Shocked, Lee let go of the little girl's hand, and she took the opportunity to bite his wrist hard and run away from him. He cried out as blood flowed freely down his hand.
"Mom," the girl cried as she ran to her mother.
A sailor blocked Lee from boarding the boat, saying, "I'm sorry, Sir. You can't get on the boat. You have to wait for the next one."
He felt frustrated and angry. He knew that he had almost gotten onto the rescue ship. He whispered to the sailor, "Buddy, you don't know me, but I'm the boss of the Dempsey Corporation. My father is one of the richest men around. My family is very wealthy. If you let me on this boat, you'll be well rewarded."
"Sorry, but no," the sailor said and shook his head.
Lee was angry, but the sailor refused to let him board the ship. Finally, he could only walk away indignantly.
When he looked around to see who had stopped him boarding, he saw Minnie looking at him with a sneer. He became even angrier and went over to her, convinced that it was her fault.
"So, you didn't drown you, you bitch. I'll kill you if you dare to cross me again. Just remember who I am," he said to her with a snarl, and then slapped her hard across the face.
She glared angrily at him and said, "So, you're a man who beats women, are you? First you tried to drown me in the sea, and now you hit me. You think I won't stand up to you?"
Then she rushed at Lee, hoping to take him by surprise. She knew that she was probably too weak to get the better of him, so she rushed past and tried to punch his face as she went. Unfortunately, he managed to grab her and hold onto both her arms.
"Help," she cried. "Alex, please help me." Hannah also pleaded with Alex to help her friend, but he continued to calmly watch Minnie struggling with Lee. He had no intention of helping her.
Lee sneered at Minnie and said, "Ah, Minnie, it seems that not only are you second rate, but your friend is too. She's begging that boy to save you, but he doesn't care at all. Maybe he's remembering how you pushed him into the sea earlier. If he decides to help you now, he'll look like the biggest fool in the world."
"Don't call him a fool," Minnie said in a sharp voice.
"Wow, you feel sorry for him now, don't you? If you tell me not to make fun of him, it will only make me want to do it more. Do you want to be his girlfriend now? You know that you can't get away with plotting against me. You'll get what you deserve," Lee said. He was starting to enjoy himself as he continued to restrain her.
"I told you not to criticize him, you bastard. I'll kill you." Minnie screamed as if she had gone crazy. She tried hard to break away from his control but wasn't strong enough. In the end, she gave up and cried forlornly. Lee allowed her to stagger a few steps backwards but didn't let go of her.
He took her over to the railing and said, "Damn it, you're a crazy bitch, right? I didn't drown you before. Let's see if you're lucky a second time."
"Let me go," Minnie screamed.
It was raining hard and everyone was focused on getting onto the rescue boat. No one noticed what Lee was planning to do.
"Don't. Aaaah—" Minnie has pushed to the railing again. Remembering the horror of falling into the sea earlier, she started to fight back with all her strength.
Lee's eyes were fierce, as he tried desperately to push her over the railing. He said, "If you're unlucky enough to be born a woman again in your next life, maybe you'll behave with more dignity. Now pray to God and repent."
Again, he tried to push her over, but she managed to resist. He turned around angrily and saw that Alex was helping to hold her down.
"Hey loser, piss off—" Lee started to say when a heavy blow hit his nose. The pain made him feel dizzy for a moment.
Alex took the opportunity to pull Minnie away.
As she fell into Alex's arms, she became completely infatuated with him. She couldn't believe that even after she had done such unforgivable things to him, he would still save her. At that moment, feeling the warmth of his arms, she knew that he was a good man.
After holding Minnie for only a moment, he pushed her toward Hannah.
"Minnie, are you okay?" Hannah asked her.
"I'm okay," she replied as she gazed at Alex. The moment he pushed her away, her heart broke.
Lee wiped the blood from his nose and said angrily to Alex, "It's you again. Are you stupid? She was going to kill you earlier, but you still want to help her."
Alex looked menacingly at Lee and said, "Why don't you stay out of my business? Leave her alone from now on, or I'll throw you overboard."
"Why is everyone threatening me today?" Lee grumbled.
Alex went over to him, bent down, grabbed him around his legs, and lifted him. Half of Lee's body was now suspended over the railing. The moment Alex let go, he would plummet into the sea. He was terrified and started to beg. "Buddy," he pleaded, "I've learned my lesson. I promise I won't bother Minnie anymore. Please put me down." Alex looked at Lee's white face and noted his trembling voice. He snorted, dumped him on the deck, and walked away.
He went to the side of the deck and sat down on the ground. Minnie and Hannah quickly went over to him.
"Thank you for saving my life," Minnie said softly, sitting down beside him.
"You don't have to thank me. I just couldn't stand by and do nothing. To tell you the truth, I really hope he will take you—" Alex stopped speaking suddenly. He frowned and looked out to the sea. Then he continued, "After today, please stay away from me. I never want to see you again."
