He Wanted My Bestie Reborn Me Said YES—So Why Regret Chapter 05
Ethan laughed and shook his head like he’d misheard.
“No way. My wife is timid-she doesn’t know how to dive.”
He elaborated patiently, “She’s about five-three, wearing a wedding gown. The person in trouble was her best friend-she went out of concern. She should still be at your rescue center.”
His voice softened as he pictured Meredith fretting over the delayed ceremony.
“Tell her not to rush. I’m waiting for her.”
A beat of silence. Then the rescuer said awkwardly “Sir, your wife’s dress-silver with sequins-is here with us. But she’s not.”
“The person who went down was indeed Meredith Blake. She signed the dive log with her own ID.”
Ethan’s smile froze.
“No-that can’t be right-”
He insisted the person he’d left in the storm couldn’t be her.
But his hand was crushing the phone case, and his voice came out strained.
The rescuer tried to comfort him. “Don’t worry, sir. We’ll do everything we can. We’ll call you the moment we have news.”
The line went dead. Ethan still held the phone to his ear.
His parents came over, but his ashen face made them jump.
“What’s wrong, Ethan? Where’s Meredith? Why isn’t she back for the ceremony?”
He didn’t answer. He ran back to the beach.
Dark clouds had rolled in. The sea was rough.
The rescue boat had returned.
“Where is she?” He charged into the water before it even docked.
No one knew how frantic he felt.
The rescuers exchanged glances.
“We haven’t found her. The storm’s too dangerous-we had to turn back.”
Ethan’s breath hitched.
“Then when will you go out again?”
“I’ll pay triple-five times-just bring her back!”
But they were already stepping ashore. The captain pulled him away from the surf.
“Mr. Prescott, going out now is suicide. All we can do is hope she swam ashore.”
Other crew members walked past, muttering under their breath.
“Now he’s all broken up. He’s the one who left her out there.”
“And to save a mistress-that’s low.”
In the past, Ethan would have exploded.
Now he just shook off the hands grabbing at him, stumbling back toward the water.
“I’ll find her myself.”
“Ethan, calm down! We’ll search when the storm passes, She’ll be okay.”
His friends held him down.
Even Jessica, who’d come from the hospital, stared at the ocean in disbelief.
“No way-how could it have been Meredith?”
Yes-how could it be Meredith?
She’d always shied away from these sports.
Ethan remembered the small, frail figure bobbing in the waves after she’d pushed Jessica onto the
boat.
He’d been so focused on getting Jessica to the hospital and rushing back for the wedding that he hadn’t looked closely.
If he’d known that was Meredith, he’d never have left her alone.
The storm raged like a beast battering the shore. Everyone retreated to safety.
Ethan stumbled back to dry ground.
Was Meredith scared? Did she hate him?
A surge of blood rushed to his head.
Then everything went black.
