Verity’s POV

At that moment, it felt like something caved in inside my chest.

From the time we got home until now, Tucker never once mentioned the bank card.

Instead, he talked about my dad pushing us to have a baby.

But he obviously doesn’t love me!

So to him, was a child never about love—just something to appease my dad?

I felt short of breath and pushed Tucker away without thinking.

He paused, clearly startled, then his brows knitted together.

“What’s wrong?”

I’d never turned him down before—not even when I wasn’t feeling well. This was the first time.

I took a breath. My throat felt tight. “I’m on my period. I’m uncomfortable.”

He contradicted me almost immediately.

“That can’t be right. I’ve counted—your period shouldn’t be today.”

I couldn’t stop myself from letting out a quiet laugh.

It was shallow but laced with a sarcasm even I couldn’t suppress.

“It hasn’t been regular for two months already.”

I looked at him, my voice soft. “You remember it that clearly?”

He went quiet for a second, clearly in the wrong.

But it never occurred to him that my cycle was irregular because I’d been pregnant back then. Seeing I wasn’t interested, he didn’t push it. He simply reached out and pulled me back into his arms.

The gesture was casual—firm enough that refusal wasn’t really an option.

“Then get some sleep.”

His breathing slowly evened out.

I stayed awake, staring at the dark ceiling as tears silently soaked into the pillow.

I was painfully aware that for Kelsey’s sake, he didn’t even seem to be considering a divorce—and was still thinking about having a child with me.

But Tucker… we’re not having kids.

The next morning, he was already gone when I woke up. I still had a lot to take care of.

Documents were spread all over the table: housing for the Canada study program, visas, partner schools, health insurance. Every detail needed my personal confirmation.

Just six more days.

Then I could start over.

That was when my phone started vibrating.

The moment I answered, a panicked voice came rushing through.

“Verity! You need to get here now! Tucker’s back on the track!”

My head rang.

“What?”

“He entered an underground rally race. Someone set him up! Water was dumped on the track—the car lost control and flipped! Everything’s chaos right now!”

I barely registered the rest.

The ringing in my ears surged. My vision washed out white. The steering wheel shook in my hands.

I don’t even remember hanging up. I just remember slamming the gas, the car shooting forward.

I’d always known how dangerous racing was.

In the early years, when Tucker had no money and no name, rally racing was his only shot.

Prize money. Sponsorships. A way up. He was betting his life on the wheel.

But later, after he started his company, things stabilized.

He’d promised me back then.

“Honey, if you’re worried, I’ll quit.”

He’d said it so confidently, smiling, ruffling my hair.

And now, today, he’d gone back without telling me.

The car sped down the road, but my hands felt ice-cold.

A fear so intense it felt suffocating rose up inside me.

When I arrived, I could see the chaos from far away.

Crooked caution tape. Shouting crowds.

I didn’t even stop to ask what had happened; my eyes locked onto the overturned race car by the track.

The frame was mangled. The door was jammed.

In that instant, only one thought remained in me.

‘Is he going to die?’

Even if we were on the verge of divorce, the moment I saw that familiar car, I knew I couldn’t stay detached.

That was someone I had once loved deeply.

I forced my way through the crowd, stumbled to the car, and dropped to my knees.

“Tucker!”

My voice shook as I grabbed the warped door, trying desperately to pull it open.

Someone tried to stop me. “Verity, calm down! Rescue is already on the way—”

But I couldn’t hear them.

All I saw was the blood smeared across the driver’s seat, terrified it wouldn’t stop.

My knee slammed into the gravel. Pain shot through me.

But I didn’t care.

I worked with several staff members, prying at the door with everything we had.

The metal sliced my fingers. Blood mixed with sweat.

Finally, we heard a click.

The door gave way.

I held my breath and leaned in to take a look.

But my entire body froze in place.

Tucker was slumped in the driver’s seat, barely conscious, his forehead covered in blood.

But his body was twisted protectively to one side.

In his arms, he was shielding someone…

It was Kelsey.

