Chapter 1

My wife, Helena White, seemed to have fallen out of love. She came home, curled up on the sofa, her eyes downcast as she stared at her phone.

I knew her boyfriend, Jaiden Gorman, was causing trouble again.

Good, the corner of my mouth twitched.

It was a good thing my girlfriend, Kyla Mayer, was very obedient.

*****

I was waiting for my surgery at the hospital when Helena suddenly got a call. She glanced at me, then murmured into the phone,

She said, "Don't make a fuss. I'll come keep you company soon."

The person on the other end just wouldn't give up, so Helena left without so much as an apologetic look in my direction.

I couldn't help but look disappointed. Even a word of comfort from her would've made me feel a bit better.

But she walked away without a second thought.

After the surgery, while I was still groggy from the anesthesia, Helena's first love, Jaiden, called me.

"Guess what Helena's doing right now?" he asked.

I was still out of it and really didn't feel like dealing with him.

"She's with you, I know. What do you want?" I replied.

Jaiden clearly didn't expect me to stay so chill. He was stunned for a second.

After a few seconds of silence, he snapped, "You had surgery today, right? But with just one call, she dropped everything and came to me."

I sighed and said, "You're naive. I don't care about her love, only her money. Her heart is yours, but every cent she spends on you is our marital money. So respect me, or I'll make you repay every penny she's ever given you."

Jaiden was so pissed, he went quiet for a long moment, then hung up, cursing under his breath.

The doctor looked at me, a mix of shock and curiosity in his eyes, then said awkwardly, "The surgery went well. Try not to get worked up. Make sure you get plenty of rest."

I nodded and said, "It's fine, I'm not mad. Honestly, I'm just in it for her money."

The doctor's mouth twitched, and he didn't say another word.

Who was I kidding? Of course, I was upset. I used to love her with all my heart.

The surgery went smoothly, and I got out of the hospital that same day. When I dragged myself home, worn out, I found Helena curled up on the couch, looking totally down in the dumps.

Her slender fingers were tapping away at her phone nonstop.

She looked exactly like someone nursing a broken heart.

Jaiden probably started another argument with her.

As soon as she saw me, Helena's face turned cold. She jabbed a finger at me and said, "Why did you have to mess with him?"

I was wiped out and couldn't hide my disappointment. She didn't even care if my surgery went okay, or bother to ask why I wasn't still in the hospital.

There were tons of things piling up at the White Group, so taking time off just wasn't an option.

I really bared my soul for Helena, gave her everything I had.

I sighed and said, "I just had surgery. I need to rest, or I might tear my stitches."

Helena scoffed and said, "It was just an appendectomy. Are you seriously acting like you're the king of the world? I'm asking you, why did you have to pick a fight with Jaiden?"

I was so pissed, I finally snapped at Helena for the first time in my life.

I said, "Helena, have you lost it? He was the one who called me first and decided to mess with me while I was still recovering from surgery. Who else am I supposed to take it out on if not him?"

Helena froze. In all these years, she had never seen me snap at her like this.

She glanced at my exhausted, pale face, then said, a little awkwardly, "You know how he is. What's the harm in just letting him be?"

I fought through the pain and replied coldly, "I used to let it slide, but today I'm feeling like crap, and I'm done putting up with it. If you want to be his lapdog, that's your business. I'm not playing that game."

Helena's face turned bright red with rage. She flung her high heel at me, and I didn't dodge in time; the heel left a bloody scratch across my face.

It didn't just cut my face; it cut deep into my heart, too.

Weak and defeated, I turned and headed back to my room to start writing up the divorce agreement. Only one month left on our marriage contract.

I was finally about to break free.