Five years ago, Julian dove into the dark ocean to save my life, and never came up. For the next five years, I held onto his family's shipping company with a death grip. I fought off his corporate enemies. I took care of his crew and his so-called brotherhood. But tonight, just as I was finally preparing to scatter his ashes into the sea, a brightly lit party yacht sailed into the harbor. Hanging off the side of the hull was a massive, blown-up engagement photo. The man in the photo was my fiancé, Julian—the man who was supposed to have died five years ago. And the woman he was holding in his arms was my best friend, Chloe. The girl I had personally rescued from human traffickers. I froze in place. The next second, Liam—the enforcer who had been my loyal shadow for a decade—pressed the cold barrel of a gun against the back of my head. "Maya," he said quietly. "Don't ruin Julian and Chloe's happiness." Julian stood on the upper deck, looking down at me with cold indifference. "Maya, for the past five years, you have suffocated me." ... The ocean breeze whipped up, carrying the heavy scent of salt and rot. The urn in my arms clattered against the iron railing with a dull thud. I looked up at him. "Julian. Say that again." Julian tightened his grip around Chloe's waist. He kept his voice low. "I'm alive." "I didn't die five years ago." A sudden hush fell over the deck. Then, a few people looked away. Someone raised a champagne flute. Another hid a party popper behind their back. There were no gasps of shock. No bewildered questions. Julian's old crew lined the red carpet, all dressed in celebratory formal wear. It was like they had been rehearsing this reunion for years. I let out a harsh laugh. "You all knew?" No one answered. I looked past Julian to his first mate. "Carter. Did you know too?" Carter lowered his head. "Miss Maya. Tonight is a good night for Mr. Vance." I turned my gaze to Mrs. Higgins, the company's head of accounting. "Mrs. Higgins. Five years ago, when the debt collectors were literally breaking down the doors of the Vance estate, I was the one who pulled strings to get your son safely out of the country." Mrs. Higgins tightened her grip on her champagne glass. "Miss Maya, people have to look forward." I clutched the urn tighter, my knuckles turning white against the sharp corners of the box. "Look forward?" "I held a vigil with his portrait for seven days, and you were all looking forward?" "I handed over three of my family's cargo ships to appease his rivals, and you were looking forward?" "I forced the Hayes family ports to give Vance Shipping green lights for five years, and you were looking forward?" Julian frowned. "Maya, nobody asked you to do any of that." The words hit like a slap across the surface of the water. Suddenly, the crashing of the waves sounded deafening. I stared at him. "Nobody asked me?" "When Vance Shipping was hours away from filing for bankruptcy, who got on their knees and begged me to stabilize the company?!" Someone in the crowd cleared their throat awkwardly. Julian's expression turned frigid. "Don't pin all of your sacrifices on me." "As far as I was concerned, I was dead for five years." "You chose to hold onto my ghost. That was your choice." I nodded slowly. "Fine." "My choice." Chloe stepped forward, resting a hand on her slightly swollen stomach. She was wearing a stunning white evening gown, the train embroidered with a delicate constellation pattern. She lightly rested her fingers on Julian's cuff. "Maya, please don't blame Julian." "These past five years have been incredibly hard for him too." My eyes dropped to her stomach. Liam immediately stepped closer behind me, the muzzle of his gun digging harder into the base of my skull. "Maya, Chloe is pregnant." "Do not take another step toward her." Julian raised a hand. "Protect Chloe." Two massive bodyguards immediately moved to block her from my sight. Chloe's eyes welled with tears. "I know you hate me." "But the baby is innocent." I stared at the human wall protecting her. "When I dragged you out of that trafficker's basement, you said you were innocent too." Chloe bit her lip. "Maya, I've always remembered what you did for me." "That's exactly why I wanted to invite you tonight." I burst out laughing. "Invite me?" Liam lowered the gun but remained planted firmly in front of Chloe. "Mr. Vance gave strict orders. We can't let you cause a scene on the boat." I slowly turned to look at him. "Liam. When you were seventeen, and the dock runners broke two of your ribs with a crowbar, who carried your bleeding body out of that warehouse?" Liam looked away. "Maya, let's keep things separate." "I owe you my life. I admit that." "But you can't use that debt like a knife against Julian and Chloe's throats." I pointed a shaking finger at Julian. "He faked his death to play me for a fool for five years." "And you're telling me not to hold a knife?" Liam's