Chapter 5 Salty Air
As Lilac’s words hung in the air, a heavy sense of dread settled over Eric like a suffocating blanket. The announcement he had hoped would never come had finally materialized, and the shock of it reverberated through every fiber of his being. Though Lilac had hinted at the possibility of divorce before, he had dismissed it as idle talk, a fleeting threat borne out of frustration or anger. He never imagined she would actually go through with it.
The room seemed to spin around him as he struggled to process the gravity of Lilac’s declaration. Panic clawed at his chest, threatening to overwhelm him with its suffocating grip. He felt as though the ground had been ripped out from beneath him, leaving him adrift in a sea of uncertainty and despair.
For Eric, the prospect of divorce was more than just the end of his marriage, he would really lose her. He admitted that his brother was right. He was behaving like a kindergartner. He liked her, loved her even, but refused to let go of how they met and bullied her till they got here. But he cherished every moment he had with her no matter how small, and the thought of losing her, of facing a future without her by his side, was more than he could bear.
In that moment, a profound sense of loss washed over him, threatening to consume him whole. He felt as though he were standing on the edge of a precipice, teetering on the brink of an abyss with no way back. The realization that he had taken Lilac for granted, that he had failed to see the depth of her pain and unhappiness, filled him with an overwhelming sense of regret.
But amidst the turmoil of his emotions, there was also a flicker of desperation, a glimmer of hope that perhaps, somehow, they could find a way to salvage their marriage, to rediscover the love and connection that had brought them together in the first place. Yet, even as that hope burned within him, Eric couldn’t shake the nagging fear that it might already be too late.
As he looked into Lilac’s eyes, he saw the determination there, the finality of her decision, reflected back at him. And in that moment, Eric knew that he had lost her, he lost his soulmate. And the realization filled him with a profound and inconsolable panic that made him want to beg instantly, but his body was frozen in place.
Mr. Black sent Eric a disapproving look, so did Damien.
“Sister-in-law, is it because of what just happened? We will make him apologize,” Damien said.
“What did he do?” Mr. Black asked with a deep frown.
“he got angry trying to get something from her. She may have injured herself when she slammed into the table,” Damien summarized.
“Are you alright?” Mrs. Black asked Lilac.
“I am fine, thank you,” Lilac answered and looked towards the corridor for a passing staff and called to them. Come over and help me carry something from Mr. Black’s room to mine.
The staff looked at Mr. Black for confirmation and he nodded slightly, before sending Eric a death stare.
Lilac did not understand their reaction. She and Eric were like oil and water and have always been so. Eric did not forget to always threaten her with divorce any time she so much as did something he did not agree with. Why were they behaving as though she had said something she shouldn’t?
“Thank you,” Lilac thanked Mr. Black and followed the staff out. Eric could no more hold his panic as he hurried after her.
“Lilac, let’s talk,” he said.
“Not now, I don’t have time,” she ignored him.
“You can’t be the one to initiate the divorce,” he said, and she paused and looked back at him in confusion.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“You and I both know how we got married. You did the deciding. When it comes to the divorce, I will be the one to decide,” he said heatedly. He did not understand why he was getting angry. He did not understand even more why she was doing this.
“Have you lost you mind?” she asked. She was about to say more when the staff uncomfortably asked her what to do.
“Let’s keep going.” She did not have time to worry about Eric at the moment. Seeing her dismissive state, Eric was close to losing his mind. What happened? What went wrong? He was completely unsure, and it was completely driving him crazy. When he saw her walking away without care, he felt the urge to throw something.
Lilac followed the staff into Mr. Black’s cabin. She easily spotted her gift. It was a big gift box tied with a red bow. When she saw it, she smiled coldly, before turning to the staff.
“Please help me carry it to my room,” she asked the staff, and he went head and picked it up with a slight effort. She knew it was heavy, that was why she did not want to pick it herself. While he did that, she made her way throughout the ship, looking around every corner. She already knew what was inside the gift box and was wondering where she could hide it. Unknown to her, her odd actions were being monitored by Eric.
She made her way to one of the decks, where she could see the water, and looked down. She had considered just throwing the gift box into the sea. But when she looked down at the water below, she suddenly felt dizzy. It was as though the water wanted to drag her to the bottom. An odd image flashed in her mind of her laying at the bottom of the sea in utter darkness. Fear overwhelmed her, weakening her legs, making it hard for her to stand. Someone caught her before she even touched the ground. She looked up to find it was Eric.