When she heard what Alex said, Minnie was devastated, as she realized that she had hurt him too much. She wanted to tell him that she had completely repented and would never do it again, but he looked so serious that she was afraid to speak.
She continued to sit quietly beside him, feeling desolate.
Hannah looked toward the rescue boat and said, "Minnie, let's get on the boat. There aren't too many people waiting in line now." There weren't many women left waiting to board, and she didn't want to miss their chance to get on it.
"Hannah, you go," Minnie replied quietly. "I'll sit here and wait for the next rescue boat." Alex had saved her life twice, and she wanted to make sure that he was also rescued. She didn't feel that she could just leave him.
Hannah pleaded with her friend to go with her, but Minnie refused. Finally, Hannah decided that she would also sacrifice herself to keep Alex company, and sat down next to Minnie.
When the rescue boat pulled away, it was full of women and parents with children. Around five hundred people, almost all men were left on the sinking cruise ship. The few women left on board were wives who were reluctant to leave their husbands behind. When the rescue boat had gone, the deck fell silent again.
After some time, people began to hear the sound of another vessel approaching. They guessed that this was not an official rescue boat because it did not come from the direction of Miami, but from further south. It seemed to be a large, privately owned yacht.
Watching the yacht approach, the people on the deck stood up again. They prayed that this boat would rescue them.
The yacht stopped, and a young guy wearing flowery shorts appeared on the deck. He said, "Shit, what's going on?" There were two beautiful women with him on the yacht. It was Justin Ambrose.
When he had heard about the celebration with one hundred internet celebrities, he couldn't wait to get there. He was determined to catch up with the cruise ship but was shocked to find it sinking and people evacuating.
Everyone on deck started shouting out to Justin.
"Help, please save us," one man called out to him.
"Take us back in your boat," cried his wife.
"Please help us," said another man.
"Alex, let's go and see what's happening," Minnie said. She spoke carefully, for fear of making him angry.
He didn't say anything. He just stood up and went and looked at the yacht. He was surprised to see his half-brother standing on board. He walked over to the railing where he could clearly see him.
Justin was saying, "Shit, I've got a lot of people on my yacht with me. I won't be able to show these ladies a good time if you're all on board. You had better wait for the coast guard." Justin didn't care at all about saving people. Enjoying himself was always his priority.
"Sorry guys, my ladies are waiting for me," he continued and was about to go back inside the yacht when a cry from the cruise ship stopped him.
"Justin!" He looked back doubtfully and saw Alex standing on the deck. He was overjoyed.
"Alex, what are you doing there? Come on quickly, get on the yacht." He gestured to Alex that he should get on to the yacht with him.
"Well, you get the boat up to the gangway, and I'll get on now," Alex replied. As the yacht pulled up against the gangway, he prepared to walk across. As he turned to step onto it, he almost bumped into Minnie and Hannah.
"Alex, please take us with you," Hannah said. Minnie kept her head lowered and was afraid to look him in the eye.
"Forget it," she said in a low voice. "Let him go by himself. We'll wait for the next rescue boat." She gently pulled Hannah toward her.
"I guess you two can come with me," Alex sighed. He walked down the gangway to the yacht with the two girls following him.
Some of the other people on the boat tried to follow, but as they went to jump from the gangway onto the yacht, Justin sneered at them and said, "If you dare to jump on, I'll kick you into the sea. Just try it." They all believed him and backed away.
Lee had heard that a yacht had arrived and that it was a particularly expensive one. He thought that he knew all the rich people in Miami and that the owner of the yacht would have heard of him even if he didn't know him personally. He decided to give this man the honour of rescuing him. He managed to squeeze himself through to the gangway and yelled to the owner of the yacht, "Hey, buddy, let me get on your yacht."
He was afraid that the yacht owner wouldn't recognize his face, so he stepped onto the railing so that he was a foot higher than everyone else. He waved and yelled, "Wait for me. Let me get on your yacht. I'm Lee—"
He saw the young man on the yacht turn and look at him. He suddenly stopped yelling as he realized it was Justin Ambrose. He thought, last time we met was at the singing competition and I upset Justin. Now Alex and Minnie seem to be standing next to him. What's going on? How do they know him? Are they related to him? Will they tell Justin that I just tried to drown them?
Lee was flustered and unsteady on his feet due to the amount of alcohol he had drunk. His feet slipped, and he fell over the railing and straight into the sea.
From the yacht, Justin saw someone falling overboard, but he didn't know who it was.
He looked at the figure splashing in the water and said, "Is this guy crazy jumping into the sea? The waves are so fierce. Don't worry about him. Someone has already thrown him a lifesaver. Let's go, guys."
Then he turned and instructed the captain of the yacht to head back to Miami.