Keaton Rourke and I get in a car accident.

My liver ruptures, and I'm drenched in my blood. Teresa Bellamy, my wife, leaves me to die and runs off to save Keaton, who only has a scratch on his forehead.

I'm unconscious and clinging to life in the emergency room, but Teresa fusses over how to keep Keaton's forehead from getting a scar.

I wake up feeling nothing but disappointment and toss the divorce papers right in her face.

She rips the divorce papers to pieces like a lunatic and makes it clear that divorce will only happen over her dead body.

I used to bend over backward to make her happy. Now I'm ready to divorce her, no matter what it takes.

I spat out a mouthful of blood and winced as I turned my head toward the passenger seat. Upon seeing Keaton Rourke wedged between the airbag and the seat, I ground out, "You disabled the airbag, didn't you?"

He looked at me like he wanted me dead. He ignored my question, raised an eyebrow, and smirked. "Hate to break it to you, but even with you bleeding out, Teresa will still come to me first."

I hunched over in pain, clutching my stomach with both hands. My vision was blurring, and I could barely keep my eyes open, but I still had to defend Teresa Bellamy. "She is my wife. There is no way she would save you before me."

Keaton snickered. Just then, Teresa's frantic shout came from outside. "Where are you, Keaton?"

As I struggled to look up, I saw her move past the driver's seat and open the passenger door. With a worried look, she grabbed his hand, her eyes brimming with tears. "Hang in there. I'll get you to the hospital."

He was totally fine, but she still went out of her way to get him into the ambulance without even sparing a glance at me.

Blood poured out from my mouth again. I stared at the ambulance driving away, laughing at myself in utter despair.

My injuries were much worse, and I was right in front of Teresa, but she only had eyes for Keaton. I slowly closed my eyes as memories of our time together flooded my mind.

Looking back, I was always the one chasing her—whether it was in high school, in college, or even after we tied the knot. She never once told me she loved me. Marrying me was just a decision she made after weighing the pros and cons.

I just gave up struggling as blood trickled down the corner of my mouth. I might as well just be dead, then Teresa could finally dump me and spend the rest of her life with Keaton.

Then, I heard people talking.

Someone remarked, "How could she do this? Lucien was the one who was in worse shape."

Another person chimed in, "Mr. Rourke just scraped his forehead. Give it some time, and it might have healed on its own. But Mr. Stroud's liver was ruptured. If it weren't for someone kind enough to help, he might not have survived."

The next person sighed. "If Mr. Stroud had gotten here earlier, he might have come out of this without any complications."

I opened my eyes with difficulty and found Teresa staring at me in shock.

When she saw me awake, she grabbed my hand, her voice trembling with emotion. "You're finally awake, Lucien. I was so afraid you would never wake up again.

"The doctors said you might have some minor complications, but your life is no longer in danger, and it won't affect your normal life. It's the best outcome we could hope for.

"By the way, Mr. Vexley needs the design urgently. Can you take care of it?"

I struggled to pull my hand free from Teresa and coldly stared at her, "Seriously? I barely survived and just woke up. You're not even worried about me, and the first thing you bring up is work."

Teresa dropped her gaze. For a second, she looked uneasy. "It's not like that. I was panicking and not thinking straight. I honestly didn't see you back then. Your seat didn't have an airbag, so I thought you had already been rescued."

I looked down and pursed my lips. She noticed the missing airbag, but somehow didn't see me.

I scoffed, staring darkly at Teresa as she lowered her head in guilt. "We're getting a divorce."

Teresa was taken aback for a second before she snapped, "Are you divorcing me because I didn't save you first?

"Like I said, I didn't see you. Keaton was badly injured too. If I hadn't rushed him to the hospital, he would have ended up with a scar on his forehead."

So, a scar on Keaton's forehead was way more important than my life.

Looking back, I should have known. Even though he had no relevant background, she still insisted on giving him a position in the company. She didn't just see him as a junior.

I couldn't be bothered to argue with her anymore, so I turned my head to the side. "My lawyer will send over the divorce papers."

The door to the room flew open, and Keaton rushed over to me with guilt written all over his face. "This isn't her fault, Mr. Stroud. It's my fault for getting injured in a spot that caught her eye.

"I shouldn't have made you drive on the highway that day just because I had a stomachache. If I had known this would happen, I would have taken sick leave. She wouldn't have had to deal with any of this."

With a worried look, Teresa stood in front of him. "This is between me and Lucien. It has nothing to do with you, so stop blaming yourself."

I fixed my cold gaze on Keaton, who stood behind Teresa with his head down. "You sabotaged the airbag and made me drive by pretending you had a stomachache. That's attempted murder. Do you think I'm just going to let that slide?"

