Thrown to the Ocean

Three hours after my engagement banquet ended, I was stuffed into a burlap sack and thrown straight into the ocean. By the time deep-sea divers found me, my body had swollen into something grotesque and barely recognizable.

The police called my fiancé right away to come identify the remains, but he could not have sounded less interested. "So, she's dead. So what? I'll show up at the funeral when the time comes."

Left with no choice, the police dialed the second starred contact in my phone. It was my own brother.

He laughed so hard that he doubled over. "Dead? Last I checked, it's not April Fools'. Not a funny joke. And do me a favor. Tell Selene Corvin I couldn't care less about her corpse. Throw it back in the ocean to feed the fish. I don't care."

He did not know that I did end up as fish food for a very long time.

The moment my remains appeared on that massive screen, however, both my fiancé and my brother lost their minds.

After a business meeting wrapped up, my brother, Callum Corvin, walked over to my fiancé, Tristan Gage, with a grin. "Did the police call you too? About Selene being dead."

Tristan scoffed and slowly lit a cigarette. "Yeah."

"She's annoying as hell. I've already agreed to the engagement, and she still isn't satisfied. She just has to make a scene."

Callum studied his cold expression and let out a sigh. "Careful, Tristan. If Selene heard you say that, she'll lose it all over again."

Tristan snorted, stubbed out the cigarette, and turned to him. "Isn't she dead? Since when can dead people eavesdrop?"

The two of them exchanged a look and laughed. The mood between them was light and easy.

What they did not know was that my soul was floating right beside them, quietly listening to every word.

Tristan picked up his coat from the sofa and headed for the door. "Forget about her. Tonight's Elise's first concert. If we're late, she won't be happy."

Callum scoffed and followed him out. "Elise isn't Selene. She worked hard to get where she is today. Not like Selene, born with everything handed to her and still never satisfied."

Even though my heart had long stopped beating, those words still hurt.

Elise Mercer came from nothing. Her father died young, her mother was seriously ill, and she could barely scrape together enough money for school. The first time I saw her, she was on the side of the road, playing the violin for spare change.

I thought she was talented and pitiful, so I offered to sponsor her. I even brought her home to Corvin Estate.

At first, she wanted to work as a housekeeper as a way of thanking me. I refused outright and told her not to waste her gift. I even helped her get into the best arts academy and arranged for her to perform at my birthday gala.

She did not disappoint, stunning everyone in the room.

At the time, I was so caught up in the music that I did not notice my fiancé and my brother sitting right beside me, both completely captivated by her.

After that, Elise gradually changed. She stopped greeting me with that humble 'Ms. Corvin' whenever she saw me. Sometimes, she walked right past me. Sometimes, she deliberately bumped into my shoulder.

It bothered me, so I confided in Callum, who had always doted on me. However, he shouted at me instead.

"Elise would never do something like that! Selene, you're just jealous she stole your spotlight!"

My eyes stung with tears. I called my fiancé, looking for comfort, but his voice was ice-cold.

"Selene, is it fun making up lies about people? Just because you're the Corvin family's precious daughter doesn't mean you get to bully Lis."

The nickname hit me like a slap. Somewhere along the way, without my knowing, Elise had gotten close to both of them, far closer than I had ever been.

I watched the two of them walk away side by side, and my heart sank inch by inch.

I followed them to the concert hall, where an usher led them to the best seats right in the center. On stage, Elise stood beneath the spotlight in a white gown. The impoverished girl who once could not even lift her head in front of me had become the star of the entire room.

Tristan and Callum watched her with open, undisguised admiration.

After the show, they went backstage together. Tristan handed her a necklace worth a small fortune. It was a design I had loved for a long time but could never bring myself to buy. Callum gave her a simple, elegant brooch.

Compared to that dazzling necklace, it was the brooch that truly broke me. It was the only thing my mother ever left behind for me. She told me to save it for the most important person in my life, so I gave it to my brother.

Yet my brother had now given it to the very person who had been tormenting me.