Everett stood below, looking up at me. His voic

Meanwhile, after comforting Elara, Everett returned to my hospital room, only to find the bed empty.The nightstand was completely bare except for my hospital discharge papers.He picked them up and turned them over. On the back was a single line in my handwriting. "Thank you for fifteen years of 'kindness,' but I'd rather do without it."Everett stared at the words for several seconds before pulling out his phone and calling me.A cold automated message came through the receiver. "The number you are calling is currently busy."He called three more times. The same message played every time.He sent me a message on WhatsApp. It stayed on one gray check mark and never delivered.Everett rushed out of the hospital and drove straight to the apartment I had been renting.The landlord was cleaning the place with the door wide open. The apartment was already empty."Ms. Winslow contacted me yesterday to end the lease," the landlord said. "She had the cleaners haul everything away and

When my mom called, I was in my office reviewing a draft of a merger agreement.Her voice was careful. "Tessa, how have you been lately? Have you eaten? Is it cold there?"I answered each question simply, my tone calm. I did not complain or act coy.She spent a long time easing into the subject before finally saying, "Everett has been going crazy trying to find you. He comes by the house every day. He's gotten so thin I barely recognize him. He says he knows he was wrong. That Elara is no good. She's already been kicked off the team—"My mom and Everett's parents had been neighbors for decades, and Everett and I had grown up together. She had always thought it was only natural that we would end up together.I had also complained to her before about how far Everett and Elara had gone with their attempts to treat my fear of water.However, my mom had believed they were doing it for my own good. She had even told me not to be so ungrateful.When it became clear she was about to d

I replied to the last senior member of the swim team who had reached out to plead Everett's case."Why should I forgive him? When you all rubbed salt in my wounds back then, did any of you ever speak up for me? What he's suffering now isn't even a fraction of what I went through back then."After sending the message, I blocked them all again and changed my settings so strangers could no longer add me.Then I added Everett myself and sent him a message.Just one sentence. "Some things need to be said face-to-face."I chose a cafe with a view of the ocean.By the time I arrived, Everett was already sitting by the window, a cup of cold black coffee in front of him.He had gotten so thin that his cheekbones stood out. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, and after so long spent tormenting himself, he looked almost on edge.I pulled out a chair and sat down.He looked up sharply. There was an almost panicked hope in his eyes.He immediately started apologizing, speaking so quickly it w