“Jocelyn, give your parachute to Serena, hurry!”
The plane’s windshield was shattered, a fierce air current ripped through the cabin, and the fuselage violently bucked.
The plane was minutes from crashing. The crew had already deployed their parachutes and jumped.
The entire cabin held only Captain Leo Thorne, me, Caleb Vance, and his fiancée, Serena Hayes.
In that desperate moment, Serena’s parachute pack was torn.
“It’s over… Am I going to die here?”
Serena’s face was soaked with tears, her body trembling uncontrollably.
That’s when Caleb made his choice.
“Didn’t you hear me? Jocelyn! Give your parachute to Serena!”
I thought I’d misheard him.
“…If I give her my parachute, what about me?”
“Stop arguing! Just give it to her. You insisted on coming on this flight with us! You were always the extra one!”
After saying that, Caleb snatched the parachute pack directly from me and handed it to Serena.
“There’s not much time. You go first.”
Serena, still sobbing, put on the parachute.
“I’m terrified of heights, I can’t… Caleb, you come with me!”
One second she was claiming she couldn’t, the next she was pulling Caleb, who already had his parachute on, and they both jumped.
Her piercing scream echoed in the air, fading into the distance.
In a matter of seconds, they were gone.
Leaving me alone at thirty thousand feet, feeling like I was trapped in a nightmare.
“Don’t just stand there, grab onto me. We’ll jump together.”
Captain Leo rushed out of the cockpit.
The wings and roof of the plane were already on fire, the aircraft completely out of control, moments away from exploding.
I knew this wasn’t the time for sentimentality.
I clung tightly to Leo, counting one, two, three—
We leaped into the thick clouds, accompanied by plumes of black smoke.
I thought I was going to die. The moment my parachute opened, Leo and I were violently separated by the turbulent air currents.
My body plummeted at an extreme speed, followed by a suffocating, near-death sensation.
I plunged into the deep sea like a meteor.
I don’t know how much time passed. When I woke, I thought I was dead.
The scorching sun beat down, a sea breeze caressed my face.
I lay on the ground, coughing violently, spitting out bitter, salty seawater.
I… I wasn’t dead.
Before me stretched an endless ocean; behind me, a dense forest.
Not far away, someone was lying there…
I thought it was Leo, who had jumped with me. But as I got closer, I saw it was… Caleb!
I looked around, bewildered. There was only us.
Caleb’s clothes were soaked with blood. During the fall, his thigh had been gashed by sharp rocks, and he’d passed out from blood loss.
“Uncle Caleb! Uncle Caleb!”
No matter how I called, he didn’t respond.
The wound on his leg wouldn’t stop bleeding. He wouldn’t last much longer.
I quickly tore off some of my clothes to tie around his leg, trying to stop the bleeding.
The immediate priority was to disinfect the wound.
“Uncle Caleb, I’ll carry you. There must be herbs in the forest that can disinfect and stop bleeding…”
My small body erupted with an immense burst of energy in that moment.
I somehow managed to hoist the almost six-foot-three Caleb onto my back.
Every step was incredibly difficult.
I walked barefoot into the forest, my skin torn by thorny plants, my body covered in ugly gashes.
I’m terrified of insects, and poisonous bugs swarmed in the forest, buzzing around me, biting and stinging, making me itch unbearably. Yet, I didn’t shed a single tear.
Because the most important person to me was on my back; I couldn’t afford to fall.
Finally, I found herbs for inflammation and bleeding. I chewed them into a pulp and squeezed out the juice, applying it to Caleb’s wound.
Only then did my heart finally feel a little steadier.
The forest seemed like a giant maze, with no end in sight.
“Thirsty… thirsty…”
Caleb’s soft murmurs broke my heart. Without fresh water, I could only bite my wrist and feed him my blood.
“Uncle Caleb… I’ll definitely get you out of here.”
My eyes were bloodshot, my lips cracked, my whole body felt like a zombie.
My only thought was to get Caleb to our other scattered companions and out of this terrifying place.
I don’t know how long I walked, but eventually, the trees gave way to an open, wild plain.
Scattered airplane debris lay everywhere, and the ground showed signs of being scorched.
The next second, several familiar figures appeared.
It was Captain Leo, flight attendant Maya Jenkins, security guard Grant Bell, and Serena Hayes!
