Chapter 1

The Antarctic research team had an unofficial 'dry spell' ranking, and my name was a permanent fixture at the top.

That’s because for eight years of marriage, my wife and I never shared a bed, never touched. Yet, I stubbornly refused to divorce her.

She loathed me, saw me as pathetic and malicious, believing I'd selfishly caused the death of her beloved childhood sweetheart.

I hated her for being so utterly blind, so heartlessly oblivious.

I swore to cling to her for an eternity, ensuring that even in death, her tombstone would bear *my* name, and mine alone.

But then the glacier collapsed. She pushed me away, burying herself alive under the ice and snow.

"Ash," she whispered, her voice fading, "if there's a next life, I'm begging you… please, don't love me anymore."

By the time they rescued her, she had already suffocated.

Not long after, I died in a new mission.

When I opened my eyes again, I chose to actively forfeit our engagement. "This research mission," I declared, "I'll go."