A wave of pain washed over Dorothea, her vision going black as she instinctively tried to pull her hand back.
The next second, the entire yacht lurched violently.
“Shit! We hit a reef!”
Panic filled the cockpit as one of the crew shouted, “Damn it! The steering is out of control! We’re going to crash!”
Screams erupted all around. Guests scattered in every direction, scrambling to find life jackets.
Just like that, the celebration descended into chaos.
Dorothea had just caught her breath when someone shoved her from behind. She stumbled, lost her footing, and hit the floor hard.
The crowd surged over her, trampling her body.
Her hands that were already crushed under the piano lid were stepped on again and again.
At first, they were just swollen and red. But with every step, she could feel the bones shifting inside. The pain made her suck in sharp breaths. Eventually, after being stomped on over and over, her hands twisted out of shape completely, and she stopped feeling them at all.
By then, the yacht was completely out of control.
The captain rushed out of the cockpit and found Jimmy. “Sir, the lifeboat’s ready. Please come with me and board with your wife.”
Without hesitation, Jimmy scooped up the terrified Kim in his arms and followed the captain.
He didn’t even glance back at Dorothea, who was still being trampled in the crowd.
Seeing this, Dorothea forced herself up, shoving away the people stepping on her as she struggled into a sitting position.
She absolutely could not die here like this!
She had to survive to escape this hell and break free from Jimmy’s control!
Disheveled and soaked in misery, she silently followed behind him.
The lifeboat pulled away from the yacht and headed toward shore, but not long after, the engine suddenly died.
The captain tried restarting it several times, but it wouldn’t turn over.
His face went pale as he reported, “Sir, the lifeboat is overloaded! We need to reduce weight, or it won’t start. We’ll all be stuck here!”
Jimmy turned to her without a second of hesitation.
“Dorothea, Kim just had a baby. She can’t get wet, and she definitely can’t get sick. Put on a life jacket and get in the water.”
“I’ll send someone back for you as soon as I get her safely to shore.”
Before Dorothea could react, a bodyguard had already pulled a life jacket from beneath the seat.
With multiple fractures in both hands, she had no strength to resist.
All she could do was watch helplessly as they forced the life jacket onto her.
With a loud splash, she was shoved into the churning sea.
The cold, salty water soaked into the countless wounds on her hands, and the surface of the water quickly bloomed red.
When she woke up again, she found herself in the hospital.
Olga sat at her bedside, dark circles under her eyes, as if she had been keeping vigil for days.
“Oh, dear, you’re finally awake.”
Dorothea’s voice was hoarse. “Mom… how long was I out?”
Olga sighed. “This is all my fault. I didn’t know Jimmy could be that cruel. By the time we got the news, you’d already been drifting at sea for a full day and night. After they rescued you, you spent a week in the ICU before your condition stabilized enough to move to a regular room. Altogether… you were out for ten days.”
As she spoke, she placed a plane ticket and a stack of documents on the bedside table.
“I got everything you asked for. I’ve seen how much you’ve given up for Jimmy all these years. The stocks and cash in there… That’s from me.”
Dorothea lifted her heavily bandaged hands, trembling as she picked up the ticket and documents.
When she reached the last page, she froze.
“Mom… why is there an acceptance letter from the London Symphony Orchestra in here?”
“That’s part of it, too. And don’t worry about your hands. While you were unconscious, I brought in the best orthopedic specialists. You’ll recover. There won’t be any lasting damage.”
At that moment, a tear slipped from the corner of Dorothea’s eye.
A bright smile slowly appeared across her face.
“Dear, the car’s ready. Today, they’re officially registering the second child under the family name. Jimmy’s distracted. He won’t notice you leaving. This is your best chance.”
Dorothea nodded, clutching the plane ticket and acceptance letter tightly as she got into the car.
She made it to the airport smoothly and boarded her flight.
The plane taxied, lifted off the runway, and soared into the blue sky.
Sitting by the window, she watched as New York grew smaller and smaller beneath her.
For the first time, she felt completely at ease.
‘Jimmy,’ she swore, ‘from this moment on, we are strangers across the world, never to meet again.’