voice hardened. "Julian just wanted to live an easier life." "You controlled the company, you controlled the fleet, you controlled the crew. You even interrogated him about where he went after hours." "Who could survive that?" The sharp thwack of a walking cane against the wooden deck broke the tension. Old Man Vance stepped out from the crowd of guests. His hair was mostly white, and a bright red boutonnière was pinned to his lapel. Seeing that red flower made my throat burn like I had swallowed battery acid. "Mr. Vance." He sighed heavily. "Maya, just let it go." "Julian and Chloe are having a baby." "It's time for the Vance family to have a fresh start." I stared at him in disbelief. "You knew too?" The old man avoided my eyes. "I'm an old man. All I want is peace in my family." I took a slow step toward him. Liam reached out to block me. I stopped. "Mr. Vance, the day we buried Julian's empty casket, you were the one who held my arm as we walked through the cemetery." "You looked at me and said, 'Maya, the Vance family is relying on you now.'" The old man gripped his cane tighter. "The situation was different back then." "Once Julian came back... I couldn't exactly tear him and Chloe apart, could I?" My voice dropped to a harsh whisper. "So you just sat back and watched me visit an empty grave for five years?" The old man's face stiffened. Chloe hurriedly interjected. "Mr. Vance is just trying to do what's best for everyone." "Maya, please don't pressure an old man." I snapped my head toward her. "Shut your mouth." Julian's voice cut through the air like ice. "Maya!" "You're scaring her." He held out a hand to his side. His assistant immediately placed a gold-embossed invitation in his palm. Julian set the invitation on the ship's railing. The sea breeze caught the crimson cover, flipping it open. It proudly displayed his name, intertwined with Chloe's. "The engagement banquet is the day after tomorrow." "You will be there." "And in front of all the press in the city, you are going to publicly give us your blessing." I stared blankly at the invitation. "You want my blessing?" Julian crossed his arms. "You guarded the Vance family for five years. The whole city respects you." "If you give us your blessing, the media won't tear Chloe apart." Chloe gently tugged on his hand. "Julian, don't force Maya to do this." He squeezed her hand back. "She owes you an explanation." I looked around the deck, bathed in celebratory red lights. "I owe her an explanation?" Liam snatched the invitation from the railing and shoved it into my hand. "Maya. Don't make this hard for everyone." The sharp, gilded edge of the thick cardstock sliced my palm. A drop of my blood smeared right across Julian's name. He glanced at it, not a single muscle in his face twitching. "Escort her off the ship." Two security guards grabbed my arms. I violently wrenched myself out of their grip. "I can walk." As I stepped off the gangway, the celebratory fireworks launched from the yacht, bursting in the sky behind me. Confetti rained down into the dark water. The ashes inside the urn grew heavy, saturated by the damp sea air. Early the next morning, I returned to the Moonfall. It was the yacht that was supposed to be my wedding venue. Five years ago, Julian promised we would get married on the ocean. I had personally picked out every single light fixture in the cabins. The brass bell hanging at the end of the corridor was an antique I had taken from my late mother's belongings. Now, the hull was draped in massive floral wreaths. Right below the ship's painted name, a brand-new banner was plastered: Celebrating the Engagement of Julian & Chloe. The deckhands were tearing down the light fixtures. A young crewman ripped down the white silk ribbons I had tied to the railing with my own hands. The silk fell straight into a puddle of engine oil on the dock. I called out to him. "Who told you to take those down?" The crewman turned to look at me, a pair of heavy shears still in his hand. "Miss Chloe said old things are bad luck." I walked into the master cabin. The photo wall that used to display our nautical maps and sailing photos was gone. In its place was a massive engagement photo of Julian holding Chloe as they watched the sunrise. The adjoining room, where Julian and I had once fitted my wedding dress, had been painted a warm, buttery yellow. A little wooden sign hung on the door: Nursery. Chloe was standing inside, directing the maids on where to place the baby crib. "Put it by the window." "Julian said he wants the baby to be able to see the ocean as soon as they wake up." I stood in the doorway. "This is my room." Chloe turned around, offering a soft, apologetic smile. "Maya, you're here." "Julian said we're going to host the baby's one-month milestone party on this ship." "I had the staff pack up all your things." I looked past her and saw a cardboard box shoved near the