By the time I came back to my senses, Carolyn had already thrown me hard onto the cold ground.

"Alex is far more precious than you. How dare you tell him to walk home? You're used to being out there, braving the elements. What's a little hardship to you? You can walk back by yourself!"

After spitting out those words viciously, Carolyn quickly climbed into the driver's seat.

She did not spare me another glance. Instead, she gently stroked Alex's head and said softly, "It's okay now. I'll take you home."

"You're the best, Carolyn," Alex said, his gaze flicking toward me for a brief moment.

Soon, the car's taillights disappeared from my sight.

I wandered aimlessly down the street, but my mind was filled with thoughts of Carolyn and her so-called brother, Alex.

Ironically, the way Carolyn and I first met was also during a police raid.

I had shut down an illegal foot massage parlor and brought all the suspects back to the station.

Among the crowd, one girl immediately caught my attention. There was a kind of innocence in her eyes, untouched by the world.

I was wondering how a girl like her had ended up there when a nervous-looking young boy suddenly rushed into the station.

"Please let my sister go!" the boy cried. "She only took this job so she could pay for my schooling!"

As he spoke, he dropped to his knees and repeatedly banged his head on the floor in front of the officers.

"Alex, go home. This isn't a place you should be in," Carolyn said.

She and Alex clung to each other, crying.

"Don't be afraid. I will make sure you get through college."

After asking around, I learned the truth: Alex's father had run away because of gambling debts, and Carolyn's mother was bedridden.

When Alex got accepted into college, the family did not even have a single cent to pay his tuition.

Without hesitation, I used my savings to pay for his mother's treatment and cover the tuition fees.

I persuaded Carolyn to quit that job and told her that if she ever had difficulties, she could come to me.

With tears in her eyes, she hugged me and poured out all her grievances.

I was deeply moved by that strong girl.

Naturally, Carolyn and I ended up together.

At our wedding, I was smiling like a child, completely unaware of the jealousy in Alex's eyes.

For the first three years of our marriage, Carolyn and I were the model couple in everyone's eyes.

However, good times would never last.

After Alex graduated and failed to find a job, he simply stayed in our home and refused to leave.

Before I knew it, I had walked all the way back to the apartment building.

Looking up at that familiar window, it suddenly felt incredibly strange.

After smoking several cigarettes downstairs, I finally went back up.

The moment I opened the door, Carolyn rushed out of the room before I could even finish changing my shoes.

"Can you keep your voice down? Alex was frightened today!"

I ignored her scolding and walked straight to the bedroom, starting to search for our family's legal documents.

When she realized what I was doing, Carolyn immediately changed her expression. She walked forward and grabbed my arm, speaking in a sweet, coaxing voice, "Dear husband, have you finally agreed to what I've asked you to do?"

I shook off her hand and said coldly, "Stop dreaming. I will never do something illegal like that."

The smile on Carolyn's face vanished instantly.

"What did you say? Do you even know how important this is for Alex? This concerns his entire future!"

To make it easier for Alex to secure a job, Carolyn had asked me to use my position to change his details in our paperwork.

Suppressing the anger in my chest, I said, "Carolyn, I'm a police officer. I can't knowingly break the law."

She refused to listen and raised her voice.

"Why are you looking for those anyway? Fine, if you won't help him, then forget it. Why can't I find someone else to help Alex? What good does ruining his future do for you?"

I looked at her and felt like I was staring at a stranger.

I was just about to make it clear that I was looking for our marriage license so I could file for divorce when a voice suddenly came from the bathroom.

"Carolyn, can you come help scrub my back?"

He knew perfectly well that I was home, yet he still dared to ask for the two of them to bathe together. Just how intimate could they be?

"Coming!" Carolyn answered without hesitation.

Yet, when I had been injured on duty and unable to wash myself, Carolyn had only looked at me with disgust.

"You're a grown man and still can't take care of yourself? You stink. If you can't even wash yourself properly tonight, then go and stay in a hotel."

If I had not been home… What would they have done? I did not even dare imagine it.

I grabbed Carolyn as she got up to head toward the bathroom.

"Carolyn, have some shame. I'll help him."

"Get lost! You're rough and careless. You're not fit to scrub Alex's back."

With that, she shoved me aside. I was not prepared for that, so my forehead slammed against the corner of the coffee table. Blood started dripping down immediately.

However, she did not even notice. She simply turned and walked into the bathroom.

A long time passed before she came out again, her face flushed red.

"Look at you, being so petty. If Alex and I really had something going on, do you think I would've ever married you?"

Looking at her like that, I found myself unable to say a single word.

"You're sleeping in the guest room tonight. Alex was frightened earlier, so I need to stay with him."

"Suit yourself. It's not like you two have only started being suspiciously close just today."

"Mark! Don't go too far! Alex is just a brother to me."

The two of them were not even related by blood, yet they clung to each other all day long.

Ever since Alex moved in, she had not been close to me once.

Seeing the indifferent look on my face, Carolyn's expression darkened immediately.

"You're just looking down on me because I used to work in that foot massage parlor. Alex isn't like you! He doesn't judge people like some arrogant snob!"

Before I could respond, she slammed the door shut and hid inside the room.

"Carolyn, don't be angry. It's all my fault…"

"Alex, it's not your fault. It's Mark's."

I could vaguely hear their intimate conversation, but I said nothing. I walked into the guest room and began packing my things.

In the past, I would have kicked the door open and forced her to explain herself.

Not anymore.

Carolyn no longer had the right to affect my mood.

I lay down in the guest room, planning to divorce her first thing in the morning.

In the middle of the night, strange noises came from the living room.

A thief?

What kind of reckless thief would dare break into my house?

I got up and stepped out of the room. Before I even turned on the light, a flash of cold steel stabbed straight toward my chest in the darkness.

After spending years as a police officer, my danger instincts were sharp. At the critical moment, I twisted aside to dodge it, then spun around and threw the attacker to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.

Only then did I see his face clearly.

It was Alex, his expression pale and twisted.

"Bastard! You stole Carolyn and broke her heart! She belongs to me! I'm going to kill you!"

At that moment, Alex looked nothing like the shy boy he once was.

Pinned under me, he struggled desperately.

I snatched the knife away.

"Alex! This is an assault on a police officer!"

The commotion woke Carolyn.

"Mark! Let Alex go!" She shoved me aside with all her strength and hurried to hold Alex.

"Carolyn… I can't breathe…" he gasped, then started coughing violently in an exaggerated way.

"You've gone too far! Alex and I are innocent. How could you be so cruel and hit him so hard? Bullying a kid like this? Do you even deserve to be a police officer?"

"He was the one who tried to stab me!" I tried to explain, but it was useless.

In Carolyn's heart, Alex's silence outweighed everything.

"Alex would never do that. I believe him. Mark, just you wait! I'm going to report you to the police and make them strip you of that uniform!"

With that, she hurriedly helped Alex up and dialed for an ambulance.

"You're coming to the hospital with us! If anything happens to Alex, I won't let you off!"

Unable to argue with this unreasonable woman, I ended up getting into the ambulance and going to the hospital.

The examination results came back quickly, and the outcome was shocking.

"Just some superficial injuries. Nothing serious. But the full blood work shows that Alex has already been diagnosed with HIV."

Carolyn suddenly let out a piercing scream and staggered backward.

The woman who had insisted just moments earlier that she and Alex were completely innocent shouted in panic.

"Quick! Test me, too! I might have caught HIV as well!"