They were all here!
Leo was the first to spot us and rushed towards me.
Seeing familiar faces, my tightly strung nerves finally loosened.
A stream of tears flowed down my face, my eyes rolled back, and I fainted.
I woke up at noon, my entire body aching as if it had been run over.
A bonfire was lit opposite me. I immediately saw Serena nestled in Caleb’s arms, a scene of affectionate display.
“Serena, you saved me. I will never fail you in this life…”
Serena brushed a light kiss on his lips, nodding shyly.
“Uncle Caleb… it was me who saved you, though…”
Caleb gave me a cold glance.
“Jocelyn, you’re getting better and better at lying. Do you really need to claim credit for this too? If Serena hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known that *you* were the one who broke her parachute pack. People’s lives were at stake, how could you be so reckless?”
“Uncle Caleb… I just woke up. Aren’t you even going to ask how I got all these injuries?”
Caleb stiffly turned his head away.
“If you hadn’t stubbornly followed me onto the plane, would any of this have happened? You brought it on yourself!”
“So you gave my parachute to Serena?”
“You didn’t die, did you? What’s the point of holding a grudge now?”
Watching his indifferent expression, my heart ached as if it were being ripped to shreds.
The pain was so intense that it turned numb.
I brushed away the lingering tears from my eyes.
“Fine, I won’t be reckless anymore.”
I won’t cling to you ever again. Once we’re safely off this island, I’ll completely disappear from your world.
The plane crash had stranded everyone on this remote island.
With no communication tools, we couldn’t contact the outside world, forced to passively await rescue.
But before that, we had to survive.
There were seven of us trapped on the island:
Besides me, Caleb Vance, Serena Hayes, and Captain Leo Thorne, there were co-pilot Paul Davies, security guard Grant Bell, and flight attendant Maya Jenkins.
The first order of business was to distribute supplies.
Leo and Caleb had both brought some food and water before jumping, just in case.
But resources were scarce; these meager provisions weren’t enough for seven people.
“One portion each.”
Leo and Caleb had already divided all the food and water equally into seven shares.
Everyone immediately tucked their portion away, afraid someone else would try to grab it.
That’s when Serena started her usual antics again.
She pointed at the crackers in my hand and said,
“I like those crackers. Can I have them?”
My brow furrowed. I ignored her directly.
“Jocelyn, I’ll give you my chocolate, and you give me your crackers.”
It was obvious to anyone that the crackers were a much larger portion than the chocolate.
Serena was clearly trying to take advantage of me.
“Sorry, I don’t like chocolate.”
Serena pouted, tugging at Caleb’s arm petulantly.
“Caleb, I really want those crackers…”
Caleb glanced at the crackers in my hand and said without hesitation,
“Jocelyn, trade with her.”
Before I could even react, Caleb stepped forward and took the crackers from my lap.
Just like he’d taken my parachute.
Authoritatively.
Serena took the crackers, happily hugging Caleb and kissing him on the cheek.
“Caleb, you’re the best.”
Caleb’s expression didn’t change. He then pushed the chocolate into my lap.
I didn’t take it. The chocolate fell to the ground and Paul quickly snatched it up.
“Can you stop being so stubborn? It’s just crackers! Why do you always have to make things difficult for Serena?”
My face was filled with shock.
The person before me was utterly unrecognizable.
Was this still the uncle who had brought me home and promised to protect me?
“It’s alright, Caleb. Jocelyn’s still young, it’s normal for her to throw little tantrums. Don’t pay her any mind.”
Caleb snorted coldly and, with Serena’s help, turned and walked away.
I’d promised myself I wouldn’t grieve over him anymore, but the sadness still clung to me like a bad habit.
After finally pulling myself together, I returned to the bonfire.
The others were already discussing how to use the available resources to send out a distress signal.
The seven of us split into three groups.
The first group would go to the beach to collect wood for a bonfire, hoping to attract passing ships or planes.
The second group would stay put and arrange “SOS” signals with branches and stones.
The third group would use airplane wreckage and branches to build a makeshift shelter.
The weather on the island was unpredictable. If we encountered severe weather like heavy rain or typhoons, we’d at least have some protection from the elements.
Caleb was injured and couldn’t move easily, so he stayed behind to rest.
I volunteered to go to the more distant beach.