He’d pulled her into the safer position. Her head rested against his shoulder. She looked pale, but there were no obvious injuries.

Tucker’s back, meanwhile, had taken the full force of the impact.

At that moment, it felt like someone had ripped my chest open.

The sound of the ambulance came closer and closer, piercing and irritating.

The medics moved quickly, efficiently, loading them onto stretchers.

I stood there, as if nailed to the spot.

I was unsure whether to follow—or turn around and leave.

In the end, I took a shaky breath, turned around clumsily, got into my car, and followed the ambulance to the hospital.

The doctor gave the update soon after.

“The accident wasn’t severe. Mr. Afton has a mild concussion and some external injuries. It was close, but he was lucky.”

“As for the woman, she also has a mild concussion. Observation will be enough.”

I nodded, my fingers trembling slightly.

As long as he’s okay…

I forced myself not to think further.

At least for now, I didn’t want to question why Tucker and Kelsey were together at the racetrack.

I headed for Tucker’s hospital room.

The nurse had just finished checking him and reminded him not to get out of bed.

Before she finished speaking, he was already pushing himself upright.

“Where is she?”

The nurse blinked. “Who?”

“The one who came in with me.”

His voice was tight and urgent, his brows tightly furrowed.

“She’s timid. She’s never been through anything like this. That crash must have terrified her. I need to go check on her.”

Verity’s POV

The nurse tried to stop him. “Sir, you have multiple bruises—”

But he had already pushed past her. The movement was too abrupt and pulled at his injuries, his face turning pale instantly.

Only then did he notice me standing in the doorway.

The second our eyes met, he paused.

It was guilt he didn’t have time to hide.

“Honey… you’re here.”

He explained almost instinctively. “I’m just going to check on Kelsey. I’m worried she’s scared.”

He looked at me as if he’d already expected me to object, prepared with what he’d say next.

But I just nodded.

He froze, clearly not expecting me to agree so easily.

Still, without saying anything else, he hurried toward the room next door.

I stood in the hallway, lowering my gaze to the ring on my left hand.

I’d worn our wedding ring for many years.

At first, it felt unfamiliar. Later, I didn’t even want to take it off to shower or sleep.

Now, it felt light—like an unnecessary piece of metal.

I took it off without hesitation and dropped it into the trash can at the end of the hall.

A clink sounded.

It was soft, but it felt like a period being placed inside my heart.

Inside Kelsey’s room, she was sitting on the hospital bed.

She looked clean and neat, except for a faint smear of dried blood near her cheek.

Her two brothers stood on either side of her.

“Are you still dizzy?”

“What did the doctor say? Do you need another check?”

Tucker walked over, his voice tense.

“Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

I went in, set the fruit basket on the cabinet, and was about to leave.

“Verity.”

Kelsey suddenly called out to me.

Her voice trembled, her eyes red, looking both wronged and helpless.

“I’m sorry… I really am.”

She struggled to get out of bed, her voice shaking.

“If it weren’t for me, Tucker wouldn’t have been hurt this badly.”

“I didn’t mean it. It’s just that earlier today… someone spread rumors about me—really ugly ones. My brother heard them and got so angry he wanted to hit someone.”

“He said he couldn’t let people hurt me like that, but I stopped him. I was afraid he’d get hurt.”

“Then that man provoked him, asked if he dared to race.”

“So my brother agreed.”

“He said that if I sat in the passenger seat and helped guide him, he would definitely win.”

My fingers tightened suddenly.

A navigator is someone a racer entrusts their life to on the track.

I had wanted, countless times, to be Tucker’s navigator.

For his one sentence—I trust you—I learned routes, wind speed, track rules. I stayed up late memorizing maps, running simulations again and again.

But every time I brought it up, he only refused.

“It’s too dangerous. Don’t get involved,” he’d say.

Now, Kelsey—who knew nothing—had easily taken that seat beside him.

She even rode with him into a rollover, nearly costing him his life.

And no one blamed her.

