The highway heat was brutal when I saw a Labrador dying of heatstroke. I poured imported water over it to cool it down. My wife’s assistant, Leo, shrieked: “Are you insane?! What will I drink?!” I replied, “Buy your own at the next station.” After saving the dog, I returned home to my furious wife Vivian. “Leo nearly died from dehydration because of you!” I laughed bitterly. “Couldn’t he buy water? Or use a tap?” She nodded coldly. “You’re right. It was his fault.” A week later, she took me to a deserted island for my “birthday.” As the helicopter left, her voice crackled over the speaker: “You said thirsty people should buy water. So go buy some now.” Stranded with only ocean around me, I pressed my emergency watch. “Come get me.” Maybe this marriage ended long ago. ... Vivian’s mocking laughter echoed from the helicopter. “Luke, has the sun already cooked your brain, or are you just that terrified? This island is off the grid. There’s no signal here. Who do you think you’re calling with that toy watch?” “I suggest you face reality. Get on your knees and apologize to Leo right now. Beg him to forgive you. If you do, maybe I’ll be merciful and cut your little vacation short by a few days.” Leo’s head popped into view beside her. His face was a mask of feigned concern, but his eyes danced with triumph. “Luke, I really didn’t want it to come to this. But you used all the water on that dog, and I genuinely almost died of dehydration. You owe me this.” “But,” he added, his voice dripping with false sincerity, “if you admit you were wrong, and you sound like you mean it, I can ask Vivian to go easy on you and pick you up early.” The sight of his pathetic act made my stomach turn. Five years of marriage. I had been with Vivian when she had nothing, and I had helped her build an empire. And now, she was willing to leave me to die on this miserable rock for an assistant who was all drama and flair. When she was in the hospital after her car crash, I never left her side for three months. When her company’s cash flow dried up, I mortgaged the only house my parents left me to keep her afloat. Had she forgotten all of that? I suppressed the dull ache in my chest and looked up at her in the helicopter. “Do you really think I was wrong to save a dying dog?” “Leo is a grown man. The city is full of stores. He couldn’t buy water? The hotel has running water. He couldn't drink that? He let himself get dehydrated. It’s painfully obvious he’s just being manipulative. Can’t you see that?” Vivian’s expression faltered for a second, her eyes flickering with uncertainty. Leo saw it and immediately turned on the waterworks. His eyes welled up, and his voice cracked. “Luke, I know you’ve never liked me, but how can you say that? I have severe allergies. I can’t just drink any water. I can only drink that specific brand of imported water. It’s not like I had a choice…” He wiped away an imaginary tear and turned to Vivian. “Vivian, please don’t make things harder for Luke. It’s all my fault. If he really doesn’t want to apologize, let’s just forget it. I don’t want to be the reason you two fight…” “That’s enough!” Vivian snapped, her gaze shifting back to me, now blazing with anger. “Luke, are you still going to be this stubborn? Leo has a delicate constitution. As his senior, can’t you show a little compassion?” “Saving the dog wasn’t wrong, but you shouldn’t have mistreated my assistant for it! If something had actually happened to him, could you have taken responsibility?” Watching her being played so masterfully, I couldn’t help but find it all absurdly comical. “Vivian, do you actually believe him?” “From what I recall, Leo grew up in the countryside. Did he drink imported water in the mountains, too? I wasn’t aware that rural families were so affluent these days.” Vivian’s face flushed, but she doubled down. “What’s wrong with being from the countryside? All you ever do is criticize his background. The truth is, you’re just jealous that he’s young and successful!” “This time, I’m going to teach you a lesson. You can stay here and reflect on your actions!” With that, she turned away from me and spoke to the pilot in a clipped tone. “Let’s go.” The roar of the helicopter faded into the distance. I stood alone, staring at the endless ocean and the barren island. For the first time, I saw with blinding clarity that our marriage had been shattered for a long time. The sun beat down, and the thirst was already becoming a gnawing presence. I knew I couldn’t just wait here. I had to find water, or at least shelter. I got my bearings and started walking toward a dense thicket of trees in the island's interior. I hadn’t gone far when my foot snagged on something. I looked down, and my heart seized. A vibrant, emerald-green snake was coiled at my feet, its forked tongue flicking, its cold eyes locked on me. It had already marked me as prey. A chill ran down my spine, and cold sweat soaked my shirt. A bite from a venomous snake on a deserted island was a death sentence. Instinctively, I looked up. The helicopter was still hovering in the sky. Vivian was watching me through the window. If she would just lower a rope, I could escape this deadly threat. “Vivian! There’s a venomous snake down here! Get me out of here, now!” I screamed. Her face was a blur behind the glass, but I could just make out the cruel smirk on her lips. She picked up the intercom, and her voice boomed from the speakers. “Scared now, Luke? Where was your compassion when you were pouring all that water on that mutt, not thinking about how thirsty Leo would be?” “He was on an IV drip for three days, his lips were cracked like bark. Where was your sympathy then?” “If that snake bites you, you brought it on yourself. Stay there and think