A lifebuoy and a whistle—these were Sienna Johnson’s only hopes for survival.
The ocean seed furious. Fierce winds and waves crashed toward Sienna, making her feel as if she would be swallowed at any mont.
Before the raging ocean, she appeared insignificant and fragile.
She didn’t know how much ti had passed. All she knew was that she was thirsty and hungry. Water surrounded her, but it was all salty seawater, none of which she could drink.
Her body was already freezing, and sensation was gradually leaving her. Sienna knew that if this continued, her life would surely end in this vast ocean.
Fortunately, just as dawn broke, the ocean cald.
"Sienna, don’t fall asleep! You can’t die! If you die, it will only benefit those two despicable people! ...I know you don’t like the Johnson Family, but what about your father? Can you bear to leave him behind?"
Sienna kept talking to herself, encouraging herself not to lose her will to live.
Life and death truly hung by a thread. If her will weakened even slightly, the ocean would beco her grave.
"...You can’t die. Brother will co looking for you... And Teddy... He’s so clumsy. If you die, the Johnson Family will surely drive him out."
On the now calr sea, sothing was swimming. Sienna stared, and her composure shattered when she saw shark fins.
Sharks? Are there really sharks?
It wasn’t just one shark. Sienna was utterly panicked. No boat was nearby to save her. The re thought of what she might face next made her shudder.
"Sabrina Johnson, you despicable woman!" she cursed through gritted teeth.
Sienna’s eyes widened. If Sabrina Johnson were right in front of her, Sienna would not hesitate to bite a chunk of flesh from her.
"No!"
...
"No!"
She couldn’t see the sharks themselves, only their knife-like fins cutting through the ocean’s surface as they swam. One of them was heading straight for her.
Even a strong, grown man couldn’t withstand a large shark’s attack, let alone a fragile young woman like her, ard with nothing.
If the sharks attacked, Sienna could only wait for death.
Strong as she was, Sienna was still only a twenty-year-old girl. Panic, fear, and despair consud her. Silent tears stread down her face; despair choked any sound from her.
She didn’t want to die, at least not while letting that wretched Sabrina Johnson get her way so easily.
She still wanted to know why Frederick Stewart wanted to kill her.
If Frederick was in love with Sabrina, they could have just ended their marriage. There was no need to be so ruthless, to ensure her death.
"Sienna, you’re too smart. You’ll ruin my plans sooner or later."
What did that an? What plans of Frederick’s could she possibly ruin? Sienna’s mind raced, trying to analyze and piece together the information she had, but she still couldn’t figure out what grand sche of his she might disrupt.
Soon, she pushed that question from her mind. A school of sharks was closing in. At any mont, she could beco their prey, torn apart without even a whole corpse left.
"Heaven is determined to destroy !" Sienna truly despaired.
She gave up resisting, watching the shark fins slice through the water. Desperation paradoxically made her brave. She even felt a perverse flicker of anticipation—for the sharks to devour her and end this hopeless struggle for survival.
This was said to be an undeveloped stretch of sea. Sabrina Johnson had encouraged her to co take a look, surely having calculated that no ships would pass this way.
Only death awaited her.
Even if the sharks didn’t eat her, she would die of starvation, thirst, or drowning.
Her body was almost numb. If this continued, she wouldn’t even be able to cling to the lifebuoy and would sink into the ocean to drown.
Just as she was about to close her eyes and wait for death, the shadow of a ship appeared on the distant horizon. Sienna couldn’t believe her eyes, thinking it was a hallucination—like a mirage seen by soone lost and desperate in a desert.
"Is it real or fake?" Sienna rubbed her eyes and stared intently at the ship. It was surprisingly heading in her direction. She bit the back of her hand hard; the pain was sharp and clear.
The ship didn’t disappear because of her pain. It was still there.
"It’s not a hallucination! It’s real!" Imnse joy, the joy of survival, swept over her. She grabbed the whistle hanging from her neck and blew with all her might.
Earlier that year, she and a friend had gone to a fortune-teller who said she would face danger and misfortune this year and advised her to wear more red. Her superstitious friend had then dragged her out to buy a pile of red clothes.
She was wearing a bright red dress, and at that mont, Sienna was incredibly grateful for its eye-catching color. Surely the people on the ship would see her.
That’s right! The whistle!
This whistle had been a gift from a little boy on the ship she’d been on.
See? She wasn’t fated to die!
Sienna blew the whistle desperately, not caring if it attracted the sharks. All she knew was that this was her only lifeline. Only this ship could save her; otherwise, she could only wait for death.
Sure enough, the people aboard the large ship noticed her and steered towards her.
"Help !" Sienna scread, her voice so full of elation that an unknowing listener might think her lover was on that ship.
As the ship drew closer, Sienna cried out loudly, "Save ... please...!"
A man’s head appeared over the side of the ship. He had a rugged appearance, and his eyes were full of questions as he stared at her. He was clearly wondering how on earth Sienna had ended up here.
"Please help ... I’m begging you." Sienna adopted a deliberately pitiful expression, hoping her feminine vulnerability might soften the man’s hard heart.
Another man ca over, and the two whispered to each other. Finally, one of them threw down a lifebuoy. Sienna used her hands as paddles, reached it, grabbed hold, and was pulled aboard.
"Th—" Before she could finish the word "thank," Sienna collapsed onto the deck.
On this ship, there were only n, all shirtless, their chests tanned dark by the sun. Every man’s gaze was fixed on her.
A woman, and a very beautiful one at that, in such a situation... She dared not imagine what kind of treatnt awaited her.
She knew she was beautiful—exceptionally so. Her beauty held a fatal allure for n. It was a double-edged sword, capable of wounding others as well as herself.
At this mont, how she wished she were hideous.
At least then she would be safe.
Sienna’s joy was replaced by a new, chilling despair.
This scene was like a helpless rabbit falling into a den of wolves.
She was that poor rabbit.
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