He stayed with me while I underwent physical therapy. He was by my side when I could finally stand again, and he proposed to me with a room of roses.

I was touched by his actions. Not only did I believe his nonsense and marry him, but I also fell in love and spent five years with him!

I felt like a joke.

My body went cold as I cried and laughed with my palm pressed against my mouth. My phone started ringing.

It was Joe.

I answered the call.

“Fiona, why aren’t you home? It’s inconvenient for you to go out in your wheelchair. Do you want me to pick you up?”

Joe sounded gentle and loving on the phone.

I just felt cold.

I did not know that love could be faked.

When he heard no response from me, he sounded a bit worried. “Fiona, are you alright? Is there something wrong?”

I took a deep breath and said softly, “I’m fine. I was a bit bored, so I came out.”

Actually, I had wanted to surprise Joe after work.

But I did not expect him to give me a bigger surprise.

Joe probably could tell that I was crying, so he sounded very nervous. “Are you crying? Who did this? Where are you? I’ll come find you right now!”

I dug my fingernails into my palm as I suppressed the sadness and hatred in my heart. “I’m fine. I was just watching a movie. The female protagonist was framed by her husband, whom she loved deeply. She was blind to everything. She didn’t know the truth and still loved him foolishly—”

Joe paused and interrupted me uneasily.

“It’s good that you’re fine. I’ll come and pick you up. You should watch less of this nonsense.”

I said, “It’s fine. I’ve already called a cab. I’ll reach home very soon.”

When I reached home, I could smell the delicious food as soon as I entered the living room.

Joe was cooking in the kitchen. When he heard the door unlock, he immediately walked out of the kitchen and pushed my wheelchair for me. “Fiona, you’re back! I made your favorite food!”

I looked up at him.

Joe obviously looked like he was trying to please me, just like a golden retriever wagging its tail.

In the past, I would have definitely tugged on his collar and kissed him. But today, I only felt disgusted.

“Fiona?”

When Joe did not receive a response from me, he stared at me in confusion.

Even though I had mentally prepared myself, I still could not help but tremble when I met his eyes.

Joe noticed that I was shaking, so he took my hand.

He then noticed how cold my hands were and was momentarily stunned before he got up, picked up a blanket from the couch, and wrapped it around me.

“Why is your hand so cold? It’ll be bad if you catch a cold.”

Then, he pushed me to the dining table gently.

He leaned down to give me a kiss on the forehead. “Just wait for another minute. I’ll get the food ready.”

I forced out a smile.

He had made a few recipes.

They were all foods that I liked.

Joe was a great cook. In the five years that we were married, he had taken care of cooking and all the house chores.

He smiled and served me some food. “My wife is too pretty to do any house chores. I’ll do this dirty work for you instead.”

When he saw that I seemed absent-minded, he served another piece of meat to me. “Eat it while it’s hot.”

I nodded and ate it.

The food that I once loved tasted like nothing.

After dinner, while Joe was taking a shower, I picked up his phone for the first time.

For five years, I had never checked Joe’s phone because I trusted him.

However, my trust was worth nothing.

I laughed at myself and turned on his phone.

It prompted me for a six-digit passcode.

I thought for a while and looked up Gabriella’s birthday online.

I entered her birthday, and the phone unlocked successfully.

My heart sank when it happened.

I clicked on his photo album. There were pictures related to his work.

I paid extra attention and found a hidden folder.

That folder was filled with photos of Gabriella.

Many of them were photos of her performance and behind-the-scenes things.

Those did not look like photos downloaded from the internet.

I checked the timestamps of those photos and realized that the dates matched the time when Joe told me he was away on business trips.

It turned out that he was not going on business trips. Instead, he was flying across the globe to watch Gabriella perform.

He had also downloaded a lot of photos of Gabriella and William.

He had deliberately cropped William out of every single photo.

I clicked on his notes app in a daze. Unsurprisingly, they were filled with notes detailing his unrequited love.

I could feel the one-sided love he had for Gabriella in between the lines.

He did not even mention a single word about me.

When I heard the shower turn off, I exited the notes app and cleared my log before locking the phone and putting it back in its original place.

I felt my cheeks wet with tears as I did that.

When Joe got out of the washroom, I was already lying down in the bed with my back facing him.

He got into bed and wrapped his arms around my waist. He kissed my ear and whispered, “Fiona…”

I knew what he wanted.

Even though he did not love me, it did not stop him from wanting me.

Men…

I held back my disgust and whispered, “I feel unwell today…”

His hands paused, and he said softly, “Then, get some sleep.”

