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He Kissed Me in the Shallows, Buried Me in the Deep
Novelix
new
Completed
"The night before the wedding, my fiancé Dante took me to see the undersea starry sky. But we ran into pirates. They hung me upside down into the sea countless times. They even forced me to jump into a shark tank. Just when I was about to completely break down, the pirate closest to me tore off his mask and laughed so hard he bent over. It was my own sister Bianca! She teased: “Sister, the way you kneel and beg is hilarious.” “Perfect, I recorded it. I'll add it to your wedding video.” During the torture, no matter how painful, I never begged. Only when Dante rushed over to save me and was beaten bloody did I truly get scared. I knelt on the ground and begged bitterly. But the next second, Dante, who had been on the verge of death, got up. He wiped the blood off his face, a faint smile still on his lips: “Don't be afraid, it's ketchup. Your sister and I made a bet to see if you would kneel to save me.” “You should thank Bianca. If not for her, I wouldn't have known you loved me so much.”"
Chapters (3)
第1章
The night before the wedding, my fiancé Dante took me to see the underwater starry sky.
Instead, we ran into pirates.
They hung me upside down and dunked me into the sea, over and over.
They even forced me to jump into a shark pool.
Just as I was about to completely break down,
the pirate closest to me tore off his mask and doubled over laughing.
It was my own sister, Bianca!
She teased me:
"Sister, the way you beg on your knees is hilarious."
"Perfect. I got it on video. I'll add it to your wedding video."
During the torture, no matter how much it hurt, I never begged.
Only when Dante lunged to save me and was beaten bloody
did I truly get scared.
I knelt on the ground and begged desperately.
But the second before, Dante, who'd been on the verge of death, stood up.
Wiped the blood off his face, a faint smile still on his lips:
"Don't be scared. It's ketchup. Your sister and I made a bet—to see if you'd kneel to save me."
"You should thank Bianca. Without her, I wouldn't know you loved me this much."
Seeing I wasn't happy, he humbled himself and coaxed me into going underwater to see the starry sky.
Then he locked me in a cage.
"Marina, I lost the bet. A bet's a bet. This wedding can only go to Bianca."
"But you've always been strong-willed. I was afraid you'd cause trouble. Be good and watch the underwater stars here. When the wedding's over, I'll come get you."
Watching his back as he left, my heart turned to ash.
The tank had only a third of its air left.
I probably wouldn't last until he came back for me and the baby.
I gripped the iron cage bars.
The deep sea's cold seeped through the diving suit, straight into my heart.
Seeing my silence, his expression softened a bit.
He gestured to me:
"Don't blame me. You said you'd die before kneeling to anyone. I didn't expect you to break your word."
My grip on the iron bars tightened.
Bitter pain rose in my heart.
He forgot.
The one who said he'd never let me kneel was him.
Back then, Dante was the most notorious playboy in the circle.
At a banquet, his stepmother Isabella falsely accused me of stealing a necklace.
She stomped on my back, demanding I kneel and apologize.
I refused, so she had me thrown into an ice pool.
Later, after Dante rescued me, he held me tight.
His whole body trembling:
"Marina, I swear no one will ever make you kneel again!"
In just five years, the playboy became the Don everyone feared.
No one dared look down on me anymore.
No one dared make me kneel.
But now, the one who wanted to see me grovel in the dust was him.
Yet in that moment, I couldn't afford to be sad.
Panicked, I pointed at the tank's pressure gauge.
It showed only a third of the air left.
"Let me out, the tank's almost empty. I'll die!"
Dante didn't even glance at it, dismissive:
"Enough, stop scheming. I prepared the tank myself. There's no problem."
"Relax, the wedding goes to Bianca, but you'll always be the Donna."
I pressed my lips tight, pointed at my belly, and shook my head desperately:
"I have a baby. I can't stay underwater too long."
Dante paused, then frowned:
"Marina, that excuse is pathetic. Did you forget? You can't have children anymore."
Every word was a knife, stabbing straight into my heart.
The pain stole my breath.
When I was thrown into the ice pool, I was already pregnant.
But the water was too cold. The baby didn't survive.
I was left with a cold-womb condition.
The doctor said I'd have a hard time ever getting pregnant again.
That night, Dante held the silver amulet he'd designed for our child.
He smoked all night.
He never mentioned the child again.
But that amulet—he never threw it away.
Locked in a study drawer, untouched for five years.
