Chapter 2

2

"There are three more in the storage locker. Why don't you go get those?" I asked coldly.

Lyla pouted and spoke as if she owned the place. "Janessa, the boat could sink any second. We need to manage the life rings together. You can't be selfish."

I almost laughed out loud. She had just been feeding her crackers to the seagulls, and now she cared about resources?

Landon stepped forward. He used his usual commanding tone.

"Hand it over."

I took a deep breath. I tried to talk sense into this fool.

"I bought this life ring with my own money..."

"Who cares about that right now?" Lyla interrupted, acting like a saint.

"We need to be united in danger. If everyone was as selfish as you, we'd never get home."

As soon as she spoke, the others looked at me with disgust.

"Exactly. You don't need two life rings for yourself. Share with the group."

"Janessa, give it up! Don't make us take it by force!"

"Rich girls are always so greedy. You're nothing like Lyla."

Selfish?

If my family didn't have business deals with their parents, these people wouldn't even be here. They were only hanging around Landon to get jobs at his family's company after graduation.

I finally understood. This trip was organized by Landon's parents to test me as a future daughter-in-law.

Unfortunately, their precious son was being played by a total snake.

When I didn't speak, they tried to grab my emergency bag. I tried to protect it, but two guys pinned me to the deck.

I watched them snatch my life ring away.

Without it, if the boat sank, I'd be left to die in the water.

"Give it back!" I struggled to get up.

Lyla stepped on my wrist. Her eyes were full of malice. "Shut up! If you keep screaming, we'll throw you to the fish!"

A sharp pain shot through my arm. Tears welled up in my eyes. The salty sea wind stung my face, making me feel pathetic.

The others laughed at my misery.

"Is this the great Janessa Jiang? You look like a drowned rat! Hahaha!"

I grit my teeth and stood up. I went to slap Lyla.

Suddenly, Landon grabbed my wrist. Lyla saw her chance and slapped me hard across the face.

The sound echoed across the deck.

Landon froze. He instinctively let go of me.

I fell to the floor, my cheek burning with pain.

Lyla immediately hid behind Landon. She looked terrified. "I'm sorry, Janessa! You tried to hit me first... I was just so scared."

Landon reached out to me, his face full of annoyance. "Get up. Stop embarrassing yourself."

I forced back my tears. I looked him straight in the eyes.

"Landon, we're done. It's over."

"Lyla was just startled! Stop being so dramatic," Landon snapped. He shielded Lyla as if I were a monster about to attack his precious flower.

A huge sense of exhaustion washed over me.

Dramatic?

Since we started dating, everything I did was labeled as "dramatic" if it didn't go his way.

Choosing a different college was dramatic.

Wanting to start my own business was dramatic.

Every time Lyla cried, I was being dramatic.

"Landon, we don't belong in the same world. Let's just end this."

Time had turned him into someone I didn't recognize.

When we were sixteen, his family's business almost went bankrupt. My father stepped in to save them.

That was the year I met Landon at a gala.

He wore an ill-fitting suit. He looked so insecure and lost in the corner.