Thalassa
My fiance, Adrian Hale, and I had planned to go snorkeling on Valentine's Day.
The day we landed in the south of France, I discovered that his first love, Vivian Clarke, had come with us.
They insisted on heading into unpatrolled waters.
"But those waters are dangerous, shrouded in strange rumors..."
Adrian frowned at me. "Sophie, do you have to ruin the mood right now?"
Vivian smiled and hooked her arm through his.
"With you here, nothing is going to happen to us."
Once we were in the water, Vivian recklessly swam toward the deeper channel. A swell shoved half her body into a narrow opening.
I swam over to pull her free, but she thrashed and drove her heel hard into my knee.
Her elbow knocked my mask crooked.
Before I could straighten it, Vivian kicked me into the opening.
Adrian came up behind us, grabbed Vivian, and held her hand tight.
The voices over my underwater headset were muffled, but I still heard Adrian's cold warning clearly.
"Vivi doesn't know these waters. You do, don't you?
"You led her into deeper water on purpose. Who exactly were you trying to hurt?
"Figure your own way out. Consider it the lesson you've earned!"
Briny seawater flooded my throat. My aching legs kicked uselessly. My body was wedged fast in the opening.
I closed my eyes in despair.
My last thought was this: if I died, they deserved to pay with their lives.