From Worthless Son-in-Law to Island King

Chapter 6：Wrongly Accused

Joseph’s mouth went dry.

He and Alice might have been married in name, but she had never allowed him to touch her. In all their years together, he had never seen so much of her body.

Whatever affection they once shared belonged to their childhood.

Everything after that had been little more than his own unspoken devotion.

Joseph quickly turned his eyes away.

“Get a grip,” he muttered to himself.

He carried Alice’s wet clothes to the fire and laid them out to dry, doing his best to ignore the effect she was having on him.

She might legally be his wife, but that gave him no right to take advantage of her while she was unconscious.

If he lost control now, he would never forgive himself.

By the time her clothes were nearly dry, the fire had filled the cave with a gentle warmth.

Joseph picked them up and returned to her side. He carefully helped Alice sit upright, supporting her against his chest as he tried to dress her.

Then the very thing he had been dreading happened.

Alice’s eyes opened.

Smack!

Before Joseph could say a word, her palm struck him hard across the face.

The sharp sound echoed through the cave.

Five red finger marks appeared on his cheek.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Alice glared at him, anger and alarm burning in her eyes.

Joseph’s heart sank.

“Alice, wait. Let me explain—”

“You may be weak and cowardly, but I always believed you were at least a decent man.”

Her voice trembled with fury.

“That was the only reason I agreed when Dad asked me to marry you.”

“But I never imagined you were capable of something like this!”

“Taking advantage of me while I was unconscious?”

“I was completely wrong about you.”

“You’ve disappointed me beyond words!”

The accusations came one after another, giving Joseph no chance to interrupt.

When she finally stopped, he stared at her in stunned silence.

“I was drying your clothes.”

He sounded close to tears.

He had saved her life, carried her to safety, built a fire, and kept her from freezing. Yet somehow, he had still ended up looking like a shameless pervert.

For the next several minutes, Joseph explained everything that had happened from the moment he woke on the beach.

When he finished, Alice studied him suspiciously.

“Is that really all?”

Joseph felt his last shred of patience disappear.

“Believe whatever you want.”

There was no point in arguing further. Alice was alive, and his conscience was clear. That was enough.

He stood and headed for the mouth of the cave.

“What are you doing?” Alice asked, her tone still cool.

“Stay here and don’t wander off. I’m going to look for anything we can use.”

With that, Joseph hurried out.

He could not remain in the cave any longer. At this rate, Alice might decide to slap him again.

What he did not see was the change that came over her the moment he left.

The coldness faded from Alice’s face.

A faint smile touched her lips as she looked down at the clothes Joseph had so carefully dried for her.

She shook her head, the smile lingering.

For some reason, a strange warmth had settled in her heart.

It was a feeling she had never experienced before.

Outside, Joseph began searching the beach from one end to the other.

He gathered anything that might prove useful—rope, containers, pieces of metal, fabric, and unbroken fragments from the wreckage.

Among the debris, he found one of the ship’s emergency medical kits.

That alone made the search worthwhile.

Before the tide returned, he marked out several shallow areas in the sand and built crude fish traps from pieces of wreckage. With luck, they would catch enough for him and Alice to eat.

When he finished, Joseph stood on the shore with his hands on his hips.

“Bear Grylls,” he muttered, “I never thought those survival shows of yours would actually save my life.”

Not far away, several other survivors had gathered in small groups. Some sat motionless on the sand, while others clutched their heads and wept.

Joseph had little sympathy to spare.

Crying would not change their situation.

Then again, these people had spent their entire lives surrounded by wealth and comfort. Faced with a disaster like this, perhaps breaking down was the only response they knew.

Leaving them to their grief, Joseph took the opportunity to study the island.

The terrain was rough, but there was vegetation farther inland. If they could find a source of fresh water, survival should be possible.

For now, that was enough.

...

When the tide receded, Joseph returned to check his traps.

His efforts had paid off.

Several fish flapped in the shallow pits, more than enough to feed both him and Alice.

Joseph gathered them up and headed back toward the cave, feeling a small measure of satisfaction despite the cries and sobs still drifting along the beach.

Then something moved in the bushes nearby.

Joseph stopped.

A woman lay unconscious beneath the trees.

A man crouched beside her, using a strip torn from her dress to bandage a wound on his leg.

Joseph immediately recognized the woman.

Heather Martin.

She had barely left Alice’s side since boarding the ship.

It seemed the waves had carried her to the island as well.

“Damn it,” the man cursed under his breath. “I came here for a vacation, and now I’m going to die on this miserable island.”

His eyes moved over Heather’s unconscious body.

“I’ve spent years groveling at your brother’s feet. Now you’ve finally fallen into my hands.”

“We’re probably never getting off this island anyway.”

A vicious smile spread across his face.

“Before I die, I’ll make your brother pay through you.”

“Consider it punishment for everything your family has done.”

He reached for her.