Chapter 1

My Wife's Secret Crush Ruined Our Marriage

In a coastal city, a monstrous Category 5 hurricane was about to make landfall.

I closed the windows tight, the wind howling furiously outside.

My phone, resting on the table, buzzed incessantly.

I stared at the incoming call but ignored it.

This was already Maya Rodriguez's eighteenth frantic call.

Messages? Countless.

"Liam Reynolds, the hurricane's coming! I can't get back to the city now. Go pick up Julian and take care of him, quick!"

"Julian's legs are injured, he can't protect himself, do you hear me?"

"If anything happens to Julian, I swear I'll never forgive you."

"If you don't answer, I'll divorce you, I swear..."

I'd lost count of how many times Maya had ordered me around because of her secret crush, Julian Thorne.

And I'd lost count of how many times she'd threatened me with divorce.

I used to get terribly anxious about these things.

But not anymore.

"Julian called me just now, he was crying. He must be so desperate right now. I've never asked you for anything else, so please, I'm begging you this time, go pick up Julian. Please?"

I blacked out my phone.

Lying in bed, headphones on.

Perhaps the fierce hurricane outside was finally bringing down the long-standing heat.

It had been a while since I'd had a comfortable sleep.

In the five years I'd been married to Maya, I'd given so much for her.

I genuinely believed that true feelings would be reciprocated.

But even after we entered the sacred bond of marriage, even after we got our marriage license,

It couldn't stand against a single message from Maya's secret crush.

"Maya, I'm back in the country. Can you come see me?"

I still remember the look of surprise and joy on Maya's face when she saw that message.

"Liam, I won't be celebrating your birthday with you. I'll make it up to you next time."

With those words, Maya hopped on a plane and flew to Sea City, leaving me utterly helpless.

Maya returned from Sea City half a month later.

When she arrived in the city, she asked me to pick her up from the airport.

It was my first time seeing Julian Thorne.

He was in a wheelchair, with a pale, refined face, delicate features, and sharp contours.

Dressed in white, he exuded an elegant aura.

Maya carefully pushed his wheelchair, lavishing him with a tenderness I'd never seen her display before.

And certainly, a tenderness I would never experience.

Maya and Julian had grown up together.

They had been legends of the school from their middle school days all the way through college.

Every little thing they did would become the talk of the campus.

They were, without a doubt, the undisputed focal points of the school.

Maya truly loved Julian.

But in their junior year of college, Julian, a foreign exchange student at the time, openly flaunted his blonde, blue-eyed girlfriend on his social media account.

He officially declared his love for her.

Maya was heartbroken and devastated then.

She completely fell apart.

She even went abroad herself, begging Julian not to break up with her.

But in the end, she couldn't even get a glimpse of Julian.

Maya suffered for two years.

It took immense effort for me to pull her back from the emotional abyss Julian had dragged her into.

But even so, what good did it do?

With Julian's single sentence about returning home, all my efforts vanished into thin air.

I sighed lightly. It was time for me to let go of this relationship that was never truly mine.

I placed the divorce papers, which I had prepared in advance, under my pillow.

That night, I slept soundly.