He Saved His First Love, I Ruined His Firm

Chapter 2

Three days later, I woke up in the ICU of my family's private hospital.

Over those three days, I had been resuscitated twice.

Because I had been soaked in seawater for too long, I developed a severe infection. And because of the trauma, I suffered massive bleeding.

In the end, my uterus was permanently removed.

The doctor said the medical team of the Deep Blue family had preserved the embryonic tissue sample immediately.

It was for the follow-up accident investigation, and also to prove that the child had truly existed.

I raised my hand and touched my lower abdomen through the gauze.

It was terrifyingly empty there.

Just like the sea after the storm, nothing had been left behind.

The old butler stood by my bed with red eyes and handed me the social news reports from the past three days.

Julian had not sent any ships to search for my research vessel.

On the contrary, he had publicly reserved the most luxurious restaurant at the port and held a banquet for the frightened Nina.

The theme of the banquet was: "Nina's Safe Return".

That same day, he also announced the establishment of the Sea-Air Cardiogenic Disease Charity Fund.

It was a project he had prepared for Nina long ago.

Now, in his own name, he had presented this protection to her in the most public way possible.

I looked at those four words in the news and gave a soft laugh.

'Safe return.'

The person who had truly crawled back from the deep sea was me.

The person who had almost died on the operating table was also me.

Why should I let them remain safe?

Now, it was time for me to collect what he owed.

I abruptly pulled the IV needle out of the back of my hand, and drops of blood instantly welled up.

The butler hurriedly held me down.

"Miss Shaw, the doctor said you must not get out of bed."

I changed into a loose black trench coat, covering my body that had become almost unrecognizably thin.

"The crew members I took out with me, fourteen of them, are still lying in hospital rooms. The compensation Lawson Group should pay for its rescue negligence hasn't arrived. Not a single cent. I have to go and collect it myself."

Seeing how firm I was, the butler could only nod gently.

"All right. I've already arranged a medical vehicle and accompanying doctors."

I did not refuse.

I no longer needed to hurt myself to prove that I was strong enough.

I had to survive.

I had to watch Julian pay the price with a clear mind.

The top-floor banquet hall was brightly lit.

When I pushed open the heavy doors, the entire room fell silent at once.

The heating inside was strong, but I was still so cold that my fingertips trembled.

Nina was wearing a priceless haute couture gown, leaning against Julian as she cut the cake.

Two words were written on the cake.

'Safe Return.'

The moment Julian saw me, panic and heartache flashed through his eyes.

He subconsciously took one step forward, then forced himself to stop.

Because Nina coughed softly, her fingertips gripping his sleeve.

He turned his head and glanced at Nina, as if confirming her condition.

When he looked back at me again, he was already frowning.

"You finally decided to show up? Was it fun playing missing?"

His voice was very soft, as if he was afraid of frightening someone.

But the words he spoke were colder than seawater.

How ridiculous.

Three days had passed, and the first thing he said was not to ask whether I was all right, but to accuse me directly.

"You made yourself look this miserable on purpose, just to make Nina feel guilty?"

Nina's eyes immediately reddened, and she hid behind Julian as if she had been frightened.

"I'm sorry, Marina. If I had known the waves were that bad that day, I never would have let Julian come rescue me."

She paused, then added in a small voice, "But Julian said you were the best swimmer. He said you would definitely be fine."

I did not want to watch Nina continue acting, so I walked straight toward Julian.

Unexpectedly, in the next second, Nina suddenly walked toward me, intimately took my hand, and whispered in my ear, "Marina, look. Even if you crawl back from the sea, he'll still hold me first."

The next second, she suddenly stepped back hard and crashed into Julian's arms.

"Marina, I was only worried about you. Why did you push me?"

Julian immediately held her even tighter, and the look he gave me became even colder.

"Enough. Stop throwing a tantrum. According to the wind and wave rating that day, your ship was fully capable of handling it. You've always been strong, but Nina can't withstand any stimulation. Be sensible. Once we go home, I'll make it up to you properly."

I looked at him quietly as waves of pain surged through my lower abdomen.

That was where the child I had lost forever had once been.

It also represented the fact that I had forever lost the right to become a mother.

I did not ask him why he had not saved me.

Nor did I ask whether he still loved me.

I simply took a compensation claim list from the pocket of my trench coat and threw it in front of him.

"Cut the nonsense, Julian. Sign it. This is the compensation Lawson Group owes for rescue negligence. Twelve million dollars in total. Once you sign it, I'll leave immediately. I won't disturb your banquet."

The tenderness on Julian's face froze.

He stared at the list, his gaze darkening little by little.

"Do you have to make things this ugly today? Just because you're jealous, you're now using lives to extort me?"

I looked at him and gave a very soft laugh.

"Fine. Then I won't go through Lawson Group's compensation process. Julian, we'll go straight through the Deep Blue family's accountability process."

The moment I said that, the anger on Julian's face visibly stiffened for an instant.

The guests around us also fell silent.

The words "the Deep Blue family" carried too much weight in the deep-sea industry.

So much weight that no rescue group would dare treat it as a joke.

But Julian stared at my pale face and soon let out a cold laugh.

"Marina, now you even dare use the Deep Blue family to scare me? If you really were one of the Deep Blue family, why would you have stayed with me for three years and started from nothing? And why would you come here and embarrass yourself over a mere twelve million dollars?"

Nina immediately grabbed his sleeve with reddened eyes.

"Julian, Marina might just be too upset."

Julian's gaze on me turned completely cold.

"I'll give you one last chance. Take back what you said now, then go home and reflect on yourself."

I did not take it back.

Because from this moment on, he no longer had the right to make me obey.