Among these people, I was the only one who had walked from the beach through the forest, so I was already familiar with the route.
Serena, for some reason, also volunteered to go to the beach.
Though I was reluctant, I had no reason to refuse her company.
“Wait.”
Caleb suddenly called out to us.
But before he could say anything, Leo stepped forward, holding a pair of makeshift sandals he’d just woven from grass.
“Jocelyn, you should wear these. The path is so rough, and you have cuts on your feet. We don’t want them to get infected.”
My shoes had been washed away by the sea, so I’d been forced to go barefoot, every step painful.
“Thank you.”
I looked at Leo gratefully.
Behind them, Caleb’s expression subtly changed. He silently pushed the canvas shoes he’d found among the plane wreckage further under a rock behind him.
He said nothing at all.
We walked in silence. I led the way, with Serena trailing behind.
“I’m so tired. How much longer until we get there?”
Serena finally broke the silence, but it was just a string of complaints.
“I didn’t ask you to come. If you’re tired, you can go back.”
“Don’t provoke me! I’m not going back.”
“Then shut up, say less, and conserve your energy.”
Serena scoffed, then abruptly changed her tone.
“Guess why I wanted to be on your team?”
I didn’t answer.
“I just wanted to tell you to give up on Caleb early. He’s never going to be with you! You’re his enemy now; he hates you more than anything.”
“…What do you mean?”
Seeing me turn back, Serena hugged her shoulders triumphantly.
“You don’t know yet, do you—”
Her words were cut short by a sudden roar of a wild animal in the distance.
I quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.
“Don’t speak!”
The roar was long and low, carrying a strong warning.
Serena was shaking all over, tears streaming down her face.
I pressed myself against the ground, feeling the vibrations from the roar.
The beast’s footsteps were relentless, getting closer and closer—
“Run!”
I gripped Serena’s wrist tightly and sprinted forward.
Every second was terrifying; I ran with all my might.
But Serena was losing stamina, her steps growing heavier and heavier.
“I’m tired! I’m not running anymore!”
Serena cried, shaking off my hand and plopping down on the ground.
“Do you want to die?”
I couldn’t leave her alone there, so I desperately pulled her!
“I’m just not running! What’s that thing going to do, eat me?”
The roars grew closer, my heart was pounding out of my chest.
In that instant, I forcefully dragged Serena behind a thick tree.
Holding my breath, I silently watched the direction the roar had come from.
Within seconds, a tiger slowly emerged from the depths of the woods.
It was over two meters long, exceptionally robust, with piercing amber eyes.
Serena, who had just been loudly complaining about not running, was now too terrified to move.
If it weren’t for me, she would have collapsed into a trembling heap.
The tiger didn’t seem to notice us. I was secretly relieved when Serena suddenly let out a shriek.
“Ah!”
A flying insect had landed on her hand.
“Bug! Bug!”
With that scream, my heart plummeted.
Without thinking, I dragged Serena deeper into the forest.
In our escape, we bumped into Paul, who was collecting firewood.
“Run!”
Paul, confused, looked back curiously.
Before he could even register what was happening, the tiger sprang from the dense bushes and bit deeply into his thigh!
Serena’s screams were so loud they drowned out Paul’s last cry.
I don’t know how long passed, but the tiger’s roars gradually faded. I went back alone to look for Paul, but only found half of his body and his head.
His internal organs had been torn out, his intestines dragged far away, and his thighs and arms were mangled beyond recognition.
Serena had run back alone and told the others about encountering the tiger.
The others arrived with torches. Seeing Paul’s body, they were all struck speechless with terror.
Serena reacted even more violently, throwing up on the spot.
Then, she pointed at me, turning it all around on me.
“Jocelyn, I never thought you’d be this kind of person… Because I traded crackers with you earlier, you bore a grudge and wanted to get back at me… The tiger was clearly going to pass us by, but *you* screamed, which made it notice us! If it weren’t for you, Paul wouldn’t have died…”
Serena cried and accused, pinning all the blame on me.
“Even if you hate me, you can’t play with people’s lives… What did Paul ever do wrong?”
She sobbed incessantly, tears flowing like a flood.
Paul’s death was truly horrific, and it fueled the anger of the others.
“It’s terrifying, a young girl with such a vicious heart… Is she some kind of sociopath?”
Maya said.
