The first sound I heard was the roar of the helicopter above me.
The second was the voice of a rescue officer cutting through the chaos.

—Grace Shen, can you hear me?

I opened my eyes with difficulty.
The sunlight was blurred by tears and seawater.
My hands were still gripping the jet ski because my body refused to let go.

For a moment, I thought I was dreaming.

Ten years of marriage.
Ten years of believing Ethan Lu was the person who would protect me.
Ten years of standing beside him while he built his company, while I carried his worries, his failures, and his dreams.

And in the end, the man I trusted most had become the person who put my life and my child’s life in danger.

A rescue swimmer reached me first.
He cut the straps around my body carefully and pulled me away from the machine that had almost become my grave.

—Stay awake, Mrs. Shen.
—Your family is waiting for you.

My family.

Those words gave me strength.

On the shore, Ethan stood frozen.

The arrogant confidence that had been on his face disappeared completely.

The military officers surrounded the island.
The coast guard blocked every exit.
His assistants who had been laughing minutes earlier now stood silent, unable to even look at me.

Serena Song’s face had turned pale.

—Ethan… what is happening?

But Ethan didn’t answer.

Because for the first time, he understood who I really was.

Not the quiet wife who cooked dinner.
Not the woman who waited for him after every business trip.
Not the person who forgave him every time he chose his career over our family.

I was Grace Shen.

The daughter of a military family that had protected this country for generations.

When the rescue team carried me onto the boat, I saw Ethan trying to approach.

A soldier immediately blocked him.

—Stop there.

Ethan looked shocked.

—I am her husband.

The officer stared at him coldly.

—That title means nothing right now.

Those words hit him harder than anything else.

Because for years, Ethan believed being my husband gave him the right to control my life.

He believed my love meant unlimited forgiveness.

He was wrong.

At the medical station, doctors immediately checked my condition.

The hours that followed felt unreal.

I could hear voices around me.
Medical instructions.
Radio communications.
My father demanding updates.

But the only thing I cared about was my baby.

When the doctor finally smiled, my tears fell.

—Your child is safe for now.

I closed my eyes.

For the first time since the accident began, I allowed myself to breathe.

But my relief lasted only a few seconds.

Because the doctor continued.

—However, we need to monitor you carefully.
—The stress and impact caused complications.

I knew exactly what that meant.

My child had almost been taken away because of the man who promised to protect us.

Meanwhile, Ethan was taken to a separate room for questioning.

He kept repeating the same sentence.

—It was just an accident.

But nobody believed him.

The officers had recovered communication records.
They had witnesses.
They had evidence showing Serena accelerated intentionally.

The truth that Ethan tried to hide was slowly becoming impossible to escape.

Serena was the first person to break.

She started crying.

—Ethan, tell them it wasn’t my fault.

He looked at her.

For the first time, he didn’t see the woman he admired.

He saw the person who had convinced him that cruelty was confidence.
That selfishness was independence.
That his pregnant wife was an obstacle.

And then Ethan remembered something.

A conversation from months earlier.

Serena had once asked him:

—If Grace disappeared from your life, would your company finally become easier to manage?

At that time, he had laughed.

He thought it was a joke.

Now those words felt different.

When Ethan finally saw me again, I was lying in the hospital bed.

My father stood beside me.

The same man Ethan had mocked.

The same man he believed spent his days feeding birds in a park.

Ethan lowered his head.

—Mr. Shen…

My father didn’t answer immediately.

He looked at him with disappointment.

Not anger.

That was worse.

—Do you know why Grace never told you about our family?

Ethan remained silent.

—Because she loved you enough to believe you loved her for who she was.

My fingers tightened around the blanket.

Because that was the truth.

I never wanted Ethan to stay because of my family name.
I wanted him to stay because of me.

My father continued.

—She spent ten years protecting your pride.
—She hid every sacrifice she made.
—She stood behind you while everyone praised your success.

His voice became colder.

—And you repaid her by putting her life at risk for another woman.

Ethan’s eyes became red.

For the first time, he looked afraid.

Not afraid of losing his company.

Not afraid of losing his reputation.

Afraid of losing me.

—Grace…

I looked away.

The woman who would have immediately forgiven him was gone.

The woman who once jumped into the sea to save him had almost died because of him.

I remembered the promise he made ten years ago.

“I will never allow you to suffer.”

A bitter smile appeared on my face.

Some promises were broken long before people admitted they were broken.

Then Ethan received a message.

His company’s legal department had discovered something unexpected.

Serena had been secretly transferring confidential information from his company.

The woman he defended.
The woman he trusted.
The woman he chose over his family.

She had never loved him.

She had only used him.

Ethan stared at the screen.

His entire world collapsed in silence.

But before he could process everything, my father placed another document on the table.

A divorce agreement.

Ethan looked at me.

—Grace…

I didn’t respond.

Because there was one more thing he didn’t know.

The child I was carrying was not only the heir to my family.

It was also connected to a secret that could destroy the foundation of everything Ethan had built.

And when the truth about the past ten years finally came out…

Ethan would realize that losing my love was only the beginning of his punishment.

read the entire Part 3 below.