His expression changed, but he quickly regained his composure. "It was Teresa's car, Mr. Stroud. I had no idea there was an issue with the airbag."

With a startled look, she glanced at him. Then, she walked over and tried to take my hand, but I pulled away.

Her brows were knitted together as she stared at me, her tone softening for once. "It was just an accident. I'll admit it was my fault, so can't we just leave it at that? You're doing fine, so stop being so worked up."

How was I doing fine? I barely survived, and that was considered fine? Meanwhile, Keaton got a scratch on his forehead, and it was treated like some huge deal.

I coldly stared at Teresa and firmly stated, "We're getting divorced. I will also get to the bottom of whether Keaton tried to kill me. I made it out alive, so whoever wanted me dead won't be getting away with it."

She snorted. "I know exactly what is on your mind, Lucien. You think something is going on between me and Keaton, and that's why you're making such a huge deal out of this.

"Don't you want the truth? I have an affair with him. You ditched me on our wedding night for work, and he was the one who stayed with me that night.

"Divorce me all you want, but you're walking away with nothing. Otherwise, don't even think about it."

While looking at Teresa's face twisted in anger, I felt like my chest was being crushed, and I could barely breathe.

On our wedding night, I was out drinking for the company and wound up in the hospital with a bleeding stomach. I called her over and over, but she never picked up. I never thought she had been spending the night with Keaton.

I felt blood rise in my throat, and I spat it right at her. "Get out."

Her expression changed slightly, her eyes showing a trace of worry. "You should really reconsider the divorce. It won't end well for either of us."

I clenched my hands into fists as I watched her leave. Just then, my phone rang out of nowhere.

I opened the message. It was last month's stomach cancer screening results. I stared at the screen for a long time and flashed a wry smile when I saw the words "late-stage cancer".

I hustled day and night all these years just to show Teresa she made the right choice. I worked around the clock and pushed through social events to give her the life she asked for, but she had already betrayed me from the start.

I leaned my head back and sighed, tears rolling down my cheeks. For once in my life, I deserved to live for myself.

I got my lawyer to prepare the divorce papers and gave him the resignation letter I had written. He then delivered them both to her.

After taking care of everything, I quietly checked myself out of the hospital, blocked Teresa's number, and booked a flight to the beach.

I was a big fan of the sea. Back in college, I used to dream of working somewhere by the sea, getting a dog with someone I loved, and taking sunset walks on the beach.

However, Teresa never liked the sea. Later, after Keaton joined the company, I found out she was terrified of anything to do with the water because she had nearly drowned as a kid. That was why she left Norbury and came to Qrago.

A week after I left Qrago, I finally turned my phone back on. Upon seeing all the missed calls and messages, I sighed in resignation.

Teresa used to say the company would run just fine without me. Right now, she had finally started to see how much I actually mattered.

The caller ID "Wife" kept flashing on my phone. I hesitated for a moment and decided to hear what she had to say.

She shouted, "What the hell is wrong with you, Lucien? You disappeared without a word. Do you have any idea how many times Mr. Vexley has been calling? Even if you quit, you still need to send him your designs. Do you have work ethics?"

Silas Vexley had been my client for years. Back then, he was one of the hardest clients I ever had to win.

It was my wedding night, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. If I didn't drink with him, he would have canceled the whole deal.

My company was struggling in its early days, and I couldn't afford to turn down a client like him, so Teresa ended up getting the short end of the stick.

After that night, I bought her the bag she loved most, costing 20 thousand dollars. Meanwhile, I had been stuck wearing the same 38-dollar shirt for three years.

My hand tightened around the phone as a wave of sharp pain shot through my stomach. "I'm sick. Quitting is just my way of making sure I won't hold the company back.

"You used to say Keaton was better than me after he joined the company. You always blamed me for standing in his way. Now that I've given you both the stage, shouldn't you be thrilled?"

Teresa paused for a moment, then snapped, "The doctor said it's not life-threatening! Get back to the company now."

Was it not life-threatening? That was how she thought of my condition, huh?

I coughed hard into my hand and glanced at the blood in my palm. "If there's nothing else, stop calling me. Sign the divorce papers as soon as you can and make sure I get every penny I'm owed. From now on, any business goes through my lawyer."

Just as I ended the call, I saw notifications from my WhatsApp. Keaton had sent a bunch of intimate photos with Teresa. I pressed my fingers to my throbbing temples, breathing hard from the rage.

I stared at the keyboard for a long time before finally exiting the chat with him. It wasn't the time to make a move just yet.

…

Two weeks later, I suddenly got a call from an unknown number. I stared at the number for a long time before finally picking it up.

When I answered the call, Teresa's agonizing screams came through. "Help me, Lucien! Keaton is going to kill me and our baby!"