In the third year of our marriage, my wife, Lucy Sloan, asks me to perform a striptease in place of a nightclub host, Oscar Reilly, who loses a dare.

She says, "Oscar is too timid. You do it for him!"

The crowd erupts in cheers.

"Lucy is so generous to let her own husband entertain us!"

"I hear Garrett has eight-pack abs! Looks like we are in for a treat."

As I listen to the crude remarks around me, I finally break down.

In a trembling voice, I say, "Lucy, let's get a divorce..."

A glass of red wine splashes straight onto my face.

Lucy chuckles mockingly. "The Mueller family has already gone bankrupt. Where could you possibly go without me?"

But this time, I am truly exhausted.

I turned to leave but was blocked by several people.

"Garrett, don't go. You still haven't done the striptease you promised."

"Yeah, we're still waiting to see it."

I turned to look at Lucy Sloan. Without a word from her, there was absolutely no way I'd be walking out of here today.

She sat on the couch with Oscar Reilly in her arms and urged me patiently, "Hurry up and strip! Or I'll have the hospital stop your mother's treatment right now!"

Thinking of Mom lying in the hospital, I raised my trembling hands and unbuttoned my shirt, revealing my toned abs.

Everyone's eyes fell on me, and some even whistled teasingly.

The next second, a jacket still warm with body heat fell over my shoulders, enveloping me completely.

Lucy glared at me angrily. "Garrett Mueller, you've certainly got some nerve!"

I looked up at her with reddened eyes. "Isn't this what you asked for?"

A complex emotion flickered through Lucy's eyes, and she spat out coldly, "Get out!"

I clutched the jacket tightly around myself and ran toward the door with my head bowed. However, someone deliberately stuck out a foot to trip me.

I fell to the ground in a pathetic heap, my head slamming against the doorframe and splitting open a gash. Blood instantly streamed out.

Lucy glanced at me casually and said, "If you're not dead, get out quickly. Stop being an eyesore."

Then, she wrapped her arms around Oscar and kissed him passionately.

My heart felt as if it had been split in two. I stumbled up from the ground and walked out.

Outside, pouring rain beat down on me, cleansing me of my wretchedness.

Lucy and I were childhood sweethearts. At 18 years old, she confessed her feelings to me. At 22 years old, I married her. Everything was like a fairytale, blissful and perfect.

But three years ago, Sloan Group fractured internally and was on the brink of bankruptcy. Lucy was also taken away for investigation over the suspected leaking of trade secrets.

I scrambled to pull every string I could, desperate for help. But the last thing I expected was Mom, terrified I'd be implicated, going to the detention center in my name and forcing Lucy to sign the divorce papers.

Later, the first thing Lucy did after getting out of the detention center was to take revenge on me.

She refused to hear me out and was convinced I was just a vain, shallow man. All the love she once had for me turned into relentless torment.

I thought it was just her temper talking. If I held my ground and stayed by her side, I was sure she'd cool down eventually and finally see how much I truly loved her.

Three years passed, and all it brought me was Lucy ramping up the humiliation and torture.

If being together only brought the two of us pain, then we should just part ways.

Having come to this realization, I took out my phone and made a call.

"Mr. Sloan, I'm willing to leave Lucy. Please make the arrangements."

Upon hearing this, Lucy's father, Abel Sloan, couldn't keep the elation out of his voice as he answered, "In three days, I'll stage your death and get you out."

Ever since my family went bankrupt, Mr. Sloan had been secretly scheming behind the scenes, trying every way to force me out of the family so he could set Lucy up with a more suitable match.

And now, I was finally giving him exactly what he wanted.

After hanging up the phone, I walked home alone through the rainy night. It took me three hours.

But the moment I stepped inside, I heard unmistakable moans drifting from the room. I froze mid-step and looked toward the open door.

Oscar was kneeling by the bed, servicing Lucy. The instant she saw me, Lucy yanked Oscar up from the floor and threw him onto the bed.

I wanted to leave, but my feet felt as heavy as lead—I couldn't lift them no matter how hard I tried. This was also the first time I saw with my own eyes just how debauched Lucy could be.

When it was over, Oscar climbed off the bed weakly and took the card Lucy handed him.

"Lucy, I freaking love you."

Lucy patted his cheek with casual intimacy. "If you're satisfied, then get going. Can't you see my husband's been standing at the door watching this whole time?"

Oscar shot me a look of pure provocation, then turned and planted one last lingering kiss on Lucy.

"Lucy, don't you forget about me now."

On his way out, he deliberately shouldered past me, knocking me to the ground.

I crumpled onto the floor, and the tears I'd been holding back spilled over uncontrollably.

Lucy walked up to me, tilting my chin up with one hand.

"Garrett, the pain you're feeling right now doesn't even come close to a fraction of what I went through. Do you have any idea how I felt when your mom handed me the divorce papers in the detention center?"

Tears streaked down my face. I opened my mouth, desperate to explain yet again.

"Lucy, I swear I didn't know anything about the divorce papers. It was my mom—"

Lucy cut me off sharply, "Enough with the innocent act! Your signature was right there on those papers!"

We'd had this same exchange countless times over the last three years. No matter how hard I tried to explain, she refused to believe me. And now, I no longer had the will to waste my breath.

