Chapter 1

"I need to think about it, Wendy," Joshua Jetson said in a deep voice over the phone.

He didn't immediately agree, but he also didn't reject me.

I breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alright, then. I'll wait for your answer."

…

I heard a feminine gasp of surprise resound from behind me after I returned home.

"You were discharged from the hospital, Wendy? Why didn't you tell us?"

Savannah Quinton's eyes sparkled as she looked at the suitcase that I was holding.

My husband, Charlie Ashford, stepped forward and swept his disdainful gaze across my abdomen.

"Don't blame Savannah. You know she's pregnant and needs to stay here to take care of the baby in her belly, Wendy. Go back to your guest room now. You can move back into the master bedroom after that repulsive wound of yours heals."

My heart squeezed painfully as a sour and bitter sensation spread through my chest.

Three years ago, Charlie's distant relative, Savannah, showed up at our doorstep right after we got married.

I allowed her to move into the guest room because her hometown had been ravaged by a disaster, but I didn't expect her to stay with us for three years.

My wound hadn't even healed yet, but Charlie still wanted me to live in the guest bedroom?

Charlie grabbed my suitcase when I remained silent. "Savannah just got pregnant. She can't be around a sick person. Don't leave your room unless absolutely necessary!" he snapped.

He then tossed my suitcase into the cramped guest room as if it were nothing but trash, kicking up a cloud of dust in the air.

Savannah covered her nose with a disgusted look on her face and allowed Charlie to lead her toward the master bedroom.

The door slammed shut behind them, totally cutting off the dim and chilly guest room from the rest of the house.

I robotically picked up my suitcase, not having the strength to argue with them.

Besides, I wasn't long for this world.

…

I was woken up by the sounds of laughter the next morning.

I felt incredibly dizzy. I pulled my shirt up and realized that my wound was festering and inflamed again.

I got up and prepared to drop by the clinic to buy some anti-inflammatory medicine. However, I froze on the spot when I pushed the door open.

Charlie and Savannah were sitting closely on the couch together. Their lips were connected by a thin string of saliva.

The burning desire within Charlie extinguished a little when he saw me, replaced by annoyance at being interrupted.

"Why did you only get up now? It's already so late. You've become so lazy after you were hospitalized. Savannah wants to eat the cheesecakes from Westshire. Run along and buy two slices for her."

I pressed a hand against my stomach. I couldn't stop my lips from trembling when I said, "My wound is inflamed again, Charlie."

Charlie simply scoffed at my words. He approached me and began pushing me toward the door.

"Why are you being so pretentious? I'm telling you to go right now! Don't forget that you'd have been sleeping on the streets if the Ashford family hadn't taken you in all those years ago!"

I staggered forward and only managed to regain my balance after I collided against a bookcase.

Just then, Savannah tenderly locked arms with Charlie, saying, "Don't be like that, Charlie. Wendy's still weak. I can understand why she would be reluctant to go. It's just that I don't have much of an appetite today. I'll just have to skip lunch, then."

Charlie looked absolutely heartbroken and held her tightly.

"You're already so thin. The baby is going to go hungry if you skip lunch. Wendy just wants to slack off! I refuse to believe that her wound split open just because she took a couple of steps!"

I gritted my teeth and did my best to block out his mocking words. However, I couldn't stop the tears from spilling down my cheeks and splattering on the floor.

This was the man who I had sacrificed my kidney to save.

I slipped my hand into my pocket and clutched the heavy military merit medal that was cool to the touch.

Mom had pressed it into my palm before she passed away. I still remembered how she took my hand before speaking her last words.

"Wendy… If you ever feel like you can't go on anymore… Take this and look for Joshua Jetson… He owes our family a favor…"

Just then, our neighbor, Penelope Myers, knocked on our door. She had a message for us.

There was only a single sentence on the note.

"My men will be coming tomorrow."

I knew that Joshua was going to pick me up soon.