I knew he was waiting for a miracle.
So when I found out I was pregnant,
I carefully put the ultrasound photo in a waterproof bag.
I planned to tell him when we watched the underwater stars.
Afraid something might happen and the photo would get soaked,
I even secretly sent him a scheduled email.
My whole body trembled slightly. I fumbled for the waterproof bag.
When I looked up, all I saw was his receding back.
I pounded on the iron cage, held the photo high.
He stopped and looked at me from a distance.
He didn't even care what I was holding.
"Stop making a scene. I'll come get you as soon as I can."
His figure disappeared into the darkness.
The seafloor fell into dead silence.
There was no starry sky here at all.
He'd been lying to me from the start.
Cold spread from my heart.
My lower belly tightened again and again.
The tank could last an hour at most.
I wouldn't live until he came back.
I am a mermaid.
Seawater shouldn't kill me.
But the lock ring Dante gave me sealed my gills.
After I got pregnant, the suppression drug stopped working.
The shallows became the deep sea.
The one who saved me became the one who drowned me.
第2章
I put my right hand on my belly, eyes wet.
"Baby, it's okay, don't be scared. Mommy will get you out."
The special gill-ring phone on my wrist caught my eye.
My feelings were complicated.
When I first learned to dive, I had an accident in the practice pool.
Dante saved me.
Later, he gave me a special gill ring.
Even fifty meters underwater, it still had signal.
He said as long as the phone rang, he'd come.
I instinctively called Dante.
The video call connected.
At the wedding, cheers thundered.
No one noticed the bride had been swapped.
Dante seemed unaware the call had connected.
As he moved, the camera swept the venue.
The bride's photo had been changed to Bianca's.
The blue roses decorating the venue were replaced with her favorite lilies.
The haute couture wedding dress we'd waited a year for fit her like it was made for her.
Only then did I understand.
This wedding was never meant for me.
My best friend Giselle, who was supposed to be my bridesmaid, still wore the bridesmaid dress.
But she was affectionately holding Bianca's arm:
"Bianca, Dante took you to Malta to get your marriage license, and invited everyone. I thought you weren't having a wedding."
"After all, Marina's always petty and strong-willed. If she makes a scene, you're the one who suffers."
In middle school, when my best friend was bullied, I stood in front of her.
Gritted my teeth and protected her.
She said I was the only person in the world who was unconditionally good to her.
My sister casually tugged the veil, a smug smile on her lips:
"Actually, I didn't even want the license. But Dante was afraid I'd feel insecure. He heard Malta doesn't allow divorce, so he insisted on taking me."
"This wedding too—Dante wanted to keep a room for me in the bridal suite to live in long-term. Sister refused."
"That's how Dante came up with this idea—to knock Sister down a peg."
Dante's childhood friend Luca, in a groomsman suit, burst out laughing:
"If Marina knew the bet was just a cover—that no matter what, she loses—she'd flip."
A month ago, Dante's friend was driven to desperation by his family.
I took him in, helped him hide it from everyone.
Protected his fragile dignity.
My mother walked over, smiling:
"Marina's the softest-hearted. Just coax her after and it'll be fine."
She paused, a little reluctant:
"It's just hard on Bianca. To make way for her sister, she has to live abroad. Seeing her will be difficult."
Dante's hand naturally wrapped around my sister's waist, comforting:
"Mom, don't worry. Whenever you miss Bianca, I'll send you to visit her."
My heart felt like it was being crushed.
The pain stole my breath.
Even Mom knew!
Everyone was hiding it from me!
I trembled, forcing myself to calm down.
Evening my breathing, afraid to waste any air.
Tears streamed freely.
I frantically tapped the gill ring, sending a distress signal.
Dante finally noticed the phone. His body paused.
A flicker of panic crossed his face:
"Marina, you heard?"
It doesn't matter.
Nothing matters.
Right now, I just want to live!
I only beg him to see the baby's ultrasound photo and let me go.
I lowered my head to grab the waterproof bag.
Dante's soft sigh sounded in my ear:
"It's good you know. I've wronged Bianca too long."
"She's pregnant now. I have to consider her feelings."
My hand stopped. My heart twisted.
After falling into the ice pool, I never dared go into the water again.
Two months ago, he coaxed me back into diving.
Said he had to take me to see the underwater starry sky.
I slowly overcame my fear.
Endured the nightmare of losing my child.
But from the start, he was just helping Bianca get revenge!
