Chapter 1

My mind went blank when I got the call from the hospital. My mother-in-law, Marie Palmer, came over to bring my husband, Zachary Lambert, some of his favorite homemade pickles. She had only left not too long ago, but I was now informed that she had gotten into a car accident.

Feeling panicked, I rushed to the hospital. Along the way, I kept trying to get in touch with Zachary. Busy with his work as a lawyer, he often neglected to take my calls, but he had to this time! His own mother was lying in the hospital, her fate still unknown!

When yet another one of my calls to him went unanswered, I pocketed my phone with a frown and hurried over to the operating room. In between pants, I asked the nurse, "H-How is my mother-in-law?"

Sighing, the nurse told me, "We're doing our best to save the patient, but she is in critical condition. I'm afraid you might have to be prepared for the worst."

Beside myself with anxiety, I hurriedly called Zachary again. At last, he took my call, but he snapped at me impatiently, "What the hell do you want, Annette? Why have you called me over 20 times now? Don't you know I'm busy?"

I was just about to tell him the news when I heard the soft, pitiful voice of a woman saying, "Please don't leave, Zach. I'm so scared right now."

"It's fine. I'm here for you. The bad guys won't get their way," Zachary quickly assured her.

It had been ages since he last spoke to me in such a gentle manner. I felt as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over my head. My throat constricted as I asked, "What are you busy with right now?"

Zachary scoffed. Despite not being able to see his face right now, I could still sense how irritated he was.

"Something came up with Gigi. Someone's trying to file a fraudulent claim against her. She's a young woman with no one to depend on. I'm the only person she knows around here, so she had no choice but to ask me for help. Can you stop making a fuss for no reason?" Zachary snapped.

It was Gigi Norris again. She was Zachary's first love. Despite only having been a month since she returned to the country, I had already lost count of the number of times I heard him mention her name.

The stories were plentiful enough. A pipe at her place burst, so he had to go over and fix it for her. Someone was tailing her, and he couldn't let her come to harm without doing anything, so he had to go over and protect her.

In Zachary's eyes, Gigi was a demure, mild-mannered woman who didn't like troubling other people. However, she felt more like an overgrown baby to me, one who couldn't survive on her own at all.

She became a constant presence in my life. Every bit of Zachary's free time was spent on her. This led to many arguments between us.

At first, Zachary promised me he wouldn't maintain contact with Gigi, but over time, he started losing his patience with me. During our last argument, he even said, "My relationship with Gigi is all in the past. Stop overthinking things. Why would I have married you if I had something going on with Gigi?"

As I recalled these things, my heart filled with bitterness. However, just when I wanted to inform him about Marie's situation, the call cut off. He dropped my call!

I started calling him again, but with each unanswered call, my heart sank. After countless attempts, the call finally connected. Afraid that he would drop the call on me again, I hurriedly explained what happened to Marie.

"Mom was in a car accident. The doctors are still trying to save her. You need to come quickly! I don't have enough money in my account either. Can you transfer 100 thousand dollars to me?"

Never would I have thought that it wasn't Zachary who answered his phone. Instead, I heard Gigi's delicate voice again, but the words that came out of her mouth made my blood boil.

"Annette, I know you're just coming up with this excuse because you desperately want Zach to go back to you, but I really need him right now. I'll return him to you once everything is settled, okay?

"As for the money… You shouldn't lie to Zach like that. Just a few days ago, I heard your mom asking you for 100 thousand dollars to buy a house for your younger brother."

Apparently, Zachary had been standing on the side the whole time, for I heard him roaring, "You're hopeless, Annette! When are you going to stop acting like your brother's personal ATM?

"What does your mother getting into an accident have to do with me? Even if she ends up dying, don't even think of getting money from me to provide for your family. Now, leave me alone. I'm busy!"