Chapter 1

My younger brother died in a horrific car crash on the freeway.

Right before his last breath, he begged me to take care of his pregnant wife and their unborn child.

To look after my brother’s family, I devoted everything to Gwen. I even gave up my own chance at finding true love, marrying her just to give the baby a stable, two-parent home.

For seven years, my conscience was completely clear. I gave Gwen and our son everything I had.

Yet, she never once looked at me with anything resembling love. Worse, the boy grew up to despise me just as much as she did.

Brokenhearted and exhausted, I finally filed for divorce.

Gwen smirked, tossing the divorce papers straight out the car window.

"If you jump out of this car right now and pick up those papers," she mocked, "I’ll sign them!"

I watched the speedometer climb higher and higher. Without hesitation, I reached over, pushed the door open, and threw myself out into the oncoming wind.

Three days later, breaking news blasted across every major outlet: Billionaire CEO Gwen Vance’s Husband Jumps from Car at 60 MPH!

With Both Legs Shattered, He Crawls Through the Dirt, Signs the Divorce Papers in His Own Blood, and Collapses on the Shoulder!

Gwen, Liam—from this moment on, you mean nothing to me.

The night before Gwen and I signed the marriage license, I went to the clinic and had a vasectomy.

From that day on, Liam was my only child.

Every year on the anniversary of my brother’s death, I would bring a bottle of good whiskey up to his grave. I’d sit beside him for hours, sharing stories about how much Liam had grown over the past year.

Gwen walked up, caught sight of me, and immediately frowned.

"Tyler, your brother is dead. Stop acting like you own things that never belonged to you. Let him rest in peace. And let me remind you—I only agreed to marry you for Liam’s sake!"

I slowly raised my head and saw the pure disgust etched onto her face. Every word I wanted to say got caught in my throat.

She kicked my shin with the toe of her designer heel. "Get moving. Stop embarrassing me here."

Seeing that I didn't budge, her temper flared. "Oh, so my words don't mean a thing to you anymore? Fine! Since you love hanging out in the cemetery so much, stay out here all night. Don't bother coming home!"

My mom, standing nearby, wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. She started to speak, then stopped herself.

Only after Gwen’s footsteps faded into the distance did my mom whisper, "I know our family owes her after the accident, but Tyler... why don't you ever explain yourself to her?"

I popped the cork off the bottle, poured a splash onto the grass for my brother, and offered a bitter smile.

Seven years together under the same roof, and Gwen had never bothered to understand my heart. If she was determined to hate me, what difference would words make?

I had dedicated seven long years of my life to raising Liam. I had kept my promise. My conscience was clear.

Even knowing she didn’t love me, I foolishly thought she could at least offer me basic human respect.

Besides, the cemetery was perched on top of a mountain. Temperatures dropped drastically at night. Did she really expect me to freeze out here until morning?

My mom gently rested a hand on my shoulder, patting it. "Head on home soon, son. Don't freeze to death out here. Don't punish your own body."

Just as I pushed myself up to leave, Liam stomped over.

He was my brother’s flesh and blood, but I had raised him from day one.

He looked so much like Gwen—the same stubborn chin, the same sharp eyes. And worse, he held the exact same burning contempt for me.

"Hey, Liam, let's—"

Before I could finish, Liam cut me off, sneering, "Tyler, you're nothing but a pathetic freeloader living off my mom's money!”

“You were just supposed to babysit me for my dad, but you actually tried to replace him? You make me sick! You're so greedy!"

I tried to reach out to him, but his venomous glare froze me in place. "You deserve to sleep out here in the dirt. You should be on your knees begging my dad for forgiveness!"

Listening to those words coming out of the boy I loved shattered whatever was left of my heart. "Liam, I raised you. I changed your diapers, I cooked every meal, I tucked you in every single night. How could you say that to me?"

"Stop patting yourself on the back! If my dad hadn't left behind an empire for my mom to run, I'd be living on the streets! You don't care about me.”

“You just wanted our money. Tyler, you're disgusting. You'll never be half the man my father was!"

He screamed at me, spun around, deliberately stomped hard onto the back of my hand, and bolted.

Fighting through the searing pain in my fingers, I wobbled to my feet. The mountain fog was rolling in thick and heavy, turning into an icy drizzle.

When I finally dragged myself to the cemetery gates, I saw Liam holding hands with a man, trying to guide him into the SUV.

"Liam, what happened?" Gwen rushed over, her face pale with concern.

"The trail was slippery from the rain," Liam whined. "Uncle Julian slipped and hurt his ankle trying to catch me."

Julian Campbell. Gwen’s childhood sweetheart, and currently her executive vice president at Vance Enterprises.

I once heard through the grapevine that Gwen was supposed to marry Julian years ago. Through some bizarre twist of fate, she had ended up marrying my younger brother instead.

Hearing Liam's words, Gwen dashed over and immediately dropped to her knees to inspect Julian's ankle. "Let me see! Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

The pure, raw panic in her eyes felt like a serrated blade tearing through my chest.

Julian offered a soft, reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Gwen. Really."

Gwen and Liam supported him from either side, helping him gently into the passenger seat.

Once inside, Julian glanced back, asking innocently, "Wait, where is Tyler? Is it wrong for me to take the front seat?"

Gwen glanced over, barely sparing a look in my direction before looking away. "Forget about him. He loves being pathetic."

I stood in the cold, watching the SUV speed away into the mist, looking like a complete, happy family of three.

The rain beat down harder and harder. Each step I took toward the city felt like dragging lead weights. By the time I walked up the driveway of the mansion, the sun was already rising.

The courtyard was dead silent. They hadn't come home last night.

As soon as I pushed the front door open, the maid scoffed, eyeing me with pure disdain.

"Mr. Vance, it's bad enough you sit around all day doing nothing, but could you at least have some pity on the staff? Stop tracking mud inside and creating extra chores for us."

I looked down at the caked dirt clinging to my shoes, sinking into silence.

Was this really how I was going to waste the rest of my life? Stripping away every ounce of my dignity for people who viewed me as nothing more than dirt?

I had spent seven grueling years honoring my promise to my dead brother. My debt was paid.

And right now, one thing was crystal clear: I was done being their punching bag.