“Paul was so innocent… Someone else deserved to die!”
Grant glared at me.
Leo, however, spoke up for me.
“We’re all in this together. I believe Jocelyn wouldn’t intentionally lure a tiger to harm a companion. Things aren’t clear yet; let’s not jump to conclusions.”
“What’s not clear? Jocelyn is a murderer! I refuse to stay with a sociopath like her! Who knows how we’ll end up dying!”
Maya retorted.
“Yeah! Why wasn’t she the one bitten by the tiger? She’s the one who deserves to die!”
Grant added.
Serena continued to sob. When Caleb approached, she immediately threw herself into his arms.
“Caleb, I was so scared just now…”
“Mr. Vance, Paul was indirectly killed by your precious niece. You at least owe us an explanation, right?”
Maya challenged.
Caleb’s eyes were bloodshot. After looking at Paul’s body, he walked up to me and asked,
“Did you really lure the tiger?”
I let out a bitter laugh.
“If I said no, would you believe me?”
“_Smack_—”
My left cheek burned with a stinging pain. Caleb, in front of everyone, had slapped me hard.
“Jocelyn, how could you have become so vicious?”
It hurt—my face hurt, and my heart hurt even more.
I lifted my head, my gaze utterly devoid of emotion.
“How could I be so vicious? Of course, it’s because my uncle raised me so well.”
“Say that again!”
Another slap was about to land, but Leo stepped in front of me.
“Enough! Stop it! This isn’t the time for infighting. Paul is dead; we should be uniting! I’m the captain. I vouch for Jocelyn. She would absolutely never do anything to harm anyone here! If she really did something, you can throw both of us into the sea!”
With Leo’s guarantee, and the fact that I had also been hit, the others finally quieted down a bit.
They dug a pit to bury Paul’s body, then returned to the shelter.
Caleb and Serena walked ahead, with Leo and me following behind.
“Does it hurt?”
Leo reached out to touch my face, but I flinched away.
“I’m fine. Thank you for earlier.”
Leo sighed, then pressed a piece of candy into my hand.
“No matter what, I’m always on your side.”
Unbeknownst to us, we had already been on the island for a week.
Food was nearly depleted, and fresh water was almost gone.
But rescue had still not arrived.
Every day, the few of us went to the beach to keep watch, lighting bonfires and arranging huge “SOS” signals on the sand.
We just hoped that a passing plane or ship would notice us.
Caleb’s injuries had healed considerably, so he joined them in heading out to sea every day.
Fishing, hunting, distilling fresh water.
Every day, the cycle repeated.
I hadn’t spoken to Caleb again. He spent every day with Serena. I had become the unwanted one.
During my university days, I had joined a wilderness hiking club, so I was quite skilled in survival techniques.
I couldn’t swim, but I was the one who caught the most fish.
Whenever I caught fish, Grant and Maya would wait nearby.
As soon as I pulled in a fish, they would immediately rush forward and snatch the largest and fattest one.
They claimed it was punishment for me luring the tiger.
In reality, it was just bullying.
“Are you ever going to stop?”
When I caught a fish, Grant and Maya once again picked out the biggest one.
And then they also drank the purified fresh water I had just distilled.
I had reached my limit and yelled at them.
“You lured the tiger and caused Paul’s death, so you should atone for it! What’s wrong with catching a few fish for us? Now you’re playing the victim!”
I refused to back down. I shoved Maya away and snatched back the fish I’d caught.
“If you want fish, go catch your own.”
Grant, who had a short temper, raised his hand and shoved me.
My shoulder ached intensely, and I stumbled, falling to the ground.
“What the hell do you think you are? Daring to yell at me like that!”
Grant’s face was contorted in a snarl. The next second, he climbed directly on top of me.
“Get off me!”
I struggled relentlessly, but it was no use.
“Look how delicate you are, want to bet I’ll have my way with you right here?! I’ll make you scream for mercy!”
I had never in my life suffered such an insult.
I pushed and resisted, but it only made Grant’s taunts and advances more fervent.
Just then, Caleb and Serena emerged from the forest, carrying wild fruit.
Seeing the scene, a surge of blood rushed through Caleb’s body, and anger blazed through him.
He was just about to rush forward when Serena called out to him.
“Caleb, don’t you hate her? Don’t help her, let her figure it out herself. She’s your enemy.”