“Verity, I really didn’t mean to hurt my brother,” Kelsey cried, her voice breaking. “You love him so much; you must be angry, disappointed. Please don’t blame him. It’s all my fault…”

She sobbed softly. “How about… I’ll kneel and apologize to you?”

As she spoke, she actually lifted the blanket, starting to kneel.

I froze for a moment and didn’t react in time.

The next second, a strong force yanked me aside.

“What are you doing?!”

Tucker almost instinctively pulled Kelsey behind him.

Our brothers immediately stepped forward, one on each side, holding her up.

“Kelsey, don’t.”

“This isn’t your fault.”

They didn’t even wait for me to speak.

Their expressions hardened as they looked at me.

“Verity! What right do you have to blame Kelsey? You don’t even care about Tucker, and you still let him take our sister to do something that dangerous. We haven’t even blamed you for not keeping an eye on your own man!”

“If anyone’s to blame, it’s the one who spread those rumors. We’ll handle it. Kelsey, you don’t owe her an apology.”

Tucker stood between me and Kelsey, clearly protecting her.

“Yes. This is on me,” he said. “I chose to race. I know what I’m doing. I just didn’t expect someone to set me up. This isn’t Kelsey’s fault.”

I steadied myself, feeling how absurd it all was.

Why did they think I would go after Kelsey?

I was the one more seriously injured.

None of this was my fault.

Yet standing here, I felt like the guilty one—like a vicious woman who needed to be stopped before she did something unforgivable.

I raised my hand, cutting off Tucker before he could keep explaining.

“I’m not mad.”

I looked at him and spoke slowly.

“Tucker, if you want to die, then go die. It has nothing to do with me.”

With that, I turned and walked away.

Behind me, he called out once.

“Honey—”

But the next second, Kelsey let out a soft cry.

“Ah… it hurts.”

Tucker hesitated, then stopped and turned back.

In a room full of “family,” not one person noticed the blood soaking through the fabric over my knee.

At the end of the hallway, I took out my phone and dialed a number.

“Hunter.”

My voice was quiet.

“Can you come pick me up?”

There was a brief pause, then a low, amused voice.

“What, the young heiress finally remembered me?”

“Stay there,” he said. “I’ll be right there.”

Verity’s POV

Hunter Hutcherson and I grew up together. We’ve known each other since we were kids.

The people I can truly say I’m close to now—after everyone else has come and gone—are just him, my older brother, and Tucker.

After I got married, I almost completely lost touch with my old group of girlfriends.

So at this moment, the only person I could call was Hunter.

He arrived quickly. When he saw I was hurt, he rushed me to see a doctor, had my wounds treated, then drove me all the way home.

Along the way, I talked in bits and pieces about getting a divorce, about going to Canada.

Hunter didn’t try to talk me out of it, and he didn’t comfort me either. He just said casually,

“That’s good. The divorce package your mom prepared for you should be ready soon, too.”

I froze for a second and turned to look at him.

That’s when he explained that my mom and his mom had been best friends for years.

Before my mom passed away, she’d specifically told them that if my marriage ever fell apart and I chose divorce, everything she left behind was to be given directly to me.

“She said,” Hunter spoke evenly, “she didn’t want you relying on anyone. She wanted you to be able to live well on your own.”

My eyes immediately turned red.

So my mom had already thought everything through for me.

All the assets she prepared were premarital property. My dad didn’t even know about them.

She loved him, but she never fully trusted men—so she left everything to me.

Hunter added, almost as an afterthought, “And hey, about what happened back then, stop doubting your mom. She would never hurt anyone, and she definitely wouldn’t kill someone just to climb higher. Your parents dated overseas for a full year before getting married. People from that generation all know this.”

“It’s just that your brother was too stupid to bother checking.”

That was when I finally broke down, tears spilling uncontrollably.

The tight knot that had been sitting in my chest for years felt like it was finally being loosened.

My mom wasn’t a murderer.

She loved me more than anything.

Just thinking about those two things made my whole body feel warm.

By the time we reached my place, it was already late.

Hunter told me to get some rest, then said that in a few days he could go to Canada with me. He had businesses there too, so I didn’t need to be afraid.

