Husband's Scheme Unveiled

My husband, a diver, sent out a distress signal underwater, but as a gear technician, I just pulled the covers over my head and went back to sleep. In a past life, he had slipped into the depths at midnight with his cherished Aria to witness the shimmering ocean floor.

When their equipment malfunctioned, I immediately dove in to assist. Little did I know, he would then allow Aria to imprison me in an iron cage, and I only reached the surface with great effort. There he was, leading a group of police officers to blame me for reckless diving.

"I knew you were plotting something, sneaking out at night to sabotage the gear. Luckily, we caught on in time!"

In front of the media, Aria's face was streaked with tears. "Did you really mess with the oxygen tanks just because you were jealous of my relationship with Dante?" she sobbed.

I saved him and his beloved, only to be framed and driven to despair, ultimately ending my own life in jail. But now I was back on the very day they planned to witness the ocean’s starlit wonder.

Dante’s familiar voice echoed in my ears. "Michelle, you’ve been working hard with all the overtime. Once this busy period is over, I'll take you on a vacation to Santorini."

Flashes of the past life danced before my eyes, sending an involuntary shiver through me. Sensing my silence, Dante's concerned voice came through the phone:

"What’s wrong? If you're tired, take a nap. It’s not like anyone will come into the base at this hour."

From a distance, I noticed two shadowy figures sneaking around, and a cold smile touched my lips. In my previous life, I thought his concern was genuine, yet it ended with me being accused of negligence.

But how could the media have arrived so quickly unless it was all part of Dante’s plan? As I contemplated the events to come, I steadied my emotions and replied:

"Then you should get some rest too, darling." Hanging up, I put on earplugs and an eye mask, and snuggled under the covers in the rest area.

In my past life, my husband had sneaked down with Aria while everyone else was away, to glimpse the ocean's starlit depths. Night diving is perilous, especially when the lifeguards are off duty, a time when few dare to venture into the water.

Simply because Aria wanted to see the ocean's stars, Dante risked his life to fulfill her wish. It wasn't long after they dove that their equipment failed.

Without hesitation, I went in to save them, but instead of gratitude, they locked me in an underwater cage meant for observing sharks up close. No matter how much I screamed for help, they swam back to the surface without looking back.

The oxygen in my tank wasn't enough to last until dawn. In a panic, I fumbled with the spare key hidden in my dive suit and barely escaped with my life.

Once ashore, I rushed to change out of my dive suit, preparing to confront Dante. But just as I finished, he arrived with the police, surrounding me. His eyes blazed with hatred, as if I were not his wife but his sworn enemy.

"Michelle, how could you be so heartless? I’m your husband! Did you really tamper with the diving gear to try and kill Aria and me?"

"Why would I have married such a heartless snake?"

His baseless accusations left me shocked and furious, and I desperately tried to deny everything to the police. But then he produced surveillance footage showing me cutting the oxygen pipe on a dive suit.

Experts confirmed the video was authentic and unedited. Aria then appeared with a swarm of media journalists, holding injury reports and a video of me slapping her, tearfully accusing me on live television.

She claimed I bullied her out of jealousy for her lifelong friendship with Dante and that I would hit her whenever we were alone.

Overcome by anger, I charged at Aria, shouting, "You’re lying, Aria! You’ve been framing me, provoking me, and when I couldn’t take it anymore, I hit you. You must tell the truth in front of everyone, or I won’t let this go!"

Like a startled bird, Aria screamed as if frightened, convincing everyone of her innocence and painting me as the villain.

From then on, I was the subject of public outrage, sentenced to 15 years for attempted murder and assault. My reputation stained, the news spread even inside the prison, where I became a target of abuse and humiliation.

In the end, the inhuman conditions sapped my will to appeal. It slowly dawned on me that this was all orchestrated by Dante and Aria. In utter despair, I took my own life.

Just like before, Dante and Aria ran into trouble barely ten minutes into their dive.

The shrill alarm woke everyone else at the base. Though I hadn’t dived to save them, Dante and Aria were rescued, albeit much worse for wear than in my past life. When I joined the crowd at the shore, they were collapsed on the beach, gasping for air. Aria was ashen-faced, her eyes red from the terror of nearly dying in the ocean depths.

Seeing me among the crowd, Dante scrambled up, his anger burning as he pointed accusingly at me. "Michelle! You were on duty tonight! Why didn’t you come to rescue us immediately?"

I cast him a detached glance, making no effort to hide my apathy. "Sorry, I put in earplugs before sleeping and didn’t hear the alarms."

But he refused to listen, yanking my wrist and throwing me to the ground. "This was deliberate! Don't think I’m unaware that you planned this!"

He then turned to the others, his voice filled with venom. "As the gear technician, she sabotaged our equipment, which is why we got into trouble just ten minutes in! She wanted Aria and me to drown!"

Those around us were aghast. Some colleagues who usually had a good rapport with me spoke up:

"That doesn't sound like Michelle at all. There must be some mistake."

"Yeah, Dante, you and Michelle have always been so close. Why would she do such a thing?"

Others posed questions: "Dante is our most seasoned diver. How could an accident happen unless there was equipment failure?"

"Yes, he's never made a mistake in over ten years of diving."

The crowd buzzed with speculation, but my gaze remained fixed on Dante. I hadn’t missed the calculation and smugness lurking behind his anger.

"Let's not forget, as a gear technician, tampering with diving equipment is a serious crime, risking jail time. Why would I endanger myself?" I said. "Besides, you’re my husband. Why would I wish harm upon you? It’s not like I took out any life insurance on you!"

As I spoke, more people seemed to side with me. Dante’s expression grew darker, his eyes filled with malice.

Just then, Aria had recovered from her fright and was helped into the crowd. She hesitated before speaking, "Michelle, we’ve known each other for years as friends, but I must ask: how could you try to kill us? Dante is your husband!"

"He’s always treated you well. How could you be so vicious out of jealousy over our friendship?"

"I will definitely take legal action against you!"

Dante hurried to Aria’s side, affirming his loyalty. "Michelle, you were on duty but neglected your responsibilities, almost causing a fatal accident. How do you plan to continue in this career?"

With that, he whipped out his phone to call the police. "Yes, this is Dante Robinson. I’d like to report an attempted murder!"