Caleb’s heart ached intensely. In those few seconds of hesitation, Grant had already ripped my clothes.
“You animal! What the hell are you doing?!”
Caleb still didn’t intervene.
Because Leo had returned.
The firewood in his arms scattered everywhere as he darted forward, tackling Grant.
I cowered to the side, clutching my shoulders tightly, my pained eyes fixed on Caleb’s face.
They remained there, unmoving.
This man who had raised me, this man I would willingly give my life to save, was watching me being violated, and he did nothing.
A sliver of confusion emerged from the despair.
I had heard everything Serena said just now.
Serena had said the same thing before.
She said… Caleb hated me.
The chaotic scene finally ended. Grant was beaten to a pulp by Leo, no longer daring to make a sound.
But a shadow had been cast over my heart forever.
The others built a makeshift shelter on the beach, and as night fell, everyone gradually went to sleep.
I secretly called Serena out.
“What did you mean by what you said earlier this evening? Why did you say my uncle hates me? Why am I his enemy?”
Serena seemed to have anticipated my coming to her, and immediately let out a cold laugh.
“You still don’t know, do you? Your uncle found out your true identity six months ago. And guess how coincidental it is: the truck driver who killed your adoptive parents—his brother and sister-in-law—was *your biological father*, the one who abandoned you twenty years ago!”
In that moment, I felt like plunging into an icy abyss.
My heart felt like it was being repeatedly stabbed by the sharpest knife.
The pain spread through every fiber of my being, leaving me unable to breathe, unable to move a single inch.
…My biological father?
That term felt impossibly distant to me.
I had grown up in an orphanage, never knowing my birth parents.
When I was eight, my adoptive parents brought me home.
That was the first time I felt the warmth of a family.
Two years later, when I was ten, my adoptive parents died in a car crash. Caleb brought me home, a second orphan.
For ten years, he raised me from a little girl into a young woman, watched me grow, and treated me with thousands of kindnesses, more than anyone else in the world.
Caleb didn’t know, but I had fallen in love with him long ago.
He was the secret crush of my teenage years, the sole star of my most vivid dreams, the one constant in my life for all these years.
On my eighteenth birthday, I drank a glass of red wine and waltzed with him, my arms around his neck.
I deliberately wore a seductive dress, a clumsy attempt at seduction, an innocent provocation.
After ten years, I had grown thirty centimeters taller; I could reach his lips on tiptoe.
And I did.
I pressed my lips against his, trembling as if struck by lightning.
My tongue traced the tight seam of his lips, desperate for even the slightest hint of a response.
The next second, he pushed me away.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!”
His eyes blazing red, he shoved me away. The cake crashed to the floor, a messy ruin, and he stormed out of the house.
He was gone for two years.
When he returned, he had a fiancée.
He seemed like a different person, treating me with utter coldness.
I thought it was because of our forbidden love, but it wasn’t until today that I realized it was more than that.
I had become the daughter of the man who killed his brother and sister-in-law, his enemies.
But I was a victim too.
I didn’t even know that man.
Did sharing the same blood make us family?
I couldn’t understand it, only felt a deeper despair.
There was too great a distance between me and the man I loved most. No matter how far I walked, I couldn’t reach him.
“Every second you’re around, Caleb’s reminded of his brother and sister-in-law’s death! He hates you, *despises* you! And you’re still clinging to him like a leech, aren’t you shameless? You should just die! Don’t ever appear in front of Caleb and me again! If you were gone, everyone would have some peace!”
Serena’s eyes were full of hatred. She grew more and more agitated, then lunged at me without warning!
“Go to hell!”
She shoved my shoulder hard. I abruptly lost my balance and fell backward.
In her excitement, her foot slipped, and she fell into the sea with me.
I barely knew how to swim, just enough to dog paddle and keep myself from sinking to the bottom.
I didn’t want anyone to die, so I struggled to grab Serena.
But she didn’t cooperate at all, thrashing about, trying to push me down to climb ashore.
The more she struggled, the faster she sank.
“Help! Help! Someone!”
I called for help repeatedly, finally waking the others.
“What’s going on? What happened?!”
Caleb saw Serena and me both in the water, his face ashen. He immediately ran towards us.
Leo quickly followed, jumping into the water too!
