Every single time that happened, Lenora would placate me, coaxing and promising me that it was the last time.

But as soon as Gideon called her again, she'd abandon me without hesitation and run to him.

"Lenora," I said, looking at her.

Thinking that the issue had already passed, she answered happily and threw herself into my arms, nuzzling against me.

I caught the scent of men's cologne on her, and a wave of disgust churned in me. It was the woody fragrance that Gideon loved most. There was no way I could ever mistake it.

I pushed her away. "The smell on you is disgusting."

Lenora didn't expect me to do that. She looked at me in surprise, then, sounding hurt, said, "Babe, how can you say that to me?"

In the past, my heart would've ached terribly just seeing her like this. But now, I merely looked at her coldly and said, "Lenora, let's get a divorce."

We were legally married, we just hadn't had the wedding ceremony yet.

Lenora immediately began to tear up. She took my hand, her voice trembling. "Babe, how can you ask for a divorce? Didn't we promise we'd stay together forever?"

A chuckle escaped me. So she did remember the vow we'd made to be together forever. Yet, the person to break the promise first was her.

I pulled my hand free. "I told you before you left. If you ran out on the wedding, we'd be over. For good."

Lenora started crying uncontrollably, sobbing as she tried to explain, "No, babe. I never wanted a divorce…"

She kept talking, but I had no interest in listening. I walked right out of the apartment. No matter how much she cried and shouted behind me, I never once looked back.

I didn't feel like going back to Sloane Manor, so I checked into a hotel nearby.

That night, I couldn't sleep at all. It was only after taking some melatonin that I finally drifted off, but even then, my sleep was restless.

In my dream, I returned to that village again. Just thinking about those hell-like years made me tremble uncontrollably.

The traffickers had kidnapped me, but because I was a boy, I wasn't as easily sold as the girls. So they kept me locked up in a dog cage, feeding me dog food, and making me entertain them every day as if I were an actual dog.

Whenever they were in a bad mood, they'd take it out on me, leaving my face and body covered in scars.

Eventually, I was sold to a middle-aged couple, who had just lost their son. They took me to a remote, impoverished village.

Lex and Gina Little had bought me, not because they wanted a son, but because they wanted someone to serve them and take care of them when they grew old. Since I was older, I was the cheapest option.

From the moment I arrived at their house, I had to wake up before dawn to start work. I farmed, fed pigs, and even prepared their meals and did their laundry on a strict schedule.

I had to keep moving, never allowed to stop. If I stopped for even a moment, they'd whip me with a riding crop, beat me with a cane, or humiliate me with the cruelest words and curses.

The other kids in the village bullied me as well. There was rarely a part of me that wasn't injured or bruised.

Every single day, I never gave up trying to escape the village. It wasn't until a year later—when Gina became pregnant, and they were so caught up in their joy that they stopped paying attention to me—that I finally managed to make a run for it.

But I wasn't successful. The villagers caught me and sent me back.

Lex beat me savagely, then locked me up in the pigsty without giving me any medical treatment.

I spent three days in the pigsty without a single drop of water or a bite of food. It wasn't until I was so hungry that my vision blurred and I was on the verge of death that they finally relented.

"You ungrateful brat!" Lex snapped as he threw pig slop at me. "You only deserve pig feed!"

I didn't even have the strength to say anything. Using my hands, I scooped up the spoiled, fly-covered slop and shoved it into my mouth. The rotten, foul stench filled my nose and mouth. I wanted to throw it up, but I knew that if I didn't eat it, I'd die.

But I couldn't die. I wanted to go back home and see my parents.

That was the kind of life I lived during those years in the village.

When Lex and Gina were in a good mood, they'd let me eat real food. When they weren't, I could only eat pig feed in the pigsty alongside the pigs.

That was how I ended up with severe gastritis.

When Lenora learned about how my gastritis came about, she was heartbroken for me. She even signed up for a nutrition course just for me and came up with new ways every day to make balanced and nutritious meals for me.

The thing I ate most was the nutrient-dense oatmeal she'd make for me daily, which was sometimes sweet and sometimes savory.

When I worked late, she'd even bring a thermos with that oatmeal to my office building sometimes. My friends all said I was lucky to have found such a caring girlfriend.

But if I had known that Lenora had once been in a relationship with Gideon, I would've never gotten together with her. Gideon had already taken my parents and my sister from me. I didn't want anything to do with him again.

Yet it seemed like fate had decided to play a cruel joke on me.

On the day Lenora and I got engaged, Gideon returned. He showed up at the engagement party and greeted Lenora casually. "It's been a long time."

I saw the tears welling up in her eyes, and I could tell that they were tears of joy. Maybe I should've understood then that no matter what it was, I could never compete with Gideon.

…

The next day, when I arrived at work, Lenora showed up carrying that familiar thermos. She handed it to me and looked at me eagerly.

"Ivan, your stomach isn't in good shape, so make sure you eat breakfast. I got up early this morning to make this very nutritious oatmeal for you. Have some."

I looked at the thermos in Lenora's hand and felt myself softening a little. But just as I was about to open it, I noticed she was holding an identical thermos in her other hand.

