After the cruise ship strikes a hidden reef, panicked passengers shove me and Kristen Langford into the sea.

My boyfriend, Elijah Jensen, is the ship's captain, so he plunges into the water. But instead of saving me, he grabs Kristen and boards the last lifeboat.

I thrash and cry for help, but he slaps my hand away.

"You can swim. Stop pretending for attention!" Elijah snaps. "Kristen's body temperature is dropping. I have to get her to a hospital!"

The waters around me are pitch-black, and his words feel like a death sentence.

When the tracking bracelet I always wear is discovered inside a shark, Elijah dives alone into shark-infested waters, searching for three days and nights.

In the end, the brilliant captain who once ruled the oceans can never sail again.

The icy seawater engulfed me. The cold cut through my bones as I struggled desperately, clinging to the last shred of hope I had left.

Through the haze, I saw Elijah Jensen burst out of the captain's cabin and dive straight into the sea.

"Elijah! I'm here!" I screamed, waving my arms as hard as I could.

Even though my voice was drowned out by the roaring waves, his eyes found me at once. But the next second, he turned away and swam toward Kristen Langford, who was fighting to stay afloat. His voice was tight with panic as he shouted, "Don't be afraid, Kristen! I'm coming!"

Kristen leaned weakly against his chest, saying softly, "Eli, I'm so cold. A-Am I going to die?"

He frowned and pulled her closer.

"Don't say that. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll get you to a hospital," he replied before carefully lifting Kristen onto a lifeboat.

There was tenderness in his eyes, as if she were something fragile and precious.

With the last of my strength, I swam toward them, my trembling fingers digging into the edge of the lifeboat.

Suddenly, Elijah turned and slapped my hand away.

"Gwendolyn Clark! Are you seriously trying to make this about you right now?" His cold eyes locked on mine. "Drop the act. You can swim just fine. Besides, there are plenty of lifeboats. Go find another one."

I plunged back into the sea, choking on mouthfuls of saltwater until my throat burned.

For a moment, Elijah faltered. He started to reach for me, but Kristen caught his arm and let out a weak groan. "Eli… I don't think I can make it to the hospital. I-I can't breathe…"

All at once, the color drained from Elijah's face.

"You can take another lifeboat later. Kristen can't wait," he said over his shoulder.

Then, he gunned the engine and sped away in the lifeboat.

Amidst the roar of the engine, I coughed up the last of the seawater. I wanted to tell him that I wasn't pretending.

When I fell from the cruise ship, my leg slammed against the hull. It broke on impact, leaving me unable to swim. Even if I hadn't been hurt, the panicked passengers had already taken every lifeboat.

I watched helplessly as Elijah's boat vanished over the horizon, the waves slowly swallowing me whole.

It didn't matter. He had no intention of hearing my side of the story anyway.

I had loved him for three years, but to him, I was just a liar who was good at putting on an act. Then again, how could I ever compare to his childhood friend, who had known him all his life?

The lifeboat had room for four, but Elijah still hadn't pulled me aboard. That was when I understood there had never been room for me in his heart.

I closed my eyes and let the freezing water pull me under.

Moments later, my soul drifted toward Elijah's lifeboat, as if drawn by some invisible force.

Kristen's frail hands clung to his shirt. "Eli… It hurts. I can't breathe."

Elijah clenched and unclenched his fists at the sight of her pale, tear-streaked face.

In the end, Elijah bent over and gave Kristen mouth-to-mouth.

I sat on the edge of the boat, watching in a daze. To be fair, anyone would've pitied Kristen in that moment. She was helpless and sobbing. Even I couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her.

Then, I looked down at my weightless body. My heart had long stopped beating, yet somehow, my chest still ached.

When Kristen finally caught her breath, she lightly touched her lips where Elijah had just kissed. Flustered, she asked, "Will Gwen be jealous if she finds out? I'd hate to come between you two."

Uncertainty flickered in Elijah's eyes, but it quickly gave way to firm resolve.

"Kristen, it was an emergency. I had to do it. What matters now is that you're safe. Gwendolyn will understand," he replied.

At those words, a bitter laugh escaped me. What was I supposed to understand?

Was I supposed to understand that, in a life-and-death moment, he wouldn't even glance at his girlfriend struggling in the water? Or that he could throw away everything we had shared over the past three years for another woman?

But the weight of it quickly sank in. What did it matter now? I was already dead, after all.

The lifeboat rose and fell with the choppy waves. All the while, Kristen nestled against Elijah's chest, gazing at the endless horizon.

"Eli, I've never seen anything so beautiful," she said lightly. "Even if I die today, I'd have no regrets."

"Don't say that!" Elijah chided, though there was more affection than anger in his tone.

He held her tight, as if afraid she might slip away from him. "You're going to live. We still have a lifetime together."

Such sweet words. Unfortunately, they weren't meant for me. I doubted I was included in the future he spoke of.