The moment he hit the water, Caleb glanced at me, then coldly turned away, swimming towards Serena.
Leo also jumped in, pulling me onto the shore in one swift motion.
Serena had swallowed a lot of seawater and lay on the ground, barely conscious.
Caleb cupped her chin and gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Finally, Serena regained consciousness, coughing up all the seawater from her lungs.
“Caleb… you scared me so much!”
Serena clung tightly to Caleb’s neck, crying hysterically.
“What happened?”
Serena sobbed, “Jocelyn said she needed to talk to me, so I went out with her. She resented me for taking your attention away, told me to stay away from you, and even cursed me to die… Then, then she got more and more agitated and shoved me…”
I had no strength left to argue, leaning against Leo’s chest, panting heavily.
“Is that really what happened?”
Caleb stood up and demanded, looking at me.
I said nothing, burying my head in Leo’s chest and letting the tears flow freely.
Seeing me leaning against Leo, Caleb’s gaze instantly turned sharp.
That inexplicable possessiveness surged within him. He frowned deeply, pulled me roughly from Leo’s embrace, and demanded,
“Speak! Is what she said true?!”
I rested my head against his chest and said softly,
“Think whatever you want.”
I was done trying to explain.
A sharp pain pierced Caleb’s heart. Looking into my inexplicably sad eyes, he felt a strange difficulty breathing.
“…Consider all the years I raised you a waste.”
Caleb hardened his heart and shoved me to the ground.
He took Serena’s hand and walked away decisively.
Leo caught me, steadying me, and draped his jacket over my shoulders.
“Why didn’t you explain? I know you’re not that kind of person.”
Hearing Leo’s words, I felt an even deeper sense of irony.
Even a stranger could see I wasn’t such a malicious person.
But my dearest uncle, he didn’t believe me.
Was it disbelief, or unwillingness to believe?
Days turned into weeks. Unbeknownst to us, half a month had already passed.
They didn’t wait for rescue; instead, they faced a terrifying disaster.
The day had been perfectly clear, but the night brought ominous clouds and raging winds.
Deep-sea fish mysteriously washed ashore, and the tide receded eerily.
“Something’s wrong here, we need to fall back immediately!”
Caleb had a bad feeling. These strange phenomena couldn’t mean anything good!
Serena and the others didn’t take it seriously.
“It’s probably just going to rain again, it’s fine.”
“No, everyone, retreat quickly!”
Leo’s tone was serious, ordering everyone to immediately pack up and retreat into the forest.
“I don’t want to go… there are tigers in the forest.”
Serena whimpered pathetically.
“Are you deaf?! Something bad is about to happen!”
Leo retorted, his face grim.
At that moment, a strange rumbling sound began to rise from the ground.
“Tsunami! It’s a tsunami!”
I was the first to react.
“Run!”
Serena was also frightened by the eerie rumbling. She grabbed whatever was at hand and ran into the forest with the others.
“Head for higher ground!”
Caleb directed everyone to evacuate. Before long, towering waves suddenly erupted from the sea, crashing violently onto the coast.
Seawater surged inland, trees snapped.
We were minuscule like specks of dust, chased by the waves.
The ground shook violently. We scrambled desperately up the high ground behind the coast.
I was agile, no worse than the men.
But Serena was useless. After climbing for a while, her limbs gave out. Her foot slipped, and she lost her balance, on the verge of falling.
In that instant, she instinctively grabbed my foot, which was above her.
“Ah!”
She yanked me hard, and I slid directly down the slope.
Serena, however, managed to regain her balance and miraculously escaped falling.
“Jocelyn!”
Caleb watched as I fell. I landed heavily between two large rocks at the bottom of the cliff.
My eyes were half-open; I had lost the ability to move.
“Jocelyn!”
Caleb turned to jump down, but Serena clung to him tightly.
“You can’t save her now! If you die, what about the company? What about the Vance family?!”
No sooner had she spoken than another towering wave swept across the ground.
In my last second of consciousness, Caleb was simply staring at me, unmoving.
“No, I have to go back and save her!”
Caleb’s heart ached as if it were dying. It felt as if something vital was slowly draining from his body.
He went down step by step. By the time he reached the bottom, the world had returned to calm.
As if nothing had happened.
“Jocelyn! Jocelyn!”
He searched for what felt like an eternity but still couldn’t find me.
