On the night of our wedding, my gold-medal lawyer wife, Aurora Sterling, abandoned me and tangled herself with her assistant, Kieran Holt.

Kieran barged into our bridal suite carrying his vegetative-state fiancee, Elara Holt, and demanded we swap spouses.

I refused without hesitation.

Right there on the spot, he drugged me and forcibly locked me in a room with Elara.

Meanwhile, he held Aurora in our newlywed bed and used eighteen condoms that night.

The next morning, I stormed into the office to confront him.

Instead, I saw Aurora kneeling between his legs. When she noticed me, Kieran shuddered and quickly pulled away before standing up.

"Rowan, Aurora didn’t get enough last night, so I brought her out for some fun again. Don’t worry. This will be the last time. I won’t disturb you two anymore."

He turned to leave.

However, Aurora stopped him reluctantly. "Kieran, you're not the one who should leave."

Then she turned to me, her face dark with anger. "Elara became a vegetable because she saved my life. I have an obligation to fulfill a wife’s duties for her.

"From now on, I’ll accompany Kieran on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The rest of the days I’ll stay with you. I’m even giving you an extra day, so you should be satisfied."

As I watched the absurd scene unfold before me, rage finally exploded inside my chest.

Just as I was about to erupt, my phone suddenly chimed.

Ding.

"Hey, handsome, your skills are pretty good. Interested in developing a long-term arrangement?"

Aurora Sterling saw that I wasn’t responding and angrily slapped me across the face.

"Can you be a little reasonable? Kieran Holt has spent all these years taking care of a vegetative patient. He’s a normal man with needs, too. Do you expect me to just stand there and watch him suffer?

"This matter is settled. Today is Wednesday. If you have nothing to do, hurry up and get out. Stop interfering with us!"

After saying that, she dropped straight into Kieran Holt’s arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him passionately.

Kieran slid his hand under Aurora’s clothes and began groping her brazenly.

The absurd scene in front of me stabbed at my eyes until they burned with pain.

Clenching my fists, I rushed forward and yanked her off him.

"Aurora, I’m not putting up with this. Him or me: choose. There’s no discussion!

"And stop talking about repaying favors. Kieran isn’t someone you’re the only option for. If he’s that desperate, can’t he just find a prostitute himself? Do you really have to offer yourself up?"

Aurora didn’t hesitate before slapping me again. "Rowan Vance, do you want to ruin Kieran’s future? He finally managed to pass the bar exam, and you’re telling him to go hire a prostitute?"

Hearing this, Kieran’s eyes immediately reddened, and he began crying pitifully. "Rowan, I know you’re jealous of me.

"But you stay at home all day doing nothing while Aurora supports the company on her own. Now that I can finally help her, you want to destroy me. Are you even a man?"

He pointed at me while accusing me self-righteously.

Provoked by his words, Aurora grew even angrier. "Rowan! Are you done yet? You’re the one who benefited from this, and now you’re still acting wronged. I'm warning you. If you still want to remain my husband, then stop making trouble. Otherwise—"

She deliberately dragged out the last word, a warning flashing in her eyes.

I let out a bitter laugh and suddenly tore open my shirt, exposing the dense scars across my chest.

"Aurora! Without me, your rivals would have chopped you into pieces and thrown you into the river to feed the fish! You want to repay his favor, but what about mine? What about the wounds I suffered for you?"

Back then, when Aurora had just started her career, she had taken on a major commercial case.

To force her to withdraw, her opponents sent dozens of thugs to corner her in an alley. I took eighteen knife wounds to pull her out of that desperate situation.

Afterward, she held my dying body in her arms, crying uncontrollably as she swore she would treat me well for the rest of her life. She had declared that she would love me forever.

Yet now, in only three short years, she was threatening me with divorce just to force me to compromise for Kieran.

The moment I brought up the past, Aurora’s expression instantly changed from anger to disgust. She grabbed the ashtray from the table and smashed it viciously toward my head.

Bang!

Blood immediately began pouring down my face.

"Such a tiny favor, and you keep bringing it up again and again? If I hadn’t been earning money to support you all these years, a useless piece of trash like you would’ve ended up begging on the streets long ago.

"Eighteen knife wounds in exchange for wealth and luxury. You didn’t lose out on that deal at all!"

The contempt growing in Aurora’s eyes completely chilled my heart.

I wiped the blood from my face and let out a cold laugh.

"If that’s the case, then let’s get divorced. May you two scum stay locked together forever."

Aurora chased after me and blocked my path.

"Rowan, do you even know what you’re saying?"

I let out a short scoff and laid out my terms bluntly. "The house goes to you. The car goes to me. The law firm shares are split fifty-fifty.

"Draft the divorce agreement according to what I said. Then we’ll go to the civil affairs office today and finalize the paperwork."

Aurora’s eyes widened in disbelief.

I thought she would explode in anger, but instead her attitude softened. She opened a drawer and took out cotton swabs and gauze.

"I know you feel wronged in this situation, but it’s only temporary. Once Elara wakes up, we’ll naturally separate. Rowan, can’t you try to understand my position? Please stop making a scene."