I could not sleep at all.

The next morning, Joe was making breakfast in the kitchen.

I was trying to apply for identity revocation.

It took three days at most to get the paperwork to go through for a revocation. It was the best option to discard this rotten relationship.

Three days later, I would completely disappear from his life.

“Alright, your appointment is successful. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

When Joe walked out with the sandwiches, I had scheduled my appointment. He saw that I was making a phone call and asked, “What are you doing? What appointment?”

I ended the call indifferently. I pointed at my right prosthetic leg. “Oh, my driving license has expired. Since I’m no longer using it, I scheduled an appointment to cancel it.”

Upon hearing that, a hint of guilt flashed across Joe’s eyes. But it disappeared very soon.

He walked to my side and said, “Fiona, don’t be upset. I’ll be your driver forever. I can take you wherever you want to go.”

I smiled and nodded. “Lucky me.”

After breakfast and cleaning up, Joe left for work at the hospital.

Before he left, Joe said to me, “Fiona, I’ve arranged a candlelight dinner three days later to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. I’ll pick you up after work.”

He sounded as loving as he was before.

When I saw he was about to kiss me, I turned my head away and said, “Why are you being so romantic when we’ve been married for so many years?”

A hint of pity flashed across Joe’s eyes. He said gently, “That’s because I love you.”

My heart was stone-cold, but I humored him on the surface. “Of course! Go to work. Don’t be late!”

After he left, I wheeled myself out.

The revocation process was very quick. After that was done, I went to the law firm where my best friend, Olivia Davis, worked at.

When she heard what I wanted to do, Olivia’s eyes widened in shock. “You want to get a divorce? Why? Everyone knows that Joe dotes on you very much!”

I smiled bitterly. “What if he only treats me well because he’s the one who made me lose my leg?”

Olivia’s face turned pale. “What do you mean?”

I told Olivia everything I had overheard yesterday. She froze and then teared up. “These monsters! They must pay for what they did to you! If you need any help, just tell me!”

I hugged her. “Thank you.”

On the way to the hospital, I saw the latest news article.

[The Genius Ballet Dancer, Gabriella, Has Returned To The Country.]

I clicked on the article and saw that Gabriella had a performance in the city theater hall at night.

I smiled mockingly.

Joe would probably make up another excuse to watch her performance.

At the hospital, by using my title as Joe’s wife, I successfully retrieved my hospital records from five years ago, as well as the on-site incident report regarding the first-aid rescue.

When I left, I heard the nurses discussing something. I heard a mention of Joe’s name.

“She’s so beautiful and elegant!”

“Is she Joe’s wife?”

“I heard Joe loves his wife very much. Do you see how he looks at his wife? His eyes are always filled with love!”

Following their gaze, I saw Gabriella.

She was wearing a tight dress, and her hair was tied up in a neat bun. She was leaning against Joe’s desk.

The two of them were deep in conversation. Joe, who was usually calm, was already blushing. He stared at Gabriella with barely restrained affection.

I wheeled myself closer.

I heard Joe ask her, “How have you been? Does he treat you well?”

Gabriella nodded. “He treats me very well.”

A hint of disappointment flashed across Joe’s face. “That’s good…”

I felt disgusted. When I was about to leave, a rushing nurse bumped into my wheelchair.

“I’m sorry!”

When the nurse apologized to me, Gabriella looked up and saw me.

“Fiona? Is that you? It is! Are you here to look for Joe?”

Joe looked somewhat guilty. “Fiona, why are you here? Gabriella had an old injury on her ankle. She was looking for me to seek medical advice. Please don’t misunderstand.”

I nodded graciously. I took out a key and passed it to Joe. “Don’t worry. I didn’t misunderstand anything. You didn’t bring your key, so I came to drop it here.”

Gabriella walked toward me in her heels. “It’s been so long! It’s been five years since your accident, right?”

She looked down at me as her gaze shifted from my face to my leg.

“What a… tragedy.”

She leaned in close to whisper, so only I could hear her.

“Fiona, how does it feel to be crippled?

“Since you wanted to snatch what’s mine, you had to pay for it.”

I did not want to say anything to her, but she was not willing to let me go. “Fiona, I have a show tonight. Do come and watch! Even though you can no longer dance, you can still clap for me in the audience.”

She grabbed my hand and did not let go. I could not free myself. From the corner of my eye, I saw Joe look up.

I had a bad feeling about this.

Just when I was about to shout for Joe, she suddenly fell to the floor.