Chapter 2

I scrolled through every single post on Julia's social media. She posted Lucas far more often than she ever posted her own husband.

In the past, I forced myself to look the other way. But now, all I could think about was the night Lucas died. Julia had stood over my bed, dressed in black, staring down at me in the dark all night long.

She had asked, "Ian, are you asleep?"

Exhausted, I had mumbled back half-asleep, "It's late, babe. Go to bed."

I hadn't seen the murderous glint in her eyes back then.

Until she tossed me into the snake-infested pit of water, coldly hissing at me: How could I sleep so peacefully when Lucas was dead? Didn't I feel a shred of guilt?

The morning after his death, she vanished for a day and a night, scaring me so badly I almost called the police.

She had gone to the clinic for an abortion. And at Lucas's funeral, she had walked right at the front, holding his portrait—a role reserved strictly for a wife or child.

I had tolerated her out of trust, never realizing she was burying him as his widow.

Seven days after his death, she told me she wanted to go back to the beach to say her final goodbyes to Lucas.

Afraid she’d break down, and knowing a storm was coming, I tried to keep her home.

Instead, she drugged my drink, hired two thugs to tie me up, and dragged me out to the coast.

Every scene from my past life flashed before my eyes: their shameless flirtations, Lucas questioning my love for Julia, and the feral hatred in Julia's eyes before she killed me.

It made me want to vomit.

"Quick! Come out here! Ian, something happened to your wife!"

Mark screamed from the deck. I forced myself to run outside, making sure my reaction looked natural.

Out on the deck, Julia was cradling Lucas, whose skin had already turned an ashen blue. The venom had spread fast.

"Don't put your mouth on it! If you have any cuts in your mouth, sea snake venom will—" I stepped forward, shouting the required warning.

In my past life, I tackled Julia, pinning her down so she couldn't touch him. When she fought like a rabid animal, I had to knock her out.

We performed emergency CPR, but it was useless. Lucas died right there on the deck.

I still remembered the venomous glare she shot me as she held his corpse inside the cabin all night.

"Yeah, Julia, Ian's right! Just do CPR!" Mark urged.

Julia’s mind was made up. She looked at me, tears streaming down her face. "Ian, Lucas is my best friend. I can't just let him die!"

With that, she planted her lips directly against the bite, sucking aggressively.

Willing to die for her true love.

Julia, Lucas—if you loved each other this much, why didn’t you just get married? Did betraying me make it more exciting?

I kept shouting warnings at her, sounding frantic and distressed. Mark shook his head, sighing and patting my shoulder in sympathy.

Within seconds, Julia collapsed right beside Lucas. Before passing out, she locked her fingers tightly with his. A picture-perfect tragic romance.

I dropped to my knees, clutching my shirt, and put on the performance of a lifetime. "Babe! Wake up, please don't scare me! I know he's your friend, but how could you throw away your life for him?!"

The boat sped back to shore, docking around the exact same time as in my previous life.

I loathed both of them with every fiber of my being. How I wished they had both dropped dead on the spot. If she loved him so much, she should have joined him in the grave.

When we were escorted off the boat, the Coast Guard arrived, questioning why we were diving in such a hazardous zone.

I broke down in tears, looking completely shattered.

An officer frowned at me. "She’s your wife. Why didn't you stop her? Sea snake bites are fatal out here."

My friends stepped forward to vouch for me, explaining that we had a huge argument trying to talk her out of it. After filing the report, they rushed us to the hospital.

To my surprise, Julia was stubbornly resilient. Lucas was pronounced dead on arrival, but Julia survived.

Although she suffered multiple organ strain, her venom intake had been minimal. She regained consciousness that very night.