Lucas opened his eyes to the sterile smell of disinfectant and the dull throb in his right leg.His lower leg was locked inside a heavy plaster cast, and every breath burned his raw, smoke-damaged throat.He reached for the bedside table and picked up his phone.It was already past nine in the morning. The screen was completely dark—no missed calls, no messages, nothing.Twelve hours had passed since the wreck, and Claire hadn't sent a single word to check if her husband was still alive.Staring at the blank glass, Lucas couldn't help but remember that it hadn't always been this way.Back in their university days, Claire had been the one chasing after him.He was the rowing captain back then, out on the water before dawn every morning, and Claire would always be waiting by the boathouse with a warm thermos of porridge.She memorized his training schedules, carried his spare gym towels, and once ran across the entire campus in a downpour just to bring him medicine when he came down wit

After settling into the base dormitory, Lucas began methodically undoing the life he had built with Claire over the last five years.He split their joint accounts and transferred the household bills, vehicle registrations, and insurance policies entirely into her name.For five years, Lucas had quietly managed every domestic detail so Claire could focus solely on running her company.She had grown so accustomed to the seamless comfort that she had never realized how much labor it actually took.The following afternoon, her sedan refused to start in the company parking lot.Claire sat in the driver's seat, pressing the start button repeatedly, only to be met with a hollow, rhythmic clicking sound.Her first instinct was completely automatic. She picked up her phone and dialed Lucas.The call rang four times before he answered. "Hello?""Lucas, my car won't start," Claire said, her voice sharp and hurried. "The battery seems dead. Come down to the office and take a look."There was a br

Claire drove home with the divorce agreement sitting on the passenger seat beside her, the dark date at the bottom burning into her mind.He had signed it while lying in that hospital bed, before she had even walked through the door.A tight knot of panic twisted in her stomach, but by the time she stepped through her front door, she had already forced the fear down. She told herself Lucas was simply overwhelmed after the accident. He had nearly drowned, his leg was broken, and his pride was hurt. It made sense that he would react badly in the heat of the moment.She tossed the folded papers onto the coffee table and sat down, refusing to pick up a pen.Julian walked out of the kitchen with a cup of warm water. He glanced at the table, and his eyes went wide when he read the bold heading."Claire..." Julian set the cup down, his voice trembling with guilt. "Is Lucas doing this because of me? If our being here is tearing your marriage apart, Leo and I will pack up and leave right now.

Claire drove through the heavy rain toward the maritime rescue base, her hands trembling so hard she could barely hold the steering wheel.The windshield wipers swept violently against the glass, but the road ahead remained a blur. All she could hear in her head was the duty officer's grim voice telling her that Lucas's boat had flipped in the outer reef.She abandoned her car near the main gate and ran into the operations building, soaked in rainwater.The lobby was filled with the tense hum of radios and ringing phones. Rescue staff in yellow waterproof jackets moved hurriedly between rooms, clutching weather maps and casualty sheets.Claire rushed straight to the front reception desk, her breath ragged. "I'm looking for Team Leader Lucas Cole. Where is he? Has there been any news from the search teams?"The young officer behind the desk looked up in surprise. "Ma'am, who are you?""I'm his wife," Claire said, wiping the cold rain from her face. "Claire Hayes. I received a call sayi

Lucas had been missing at sea for nearly two days.During those forty-eight hours, Claire barely closed her eyes for a single minute.Her expensive business clothes were wrinkled, her hair was tied back in a messy knot, and dark purple shadows circled her bloodshot eyes. She refused to go back to the hotel, sitting on the cold plastic bench in the harbor base hallway like a ghost.Every time the low rumble of a rescue boat sounded outside the harbor basin, she scrambled to her feet and ran out to the docks.Whenever a stretcher was carried down the gangway, she pushed through the medical workers to look at the survivor's face.She checked every name on the rescue sheets, asking the divers the same questions until her voice turned into a hoarse whisper."Ms. Hayes, you have to sit down and drink some water," her assistant begged, holding out a paper cup with trembling hands. "You haven't slept in two days. If you keep going like this, your body will collapse."Claire pushed the cup awa