Chapter 1

Ever since his wife died saving him during a flight mission, Simon Radcliffe had suffered from severe depression and PTSD. More than once, he had wanted to follow his late wife, Eleanor Marlow, into death.

However, his mother was getting old, his brother, Jeremy Radcliffe, had a terminal brain tumor, and his daughter, Poppy Radcliffe, was only three years old.

Hence, Simon swallowed the pain, gritted his teeth, and held his shattered family together day after day. He carried that weight for three years.

Then one day, he received a last-minute notice asking him to come to the school to complete his daughter's enrollment paperwork.

When he reached the registrar's office, the administrator told him, "Poppy's paperwork has already been taken care of. Her mom and dad came in together to do it."

A sharp pain shot through Simon's chest, but he forced a smile.

"Excuse me? I'm Poppy's father. Her mother passed away three years ago. I have all the documentation right here."

The administrator gave him a strange look, pushed up her glasses, and pointed toward the crowd.

"Her parents just left! They were standing right in front of me, alive and well. You think I'd get that wrong?"

Simon followed the direction of her finger.

In the crowd, a woman was beaming as she held Jeremy's arm and Poppy's hand. It was the wife he had longed for, day and night, for three years.

His ears rang, and his mind went completely blank.

Shaking all over, Simon was about to rush over and demand answers when he collided with his close friend, Kevin Sutton, who had just stepped out of a car.

Kevin took one look at Simon's ashen face and froze. "What are you doing here?

"Well, you've seen it now, Simon, so I might as well tell you. Eleanor never died. She faked her death to get away from you so she could marry Jeremy."

Simon swayed and nearly fell.

Kevin was his best friend in the flight squadron, and Simon had personally recommended him for his current position as squadron commander.

During the last three years of unbearable grief, Kevin had taken him to therapy again and again, listened patiently every time he needed to talk, and stayed with him through all the nights he cried and drank himself numb.

Simon stared at Kevin in disbelief.

"You knew all along, and you never told me? I thought...

“I thought we were brothers."

Kevin sounded a little impatient.

"We are! But Jeremy's dying. The first thing on his bucket list was to have Eleanor as his wife, just for a little while. You love Eleanor more than your own life. If we had told you, would you have willingly given her up to Jeremy?

"Your mom, Poppy, and I all knew. We only kept it from you because we were afraid you'd make a scene, and Jeremy would die with regrets!"

Simon clenched his jaw and bit down on his lip so hard he drew blood.

Years ago, when he went with his parents to volunteer at an orphanage, he and the orphaned Jeremy hit it off the moment they met.

Simon had felt sorry for how frail Jeremy was, so he had begged his parents to adopt him.

Back then, Jeremy had smiled shyly. "Thank you for giving me a family. I promise I'll never try to take anything from you!"

However, Jeremy had now taken his wife. Even his own mother and daughter had kept the truth from him and stood by while he suffered alone for three whole years!

The happy ‘family of three’ was now asking a passerby to take their picture. Simon could not take it anymore. He shook off Kevin's grip, charged forward, and smashed the camera!

Eleanor froze. "Simon? What are you doing here?"

They had not seen each other in three years, yet there was not a trace of longing or love in her eyes.

A sharp pain stabbed through Simon's heart.

"You brought your side piece here to enroll my daughter in school. Why is it so strange to run into her real father?"

Eleanor frowned. "Simon, do you have to put it like that? Jeremy doesn't have much time left. I'm only giving him a family for a little while before he goes. Once he's gone, I'll come right back to you.

"You're his brother. How can you call him something so vile instead of feeling for him or trying to understand?"

"Simon, I—” Jeremy began to explain, but he barely got a few words out before he broke into a violent coughing fit.

When she saw his face flush red, Poppy suddenly ran at Simon and bit down hard on his arm. "You're a bad guy! Papa Jeremy is not a side piece!"

Blood immediately streamed down Simon’s arm. However, as he watched his daughter defend Jeremy, the wound on his arm hurt nowhere near as much as the one in his heart.

The last flicker of hope inside Simon went out for good.

He looked up and met Eleanor's eyes calmly. "You don't need to come back to me. You're already Jeremy's wife, so the two of you can have each other!"

He turned to leave, but Eleanor grabbed his arm, her voice full of pain and helplessness.

"Simon, why can't you just understand?

"I only married Jeremy to grant his dying wish. You're the one I love. You've always been my husband! Why are you holding this against a dying man?"

Simon closed his eyes as a deep, piercing ache spread through his chest.

He was supposed to forgive three years of lies, graciously accept that his wife had become another man's wife, and let his daughter call another man ‘papa’ just because Eleanor pitied Jeremy?

He could not accept it. He would never forgive it!

At that moment, Jeremy spoke weakly. "Eleanor, stop. I've been nothing but a burden to you both! You've already given me three years, Eleanor. I have no regrets left. Today, I'm giving you back to Simon!"

With that, a determined look came over his face, and he charged into the oncoming traffic like a lunatic.