Chapter 1
My childhood friend and I were both obsessed with cave diving.
The underwater world was shadowy and still.
He was the only one I ever dove with.
The night before our engagement, he asked me to join him at a famous cave diving spot.
He'd confessed his feelings to me there once before.
This time, he brought Moira Rossetti, the girl from our class who was always struggling to make ends meet.
He gave me a gentle smile and explained, "Moira's really curious about cave diving, so I thought I'd bring her along to see what it's all about."
After a pause, he added, "Yvette, you don't mind, do you?"
I stared at the expensive, shiny new gear Moira was wearing, but kept quiet.
I silently warmed up, then dove into the water.
When I reached fifty meters below the surface, one of them suddenly ripped off my regulator, while the other yanked off my fins.
Panicking, I saw Moira nonchalantly signaling to me.
[Don't panic, Yvette. This is just Frank's pre-engagement trial for you.]
*****
To the hell with pre-engagement trial.
The freezing water crashed over me, and I barely had time to gasp before I was choking, completely caught off guard.
My nose burned like fire, and through the haze, I saw Frank and Moira move away, arms folded, watching me with cold indifference.
Frank Boyle and I had been together since we were little.
It wasn't just because our families did business together; our moms were best friends.
They arranged our engagement when we were kids, always finding ways to push us together and build our bond.
Frank used to treat me pretty well, at least in the beginning.
I was pretty, obedient, and quiet, his perfect little trophy doll to parade around.
Whenever he handed me a piece of candy, the grown-ups would joke, "Look at Frank, only ten and already knows how to spoil his future wife."
If he squeezed my hand, they'd snicker, "Just like his old man, he already knows how to take advantage of his future wife before he's even grown up."
Frank was always quick to notice things, even as a kid.
He caught onto the subtle nastiness hidden in those grown-up jokes.
He stopped giving me candy, and if I fell, he'd just leave me lying there.
He'd smear dirt on my dress, slip bugs into my backpack, and stick out his leg to trip me, just so he could watch me bawl my eyes out.
He made it clear he hated my guts, just to fight back against that strange, unspoken nastiness he could never quite put his finger on.
When I turned sixteen, I got seriously ill and had to go overseas for treatment.
When I came back, Frank suddenly became the same caring big brother who used to look after me and play with me when we were kids.
My parents transferred me to Frank's class so someone could keep an eye on me.
I'd always been smart for my age, so skipping a grade was no big deal for me.
On the first day of school, I walked in holding my breath, worried Frank would embarrass me or make things awkward.
I was no longer a six- or seven-year-old girl. I knew Frank hated me, and I had already told my parents that I didn't need anyone to babysit me.
But my parents always believed that boys being mean just meant they liked you, and that Frank and I were just childhood friends having harmless little squabbles.
My dad said, "Your mother and I only have one daughter, and in the future, you'll need Frank's support in business.
"Even if nothing comes of it between you two, if you can get along better, it'll be good for both our families.
"And Frank's really matured lately. He even asked me about you the other day. Maybe you should give him another shot."
My dad's word was always law, so I had no choice but to accept it in silence.
But when I finally saw Frank, it was like he'd turned into someone else.
He was gentle and thoughtful, helped me settle into the new class, and made sure I caught up on everything I'd missed.
When he found out I was into cave diving, he didn't try to stop me like my parents did. Instead, he looked up everything he could, found a coach, and ended up as my go-to dive partner.
Frank said, "Yvette, I can't take away something you love; that wouldn't be right. Since cave diving is so dangerous, I'll always keep an eye on you.
"As long as I'm around, you'll never be in any real danger."
It was hard to put into words how much that meant to me when I heard him say it.
And now, Frank, the very person who once promised to keep me safe, was the one who personally tore my regulator away.
Every second felt like an eternity.
Cave diving was a type of diving done in submerged caves or underground rivers.
Unlike open water diving, cave diving takes place in a maze-like underwater environment where even the slightest mistake can be deadly.
I swam up a few meters, trying to block out Frank and Moira watching from nearby.
With my eyes shut, I forced myself to calm down. My right hand dropped, moving in circles along my thigh until I managed to grab my regulator drifting in the water.
As soon as I bit down on the mouthpiece, air flooded my lungs.