It took three days for the floodwaters to recede.

During those three days, Fabian's subordinate, Lucas Batt, came looking for him several times.

Each time, he was extremely anxious.

"Fabian, there's still no news about Lucy. I've asked everyone involved in the rescue, but no one has seen her."

Fabian didn't even look up, just focused on peeling an apple.

"Someone as cowardly as her wouldn't die even if everyone else did.

"Alright, forget it. She might have gone home by now."

He didn't believe I would die, so naturally, he wasn't concerned about my whereabouts.

Lucas was so worried that his eyes turned red.

"Fabian, I called your home too. She hasn't gone back. She's heavily pregnant with no relatives. Where could she go?"

Fabian handed the apple to Layla and finally turned around.

Seeing the worry in Lucas' eyes, he was momentarily moved.

The young man in his twenties was crying and desperately holding onto his sleeve, pleading.

"Fabian, come with me. If something really happened to Lucy..."

He choked, unable to continue, and Fabian finally nodded.

Just as he was about to get up, Layla suddenly grabbed his other hand.

She held onto her chest, with a slight frown on her face, appearing pitiful.

"Fabian, my chest hurts. You know I have a bad heart. Can you stay with me?"

Before Fabian could speak, Lucas was already anxious.

"Miss Parker, Fabian went to find his wife. Is it really necessary for you to block him like this?

"Even if you want to ruin their relationship, you don't have to be so blatant about it. Especially since lives are at stake, you..."

"Enough!"

Fabian, enraged and embarrassed, interrupted him.

Perhaps it was because his beloved woman was insulted; his anger was completely unmasked in his eyes.

He coldly shook off Lucas' hand and said without thinking, "It seems you care about Lucy even more than I do.

"Since you care so much, you don't need me. If you're in such a hurry, you can find her yourself. I need to stay here to take care of Layla.

"And I won't allow you to insult Layla like this. She and I are innocent, unlike you and Lucy, who've done who-knows-what behind my back."

I couldn't help but smile bitterly. Apparently, in his eyes, I was so insignificant.

Lucas' anxiety towards me was only because I had saved his life.

Back when we were newlyweds, I would carefully prepare various dishes at home every day and then happily deliver them to Fabian.

Although he always just took them indifferently, putting them aside without eating, I still enjoyed doing it.

That day, I was delivering food as usual when I saw Lucas arguing with someone at the door.

I curiously leaned over and listened for a while before realizing that Lucas had seen someone stealing and had intervened, only to be surrounded by the crowd.

The crowd was too fierce. Lucas, trapped in the middle and blushing, refused to let go.

Lucas was focused on arguing with them, completely unaware that someone behind him was pulling out a knife to stab him.

Without thinking, I used the food container in my hand to block it. The sharp blade grazed the back of my hand, and blood oozed out instantly.

Lucas turned around in surprise and hurriedly released the thief, holding my hand to check the injury.

The crowd dispersed immediately, and within half a minute, they were gone.

We didn't notice that Fabian happened to come out.

I had my back to him, so he couldn't see my wound. All he could see was Lucas holding my hand.

He didn't even bother to ask and just turned and left.

Later, I explained it to him, but he just brushed me off with a few casual words, showing the impatience to listen to the whole story.

I thought he didn't care, but I didn't expect him to misunderstand and think there was something between Lucas and me.

Lucas' face turned pale instantly. He was anxious to explain but was pushed out by Fabian.

He said, "Enough. Unless you find Lucy's body, you're not allowed to appear in front of me again."

I stared blankly at his impatient expression, feeling a pang of bitterness in my heart.

The husband I had loved deeply for eight years turned out to be so heartless.

After driving Lucas away, Fabian returned to Layla's bedside. She, with red eyes, threw herself into his arms, her teary face like a flower in the rain.

"Fabian, it really hurt just now. I didn't mean to stop you from finding Lucy."

Fabian embraced her and patiently comforted her.

"I know. You don't need to feel guilty. Lucy has many relatives and friends, so naturally, someone will look for her. But you are alone.

"I will stay with you and talk about it when you're better."

Seeing their affectionate display, I felt my heart ache unbearably.

Such deep affection seemed out of place if I were still alive.

It turned out, in love, the unloved one was the most pitiful.

Two days later, my body was discovered.

I looked pained, with numerous wounds on my body, looking utterly tragic.

When my mother-in-law came to identify the body, she fainted upon seeing my tragic state.

My mother-in-law and I had always had a good relationship. She and my mother were best friends while she was still alive, and after I married into the family, she tried to make up for Fabian's indifference by showering me with love.

We had originally planned to go to Hokkaido to see the snow when the weather turned cold, but now, we are separated by death.

After waking up, she trembled as she called Fabian, but he ruthlessly hung up.

Probably thinking his mother was trying to force him to return and accompany me, he finally turned off his phone.

Lucas also rushed over upon hearing the news.

This ma sank to the floor in front of me, crying out loud.

He grasped my pale hand, regretting deeply and beating his chest.

"Lucy, I've always wanted to persuade you to get a divorce, but I was afraid you might misunderstand, so I didn't dare to speak up.

"Now I regret it so much. If I had persuaded you to leave Fabian back then, would you still be alive?"

I sighed and shook my head.

I had thought about getting a divorce before, but I always hoped that if I persisted a little longer, maybe Fabian would look at me a bit more.

The intensity of this infatuation could not be swayed by mere words from others.

My mother-in-law, forcing herself to handle the paperwork, took the death certificate and hurried to the hospital with Lucas.

When they arrived at the ward, Fabian was patiently feeding Layla spoonfuls of oatmeal.

My mother-in-law, with tears in her eyes, stepped forward and knocked the bowl out of his hands.