The massive waves had carried me back to the beach.
I used all my strength to cling to a reef, preventing myself from being swept into the deep sea.
When it was all over, my entire body felt like it had been run over by a car. Every bone ached agonizingly.
I was still wearing the red jacket Leo had given me.
It was dazzlingly red.
Lying on the cold sand, I suddenly heard a whooshing sound above my head.
My heart pounded fiercely. I thought I was dreaming.
It was… a helicopter!
I saw the helicopter circling in mid-air. I cried out through the pain,
“Help! Help!”
Perhaps the helicopter heard my faint plea, or perhaps it was drawn by my red jacket.
In any case, it stopped.
The roaring sound was deafening. I saw the helicopter land on the beach not far away.
Several people in uniform got out and were running towards me!
After so many days, I was finally going to be rescued.
I let out a long sigh of relief. After telling them I had other companions, I peacefully closed my eyes.
As my consciousness faded, I remembered everything I had endured during those days.
Being slandered, being hit, being violated…
And the person closest to me had always watched with cold indifference.
Well, Caleb, you finally made me give up on you for good.
The rescue team pulled everyone from the deserted island and took us to the hospital.
I had been severely injured by the storm, suffering from lung infection and multiple fractures all over my body. I was barely recognizable.
When I woke again, a day and a night had passed.
Both my legs were in casts, and moving even slightly caused excruciating pain.
I was grateful to be alive. After surviving such a life-or-death experience, I finally understood.
The others had only sustained minor injuries. I was the abandoned one; my survival was nothing short of a miracle.
That afternoon, Leo came to see me.
Aside from a few scrapes on his face, there was barely any sign that he too had endured nearly half a month of survival on that deserted island.
“Jocelyn… I wanted to go down and save you then, but you were already gone. I’m sorry…”
I shook my head.
“In a life-or-death situation, everyone’s choices are their own. You don’t need to apologize to me.”
Leo’s eyes were red, filled with guilt.
My expression, however, was a stark contrast to his. My gaze was calm, as if I no longer cared about anything that had happened.
Leo hadn’t left yet. He had been gathering his thoughts for a while, about to say something, when the hospital room door was pushed open again.
The tapping sound of a cane hitting the floor made my heart clench. Without turning around, I knew who it was.
It was Caleb’s father, my adoptive grandfather, Mr. Vance Sr.
Caleb escorted Mr. Vance Sr. into the room.
“Grandpa, Uncle Caleb…”
I murmured softly, my gaze no longer lingering on Caleb for a second.
Mr. Vance Sr. snorted coldly.
“Serves you right! If you hadn’t shamelessly followed Caleb, would all this have happened? Serena told me you even broke her parachute pack, nearly killing her on the plane! What were your intentions? How could the Vance family have raised such a useless girl?”
“What does this have to do with Jocelyn? A broken parachute pack was just an accident, and Mr. Vance is no saint, he snatched Jocelyn’s parachute and gave it to his beloved fiancée, didn’t he? It wasn’t Serena who almost died, but Jocelyn… You’re Jocelyn’s grandfather, yet you come in here and immediately start barraging her with questions? She’s still injured. Is everyone in your family this heartless?”
“Leo!”
Caleb’s eyes flashed with barely suppressed anger, his gaze instantly turning sharp.
“What, did I say something wrong?”
The tension in the air was palpable.
“It was my fault for being thoughtless, for interrupting Uncle Caleb’s plans. I shouldn’t have boarded that plane. It was only right for him to give his parachute to his fiancée. I’m just an adopted child of the Vance family; my life isn’t worth much anyway. Dying wouldn’t be a loss. I’m already very content to have miraculously survived. I’m sorry, Uncle Caleb. I won’t ever trouble you again.”
I said calmly, my voice completely flat.
Caleb’s heart clenched. He countered,
“You?”
“You’re an elder. Is there anything wrong with addressing you that way?”
Mr. Vance Sr.’s expression finally softened somewhat.
“It’s good that you know your place! Don’t cause Caleb any more trouble in the future! Otherwise, I won won’t be so lenient with you!”
If it had been before, I would have been utterly wronged, turning my gaze to Caleb, seeking his protection and comfort.
But this time, I was exceptionally calm, even detached.
“Jocelyn…”
Caleb felt a growing unease in his heart, a stifling pressure in his chest.
