My Husband and My Best Friend Pushed Me to Sea

"Breathe."

A sharp, commanding voice sliced through the roaring in my ears.

I bolted upright, violently coughing up phantom seawater. My lungs burned. The freezing terror of the ocean—the suffocating weight pulling me down—clung to my skin. I thrashed against the mattress, fighting an invisible current.

"Stop fighting. You are on dry land."

A strong hand clamped around my wrist, pinning it to the bed. The touch grounded me. I blinked against the harsh fluorescent lights of the sterile white room, my vision slowly coming into focus.

A man stood beside the bed. Tall, clad in a sharp charcoal suit, his expression carved from ice. His dark eyes studied me with clinical detachment.

"Who are you?" My voice cracked, raw and unfamiliar.

"Kael Thorne," he answered, releasing my wrist. "CEO of Thorne Industries. My crew pulled you out of the Atlantic yesterday."

Yesterday.

The memory crashed into me with the force of a tidal wave. The private yacht. The champagne celebration. Then, the sudden, violent shove against my spine. Tumbling over the railing into the pitch-black waves.

"Rhys," I whispered, the name tasting like ash on my tongue. "My husband..."

"Your ex-husband," Kael corrected, his tone flat. He stepped back, sliding his hands into his pockets. "And the man who tried to kill you."

I shrank back against the pillows, clutching the thin hospital blanket to my chest. "Where is he? Did you call the police?"

"Call the police?" Kael let out a short, humorless laugh. "And tell them what? That a dead woman woke up in my private medical facility?"

"I'm not dead."

"According to the rest of the world, you are." Kael walked over to a metal table and picked up a sleek silver tablet. "You need to see this."

"What is it?"

"Reality," he said, tossing the device onto my lap. "Press play."

My trembling fingers tapped the glass. The screen brightened, displaying a live video feed. It was a press conference.

Rhys filled the screen. He wore a tailored black suit, standing at a podium adorned with white lilies.

"It is with profound grief," Rhys said to the flashing cameras, his voice thick with emotion. He paused, wiping a tear from his cheek. "That I announce the tragic passing of my wife, Elara."

My stomach twisted. He looked utterly devastated. It was a perfect performance.

"She was lost at sea," Rhys continued, his shoulders shaking slightly. "A terrible accident during our evening sail."

"He pushed me," I choked out, staring at the screen. I looked up at Kael. "He pushed me right off the deck!"

Kael didn't flinch. He just pointed a long finger at the tablet. "Keep watching."

On the screen, Rhys straightened his posture. The fake sorrow vanished, replaced by a solemn, practiced resolve.

"However," Rhys announced, looking directly into the main camera, "Elara's recent actions have left a dark stain on our family name. It breaks my heart to reveal this now, but she was unfaithful."

"What?" The word ripped from my throat.

"She engaged in multiple affairs," Rhys lied smoothly to the press. "She squandered our company assets to fund her secret lifestyle. Her reckless behavior led her to that yacht. In many ways, her tragic end was the result of her own moral decay."

I stared in sheer horror. My mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Then, a woman stepped up to the podium.

Serena.

My best friend. The woman I had trusted with all my secrets.

She wore a pristine white dress, slipping her arm gracefully through Rhys's. She offered a sad, brave smile to the crowd.

"Serena has been my rock through this betrayal," Rhys declared, kissing her temple. "She held me together when Elara tore my world apart. We have decided to move forward together. We will be married next month."

"Thank you all for your support," Serena added, her voice soft and sweet. "Rhys deserves happiness after suffering such cruel deception."

The comment section on the side of the video scrolled at a dizzying speed.

*Good riddance.*

*Cheating trash. She got what she deserved.*

*Rhys and Serena look so good together! Finally, he has a real woman.*

*Hope she suffered in the water.*

I shoved the tablet away. It clattered off the bed and hit the floor.

My chest heaved. I waited for the tears to fall, for the familiar sting of heartbreak to overwhelm me. But my eyes remained dry. The love I had harbored for Rhys for five years withered in an instant, turning into cold, brittle dust.

He murdered me. Then he murdered my memory.

"They moved fast," Kael noted, retrieving the tablet from the floor. His face remained devoid of pity. "The narrative is set. You are a disgraced, dead woman."

"You showed me this on purpose," I said, my voice hardening. The panic was gone, replaced by a hollow, gnawing rage.

"I did," Kael agreed. He set the tablet on the bedside table. "I needed to see if you would break, or if you would fight."

"Why do you care?" I demanded, locking eyes with him. "You don't know me."

"I don't care about you, Elara," Kael replied, his gaze piercing mine. "I didn't fish you out of the ocean out of charity. I am a businessman. I only invest in things that yield a return."

"What kind of return can a dead woman give you?"

"Rhys just acquired the harbor development contract," Kael said, his jaw tightening briefly. "A contract that belongs to Thorne Industries. He thinks he's untouchable now. With his dead, disgraced wife out of the picture, his public image is peaking. Investors love a tragic hero."

I gripped the bedsheets, my knuckles turning white. "You want to use me to take him down."

"I want to ruin him," Kael corrected, stepping closer. "You are the ghost that will tear his empire apart. I have the resources, the money, and the power. You have the truth."

"And if I refuse?" I challenged, tilting my chin up. "If I just walk out that door and go to the police on my own?"

"You won't make it to the precinct," Kael stated simply. "Rhys has the police chief in his pocket. He has the media. The moment you step outside, you'll be painted as a hysterical, cheating wife who faked her death for attention. Or worse, you'll have a real accident this time."

A heavy silence settled over the room. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound.

He was right. I had nothing. Rhys had taken my money, my reputation, and my life.

"What exactly do you want me to do?" I asked, my voice dropping to a low register.

Kael's lips curved into a faint, dangerous smile. "I want you to become someone else. Someone Rhys won't recognize until it's too late. We are going to dismantle his company piece by piece, and then we are going to destroy his wedding."

I looked at the blank screen of the tablet, imagining Rhys and Serena smiling at the cameras. A fierce, burning heat ignited in my chest.

"He took everything from me," I said, the words sharp and absolute.

"Then take it back," Kael countered. He extended a hand toward me. "Partner with me, Elara. Let's give your ex-husband a resurrection he will never forget."

I stared at his outstretched hand. The man offering me a lifeline was just as ruthless as the man who tried to drown me. But right now, ruthlessness was exactly what I needed.

I didn't hesitate. I reached out and grasped Kael's hand.

"Deal," I said.

Kael's grip was firm, sealing our pact. "Good. Get some rest tonight. Tomorrow, the dead wife goes to work."

He turned and walked toward the heavy steel door. Just as his hand grasped the handle, a frantic knocking echoed from the other side.

The door swung open, revealing a breathless man in a white lab coat.

"Mr. Thorne," the doctor gasped, his eyes darting nervously toward me. "We have a problem."

"Speak," Kael ordered.

"It's about her bloodwork," the doctor said, holding up a medical file. "Sir, she isn't just recovering from drowning."

Kael's eyes narrowed. "Explain."

The doctor swallowed hard. "She's pregnant."