Chapter 2
563 Words
Back at the team base, Ethan saw me and started to say something, but I walked right past him toward the gear room.
He froze, as if seeing my coldness for the first time. But he caught up to me quickly. "Lena, I know you're upset about the wedding, but Sophie found an underground cave with Blue Tears. We can have the wedding anytime, but the Blue Tears don't come every year. You're a professional—you understand that, don't you?"
That evening, I slammed the cave's geological report onto his desk.
The report listed three major hazards: unknown waters, intermittent strong currents, and a maze-like cave system. All three carried the highest possible risk rating, and any one of them would have been enough to make even the most experienced diver think twice.
While Ethan flipped through the report, Sophie sat nearby, holding her phone and sniffling softly. "His bucket list only had the Blue Tears left..."
The next second, Ethan closed my report. His eyes held no room for argument. "Lena, you go scout the route first. Confirm the passage is safe." A chill ran through me.
"According to protocol—"
"I'm the captain. I know the protocol. Lena, you're the best cave diver on the team. Don't let me down." He cut me off, his voice carrying an unfamiliar impatience and hardness.
The words hit me right where they always did. For the past five years, every time he used that tone, I ended up giving in.
I gave in when he spent Sophie's birthday with her and missed our anniversary.
I gave in when he put Sophie's name on my research results.
I gave in every time he turned away from me to go to another woman.
But this was about life and death.
"What if I refuse?"
Ethan blinked, as if he hadn't expected resistance. Sophie's sobbing conveniently grew louder. "Do you hate me? I just wanted to finish his last wish..."
Ethan's voice dropped. "Lena! When did you become so cold‑blooded?"
Looking at him brought back a memory from five years ago. During our first dive together, about a hundred feet underwater, he'd turned toward me and asked with a hand signal if I was nervous.
I shook my head, and he smiled behind his mask. Then he pointed to himself, then to me. Finally, he touched his thumb to mine. That was the diver's sign for "buddy breathing."
It meant sharing air, living or dying together.
Back then I thought that was the purest form of love. Now I understood that the person he wanted to "buddy breathe" with had long since stopped being me.
I heard my own voice, eerily calm. "Fine. I'll go. But I need double tanks and emergency beacons."
Ethan didn't even think before refusing. "The beacon is the last one. Save it for the follow‑up team. You've always relied on experience to solve problems. I trust you."
I froze, my entire body going numb. I laughed bitterly and turned away without looking back.
Behind me, I heard Sophie ask softly, "Ethan, is Lena mad at me? Is that cave really that dangerous? Maybe we shouldn't send her..."
Ethan's light reply drifted into my ears. "Lena won't be mad at me. And she'll definitely come back safe."
He didn't know.
This time, I really wasn't coming back.
- Writer
