Chapter 1

On the day of the funeral for Rosalind Lourdes and Ethan Carey’s three-year-old daughter, Nina Carey, the pastor had not even finished the eulogy when Rosalind’s phone rang.

It was a specific ringtone she had set for Samson Zeller, with the song titled “One and Only.”

Ethan held the small cremation urn in his arms. His knuckles turned white, and he looked up at her.

Rosalind glanced at him, answered the call without stepping away, and spoke with an unnerving softness.

She hung up, turned to him, and said flatly, “Sam rescheduled our date. I’m leaving now.”

He choked up with emotion as he said, “Today is Nina’s funeral.”

His mother, Mabel, became furious.

Unable to hold back, she rushed forward and slapped Rosalind across the face.

“Rosalind! How can you live with yourself?!

“You begged us to let Ethan marry you. You stayed outside our door through an entire thunderstorm, ran a fever, and refused to move until we said yes!

“When you were pregnant, you had morning sickness so bad you couldn’t keep anything down.

“Ethan dropped everything to stay with you for nine straight months. He made you breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day by himself.

“You made one offhand comment about liking those flowers by the highway, and he drove all night, dug up a whole truckload of them, and filled your entire garden all because he wanted to see you happy.

“But look at you now! We’re at your child’s funeral! You... I can’t even...”

Rosalind’s head snapped to the side from the slap.

Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She wiped it with her thumb and frowned.

She signaled to Alex, her assistant beside her, with a glance, indicating that the emotionally agitated Mabel should be held back.

She turned her gaze back to Ethan and smiled mockingly.

“Ethan, you’re the one who begged me to agree to that daily hour with Sam. Remember?”

He trembled all over as his face went even paler.

Yes, he did.

How could he forget?

Two months ago, Nina was diagnosed with acute leukemia.

Every match attempt failed. The doctors had already issued a critical condition notice.

As he was falling apart, he learned that Samson’s bone marrow was the only matching donor.

However, Samson set one condition. Rosalind had to spend one hour with him every day, pretending to be his lover. Only then would he agree to the bone marrow transplant.

Rosalind flew into a rage and refused on the spot. She called the demand completely absurd and said she would never give in.

He did not agree with it either. She was his wife and the woman he loved. How could he willingly push her into another man’s arms?

However, when he saw Nina lying in her hospital bed, he felt his heart break. Her tiny face was gaunt and hollow, and her breathing was shallow,

The doctors had issued critical notices multiple times. Aside from Samson, there was no one else in the world who could save her.

Nina was barely hanging on.

He had no choice but to beg Rosalind to go along with Samson’s request.

In the end, Rosalind looked at him. He was weeping uncontrollably when Rosalind said softly, “Fine. I’ll go along with it, but it’s all pretend. I won’t catch feelings, and I would never betray you or this family.”

From that day on, however, Samson kept making excuses and repeatedly delayed going to the hospital for the matching test.

Meanwhile, Rosalind broke her promise and developed genuine affection for Samson as they grew closer. She became ever more tender toward him.

Ethan endured it all. He waited and lied to himself that everything could be fixed as long as Nina survived.

Then, the day before yesterday, Nina’s condition worsened. She was sent to the operating room and stayed there for hours.

He frantically tried to reach Samson and Rosalind, but neither of them answered.

Unfortunately, they were spending their “one hour” together deep in the mountains.

Ethan stayed outside the operating room and watched time slip away before his eyes. He watched the doctor walk out and slowly shake his head at him.

“Give me an hour. I’ll come back and give Nina the best goodbye I can.”

Rosalind’s mocking remark snapped Ethan back to reality.

He looked at her with a completely hollow and bitter gaze.

How ridiculous.

Their daughter had passed away, yet she was still fixated on that ridiculous one-hour promise.

She used to make those promises with such sincerity, but all that was left was a deep, cutting sense of betrayal and the sheer ridiculousness of the whole situation.

She tried to take his hand, but Ethan pulled his hand back indifferently.

“Don’t bother.”

She was stunned for a moment. She frowned and left without saying another word.

As she walked away, Mabel chased her down as she yelled, “Rosalind, stop right there!”

However, Ethan firmly grabbed her wrist to hold her back.

Mabel’s heart ached when she saw his ashen face. She broke down and wrapped her arms around his frail frame tightly.

“Ethan, let’s get out of here. I’m taking you home. It breaks my heart to see you suffering like this.”

He leaned into her embrace as his body trembled.

He gently shook his head, then looked at the housekeeper beside him and instructed softly, “Take my mother home. Make sure she’s well looked after. Don’t let her worry.”

Mabel clutched his hand desperately and refused to leave.

“Ethan, what are you doing? You’re scaring me!”

Ethan’s face was completely blank. He gently pulled her fingers loose and motioned for the housekeeper to lead her out as he said, “Mom, I’m okay. I just need some time alone with Nina.”

At last, he was the only one left in the vast, silent cemetery.

Then, his strength finally gave out. His legs went weak, and he crumbled to his knees in front of the cold headstone.

He lowered his head and fixed his eyes on the urn. His lips trembled as he sobbed.

After a long time, he murmured something that people around him barely heard.

“Nina, you were hugging me and being your sweet, playful self two days ago. How did you end up in an urn this small?

“We were supposed to go to an amusement park together. I never got to finish hearing about your day at school. I never, ever got to hold you long enough...”

He started crying without realizing it. His tears fell onto the urn, leaving little wet marks that spread across the lid.

He kept rubbing the cold surface with his thumb as if he could feel her through it.

Then, it started raining heavily, soaking the headstone and drenching his clothes.

Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone to send out a message.

[Get the divorce agreement ready.]

With that, whatever dim spark was left in his eyes flickered out for good.