Chapter 46 Jade

46 JADE

NOW

I come to on the floor of the boat. My vision is blurred and I’m choking and gasping, rolled over on my side. Everyone is crowded around me, and Rob and Farug are kneeling over me, saying my name over and over.

Rob claps his hands to his face and I see tears of relief in his eyes. “Oh, thank God,” he’s saying. “Thank God!”

One of the other guests is standing behind him, a hand on his shoulder in support. My throat burns, and there’s an awful chemical taste in my mouth. Everyone is clapping and cheering. Farug shines a torch into my eyes, then presses two fingers against my neck to check my pulse.

“Are you OK?” he says.

I attempt a nod, but I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. Everything comes back to me in a rush—the majestic shipwreck under the water, the sharks, struggling to breathe.

Rob leans over me again, weeping openly now. “Jade, darling,” he says, touching my face. “Oh my God. I thought I’d lost you.”

One of the crew brings me a bottle of water, and Rob helps me sit up. I notice they’ve removed the oxygen tank and equipment, and someone has cut off the dry suit—it’s lying in bits around me.

“It’s shock,” Farug says. “Can we get a blanket for her?”

I know it must be ninety degrees, given that the sun is still blazing, but I’m suddenly freezing cold. I can’t stop shaking. The crew find an emergency blanket and wrap it around me, and Rob sits on the floor beside me and holds me tight. He presses his forehead against mine.

“Deep breaths,” he murmurs. “Nice and slow.”

He sounds just like the old Rob. I think of the first night we made love. He’d taken me to an amazing hotel in London. I fell in love with him that night.

“God, Jade,” he whispers as the boat heads back to the resort. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

He kisses my cheek. I’m breathing easier now. The other guests are opening bottles of beer, talking about the shipwreck. I feel bad for ruining the trip for everyone. It was meant to be several hours long, but we were only down there for about twenty minutes.

“You know I adore you,” Rob whispers in my ear.

I soften. Maybe it is possible that he never killed anyone. Maybe Kate and the others made a mistake, maybe their detective had the wrong guy. Rob is not an evil person. The wedding put a lot of pressure on him. He has a lot to prove to his nana, and his brother. That’s why we had the big wedding. But I know he loves me.

“I know you do,” I whisper back. “I adore you, too.”

The boat speeds up, the wind in our faces. I feel the warmth returning, my lungs no longer burning.

“Do you, though?” Rob says, kissing my face.

I stiffen. “I do,” I say. “You know I do.”

His tone sharpens. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with other people during our honeymoon. During our fucking honeymoon , Jade. Did our wedding slip out of that pretty little head? I think you forgot, silly girl. And you needed a reminder. That you’re my wife .”

He laughs lightly and strokes my hair. I look around, desperate for escape. His arm around me tightens, as though he senses me wanting to bolt.

“Today was just a little mishap,” he whispers gently into my ear. “Your tubes got disconnected from the oxygen tank. But I pulled you back up. I saved you, babe. I saved you because I love you. And you’re my wife now. Just remember that, OK?”

My heart plummets into my stomach. I want to be sick. I feel dizzy.

And slowly, it dawns on me what he’s actually saying—he pulled out the tubes that connected to my oxygen tank. It wasn’t my lack of experience at all. Rob did it deliberately, to teach me a lesson.

That he can take away my life if I step out of line.