Chapter 1

My wife, Nina Jeanes, was taken to the police station for assaulting another person.

I trailed behind the police car in my own car.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by the sight of the restaurant owner, Will Looke, tenderly wiping the blood from Nina's temple for her.

"Does it hurt? I already told you I was fine," he said.

I stood in the doorway and watched them for a long time.

I knew Will. He was a young and clean-cut man who ran a breakfast place just downstairs from where Nina and I lived.

Nina really liked getting breakfast from his shop and would ask me to buy her some every day.

Hence, I gradually got to know Will as well.

When a policeman walked out, he had a report in his hand.

He looked between Will and me with a strange look in his eyes.

"Which of you is her family member?" he asked.

It was when the words left his mouth that Nina finally noticed me standing to one side.

She immediately looked away and swiftly put some distance between Will and herself.

If not for the policeman's words, she might not have noticed me at all.

After ten years of marriage, I was used to always being at the bottom of her priority list.

After posting her bail, I said calmly, "Let's go home first."

Will, who was standing next to Nina, looked like he was about to say something. However, he sulkily kept his silence upon seeing the look in my eyes.

I drove while Nina sat in the front passenger seat.

On the way home, neither of us said a single word.

It wasn't until we'd arrived and closed the door behind us that she finally spoke up.

"It's not what you think. Will's wife cheated on him, so I was trying to help him…"

For Will's sake, she was going so far as to offer something she'd always considered beneath herself—an explanation.

My chest felt uncomfortably tight.

Nina was cold and aloof.

In the public's eye, she was a rational, elite lawyer.

At home, she sometimes said no more than ten sentences to me in one day.

I'd always assumed that she treated everyone the same way, so I asked nothing else of her and simply hoped that we continued to live peaceful lives.

Yet, she was now sticking up for a stranger in public and had even been arrested for his sake.

I sighed deeply and said, "Nina, I've been married to you for ten years, so I know you best. You've handled countless court cases involving infidelity. Why did you choose to stick up for him in particular?"

Nina was clearly stunned for a second, looking like she hadn't expected my question, but she quickly started frowning.

"I'm a lawyer, and he's just a client who needs help. Isn't it perfectly normal for me to help him?" she asked.

Her self-righteous demeanor brought me close to laughter.

A few years ago, my father passed away in an accident.

The drunk driver had pulled a hit-and-run, so I pleaded for Nina to step in.

She'd replied, "Pay my legal fees first. Procedure must be observed."

Why hadn't I noticed that she was so righteous and benevolent back then?

Just as I was about to speak again, someone knocked on the door.

Nina opened the door to reveal Will standing outside.

Her tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed a little.

Will stood awkwardly in the doorway and glanced cautiously at me.

"Did I come at a bad time?" he asked.

Nina pursed her lips and said nothing.

Will strode forward and knelt before us immediately afterward.

Nina turned pale with shock and shouted, "What are you doing?"

Will presented the documents he'd been carrying and said in a choked voice, "Nina, please help me. I'll pay your fees. I'm already prepared to sell the breakfast shop."

Nina forcefully helped him to his feet before replying firmly, "I won't ask—"

"I'll give you the bank account details, so please transfer the sum within three days," I cut in, gazing quietly at the two of them.

Nina whipped around to look at me, her eyes wide.

I smiled wryly. "Weren't you the one who said that procedure must be observed and to pay the fee first—"

Before I even finished speaking, Nina slapped me hard.

My cheek burned with pain.

"Ian Sheppard! You're clearly aware that Will has no money, yet you're being so petty! Is money all you care about?" Nina snapped, her chest heaving violently.

She promptly turned to leave, tugging Will along with her.

"Let's go! I'll handle your divorce case for free!" she told him.