“It’s getting late, Grandpa, Uncle Caleb. You should head back. I apologize for causing you trouble; it won’t happen again.”
Mr. Vance Sr. had originally been seething with anger, ready to properly discipline this disobedient girl.
But his rage met no resistance, and it deflated. Although displeased, he couldn’t continue to pick a fight.
“Come on, Caleb. Serena is waiting downstairs. Aren’t you two going for a wedding dress fitting soon?”
At the mention of wedding dresses, Caleb subconsciously glanced at me, feeling a strange apprehension.
But I seemed not to have heard him, my eyes empty.
He finally panicked, a cold dread washing over him.
“Jocelyn, are you okay?”
I shook my head. “I’m fine. You should go, don’t worry about me.”
“I… I’ll stay with you for a bit.”
“Stay for what? Is she a three-year-old?”
Mr. Vance Sr. was about to erupt again. Caleb swallowed the words he was about to say.
“Alright, your twentieth birthday is coming up soon. I’ll come pick you up from the hospital then, and we’ll celebrate properly.”
“We’ll see.”
I stopped looking at Caleb. Appearing tired, I turned my gaze towards the window.
That dull ache grew stronger and stronger, making even breathing difficult.
Caleb grew more and more uneasy, but he didn’t know what else to say.
Ultimately, he gave up, leaving with a promise of “I’ll come see you tomorrow,” then departed with Mr. Vance Sr.
Life in the hospital was exceptionally calm. I no longer had that stubborn persistence I once had; instead, I felt lighter.
Caleb had visited me a few times, perhaps plagued by guilt.
He was no longer cold and aloof, seeming to have transformed back into the uncle who had once spoiled and indulged me unconditionally.
But I knew, everything had changed.
Caleb was his father’s child born late in life; his father was busy with work, so his older brother and sister-in-law were closer to him.
His older brother had raised him; his elder brother was like a father to him. In his heart, his brother was the most important person.
And my biological father, whom I had never met, had killed the people he cherished most.
I shared the same blood as the murderer of his brother and sister-in-law.
This was my original sin.
It didn’t matter anymore.
Anyway, I was leaving.
The day I was discharged from the hospital was also my twentieth birthday.
Caleb kept his word and came to pick me up early that morning.
He ignored the subtle tension between us, wrapped an arm around my waist, and intended to carry me bridal style.
The moment he touched me, I flinched away as if pricked by a needle.
“No, thanks. I can walk myself.”
Caleb’s arms felt suddenly empty, a strange panic stirring within him.
In the car, he opened the passenger door for me, but I quietly sat in the back seat.
“Jocelyn… there are some things I need to take care of at the company. Once I’m done, I’ll come home to celebrate your birthday.”
I nodded absently.
In fact, I had just seen Caleb’s SnapChat messages with Serena.
They were going to take wedding photos today.
After arriving home, Caleb gave a few instructions and then hurried off.
Watching his retreating figure, I felt a sense of relief.
My legs were still a bit weak, so I walked slowly, taking a long time to reach the second floor.
My room was right next to Caleb’s. Before I came back, Caleb must have had someone clean it.
The room was immaculately clean, as if I had never left.
The walls were covered with photos of Caleb and me, a painful sight now.
I tore all those photos down.
And the diary in my drawer, filled with my teenage crushes and secret thoughts about Caleb, I threw it into the fire pit.
I burned it all to ashes.
When Caleb first brought me home, I lived there for a decade.
The days were long, but in this house, there were surprisingly few things that truly belonged to me.
I only packed a small amount of clothes and necessary documents.
Everything else that was useless, I burned.
The plush doll Caleb gave me when he brought me home;
The unburnt candle from my fifteenth birthday cake, prepared by Caleb;
The princess dress he gave me when I was sixteen…
Too many memories. My life had been completely filled by Caleb.
Now, I was going to burn it all away.
When I left, the room was still immaculately clean, but all traces of me had been completely erased.
I took only one twenty-four-inch suitcase.
That was all.
As the car drove to the airport, the sky was clear and sunny, and my heart felt a sense of newfound clarity and lightness.
I was finally leaving.
What I once thought was inseparable, I managed to let go of.
Caleb, this time I won’t cling to you anymore. Goodbye.
Ahead lay a new world. I was going to walk into it alone.
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