So in his eyes,
Bianca's feelings could be comforted with my life.
Just then, Bianca quietly put the box in front of the camera.
This velvet box—I'd seen it countless times.
Inside was the silver amulet Dante had kept for five years.
His miracle had already been supplied by someone else.
I nearly broke down.
But I didn't dare.
Couldn't.
I trembled slightly, gently tapped the gill ring.
With a hint of pleading.
Two taps in 1.5 seconds, five times in a row.
Dante said two taps in 1.5 seconds was his heartbeat.
Five times in a row was my exclusive distress signal.
The last time I tapped this code was when I fell into the ice pool.
He took three minutes to get there.
Jumped into the freezing pool to save me, risking his life.
But this time...
He paused.
A flicker of hesitation crossed his face.
Bianca wiped her tears, crying beautifully:
"Dante, go save Sister. Before the wedding starts, she can be the bride."
"I don't need revenge. I just want the family to be harmonious."
Hearing that, the hesitation on Dante's face vanished.
His face darkened:
"The distress code is for saving lives, not for you to make unreasonable scenes."
"Bianca already agreed to go abroad after the wedding and never bother you. It's just one wedding. You'd better know when to stop!"
Seeing he was about to hang up, I kept shaking my head:
"I don't want the wedding. The air won't last. I'll really die."
Dante waved impatiently:
"If there's a problem, find the diving instructor!"
He ignored me and hung up.
The phone went dark.
The only light disappeared.
Darkness returned.
Tears fell uncontrollably.
Dante knew I was afraid of water.
When I practiced diving, he was incredibly anxious.
No matter how deep I went, a diving instructor had to be on standby.
Unexpectedly, he hadn't forgotten today either.
My emotions had been running high just now. The tank consumption increased.
Now it could last half an hour at most.
I calmed down and called the instructor.
The agreed tapping frequency distress signal.
The diving instructor answered, silent for a few seconds, then spoke helplessly.
第3章
"Miss Marina, we are indeed in the boat right above you. But Don specifically said no one can go down to save you before the wedding ends."
I kept shaking my head, gesturing to explain my tank was out of air.
The diving instructor thought for a moment:
"Logically, the tank should last until dawn. Just in case, let me send you some tanks."
"Don was worried about problems, so he had us prepare extras."
I let out a long breath of relief.
Touching my tight belly, tears of joy filled my eyes.
Baby, we're saved.
Just hold on a little longer.
Hold on until dawn, and Mom will take you away.
In no time, the tank was tied with a rope and slowly lowered.
Due to the current, the position was off.
I swam over with difficulty.
All thoughts of reducing movement and air consumption were thrown aside.
I joyfully took the tank, and my heart instantly sank.
The tank was empty!
I panicked and called the diving instructor.
He was more shocked than me:
"Wait!"
He quickly checked the remaining tanks, his tone confused:
"That shouldn't be. The other tanks all have air. Wait, I'll send you the rest."
But unexpectedly, the tanks lowered—the pressure gauges looked fine.
But there was no air inside!
I called again, and his voice dropped:
"Miss Marina, we're just workers. If we don't do what Don says, we'll be fired."
"My wife just had a baby. I can't lose this job. Can you not make things hard for us?"
Before I could reply, he hung up.
A second later, Dante called, suppressing his anger:
"How long are you going to keep this up! The instructor gave you three or four tanks, and you say they're all empty!"
"Are you determined to ruin this wedding?"
"If you keep this up, I won't come get you after the wedding either. You'll wait until dawn!"
I shook my head desperately, gesturing quickly:
"No, I'm not lying. The tanks really are empty."
"Dante, I'm begging you. I don't want anything anymore."
"Just let me out. I'm really going to die."
He froze.
Then my mother's voice came:
"Dante, hurry up and get ready. The ring exchange is about to start."
When Dante looked at me again, his tone was utterly exhausted:
"Marina, stop. Just wait a little longer. It'll be over soon."
The call was hung up again.
I broke down.
Why is it so hard to survive!
I refused to give up and kept calling.
But Dante's and the diving instructor's phones couldn't be reached.
I smiled bitterly.
They blocked me.
The gill ring lost power.
The tank was exhausted.
I held my breath, silently counting the last three minutes of my life.
Looking up, all was darkness.
The underwater starry sky was fake after all.
In my blurred vision, a dark figure seemed to swim slowly toward me.
