The ache in my chest ebbed like the tide. I lifted my head, staring at Nina.

"I can go… but Nina, if I die out there, you'll be the one who drove me to this."

My voice was quiet, yet it hit Nina like a slap. She froze, stunned, her words catching in her throat. After a long pause, she finally forced out a few ragged, broken sentences.

"You… what are you pretending for? It's just a kidney donation! My family took you in for three years! Didn't you hear? The commander's sending someone tomorrow. Go pick up more pastries! If you can't even handle something this small, I've wasted my care on you."

She opened her mouth to argue further, but I couldn't take it. I turned, my body burning, and headed downstairs.

Before we were married, whenever I got sick, Nina had cared for me without rest, day and night. One night, I'd muttered in my sleep that I wanted a cup of spiked hot cocoa. She'd walked six miles to the all-night convenience store to get it.

Back then, our apartment had been just a cramped studio, but that cup of spiked hot cocoa had tasted sweeter than anything I'd ever known.

Suddenly, a sharp voice cut through the silence from behind.

"Caleb!"

Before I could turn, a few coins clattered heavily against my back.

Theo's laugh rang shrill and cruel, brimming with unrestrained pride.

"Caleb, broke again? Planning to mooch off the shop owner now?"

Every word dripped with mockery. I stared at the coins on the floor, straightened my back, and stepped over them. Without a glance, I walked down the stairs and headed straight for the clinic.

My hands trembled as I applied the medicine to my wound. Sweat soaked my body through.

The doctor frowned as he read my chart.

"Mr. Barnes, your infection is severe. Combined with inadequate post-op care and nutrition… the swelling around your kidney has spread significantly. You'll need to be extremely careful going forward, or it could affect your long-term health."

I nodded calmly, unsurprised.

After leaving the clinic, I didn't just sit around. I went straight to the nearest post office. On the letter, I documented Nina's personal misconduct over the years—the lies, the cover-ups—everything. Watching it get sent to the tax authorities, I finally felt some relief.

Then my eyes landed on a newspaper.

The photo on the front showed Kathryn in full military uniform, radiating authority without a word.

[Youngest Female Commander Kathryn Jennings Visits Reed City]

[Commander Kathryn Jennings Tours National Cancer Institute, Reviews Latest Research]

My breath caught. A flicker of hope surged in my chest.

By late morning, I returned home to grab my ID.

The moment I stepped through the door, Nina launched into an interrogation.

"Theo's been waiting for you all morning. Where are the buns?"

Theo slumped on the sofa, his face pale and pitiful. I ignored her scolding entirely, brushing past her into the master bedroom to get my documents.

Nina's impatience flared; she grabbed me, nearly knocking me over.

"Are you deaf? I'm talking to you."

I lifted my head, calm, meeting her gaze.

"Nina… I almost passed out on the street corner. The cab driver wouldn't take me. You wanna know why?"

I locked eyes with Nina and said, "Because… they're afraid I'll die out there."

Nina's eyes flickered with panic, but only for a moment before she erupted into fury.

"You—stop lying! The doctor said you're fine!"

Her anger burned in her gaze, and all I could feel was the absurdity of it all.

"I'm not lying," I said. "It's cancer. The doctor said I don't have long to live."

Her breath caught. Her eyes blazed as she stared at me, searching, as if trying to see through my words.

Then Theo groaned, clutching his stomach.

"Nina… my stomach hurts… is my old condition acting up?"

In an instant, Nina abandoned me and rushed to him. Her eyes overflowed with concern, soft and tender as if they could melt.

"It's okay, Theo. No matter what, I won't let anything happen to you."

But when she turned back, her gaze had frozen to ice.

"If Theo actually gets sick from hunger, I will never forgive you! And now you're making up lies about having cancer… if you really have cancer, you'd better die out there and never come back!"

In a single heartbeat, my hollow chest felt torn apart, a bitter chill flooding in.

I shakily gathered my documents from the cabinet, preparing to leave.

Suddenly, Nina's mother's booming voice thundered from the doorway.

"Caleb! Get out here!"

Leena Dawson barged in, slamming a divorce agreement onto the table with a sharp thud.

"Caleb, sign this! Leave with nothing! You're a sick man—don't waste my daughter's and Theo's future!"

Theo stood, feigning shock, leaning in with gentle words.

"Leena, please don't be angry. Caleb and Nina have been married three years… it's fine, I don't mind…"

But his words only fueled Leena's rage.

"Three years, and she's still not pregnant! This house isn't a shelter! Pack your things and get out!"

Nina steadied her mother, staring at me with impatience.

"If Mom want you to sign, just sign! Don't make a scene!"

A sharp ache tightened my chest. This family had clearly been waiting for me to make way so Theo and Nina could be together openly.

