455 A.M.
MERCY
Realizing her husband would be angry if she didn’t wake him for his fishing trip, she got up and pushed the button to lift the automatic blackout blinds just enough for the first hint of the day’s sun to light her way to the door.
She tiptoed across the tile floor in her bare feet to bring in the tray, listening to her husband snore and snort before he stopped breathing for a second.
Each time he did it, she held her own breath, and some tiny voice deep down in the trenches of her mind would say, Maybe that’s the last one, and she’d be momentarily filled with relief.
Then he’d take a giant inhale, and the relief would be replaced by equal parts guilt for wanting him dead and disappointment that he was alive.
She had told him once that he might want to go to one of those sleep clinics.
He responded by asking if she really thought he would ever wear one of those stupid masks, following the question with, “Come on, now, give your pretty head a shake.”
There would have been a time—in the very early days of their marriage—that she would have tried to convince him that he was cutting his days short.
After all, he had swooped in and saved her in the worst moment of her entire life, and for that she would be forever indebted.
If Travis hadn’t come along at exactly the right time, she would be in prison right now, instead of on a luxury yacht.
And here she was, wishing she was at home with children she would see in a few days, when she could be wasting away in a tiny cell until she was a very old woman with no children at all.
It was a thought that brought her a deep sense of shame and she chastised herself.
How dare she be so ungrateful? She had everything any woman could ever want, and instead of enjoying her time on this gorgeous yacht, she was feeling sorry for herself because she had to get up early.
Travis had given her this life—every luxury was available to her, their children would have every advantage, opportunities she could only dream of as a young girl.
So, he could be a hard man. So what? You don’t get to be where he was in life without being tough.
His expectations of her were high because what he provided was extraordinary, and only an extraordinary wife would do for a man like him.
But the truth was, deep down, in a spot in her heart that she refused to acknowledge, her once-shiny feelings for him were tarnished.
Mercy couldn’t help but feel as though his chivalry had slowly been replaced by something that felt a lot more like control.
Most days, Mercy didn’t question it. She couldn’t.
She never stopped long enough to ask herself if she was happy.
Because that would prove to be ultimately useless.
Instead, she reminded herself of what her life could be like and focused on their children.
And having the three of them to dote on and worry about made it easy to forget about herself.
To forget she once had a glamorous life all on her own—gracing magazine covers and movie posters and drawing big crowds to theaters around the world.
All of that seemed like a far-off dream now, something that happened to some other woman she vaguely knew.
Yet, this morning, as she carried the tray through the dimly lit room, she couldn’t help but think about her conversation with Miguel the day before.
And she knew something had shifted. It was like a small flame was lit in her gut and she couldn’t blow it out.
She couldn’t stop the whisper inside that she should have a voice in her own life.
Otherwise, what was she really? Just another servant. But better that than a prisoner.
She set the tray down on the coffee table in front of the sofa, then went to brush her teeth to give herself another moment alone before she woke him. Two minutes later, she gently placed her hand on his forearm. “Darling, the sun is up.”
Travis let out a groan and swatted her hand away.
Her heart pounded a little and she considered just sliding back into bed and going to sleep again. But she knew better. “Travis, sweetie, you wanted to leave at dawn for fishing, remember?”
“Don’t wanna go yet,” he mumbled.
“All right. Should I let Oliver and Ted know?”
He grunted. “No. I don’t want them to know I’m tired.”
She stood next to the bed, bleary-eyed, wanting to scream in his ear, “WHAT DO YOU WANT THEN?” Instead, she drew a deep breath, then whispered, “All right. I’ll tell them you’re caught up with work.”
Turning over, he mumbled, “Whatever. Just lemme sleep.”
After a moment, he said, “I’m too hot. Were you sleeping on me again? You know I hate that.”
She stood, realizing for the first time that the bottoms of her feet weren’t freezing like they usually were on the yacht. This likely meant something was wrong, but she wasn’t about to tell him that at this hour. “No, I wasn’t. You’re probably hot from all that sun yesterday.”
He grunted and turned over, putting an end to a conversation she didn’t want to have.
Mercy quickly changed from her nightgown to a pair of linen pants and a tank top, then exited the room carrying her flip flops so they wouldn’t wake Travis, who was already snoring again.
As soon as she was in the hallway, she put on her shoes and leaned against the door, stuffing her exhausted fury deep down inside. Putting a smile on her face, she went in search of Captain Ben to inform him that the fishing trip would be delayed.
Mercy found the captain on the bridge. His face lit up when he saw her. “Ah, Signora Mercy, good morning!”
“It’s not even six a.m. To me this is still the night before,” she said, leaning against the door jamb. “I just wanted to let you know that Mr. Bishop has gotten caught up with his work, so this morning’s fishing trip is going to be delayed, likely by a few hours.”
“Very good. I’ll radio Oliver to let him know and have him inform the other guests.”
“Thank you, Ben.” She started to walk out, then remembered Travis complaining about the heat. “Is it possible to turn up the air conditioning? It’s a little warmer in our suite than my husband likes it.”
He offered her a confident smile, but there was something about it she didn’t believe. “The air conditioning system seems to be struggling a little, but not to worry. Oliver is taking care of it as we speak.”
“Good, because with this heat, we’re going to need it.”