Chapter 1

A sudden blizzard shut down the city. The snowy roads were slick, and I got into a car accident. I was on the verge of death.

I called my wife over and over. No one picked up.

Just as despair set in, I saw her stumble out of the car that hit me.

Her clothes were a mess. There were red marks on her neck.

And the man in the driver's seat was her assistant. He looked a bit like me.

The signs had been there all along. The woman who once smiled and said, "I'll take care of you"—her heart had already strayed.

I threw away everything for love. I married into her family. Now, it's all just a joke.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number.

"Leo, get ready to pull all cooperation with the Xu family."

If the love is gone, then it's time to leave.

I got out of the hospital and stood in the kitchen making dinner. My mind was still stuck on what happened a week ago.

Right as I finished cooking, Yvonne Xu walked through the door. She wrapped her arms around me from behind, greedy, blissful.

"Ethan, every time I come home and see you working in the kitchen for me, I feel so happy."

"I love you so much, Ethan. I really, really love you."

Her cheek rubbed against my back, back and forth, like she wanted to melt right into me.

My body went stiff. I thought of the panicked look she gave Keith that day, and I said coldly,

"Dinner's ready. I've got stuff to do. I'm heading out. Does it hurt your conscience to say things like that, Yvonne?"

I pulled free of her arms and untied my apron.

I turned around to find her looking at me, hurt, and she said,

"Are you still mad about that day? It was all a misunderstanding, I swear. I'd just gotten back from a work dinner. My phone was dead from the cold. That's why I didn't get your calls."

"Keith didn't mean it either. He was on a call with a client. He just didn't see you."

Hearing that, my heart went even colder. Her disheveled clothes that day, her messy hair, the red marks on her neck—they'd already told me everything.

She cheated.

And the guy she cheated with was the one who put me in the hospital. She stopped me from calling the cops, too.

I was in that hospital room, in so much pain. They were outside, comfortable and close with each other.

Ha. What a fool I was. No, I am a fool.

As for Yvonne—that "I love you, I love you so much" stuff—I believe she means it.

After all, even though she didn't answer my calls, the panic in her eyes the moment she saw me—I caught that.

But her heart still had room for someone else.

The thought made me colder. My hands clenched into fists so tight my knuckles went white.

Over the years, people always told me how lucky I was.

A live-in husband, and I found a wife who cares about me this much—and she's rich, too.

The kind who'd rush home through a hailstorm because she was thinking about her husband.

But now I get it. Yvonne just needs someone by her side.

And that someone—whether it's me or Keith—doesn't really matter.

It felt like a blizzard had swept through my chest. Cold. So, so cold.

I swallowed the cold feeling down. I didn't say anything. I put on my jacket and turned to leave.

But Yvonne whined at me, playing cute.

"Oh, come on. What if I push all my work aside today and just spend time with you?"

"Don't be sad anymore, okay? Please? Come on. Smile for your wife."

Hearing that made everything taste even more bitter. Yvonne, if you love me so much, why did you cheat?

I smiled. A broken, miserable smile.

Right then, someone knocked on the door. Yvonne looked puzzled. "This late? In a snowstorm? Who could that be?"

My mind went straight to one person. I watched coldly as she opened the door, and sure enough—there was Keith, her male assistant.

Keith's face lit up when he saw Yvonne at the door.

Then his eyes landed on me, standing behind her. His expression dropped. He whispered something to her.

Yvonne listened, frowned a little, then turned to me and said gently,

"Honey, be good and wait for me at home. Don't go anywhere. Something came up at work. I need to deal with it."

"Remember—don't go anywhere."

Her pale finger pressed firmly against my chest, like she was casting a spell to trap me right there.

Before, I would have followed her orders without question. I'd wait up no matter how late. But not anymore.

Under Keith's taunting gaze, I said just one word, flat and emotionless. "Fine."

I knew what this was. Another one of Keith's little games to win her attention.

Put me next to him, and I don't exactly have the upper hand, do I?

I mean, one of us is a house-husband who just knows how to cook. The other? A shining star in the business world.

The front door closed. It was like a wall went up, splitting two worlds. Outside—bright, shining success. Inside—dark, lonely me.

Before, I walked into this house willingly and locked the door behind me.

But not anymore.

Me—the live-in husband everyone looks down on—I pushed open the door I'd been shut behind for ten years.

I wrapped myself in a thick black overcoat, pulled down my black felt hat, and stepped calmly into the snowy night.

A car pulled up, quiet and discreet. I got in. It shot forward in an instant and caught up to Yvonne's car—a bright red Ferrari F8.

Through the tinted window, I watched her and Keith inside. They looked like they were whispering sweet nothings. I cracked my window open.

The wind carried their voices to me.

"Yvonne, you work so hard, and Ethan can't even be supportive."

"I told him I'd take care of him. Besides, he's basically illiterate. There's no way he could help you run the company as well as I do."

I tightened my fist.

Without me pulling strings behind the scenes, Yvonne's business wouldn't be running so smoothly.

But from her lips? All the credit went to Keith.

"So, baby, if I'm doing this well... do I get a reward?"

Keith's eyes were full of hunger. Yvonne laughed, leaned over, and kissed his cheek.

That kiss was like flipping a switch. Keith's hands started wandering all over her.

Yvonne let out a flirty little protest. "Stop it. I'm driving. You don't want another accident like last time."

Keith didn't seem to care. "Ethan's at home now. Yvonne, I really, really like you. So much. Divorce him. I'm tired of waiting."

I didn't want to watch anymore. My voice wasn't exactly calm as I told my subordinate in the driver's seat. "Leo. Go faster."

Leo looked a little surprised but didn't say anything after seeing my dark expression.

He stepped on the gas, and the car surged ahead.

Keith watched the black blur flash past and said to Yvonne, full of envy,

"That's a Maybach Exelero. Worth over a hundred million. Only one in the world. The ultimate dream car for any guy. Can't believe I just saw one here."

Yvonne couldn't care less about cars. She pulled her collar tighter and sped up too. Maybe she was in a rush to deal with work and get back home to me.

I watched them in the rearview mirror and said flatly to Leo,

"Are the divorce papers ready?"

Leo's eyes filled with a vicious glint. "Mr. Gu, do you want me to..."

I shook my head. I came here alone, for love. I should leave with the same dignity.

The engine roared, burying the love I once held so deep.