Chapter 3Let My Traitor Husband Drown Slowly

Beatrice was so worried about Luna’s "precious cargo" that she moved her to the faster boat, leaving me behind in the rain.

The boat drifted for a while in the silence of the receding storm.

"Jade...?"

A weak, watery voice drifted from the darkness near the bank. I froze. It was Killian. He sounded like he was coughing up his own lungs, but he was alive.

"I knew I was too stubborn to die... Jade, get help! Get me out!"

He was clinging to a low-hanging willow branch, his body a map of bruises and jagged cuts from the rocks. He was pale, shivering violently—shaking with the final stages of hypothermia.

"Oh, Killian!" I cried out, my voice dripping with performative grief. "The boat is full! We can’t take any more! Help is coming, I promise! You have to be strong!"

"Jade... pull me in..."

"I can't! But remember what you said? Luna’s life is more important than anything. I made sure Mom took her to the hospital first! I knew that’s what you’d want!"

I looked around the boat and found some heavy gear—anchor weights and broken metal parts.

"Here, Killian! Let me throw you something to help you stay afloat!"

I tossed the heavy metal weights directly toward him. They splashed heavily, missing him by inches but creating waves that battered his weakened grip. Without the extra weight, our boat moved faster, catching the current toward the landing.

Killian’s face, twisted in a mask of realization and fury, vanished behind a wall of rain as he let out a pathetic, pig-like squeal before being swept back into the dark.

He looked so moved, he practically fainted. I really am the most understanding wife a man could ask for.