Back inside, the party felt too bright, too loud.
I walked among people laughing like they didn't have a care in the world. The music thumped. Champagne bubbled in tall glasses. Everywhere I turned, I saw her—my wife—moving like she belonged in that glittering crowd, laughing at Rishan's jokes, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear the way she used to do with me.
I grabbed a drink just to have something in my hand. It tasted bitter and sharp.
I didn't trust myself to speak. I just watched.
A friend from work found me.
"Hey! You alright? You look like you just lost your dog."
"Yeah," I lied. "Just tired."
He didn't buy it, but he didn't push. People rarely do when you look like you might punch a wall.
I tried to mingle, tried to talk about business, about the damn weather—anything to stop looking at her. But my eyes kept finding her across the room.
Every time she leaned closer to Rishan, my jaw clenched.
Then the ship's lights flickered.
Just for a second.
A ripple of unease passed through the room, but the music kept playing. People laughed it off.
I looked out the window. The sea was starting to stir, the moonlight breaking on restless waves.
I had a bad feeling crawling up my spine.
Call it instinct. Call it fate. I just knew something ugly was coming.
An hour later, I found myself back on the deck. Needed the air again. The breeze was colder now, stronger. The sky was thickening with clouds.
I heard footsteps and turned. It was her.
For a heartbeat, I thought she'd come to find me, to say she was sorry for the way she'd been acting.
She only smiled a little. "You're brooding again."
"Yeah," I said flatly. "That's me. The brooding husband."
She sighed like I was the one making things difficult. "Don't ruin tonight, okay? It's just a party."
I wanted to say Is it just a party when you can't keep your hands off your partner?
But the words stuck in my throat. I just nodded.
She went back inside. I stayed, staring at the waves.
I didn't know the sea was already rising, ready to tear the night apart.