Left to Sink, I Chose to Rise

At the yacht party, everyone watches as Sophia Montgomery falls overboard by accident, whereas I dive in after her to save her. When I reach her, she clings to me, dragging us both under.

Jack Harrison doesn't hesitate to jump in. He pushes me away before pulling her into his arms.

Up on deck, the crowd erupts in cheers, applauding the hero for saving the damsel in distress. Camera flashes go off endlessly.

Meanwhile, I struggle alone in the freezing ocean to reach the ladder. No one notices me.

The next morning, still burning with fever, I place a document in front of him.

"I want a divorce," I demand, my voice hoarse from swallowing seawater.

Jack frowns. "Just because of last night? Sophia can't swim, and it was an emergency. Since you can, you could make it back yourself."

A laugh escapes my lips. Of course. I can only rely on myself. I've been doing it for the past five years.

He only has eyes for Sophia, so, of course, he doesn't care whether I live or die.

After spending five years helping my husband walk again, he shoved me aside to save another woman when I fell into the water. As it turned out, my life was nothing in comparison to hers.

…

The corridor of the courthouse echoed with every step we took.

The moment we received our divorce certificate, Jack's face turned ashen, whereas I felt relieved.

"Need a ride?" he asked mechanically, as if fulfilling his final gentlemanly duty.

"I drove here myself."

"Claire," he said with a hint of irritation in his voice. "Five years of marriage shouldn't end like this."

Five years! I repeated those words in my head. With Sophia Montgomery finally back now, shouldn't he be thanking me for letting him do what he wanted?

I met his eyes. "We're strangers now that we're divorced, Jack. Besides, it's not like we were ever close, right?"

"Screw this!" he spat before storming off.

The moment I saw him disappear beyond the revolving doors, I exhaled deeply.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a bank notification informing me that 20 million dollars had been credited to my account. In addition to that, I had also received the Lexington apartment overlooking Elms Park, the villa at Ternhill, and several plots of commercial real estate from him.

As the unloved daughter of the Montgomery family, I had never received a cent from them. Funny how it was this failed marriage that granted me financial freedom.

"How ironic," I muttered to myself.

That very afternoon, I moved into my new home. Gazing out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the Lexington skyline, I felt true freedom for the first time. I thought I'd cry over this relationship since I had once loved him so deeply, but I didn't.

I slept soundly that night. There were no nightmares or tears, only the peace that came from being free.

When the sunlight woke me the next morning, I