I glared at them, lips twitching.

"Leave with nothing? On what grounds? I worked alongside Nina from the factory floor to management. Half the technology in that factory is my patent!

"And when Nina's father's kidneys were failing, do you remember how you begged me?"

Their faces turned pale with embarrassment, but then flushed crimson with anger.

Nina slapped me across the face, her shouts ringing in my ears.

"What patents? Your mother died three years ago! My family took you in out of kindness! You owe us! Sign it today!"

The heavy slap sent me sprawling, my forehead smashing into the corner of the table. Blood trickled down as I pressed my hand to it. The woman before me was like a demon. My heart was ashes.

All I wanted was a divorce, and they wanted me to leave with nothing. Fine. Just see who would truly pay the price.

"Fine… I'll sign."

Nina's eyes flickered at me, confused by my calm.

I clenched the cold military medal in my pocket, picked up the pen, and signed my name on the divorce papers. Blood from my forehead dripped onto the signature.

"From this moment on, I am no longer part of your family."

I grabbed my suitcase and walked out, never looking back.

I found a cheap motel and made do for the night.

The next morning, there was a knock at the door.

Two female soldiers stood in the hallway, their posture straight, their bearing cold and disciplined. One of them raised her hand in a formal salute, her tone respectful.

"Are you Caleb Barnes? Commander Jennings instructed us to tell you to meet her at ten o'clock this morning in front of the City Hall."

I let out a long breath. Finally, the weight on my chest eased.

Nina and I had agreed to file for divorce at eight. I waited at the entrance.

Soon, I saw her arrive arm in arm with Theo, strolling in unhurriedly.

They were dressed in bright, flashy colors, as if they were about to walk down the aisle the next second.

Nina had been worried I might cause trouble, but when she saw how cooperative I was, she finally relaxed.

Suddenly, a factory worker suddenly rushed in and whispered urgently into Nina's ear.

Her face changed instantly. Her gaze turned sharp as a blade and stabbed straight at me.

"Caleb! They say you reported the factory, and now the Labor Department has shut it down! Have you completely lost your mind?!"

I ignored her, turning to leave.

But the next second, a hand clamped down on my throat.

The cancer had made me so feeble that I could no longer defend myself against anyone. Pain exploded through my neck. The crushing suffocation made my vision go black, my face flushing purple. My throat tickled violently.

"Pff—"

Dark red blood burst from my mouth, splattering across her hand.

Nina's pupils shrank. She immediately released me.

"Caleb… you—why are you coughing up blood?!"

Seeing blood, the people in the courthouse screamed in panic.

With blood filling my mouth, I propped myself up and struggled to stand, letting out a hoarse, bitter laugh.

"I told you… I'm terminally ill."

Only then did Nina seem truly shaken.

But Theo's eyes flickered with a dark glint. He suddenly cried out in a trembling voice, "Caleb, how could you lie to Nina? If you really were terminally ill, how could the hospital have let you sign the transplant consent form?"

He grabbed Nina's arm and whispered provocatively, "Nina, don't you think Caleb staged all this just so he wouldn't have to divorce you?"

Those words pushed Nina's fury to its peak.

"Caleb! I almost believed you! Since you love pretending you're dying, let's see how long you can keep up the act!"

In her rage, she kicked me hard in the stomach.

I slammed into the wall.

The stitches on my stomach split open. Flesh tore apart, and blood instantly soaked through my sweater.

Curled on the floor, I looked around desperately, trying to find that upright figure in military uniform.

But the next second, a leather shoe stomped down on my stomach again.

Pain drilled straight into my bones.

Nina looked down at me from above, mockery in her eyes.

"Caleb, I never realized how good an actor you are. Where did you even get all this fake blood?"

It felt as though my soul was being ripped in half. The pain was so severe I couldn't even open my mouth to argue.

"Stop!"

Two sharp female voices rang out from the doorway.

The two female soldiers from earlier rushed in, faces cold and stern as they quickly shielded me.

"He will be Commander Jennings's husband! How dare you lay a hand on him!"

But Nina burst out laughing.

"Caleb, if you're going to hire people to act, at least make it believable. Do you even know who Commander Jennings is? You think you can just make up someone like her?"

She sneered down at me.

"Did you seriously just scrape together a couple of random women to help you stage this little performance?"

Her eyes dripped with contempt as she loomed over me.

"You pathetic piece of trash! Still legally married and already running around with other women! Someone, go find a reporter right now and get pictures of them! I want the whole country to see what a shameless cheater looks like!"

Humiliation washed over me in an instant.

And then, a voice of absolute command cut through the chaos like thunder, "That's my man… and someone like you thinks you're worthy to touch him?!"