Sensing that I had noticed the second thermos, she instinctively hid it behind her back.

"Babe, please don't misunderstand. Gwen said Gideon hasn't been able to eat anything, so she asked me to make some oatmeal for him."

My expression darkened as understanding dawned on me. But I still couldn't help but ask, "Lenora, when you were making the oatmeal, were you thinking about your husband with gastritis, or that first love of yours who's sick?"

When I opened the thermos and saw the savory oatmeal inside, my body started to tremble uncontrollably.

"I guess you were thinking about your first love then," I said. "You forgot that I'm allergic to seafood, especially shrimp."

I noticed the shrimp topping the oatmeal right away. I had a severe—even life-threatening—allergy to shrimp. But because Gideon loved eating shrimp, every meal we had together as a family had shrimp on the table.

The fishy smell of the shrimp filled my senses, making me nauseous. I fought down the urge to vomit and looked at Lenora, who was still trying to explain herself.

"Lenora, I'm begging you," I said coldly. "Let's get a divorce. It's better than torturing each other like this."

She refused without hesitation. "I won't agree to it."

I didn't understand. Lenora clearly didn't love me, so why wouldn't she just agree to a divorce?

I wanted to argue further, but her phone started ringing right then and cut me off. She answered the call, and that anxious look returned to her face.

After hanging up, she looked at me. "Babe, if you can't have the oatmeal, then go buy something else for breakfast. I'll explain everything later."

With that, she rushed out holding the second thermos in her hand.

I stared at the oatmeal for a long while, then dumped it out expressionlessly.

I asked my boss for the day off, intending to see my so-called brother.

When I reached Gideon's hospital room door, I heard voices coming from inside.

"Gideon, once you're feeling better, will you come to this concert with me?" Lenora asked, her voice playful, almost like she was talking to a lover. "I've wanted to see it for a long time."

Gideon's voice followed. "Okay. Then I'd better get better soon."

I knew exactly what concert Lenora was talking about. It was by a singer she'd liked for years.

When I found out he was coming here for a concert, I had suggested going together. But she'd avoided my gaze and said she no longer liked him and didn't want to go.

As it turned out, it wasn't that she didn't want to go. She just didn't want to go with me.

Mom was in the room too, sitting to the side and peeling fruit for the two of them. Hillary was there joking around with them as well.

Seeing this warm, cozy scene made my eyes sting. It was as if they were a happy family, and I was nothing but a stranger.

Forcing down my discomfort, I pushed the door open and walked in.

The four of them all turned to me, and the smiles on their faces froze simultaneously. It was clear they didn't welcome me at all.

Lenora's expression changed as soon as she saw me. Frowning, she said, "Ivan, what are you doing here? Didn't I say I'd go back later and explain everything?"

Gideon anxiously grabbed Lenora's hand.

"Ivan, can you give Lenora back to me?" he pleaded. "I can't live without her…"

Mom and Hillary instantly rushed to comfort him. No one spoke up for me. Not even Lenora.

Yet I was Lenora's husband.

Noticing my grim expression, Lenora wanted to say something to me, but I cut her off. As if to deliberately repulse Gideon, I harshly spat out, "Gideon Sloane, I'm Lenora's legal husband. Inserting yourself into our marriage like this is immoral, and it makes you a disgusting homewrecker."

Gideon's face flushed at my words. Somewhat out of control, he shouted, "I'm not a homewrecker! I was with Lenora first, Ivan! You were the one who stole her from me!"

As he yelled, he suddenly started gasping for air, unable to catch his breath. His face turned deathly pale, as though he were having an attack.

Mom and Hillary no longer stayed silent like earlier. Both of them rushed to his side, full of concern.

"Gideon, don't get too worked up. I'll call the doctor right now."

"Gideon, you're still sick. Don't risk your health over someone who isn't worth it."

Even Lenora was looking only at Gideon, her face filled with worry.

I watched them as they treated him like their most cherished treasure, and my heart clenched painfully.

I was the one related to them by blood. I was the one who was married to Lenora. So why was Gideon the only one they could see?

After calming him down, they finally remembered me. But when they turned, it was only to berate me.

"Ivan, you were never this petty before," Lenora said, disappointment clear in her eyes. "Gideon is a patient. Are you really going to be jealous over something like this?"

I could also hear the disgust in Mom's and Hillary's voices.

"Ivan, you're being completely unreasonable!" Hillary snapped. "Gideon and Lenora were each other's first love to begin with. You're the one who inserted yourself into their relationship, and now you're twisting the truth and saying Gideon's at fault?"

Mom scoffed. "Ever since you went to the countryside, you've picked up all the bad habits of the poor. The Sloane family doesn't have a son like you. Get out."

Hillary added, "Why didn't you just die out there back then?"

When I heard those words, the blood in my entire body seemed to freeze instantly.

All those years of struggling to survive in that quagmire, clinging only to my longing for them, now seemed almost absurd. And in that moment, the cold truth hit me harder than ever.

I never should have survived.

It was time for me to leave.