Chapter 322
Vivian crawled toward the bundle tossed into the room, using the faint moonlight seeping through the vent to get a better look.
It was a blanket–if it could still be called that
It was coated in layers of filth, so dark and grimy that its original color was impossible to tell. A foul srench clung to it, thick and nauseating. Who knew how long had gone unwashed?
“Ugh-
She gagged reflexively.
Her seasickness from earlier hadn’t eased. She had already thrown up several times during the day. With nothing in her stomach but bile, even dry heaving gave her no relief.
Disgusted, Vivian kicked the blanket away as far as she could.
She had once lived in moury at the Jasper estate–fine clothes, gourmet meals, servants at her beck and call. When had she ever suffered like this?
Even back when her mother was still alive, and she was just the housekeeper’s daughter, she hadn’t been treated this poorly.
curling
Curling into herself, Vivian buried her face in her knees and began to sob, quiet whimpers swallowed by the sound of crashing waves.
It was winter, and the temperature had already dipped low. Out on the open sea, the cold at night was bone–deep.
She trembled violently, her lips turning a bluish–purple, her entire body on the verge of freezing
In the end, survival instinct won out
Shivering, she dragged the filthy, stinking blanket back toward her and wrapped herself in it.
After a long and punishing journey, the ship finally docked
he hadn’t bathed in days. A rank odor clung to her so
Vivian had spent several days at sea barely eating, barely sleeping She was thinner, weaker, and she b strongly that even the men sent to drag her off the boat recoiled
“Fuck–she reeks!”
“Ugh-“one of them gagged, covering his nose.
Without any patience, the man grabbed Vivian by the arm, his face twisted with disgust. He ripped the tape from her mouth, untied the ropes around her wrists, and without hesitation, shoved her straight into the sea.
“Go wash off–you stirk like hell”
The ship had docked at the pier. While there were no sharks in these waters, Vivian couldn’t swim. Being thrown into the ocean still put her life at serious risk.
But clearly, the man who pushed her had no idea
Vivian splashed wildly, thrashing in the icy water, screaming for help.
At first, the man stage
man stayed on the dock, watching with amusement, assuming she was taking it
“Yeah, that’s right. Keep flailing–scrub yourself clean while you’re at it. Don’t go stinking up the boss’s place.”
The “boss” he referred to was none other than Sean’s right–hand man–Luke.
The ship had docked in Lincoln City, a northern coastal town where early spring temperatures hovered around freezing
The seawater was icy, sharp as needles against the skin. Vivian trembled violently as soon as she hit the water, her lips turning blue, her body going numb. Her hands and feet began to seize uncontrollably from the cold.
She swallowed mouthfuls of seawater, her breathing growing labored
The more she struggled, the weaker she became
Her cries grew faint, her movements sluggish
Then, her head began to sink beneath the surface.
The man watching from the dock–who’d been treating the whole thing like a jolos–started to parle.
“Shir,” the man cursed. “You’ve gotta be kidding me the really can’t swim? Damn it, now I’ve gotta go in after her?”
No way he was diving into freezing water unless absolutely necessary.
hurled it into the s
His eyes darted around and landed on an orange life ring hanging nearby. He grabbed it and hurled it into
“Grab it, you dumb bitch! You wanna die? I’m not dragging your sorry ass out!
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Vivian reached toward it, but her limbs wouldn’t obey. She couldn’t swim the few feet to reach
The man swore under his breath, then finally jumped in with a splash.
He managed to pull her out, bot by then, she had swallowed too much seawater and passed out cold from exhaustion and hypothermia
“Shir,” he muttered, out of breath “She’s not dead, is she?
Another man nearby frowned. “Seriously? This is how you ‘cleaned her up? The boss said to clean her up, not drown her.”
The one who jumped in was still dripping and shaking from the cold.
“You don’t know how bad she smelled, man. I couldn’t take it. I figured tossing her in the sea would help How the hell was I supposed to know she couldn’t swim? Fucking unlucky, Now I’ve potta risk my life for her.”
He shoved Vivian toward the other guy. “Take her. Find a doctor. Just make sure she doesn’t die. I’m freezing. I need to change clothes.”
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