Her whole body was trembling uncontrollably, and her voice was filled with a strong cry.

"Fabian, are you even human? Lucy died so tragically, and you're here taking care of another woman!"

The scalding oatmeal spilled all over him, and Fabian stood up expressionlessly, calmly wiping himself with a tissue.

"Mom, I know you don't like Layla, but is it appropriate to tell such lies just to stop me from taking care of her?"

My mother-in-law, gritting her teeth with hatred, raised her hand and slapped him.

"Have you asked even once about Lucy who's been missing for so many days?"

The slap seemed to have been delivered with all her strength, and a bit of blood appeared at the corner of Fabian's mouth.

He wiped the corner of his mouth and smiled coldly.

"There are so many people looking for her, does it really matter if I'm one more?

"That day, I saw clearly that the stone was so close to us, it only took two minutes to swim over. She swam so far in the sea back then, how could she have possibly died?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lucas, who had been holding back, suddenly pushed my mother-in-law aside and punched him in the face.

Fabian, caught off guard, was knocked back.

His nose was also swelling up, and blood continued to pour out.

Fabian clutched his nose awkwardly, a trace of ferocity flashing in his eyes.

Lucas didn't give him a chance to fight back and threw another punch at his head.

"Fabian, I used to respect you, but now you only deserve for me to call you a beast!

"Even I knew she couldn't swim. How could you call yourself a husband!?

"Your heart has long been set on another woman, right? Still pretending to be so high-minded? It's really disgusting!"

I remembered that last summer, they had a gathering and deliberately chose a place by the water to avoid the heat.

In the middle of the fun, when the temperature was too high, everyone jumped into the water to play, while I quietly sat by the water's edge.

Someone loudly invited me to join them in the water, but I shook my head and awkwardly told them that I couldn't swim.

Even Lucas remembered this, but Fabian didn't seem to know.

Perhaps he heard it too, but since I was inconsequential to him, he naturally wouldn't remember.

Fabian, holding his head, had an angry expression that was somewhat distorted.

"Are you all crazy? Lucy likes to make trouble with me, but you all join in and make things worse, is it not chaotic enough?

"I promise you, once Layla is discharged, I will go find Lucy, okay?"

At this moment, Lucas' eyes were already red. He roared and hugged Fabian's waist, throwing him to the ground.

He straddled Fabian and raised his fists high.

"Find her? She's already dead, where the hell are you going to find her!?"

Seeing that Lucas' fist was about to hit Fabian again, Layla, who had been sobbing quietly in the corner, panicked.

She threw herself in front of Fabian and took a punch for him.

She trembled all over in pain, crying pitifully.

"Fabian, it's all my fault. I didn't know Lucy would be so angry and conspired with so many people to deceive you."

Lucas, still fuming, heard Layla's words and became even angrier. He kicked her in the back without hesitation, shouting and screaming hysterically.

"Stop acting nice. If it weren't for you, this bitch, Lucy wouldn't have died so miserably!

"She was even pregnant..."

By the end of his outburst, Lucas couldn't help but cover his face and cry.

The ward was filled with cries, with only Fabian maintaining his composure.

He carefully helped Layla up, protecting her behind him.

When he turned around, his expression suddenly became stern.

"Lucas, didn't I tell you not to insult Layla? If you dare to lay a hand on her today, you must apologize to her!

"And, you'd better stop this deceitful act. Lucy even sent a voice message threatening Layla this morning, how could she possibly be dead?"

As if afraid they wouldn't believe him, Fabian took out his phone, tapped a few times, and tossed it to Lucas.

I leaned in with curiosity and watched Lucas press the play button.

"You lowlife homewrecker, do you even deserve to be around Fabian?

"I warn you, if you don't stay away from my husband, I have plenty of ways to deal with you!"

Each line was filled with threats and insults.

The woman's voice sounded quite similar to mine, but if someone who knew me well heard it, they'd recognize the difference.

Unfortunately, Fabian couldn't tell.

I wanted to tell him that I was already dead and that a dead person couldn't send voice messages.

Probably because his dream girl was threatened by me, Fabian's face darkened frighteningly.

He sneered.

"Did you see that? Lucy isn't dead at all. Not only is she alive, but she also has the energy to throw tantrums and curse.

"Please tell her that no matter what, she's still my wife. As long as she comes to apologize to Layla, I'll forgive her.

"As for her playing games with you, I won't hold it against her..."

Before he could finish, his angry mom threw a glass of water in his face.

"Fabian, do you even have a heart?

"Lucy has been with you for eight years, and you can't even recognize her voice?"

Fabian, suppressing his anger, fell silent for a moment before grabbing the phone furiously.

"Mom, I was originally going to give her some dignity for your sake.

"If you're so adamant, do you want me to expose her right here and now?

"Fine, I'll do as you wish!"

He dialed a video call right in front of his mother.

Soon, the video call was answered, with the camera facing a bare wall.

Though we couldn't see anyone, it was obvious that the room in the video was mine.

Fabian's face was grim.

"Lucy, my mom has been so good to you, and you used her to stage this charade!

"Do you think it's easy to fool her because she's older?"

Naturally, there was no response from the other side, only faint sounds of laughter.

Fabian, usually calm, finally lost his temper. He yelled at the phone.

"How dare you laugh? Get over here and apologize to Layla, or I'll divorce you immediately!"

I found his angry expression amusing.

This time, I probably couldn't follow his demands.

After all, he couldn't divorce a dead person.

His mom was so enraged her lips were trembling. She shakily pulled out the death certificate and threw it at his feet.

"Fabian, open your eyes and see if we've deceived you or not!"

Fabian's face was terrifyingly dark as he picked up the thin death certificate, examining it closely.