bed. Inside the box was a disorganized pile of my photo albums, my evening gowns, and the meticulous shipping route plans I had drafted for Julian over the years. A maid taped the box shut and moved to carry it out. I blocked her path. "Put it down." The maid looked nervously at Chloe. Chloe spoke softly. "They're all just old memories." "Keeping them around will just make Julian uncomfortable." I reached into the box and pulled out the photo album on top. The cover had been damaged by the packing tape. Tucked inside the pages was a handwritten card Julian had given me years ago. With the stars and sea as our witness, we will sail through the rest of our lives together. I pulled the card out. "If he's uncomfortable, he can come tell me to my face." Chloe stepped closer. As she raised her hand, the ring on her finger caught the light, flashing a brilliant emerald green. An emerald-cut diamond. The exact ring Julian had won at auction five years ago to propose to me. I stared at her hand. "Take it off." Chloe immediately hid her hand behind her back. "Maya, Julian gave this to me." "That is my ring." Chloe's eyes instantly welled with tears. "You always do this." "You think everything in the world belongs to you." "But Julian chose me." I held out my hand. "Take. It. Off." She took a step back. "Don't pressure me." "If you want it back so badly, tell Julian to come take it off himself." Rapid footsteps echoed down the hallway behind me. Julian stormed into the cabin. His first instinct was to pull Chloe safely behind him. "Maya, what kind of tantrum are you throwing now?!" I held up the damaged photo album. "You ordered them to gut my wedding ship." "To throw my belongings in the trash." "To turn my room into a nursery." "And you put my engagement ring on her finger." Julian glanced dismissively at the cardboard box. "Old things are an eyesore." "And I can give that ring to whoever I damn well please." Chloe pressed herself against his arm. "Julian, please don't yell at her." Julian sneered. "She just can't stand seeing you have a peaceful pregnancy." I placed the photo album back into the box. "Alright." "The maintenance funds for the Moonfall came out of my personal accounts." "The renovations on this ship were paid for by the Hayes family." "And the docking fees Vance Shipping racked up at my ports for the last five years? I'll be collecting on all of it." The cabin fell dead silent. Julian stared at me, his eyes narrowing. "You wouldn't dare." I pulled out my phone. "Carter. Tell the entire crew to halt all operations." "Starting today, we are auditing every single cent Vance Shipping owes the Hayes family." Carter's hesitant voice came through the speaker. "Miss Maya... Mr. Vance is right here." "Halt operations. If anyone touches another inch of this ship, I will personally see to it that they never work at another port in this city again." Julian's face went dangerously dark. He held out his hand to his assistant. The assistant handed him a tablet. Julian unlocked it and shoved the screen in my face. On the video feed, my younger brother, Leo, was strapped to a hospital bed. His wrists were bound with thick white restraints. The windows of the room were sealed shut with steel plates. Two massive bodyguards stood right outside his door. I crushed my phone in my grip. "Julian!" Julian’s voice was completely monotone. "Your brother’s condition is relapsing." "The sanitarium said he needs isolated, high-security care." "If you want to audit the company, fine." "I'll just tell them to change his 'care' methods." In the video, one of the bodyguards leaned over and roughly pinned Leo's shoulders to the bed. Leo was screaming, his mouth wide open, but the audio feed was muted. I lunged forward to grab the tablet. Liam sprinted through the doorway and clamped a vice-grip onto my wrist. "Maya! Calm down!" I violently ripped my arm free. "He's my brother!" Julian casually turned off the tablet. "Revoke the work stoppage order." "Show up to the engagement party in three days and give your speech." "And Leo will be granted one visitation." I stared at him in horror. "You're using my sick brother as leverage just to legitimize your mistress?" Julian didn't blink. "You forced my hand." Chloe whispered from behind him, playing the victim perfectly. "Maya, Leo is already so sick. Please stop provoking Julian." I shot her a lethal glare. "If you say my brother's name again, I will rip your mouth off." Julian stepped in front of her again. "Sign it." His assistant handed me a legal document: Agreement to Defer Debt Collection. I stared at the piece of paper. "Sign it," Julian repeated. "And you can go to the sanitarium this afternoon." A pen was shoved into my hand. I scrawled my signature across the bottom line. Before the ink was even dry, Julian snatched the document away. "Escort Miss Hayes off the ship."
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