Chapter 7

Keith never visited Ariel at the hospital again. He only sent her a meaningless message. "I'm on a business trip. Tell my assistant if you want anything. I'll buy it for you as compensation." Ariel didn't reply. Natalie kept posting stories of her vacation with Keith every day on Instagram. Even at this point, he was still lying. Ariel stayed at the hospital alone. She had meals and applied her medication all by herself. The day she was discharged happened to be her birthday. It was also the day she would stage her death. … "Get in the car. I'll take you to your birthday banquet," Keith said, standing straight next to a black Maybach. He was wearing a suit. Natalie was sitting in the passenger's seat, wearing a red dress. She had red lipstick on. It made her smile look especially alluring. "Ariel, I'll be relying on you today," she said. "Even though I'm your stand-in, it's still my first time attending such a fancy event." When Ariel saw her, she looked down at her white dress and realized something. Keith prepared the same dress for her, but Natalie's dress was bright red. Even on her own birthday, she had to stand on the sidelines and act as "Natalie". … Priceless gifts filled the lavishly decorated ballroom on the cruise ship. Love letters Keith had written for her were displayed on the big screen, but Ariel was numb to it all. Using her name, Keith had made her the perfect princess of a fairy tale and married her. But in the end, she was nothing but a prop. Throughout the banquet, Ariel stood quietly in a corner like an outsider. She watched Keith and Natalie welcome the guests as husband and wife, just as Keith and Ariel had at their engagement party. While she was lost in thought, a waiter carrying a tray bumped into her shoulder when he passed by. After returning to her senses, Ariel found a note in her hand. The handwriting on the note was familiar yet strange. It read, "I'll whisk you away at 8:00 pm tonight." "What's wrong?" Keith suddenly appeared behind her. He frowned, displeased. "What did that waiter do to you?" His words were tinged with jealousy. Ariel shook her head and discreetly hid the note in her fist. Keith looked at her skeptically. He thought she seemed different somehow. But before he could question her, the guest behind him greeted him. Keith had no choice but to leave after saying, "There are too many people here. Be good and stay in this corner." Ariel glanced at the clock on the wall. In ten minutes, she would jump into the ocean and fake her death. She slipped out to the empty deck and waited for the right time to jump into the ocean. Suddenly, someone called her name from behind. Natalie walked up to her with a smile. "Since today's your birthday, I prepared a gift for you." At her words, a few notorious playboys showed up behind Natalie and pretended to grab her. "I don't know you! Let me go!" she yelled. Keith, who rushed to the scene at the sudden commotion, saw what was happening. Natalie threw herself into his arms, her voice trembling, "Ariel, I'm really sorry about last time. You've suffered through this before, so why are you punishing me in the same, horrible way?" Keith's eyes darkened. He looked at the men before him and saw that they were all playboys who were notorious for toying with women. Thinking that Natalie never had the chance to get to know any guys from the upper class, Keith believed her words. The way he looked at Ariel immediately turned cold and distant. "Are you jealous?" he asked. Complicated emotions filled his eyes. "I'm happy that you care about me, but doing something like this is simply disgusting. You should reflect on your actions." With that, Keith grabbed Natalie's hand and left without another glance. "Will Ariel be alright if we leave her back there by herself?" Natalie asked with fake concern. "What's going to happen to her?" he replied dismissively. "She brought them here. They won't lay a hand on her." Watching Keith's back as he left in determination, Ariel curled her lips and said, "Keith, you'd better not regret what you did today." Her soft voice was carried away by the wind. Keith's footsteps slowed. For some reason, he felt a strange sense of unease. But upon remembering that Ariel was mute, he dismissed it as his imagination and walked on. After Keith and Natalie returned to the ballroom, the group of playboys grabbed Ariel and leered at her. "You've got such a sexy body. How many men have you slept with?" Ariel fought back desperately. The ruby necklace she was wearing snapped in the struggle and scratched her neck. The necklace fell to the floor. Flashing red, the hidden camera inside the pendant recorded everything. Seeing that Ariel was fighting back, the group of playboys cursed. "You're just a secretary who slept her way up to the top. What are you acting all innocent for? Mr. Ford's already sick of you!" Right then, the clock struck eight. It was time for her to jump into the ocean and fake her death. Ariel bit the man who was holding her down as hard as she could and ran to the railing when his grip loosened. Spotting the lifeboat hidden in the dark, she threw herself into the ocean without hesitation. The group of playboys stumbled backward and ran away in fear. "Holy shit! She jumped into the ocean!" one of them shouted. … Fireworks were going off in the sky. However, Keith was distracted. His eyes kept searching for Ariel to check if she had returned to the ballroom. When he swept his gaze across the windows, he saw the exact moment a figure in white jumped into the ocean. His heart sank at the sight. His breathing hitched. The glass of wine he was holding crashed to the floor, splattering its contents everywhere. Did Ariel just jump into the ocean?