I wiped the tears from my face. "Since you hate me so much, I'll just take my mom and leave."

Lucy dug her fingers into me and said through gritted teeth, "Garrett, don't you dare even think about leaving. You're going to stay by my side forever and atone for what you did!"

With that, she ordered someone to drag me upstairs and lock me in the attic.

This was her usual tactic. Whenever I brought up divorce or tried to leave, she'd have me locked in there to reflect and repent until I stopped mentioning leaving ever again.

But this time, she couldn't keep me caged anymore.

…

That night, the hospital suddenly called.

"Mr. Mueller, Ms. Sloan just gave the order to stop all of Ms. Schmidt's treatment. Given her condition, she may not make it through the night."

I immediately begged the hospital to resume Mom's treatment.

The nurse said hesitantly, "Ms. Sloan is a major shareholder of the hospital, and we also can't go against orders from the higher-ups."

I understood exactly what she meant. I hung up at once and called Lucy. The phone rang for a long time before she finally picked up.

"Lucy, please—you have to resume my mom's treatment," I begged frantically. "She's in a deep vegetative state and can't go a single moment without the ventilator."

Over the thumping bass of the music in the background, Lucy's low voice came through, "This is your punishment for wanting to leave."

"I'm sorry. I'll never mention leaving again, so I beg you to—"

A deep male voice drifted through from her end of the line. "Lucy, keep going. Don't stop."

The line went dead. When I called again, no one answered.

I grabbed whatever I could find in the attic and started smashing it against the lock. I didn't know how long I kept at it—only that by the time the lock finally rattled loose and I kicked the door open, both my hands were slick with blood.

The moment I was free, I ran toward the hospital like my life depended on it.

In the end, I was still too late. My mother had already closed her eyes forever.

I knelt beside Mom's bed, clutching her hand tightly.

"Mom, it's me. Please, just open your eyes and look at me."

But no matter how I called out to her, her eyes remained shut tight.

A long time passed. Only when my tears had run dry did I shakily pull myself to my feet and make the arrangements to have Mom cremated.

I carried her urn to the cemetery, ready to lay her to rest.

Mom loved the sea more than anything, so I'd planned to bury her by the shore. But before I could do so, a car pulled up in front of me. Several bodyguards descended on me and dragged me before Lucy.

Lucy fixed me with a steely glare. "Garrett, you've grown some nerve! How dare you try to run?"

I looked back at her with pure hatred. "What gives you the right to lock me up?"

Because of her, the last family I had in this world was gone too.

My words only stoked her rage further. She seized my chin and hissed, "Garrett, this is what you owe me!"

I laughed through the tears spilling down my cheeks. "Lucy, I've already paid what I owed you."

Back when Sloan Group was struggling, it was indeed wrong for Mom to force Lucy to sign the divorce papers. But now, she had already repaid it with her life.

"Garrett, you owe me a debt you can never repay!"

"Hey, what's this?" Oscar picked up the urn from beside me, toying with it in his hands.

Panicked, I blurted out, "Let go! That's my—"

The urn hit the floor with a crack, ashes and porcelain bursting across the ground in a spray of gray and white.

Oscar choked on the ashes, coughing violently. He grabbed a nearby glass of water and poured it over the mess, instantly turning the ashes into a wet, sticky clump.

I glared at Oscar, hatred surging through me like a rising tide. With a sudden explosion of strength, I tore free from the bodyguards and threw myself at Oscar, seizing him by the throat.

I wanted nothing more than to kill him right there and then.

Oscar gasped for air, his eyes rolling back as he looked desperately toward Lucy for help.

"Lucy, save me."

Lucy immediately grabbed me by the hair and flung me violently aside. "Garrett, you've truly lost your mind!"

My forehead struck the ground, leaving a bloody gash. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional pain.

I knelt on the ground, gathering Mom's ashes together with the shattered porcelain, not caring as my fingers bled profusely.

Lucy's eyes flickered. She was about to say something when Oscar suddenly leaned against her shoulder and said gruffly, "Lucy, I feel so dizzy, and my neck really hurts."

Lucy shot me a furious glare. "From today on, you'll stay in the villa and reflect on your actions until you admit your mistakes."

With that, she helped Oscar away.

I carefully cradled Mom's ashes in my arms and murmured, "I had indeed made a mistake. I shouldn't have fallen in love with you or married you."

…

I'd been locked in the villa for the whole day when the sound of shattering glass came from the rooftop above. A group of men in tactical gear, sent by Mr. Sloan, burst in.

They dumped a male corpse inside the villa, then set the place ablaze.

I slipped my wedding ring off my finger and onto the right hand of the corpse. Then, I followed them up to the rooftop and left by helicopter.

The fire raged hotter and brighter, its flames lighting up the dark night sky.

It wasn't long before the bodyguard watching me noticed the fire and rushed in to save me. However, it was already too late.

All he could do was call Lucy in a panic. After what felt like an eternity, she finally picked up.

"Did Garrett admit he was wrong?" she asked, her voice low and husky.

The bodyguard's voice shook as he answered, "Ms. Sloan, Mr. Mueller has perished in a fire."