I smiled and said I wasn’t a kid anymore.

He glanced at me and said quietly, “A young woman is going abroad alone… How could I not worry?”

The porch light came on just as he finished speaking.

Tucker’s car pulled up. He walked in with Kelsey.

When he saw Hunter and me standing together talking, his expression darkened immediately.

“What are you two doing?”

Hunter never held his tongue. He glanced at him and sneered.

“Mr. Afton, what’s with that ‘caught you cheating’ look? You’re the one who brought Kelsey home.”

Tucker’s face darkened further. He pressed down his temper and explained, “We’re just siblings. Nothing improper. Kelsey was scared at the hospital, so I brought her home to rest.”

Hunter put on an exaggerated look of realization and casually wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

“Oh—siblings,” he repeated. “What a coincidence. Verity and I grew up together, too. Real close. Brother. Sister.”

Tucker’s face went completely dark. He instinctively reached for me, but Kelsey suddenly said softly, “Tucker, I’m a little hungry.”

He pressed his lips together, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me into the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him and leaving Hunter outside.

He’d never liked Hunter. Always said he was frivolous and unreliable.

“Stay away from him from now on,” Tucker said coldly.

I looked at him and asked quietly, “Why?”

“He’s like a brother to me,” I said. “We’re completely innocent.”

I returned his own words to him exactly as he’d said them.

He clearly froze, like something had gotten stuck in his throat and he couldn’t respond.

I didn’t wait for him. I pulled my hand free and went back to my room.

He seemed distracted after that. He didn’t even hear Kelsey calling him.

After she moved in, she never once mentioned leaving.

She always had a reason.

She said my family’s house was too big and unfamiliar, that it scared her.

She said San Antonio made her feel unsafe.

She said she could only sleep if she stayed by Tucker’s side.

Our two brothers felt sorry for her and indulged her in everything.

For days in a row, gifts kept arriving at the door.

Designer bags, jewelry, supplements—one after another.

When the servants collected them, they’d instinctively glance at me, then quickly look away.

Not a single item was meant for me.

This was their “punishment.” But I no longer cared, and it didn’t hurt anymore.

Because I knew my mother was innocent.

And now, there was only one day left before I left.

That evening, I unusually wanted to sit down and have a proper meal with Tucker.

Just to give this marriage a decent ending.

But the moment I stepped into the living room, I stopped.

I saw Kelsey standing on the balcony, practically pressed against Tucker.

She tilted her face up as she talked to him, her hand naturally hooked around his arm, her body relaxed and unguarded.

Tucker looked down at her, his expression gentle, his voice soft.

That ease—I hadn’t seen it in a long time.

I used to circle around him like that too, like a small bird with no sense of security.

I liked the calm focus in his eyes when he worked. I liked the way he stepped in front of me to chase off drunk men. I even liked how, when I casually said, “That stray cat stuck in the rocks looks so pitiful,” he would immediately pull over, roll up his sleeves, and go save it.

But he rarely responded to my love.

I could say “I like you” twenty times, and he would answer once, “I know.”

I wanted to be close like an ordinary married couple, but he always kept a distance.

In this house, only in bed could I be sure he felt any desire for me.

But now, with Kelsey, his closeness came so naturally.

Maybe this was the married life he truly wanted.

When I walked closer, I noticed that he paused and instinctively stepped back.

Kelsey’s expression darkened for a split second before smoothing out again.

“Honey, are you eating with us tonight?”

He seemed to be trying to ease the tension and asked proactively, “What do you feel like eating? I’ll cook.”

“Whatever.”

He went into the kitchen. It was the first time he’d ever cooked for me.

And yet, I didn’t feel even a trace of happiness…

Because he’d already cooked for Kelsey countless times.

Only she and I were left in the living room.

The obedient look on her face vanished immediately. She lowered her voice and said, “Verity, don’t you think you’re really in the way?”

She leaned closer, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Can’t you see how happy my brother and I are, just the two of us? Did you come over on purpose to interrupt us?”