LOGINHillary hadn't been that humiliated—or lowered herself to such an extent—in a very long time. But no matter how much she begged, it made no difference.In the biting cold wind, she stood alone outside the office building with gifts in hand, just hoping to see one of my buddies.Coincidentally, I stepped out of a Maybach right then and walked straight toward the office building she couldn't enter.When she saw me, she rushed forward, only to be firmly stopped by the security guard."Ma'am, no entry without an appointment."Panicking, she pointed at my disappearing figure and screamed, "Let go of me! I'm with him! Why can he go in and I can't? He's my husband!"The guard rolled his eyes."What on earth are you spouting? That's our company's vice president—a total catch of a bachelor. What could he have to do with you? Hurry up and move along. Don't ruin our company's image."Hillary just stood there, completely stunned.In her eyes, I'd always been an electrician who only earned
"It's okay. If you want a divorce, then get a divorce. We're all here for you," Chris said.Tears pricked my eyes again.The year I finished my SATs, Dad had a little too much to drink while celebrating and died in a car accident.I went to confront the driver responsible, only to get knocked out and sold to traffickers, eventually ending up somewhere in South Treya. Those days were hell, but luckily, a gang happened to be recruiting new casino dealers.Thanks to a pair of hands far more dexterous than most people's, I was chosen—and I survived.For six years in Harkensalle, I lived life on the edge. I clawed my way out of piles of dead bodies and climbed to the very top of the card table that devoured people whole.But like most people, I soon grew tired.All I wanted was to go home and live a quiet, peaceful life with Mom.Chris and my other buddies—all of whom had been through life-and-death situations with me—followed me back to my hometown without hesitation.Over the pas
"Call the cops! I'm calling the cops!" Shane screamed, jumping up in a fit of rage and jabbing his finger at me."That's assault, Lucas! And some of that money was earned by Hil! What gives you the right to take all of it?"I stared at him coldly, watching his features twist with agitation."Go ahead. Report me. Once you're done, I'll slap her again. At most, it's domestic violence. You think that scares me?"Hillary propped herself up and stared at me in disbelief, as if seeing me for the first time. But I couldn't be bothered to spare her another glance. I just turned and headed for the door.My hand had just touched the door handle when the door suddenly swung open from the outside.Several uniformed police officers stepped in, their expressions stern.The second Shane saw them, it was as though he'd seen his saviors. He shouted excitedly, "Officers! It's him! He's involved in illegal gambling and assault!"His words made everyone in the room turn pale.Illegal gambling? Th
There, standing upright on the table in front of me, were three dice. Six, six, one—13!One of the dice had been split clean through the middle, forcibly exposing a fresh surface and revealing an extra pip.When Hillary heard the gasps, she leaned over in disbelief. The second she got a clear look at the three dice, all the color drained from her face."That's impossible… How do you know that trick…" she murmured in stunned shock.I calmly sat back down in my seat, as if the frenzied person from a moment ago wasn't me."So? How does it feel now that it's your turn to lose? Not a pleasant feeling, is it?"Shane rushed over in disbelief, shouting, "Impossible! This is impossible! You cheated! Let's go again!""Sure," I replied, my tone indifferent.He immediately changed the rules. "Lowest wins!"Hillary rolled for him again. Her jaw was clenched, clearly giving it everything she had.She lifted the cup and revealed three dice stacked perfectly on top of each other, with only t
Shane swiftly pulled the enraged Hillary back into his arms and sat down again. He patted her back reassuringly while arrogantly agreeing to my wager."Don't be mad, Hil. There's no way he can win. Our son will be fine."Whispers spread among the crowd."Take a look at the photo of Shane's son on his social media. The kid's eyes really do look like Hillary's.""Yeah, I just remembered. Didn't Hillary go to Verdeau on a business trip for about six months four years ago? Wasn't Shane in Verdeau around the same time?""Now that you mention it…"Shane's son was four years old.That meant that when Hillary and I were discussing marriage, she and Shane had never fully broken things off.And worse, she'd even become pregnant with his child.What I thought was a sweet, loving romance had been nothing but a one-sided show on my part.My heart ached like it had been ripped wide open. I wanted nothing more than to tear them to shreds right on the spot, but I held back."Let's start."
I stared intently at Hillary, desperately hoping to see even the slightest hint of hesitation or reluctance on her face.But I found nothing.She even urged me impatiently, "Hurry up, Lucas. Stop dawdling."For a moment, I felt dazed.Back in high school, Shane had led the whole class in isolating me. He'd corner me in the restroom and beat me up whenever he felt like it.Once, Hillary had burst in, kicked aside the people blocking the door, and pulled my bruised, battered self behind her."He's mine," she declared to everyone there. "From now on, whoever dares touch him has to get through me first!"Sunlight streamed in from behind her, making her look like a radiant warrior princess. But now, my warrior princess was linking arms with the very bully from back then, forcing me to bark like a dog in front of everyone.Humiliated, I let out a few pitiful barks. "Woof… Woof…"Shane held up his phone, laughing hysterically, capturing the entire shameful scene. He then casually tos