Just then, an urgent voice crackled through the boat's radio.

"Captain Jensen, come in! This is Staff Captain Oscar Baker. We've completed the headcount, but one person is missing. We're turning back to look for them."

I shook my head. There was no point wasting time or fuel on me. In this ghostly state, I knew I was beyond saving.

Without hesitation, Elijah replied firmly, "No need. The missing person is here with me."

His certainty stunned me for a moment. He must've forgotten that Kristen wasn't even on the official passenger list. He had smuggled her aboard himself.

Then again, I had never really been someone he considered.

The line went quiet for a moment before Oscar's incredulous voice came back through the static. "But the ship's life scanner is picking up a signal in the surrounding waters!"

Elijah didn't waver. "The system doesn't have a proper frequency filter. It probably mistook a whale for a human."

"But… I've got a bad feeling about this, Captain Jensen."

Oscar's voice trailed off. Clearly, his confidence was faltering.

Enraged, Elijah slammed the radio onto the deck. "Enough! You call that professionalism? We sail with skill and data, not gut feeling!"

The line stayed silent until his anger subsided. Eventually, he let out a sigh and added, "If you don't believe me, do whatever you want."

The waves crashed against the boat, their slaps sounding like the sea itself was protesting for me.

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat before sighing quietly. How was it that a stranger could sense something was wrong, yet the man I had loved for three years felt nothing at all?

Then, I saw the tenderness in Elijah's eyes as he looked at Kristen. In that instant, I understood.

It was because I had never really mattered. I was nothing more than a stand-in, a placeholder to fill the emptiness in his heart.

I drifted through the hospital corridor, watching Elijah shift restlessly outside the examination room. He furrowed his brow and kept checking his watch. Suddenly, the door swung open, and a nurse wheeled Kristen out of the room.

Elijah rushed toward her.

"She's still very weak and needs plenty of rest," the nurse stated.

Elijah nodded in acknowledgment. Then, he took Kristen's hand, his voice full of concern as he asked, "How are you feeling? Are you hurting anywhere else?"

Kristen shook her head. She looked so fragile, like she could shatter at the slightest touch. "I'm so cold…"

Elijah quickly pulled the blanket higher over her chest before touching her forehead. "Does anything else hurt? Do you want some water?"

She pressed her lips together as tears welled up in her eyes. "Eli… I was so scared. I thought I'd never see you again."

He gently pulled her into his arms, saying, "Hey, don't be silly. I'm right here. I'll always be with you."

I watched them with cold detachment, finding the whole thing ironic. He said he'd always be with her, so where did that leave me?

Right then, the hospital room door burst open, and my mom stormed in.

"Where's my daughter?" she demanded, her sharp gaze cutting straight through Elijah.

He jumped to his feet and shielded Kristen behind him. "Mrs. Clark, what brings you here? Don't worry. Gwendolyn's fine."

"Don't worry?" My mother's voice rose sharply as her eyes flicked toward the frail Kristen. "There was a shipwreck, and now, I can't reach her. How could I possibly not worry?"

Elijah pressed his lips into a thin line, then replied, "It all happened so fast. I was trying to save people. Gwendolyn got on a lifeboat after I did."

My mom scoffed. "And where is she now? Have you reached her?"

He pulled out his phone and dialed the number saved under "Honey". However, a cold, automated voice came through. "The number you've dialed is currently unavailable."

He ended the call, still unbothered. "Mrs. Clark, she's just upset I was busy saving other people. Whenever she's mad, she ignores my calls. It's just how she is."

My mom said nothing, though the worry in her eyes refused to fade.

"We've completed the headcount. No one's missing," he added with conviction. "Please, go home and rest. As soon as I reach Gwendolyn, I'll call you right away."

My mom sighed and murmured, "Gwen's my only daughter. She has to come back safe."

Rage boiled inside me. I wanted nothing more than to punch Elijah right there and then. How could he make such a careless promise to my mom when he hadn't even reached me?

But when I saw the faint relief on her face, I wished she could stay in the dark a little longer. Otherwise, the truth would only break her.

At that moment, Elijah's phone rang. It was Oscar.

"Captain Jensen, there's one passenger unaccounted for. It's a woman named Gwendolyn Clark."

I couldn't help feeling thankful that Elijah had already talked my mom into leaving. If she had heard that, she never would've been able to bear it.

Perhaps now Elijah understood just how arrogant he had been to be so certain.

I glared at him, but before Oscar could finish, Elijah interjected, "Her phone probably got damaged by the water. Try reaching her through one of the lifeboat radios."

Oscar paused for a beat. "I've contacted every lifeboat. She's not on any of them," he replied, his voice tight with worry.

Elijah frowned. "Then check the departure logs. Gwendolyn left after me. Find the record of her boat."

"But the lifeboat you took was the last one!" Oscar's voice rose sharply. "The ship completely went under after that. Anyone who left after you couldn't have survived!"