The moment the cotton swab dipped in disinfectant moved toward my wound, I turned my head away.

"I don’t have time to watch you put on this fake act. Hurry up and draft the agreement. Don’t delay my second marriage."

Aurora’s hand froze, and a flash of irritation crossed her eyes.

At that moment, Kieran suddenly dropped to his knees in front of me. "Rowan, this is all my fault. Aurora loves you. Please stop saying things that upset her."

Then he bowed toward Aurora. "Aurora, thank you for all the guidance you’ve given me these past years. From now on, you and Rowan should live your lives together. Let’s cut ties completely."

He stood up and turned to leave, his face filled with determination.

Aurora immediately panicked. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Kieran’s waist, her voice trembling.

"Kieran, I can’t live without you. I won’t let you go!"

After saying that, she turned back to me, her face deathly cold. There was no warmth left in her eyes.

"If you insist on threatening me with divorce, then you can leave with nothing. Rowan, you’re nothing more than a freeloading drunk. Yet you still dare to covet my property. What kind of ridiculous dream are you having?"

The disgust in her eyes was unmistakable. She looked at me in the same way someone might look at a pile of rotting garbage.

A freeloading drunk.

What a cruelly ironic phrase.

She had forgotten that back then, I sold the house my parents left me so she could have her first startup capital.

She had also forgotten that she won her very first case because I drank until my stomach bled at a business gala to secure the client for her.

Eight years together. Countless days and nights spent caring for her with everything I had. All of it meant nothing compared to Kieran’s single line: "cut ties completely."

If that was the case, this was the end of the line.

After taking a deep breath, I spoke to her calmly, "Aurora, in that case, I’ll see you in court. Falling in love with you was my mistake, but I'll take back everything that belongs to me."

After saying that, I walked away without looking back, leaving Aurora’s furious shouting behind me.

I returned home to pack my things.

The moment I pushed open the bedroom door, I saw our bed still tangled with the aftermath of sex.

When my eyes landed on the wedding portrait hanging above the headboard, it felt as though shattered glass was grinding through my heart. The pain was so intense I could barely breathe.

I forced myself to hold it together and finished packing my belongings.

Just as I zipped up the bag, Kieran walked in with Aurora wrapped in his arms.

Kieran stepped forward and snatched the bag from my hand. He unzipped it and dumped everything inside onto the floor.

"Aurora told you to leave empty-handed. Did you not understand?

"The fact that she didn’t make you strip off the clothes you’re wearing is already kindness. And you still think you can take things from this house? Believe it or not, I can call the police right now and have you arrested!"

Faced with his humiliation, I clenched my fists.

Aurora immediately looped her arm around Kieran’s and let out a coy laugh. "Kieran, you really get me. I didn’t even say a word, and you already knew how to discipline my dog for me. As a reward, tonight I’ll satisfy all your requests. Any position you want."

As she said it, her gaze fell straight on my face, as if waiting for me to react the way I used to—jealous and furious.

I bent down and calmly picked up the scattered belongings from the floor.

"Who you sleep with, and what positions you prefer, has nothing to do with me anymore. And these are all mine. If you have the nerve, call the police. I’d like to see who ends up getting arrested."

Just as I picked up the final item, Kieran suddenly rushed forward. He snatched the box from my hands and took out the heirloom bracelet inside.

"And you still say you’re not a thief? A bracelet made of sapphires like this… Is that something a poor loser like you could afford?"

Then he turned to Aurora with a spoiled tone. "Aurora, I like this bracelet. Will you give it to me?"

Without even waiting for her answer, he slipped it onto his wrist.

Seeing the only relic my mother left behind about to be tainted by this man, I rushed forward.

"Let go! That’s something my mother left me. Give it back!"

Amidst the struggle…

Clink.

The bracelet fell heavily to the floor and shattered instantly into several pieces.

I knelt and gathered the fragments, gripping them tightly in my palm. Bright red blood dripped between my fingers as I lifted my head, my eyes burning.

Kieran instinctively took a step back.

"You broke it yourself. Don’t tell me you’re going to blame that on me. Aurora, look at him. He’s the one who messed up, and now he wants to pin it on me. Is he trying to run some kind of scam?"

My whole body trembled with rage. I raised my fist and swung it straight toward his face.

Just as my punch was about to land, a dull, crushing pain exploded at the back of my head.

I turned around.

Aurora was standing there holding a steel pipe, glaring at me viciously. "Rowan! As long as I’m around, don't you dare bully Kieran!"

Blood streamed down the back of my head as I staggered backward.

Kieran seized the chance to grab the steel pipe from her hands. Again and again, he slammed it down onto my body.

The sound of bones cracking exploded in my ears.

Aurora stood nearby the entire time, watching coldly without saying a single word.

After Kieran finished venting his anger, he spat directly onto my face. "Trash belongs in the trash heap. Stop coming out here and embarrassing yourself."

Then he wrapped an arm around Aurora, and the two of them walked away laughing.

I lay on the floor like a broken punching bag. My heart had gone completely cold.