The Sea She Sent Me To Chapter 2: Back to Work

Back then, Zach was diagnosed with a virus, and Queenie did not come home for days just to take care of him. At the same time, I came down with the flu. It got so bad that I could barely get out of bed.

I called Queenie, hoping she could bring me some fever medicine.

Zach was the one who took the call, and he sounded as healthy as any other guy. "What's up, Jonathan? Queenie's cooking."

I could hear Queenie ask if Zach wanted a bit of sugar in his food. He answered and asked me, "Want to have a meal with us, Jonathan?"

I bit my lip and was about to answer, but Queenie took the phone. Furious, she asked, "What are you doing? I don't have time to chat with you! Don't call me ever again!"

"But I'm really sick," I said through my dry, burning throat. "Can you bring me some medicine?"

"Drop the act, Jonathan! Zach's sick, and now you are too? When Zach gets hurt, you get hurt too? Do you dislike him so much? Can you stop being so selfish?"

My voice trembled. "But I've got the flu…"

"Enough already! How about you keep up that act until you drop dead!" Queenie hung up angrily.

The busy tone rang in my ear. I knew I had failed again. Every time I tried to go against Zach, I always ended up losing. She had never chosen me, not even once.

Even now, I could still remember the impatience in her eyes right before I died. It was just like all those years ago, when she chose Zach and abandoned me without hesitation.

We were classmates in college, and I had a crush on Queenie. One day, Zach killed someone during a drunken brawl. When Queenie and I got there, he was covered in blood, and the guy he beat was lying lifelessly on the ground.

Zach was terrified. He kept telling Queenie he had not meant for things to go that far. She could not bear to let him go to prison, so she came to me, her suitor. She promised she would go out with me if I were to take the fall, no matter what happened afterward.

I could not refuse her, so I said yes. She took Zach's hand and checked the surrounding. Once it was clear, she quickly left, while I stood waiting for the cops, holding the bat like I was the criminal.

She did not even look back. She hurried off as if she was laughing at me. There were no surveillance cameras nearby, and the victim was already dead. I was branded as a criminal. On the day I was sentenced to prison, I said I wanted to see Queenie, but she refused.

She texted me to say she would not forget this.

After I was released, she married me right away, much to my surprise. My parents had been worried I might never find a wife, but they could rest easy after that.

After we got married, I did everything she wanted me to. I did all the chores, I took her to and from work, and I even got my license as a seafarer for her, all so I could protect her.

Every time she went out to sea, I was worried something bad might happen, so I stayed with her every single time.

Seeing my life end in the deep blue was something I never saw coming. Ironic, considering I was a brilliant seafarer.

Zach's injuries were not serious. He was discharged soon enough, and Queenie went back to work soon after.

The colleagues who went through that harrowing experience celebrated their survival on Queenie's first day back at work.

Some reporters also came to interview her. They said she had saved many people during the rescue. They called her brave and capable. They praised her for keeping the casualties to a minimum, saying only one person was still missing.

Queenie was confused. "No one is missing. Everyone's saved!"

The reporter held their mic and added, "But the police said there's one crew member that's still missing. A Dutchman, I believe."

Queenie refused to accept the truth. She denied, "No! Everyone was saved. Do not question my abilities."