Natalieughed. "Zenobia, I once saw the world''srgest spider crab. It was so massive it nearly scared me to death. Deep-sea diving is no joke. After that, my brother refused to let me go anywhere near deep water. Honestly, I was too terrified to even try again."


    Even now, the memory sent a shiver down her spine.


    Zenobia listened, thinking how dangerous it all sounded.


    After loading all the seafood into her car, Natalie created a photo coge and posted it to Facebook. Her caption read: "Today''s haul was amazing! Can''t wait for my seafood feast. I even saw a conger eel with fins as thick as my leg-nearly gave me a heart attack!" She added, "Set some lobster traps, hoping for my favorite- octopus tomorrow!"


    Once her post was up, she changed her clothes and drove Zenobia home.


    Sebastian had been waiting for four hours when the notification from Natalie''s post finally chimed on his phone. He snatched it up and saw a picture of her beaming, surrounded by her impressive catch. Her smile was one of pure contentment.


    A wave of happiness washed over him. She was doing just fine without him. He sat there for a long while, just looking at the photo, before finally turning back to his work.


    ...


    Back at Zenobia''s house, Natalie immediately drew a hot bath. When she emerged, hair dried and feeling exhausted but incredibly refreshed, she found Zenobia in the kitchen steaming crabs. She went in to help.


    "Zenobia, go sit down and rest. I''ve got this. In the two years I was married to Sebastian, I spent most of my time focused on food. I''m actually a pretty good cook."


    Zenobia''s back was aching, so she happily handed over the reins. "Alright, alright, I won''t argue with that. I''ll just wait to be served."


    With Zenobia resting, Natalie got to work. She expertly prepared a steamed grouper, boiled some spider conch she loved, and then stir-fried the snail meat with a mildly spicy sauce.


    The two of them had a wonderful dinner. Zenobia couldn''t eat crab, so of the threerge ones, Natalie saved two for a midnight snack.


    After washing the dishes, Natalie


    and Zenobia went for a walk. Staring out at the distant, dark sea, Natalie shivered in the cold night air. "You know Zenobia, she said with a small smile, "I lived on a small ind for sixteen years. After my sixteenth birthday, I spent a year in the countryside, and then I met


    Sebastian when I was seventeen.


    That''s when all this entanglement


    between us began."


    Zenobia knew she was still hurting. She''d seen how much Natalie had suffered. "Let''s just look forward, Natalie. Let the past be the past."


    Natalie nodded with a smile. "Yeah. It really is beautiful here." The calm, blue sea during the day was her absolute favorite.


    She ended up staying for three days. The traps she''d set yielded tworge tuna, which she immediately shipped to Matthew, telling him to enjoy it as sashimi.


    Matthew, who had Sebastian''s contact information, received the fish the same day. The first thing he did was post a picture on Facebook to show it off. The caption read: "Tuna caught by Natalie herself, plus a huge lobster and this gorgeous coconut snarl Filled with so much love!"


    Sebastian saw Matthew''s post while checking Natalie''s profile. The words "filled with


    so much love" made his face darken.


    She sent seafood to Matthew. What was he trying to pull?


    Sebastian leaned back heavily in his


    chair. Natalie had been gone for three days. She should being back today, right? He stood up agitated, and stared out the window his gaze distant as his mindo


    churned.


    It was the third day, and Natalie was preparing to head back. She nned to leave<pte at night, right after having onest dinner with Zenobia.