about what you’ve done. When you’re ready to apologize to Leo, I’ll consider saving you.” … I couldn't believe what I was hearing. For Leo, a man whose only talent was feigning fragility, she would actually watch me get attacked by a snake? “Vivian!” I gritted my teeth. “How did me saving a dying dog hurt him in any way?” “He’s a grown man who can’t figure out how to get a drink of water? He needed a bottle of imported water like it was a life raft? And for someone like that, you’re willing to trade my life?” Her gaze wavered for a moment, but her voice remained as hard as steel. “Leo is sensitive, not a brute like you! He suffered, and now you’re going to get a taste of it!” I laughed, a harsh, desperate sound. “Fine. Then watch closely. If I die in the jaws of this snake today, you’d better hope you can sleep at night!” “You—!” My words struck a nerve. Her face turned ugly. “Don’t you dare threaten me, Luke!” Just then, the green snake coiled its body and lunged. I instinctively leaped backward, narrowly dodging the attack, but I lost my footing and fell hard. Before I could scramble up, the snake had already reoriented and was slithering toward me, tongue flicking. Ignoring the pain, I scrambled backward and then turned and sprinted toward the dense woods. The sound of scales scraping against the dry ground was a death rattle at my heels. My heart hammered against my ribs. In the helicopter, Vivian watched me flee, a flicker of something—was it concern?—in her eyes. Leo, sitting beside her, quickly masked a flash of malice with his usual wounded expression. “Don't worry, Vivian,” he said smoothly. “That snake looks scary, but it’s actually harmless.” “I looked up this island before we came. It’s just a common green snake. They’re very docile.” He paused, deliberately showing her a faint scar on his wrist—a cut from a piece of broken glass that he’d always claimed was from a fall caused by dehydration. “Remember what you said at the hospital? That you’d make sure Luke learned the consequences of treating others so carelessly. This is perfect. A little scare will teach him a lesson.” Vivian looked at Leo, and whatever small flicker of worry she felt was instantly extinguished. She snorted. “You’re right. He needs to learn. A grown man, scared of a little snake. And he has the nerve to call you dramatic?” From an angle where she couldn’t see, a triumphant smile spread across Leo’s face. He knew this island was home to highly venomous sea snakes and rattlesnakes. The green snake was just a lucky, harmless coincidence. But he wanted Vivian to think Luke was overreacting. If a real venomous snake showed up… well, that would just be Luke’s bad luck. Vivian was about to taunt me again when her eyes widened in horror. The green snake, having been shaken off, darted into a nearby bush. And from that same bush, another, much larger snake emerged. It was a dusty brown, with a distinct diamond pattern along its back. It raised its head, a menacing rattle echoing from its tail. A rattlesnake. Highly venomous. To her utter horror, in my desperate attempt to escape the first snake, I was running directly toward it. I skidded to a halt just as it raised its head, its cold, vertical pupils locking onto me. From the helicopter, Leo’s voice, amplified and laced with mock amusement, drifted down. “See, Vivian? Luke’s in luck. Rattlesnakes are lazy. As long as he doesn’t provoke it, it won’t bother to move.” The tension in Vivian’s face eased slightly. She picked up the intercom. “Luke, did you hear that? Just stand perfectly still, apologize to Leo, and the snake won’t hurt you.” “Stop playing games, or this will only get worse for you.” I stared at the rattlesnake coiled at my feet, ready to strike, my throat tight. “I was wrong,” I said suddenly, my voice raspy and hoarse. Vivian and Leo were both taken aback. I slowly lifted my head, my gaze piercing through the helicopter’s window, straight at Vivian. “I was wrong five years ago when I was blind enough to fall for you. I was wrong to pull you out of the gutter. And I was wrong to think that the person who starved with me would be the person who stood by me.” “Luke!” Vivian’s voice was shrill. “Are you still being stubborn? Do you need to get bitten before you finally see sense?” I ignored her, my fingers discreetly reaching for the tactical knife hidden in my boot. I hadn’t had time to grab it earlier, but now it was my only hope. The GPS signal on my watch was slowly pulsing. Help was on the way. I just had to survive for a few more minutes. The rattlesnake, agitated by my silence, began to coil tighter. I knew it was about to strike. In the same instant, I threw myself toward a gnarled, leaning tree nearby. “Luke, are you crazy?!” Vivian screamed. “If you provoke it, it could climb the tree after you!” I perched on a thick branch, gasping for air, and looked down at the snake circling the base of the tree. The situation was so absurd, I almost laughed. “It’s better than being a sitting duck, isn’t it? Or would you rather watch me get poisoned?” Leo smoothly stepped in, placing a calming hand on Vivian’s arm. “Vivian, don’t be angry. He’s just terrified. Rattlesnakes can’t climb trees. See? It’s already giving up.” I followed his gaze. The snake was indeed slowly retreating back toward the bushes. But as it did, I saw something else in the undergrowth—several pairs of glowing green eyes. This wasn’t just one snake. It was a whole nest. I was about to shout a warning when Leo leaned out of the helicopter and tossed a smoke grenade toward the bushes. “Don’t worry, Luke! I’ll scare them away for you!” he yelled, his voice a caricature of urgency. The next second, the entire bush erupted.
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