Chapter 1

I turned my head and met Anna's obscure and unfathomable gaze.

"There are only ten minutes left until the professor selection starts. I'm not going to make it."

Anna took my hand apologetically.

"Darling, I'm sorry. I clearly checked the route several times when I left the house this morning, and the navigation didn't alert me that we were going the wrong way just now.

"Maybe the universe also hopes you won't push yourself too hard, so it's using this way to remind you to rest well. Let's get your health back in good shape so we can try for a baby."

As I listened to her, that comment from before surfaced once again before my eyes.

She'd been pretending to have no sense of direction for five years and deliberately caused me to fall and get hurt. Now she wanted to persuade me to quit my job, aiming to completely turn me into a useless person so she could kick me to the curb.

I gave a faint, wry smile. "Alright, then you can resign today. Let's stay home and focus on making a baby."

Anna was choked up for a moment. After what felt like a long pause, she let out a soft sigh.

"Claude, you're clearly still angry with me about that time I took you to the hospital. But I didn't mean for that to happen either. I was just so worried about you that I got lost.

"You've known for a long time that I have no sense of direction. When things were that urgent, you should have just called 911 yourself instead of waiting for me to take you to the hospital."

I found her complaints utterly ridiculous. She claimed she had no sense of direction, so much so that a trip from the company to our home, a drive that normally took just 20 minutes, required four or five hours for her.

Sometimes, she found it too much trouble and would simply text me, saying she was staying overnight at the company.

But Josh Lowry, her childhood sweetheart, lived nearly an hour's drive from her company, and she could usually get there in just 30 minutes.

When it came to our dates, Anna would always keep me waiting for hours because of her "getting lost". Yet, with just a phone call from Josh, she could always rush to his side in time, no matter the distance.

I'd lost my temper with her over this more than once. But it just always ended with me being the one to apologize. Because I couldn't bear to let go of this ten-year relationship, I was constantly torn between losing my mind and saying sorry.

A month ago, I once again missed the optimal window for treatment because of her getting lost.

After my body was damaged, I had thought about leaving her. But not only did she disagree, but she started treating me even better. This made me abandon the idea of separating from her.

My mother, Marcy Cooper, even withdrew her pension out of guilt to buy herself a house and a car.

I always thought that if I just loved Anna a little more, she'd eventually see my good qualities and have a change of heart. We'd surely be very happy together.

But as it turned out, I was still too naive.

Thinking of this, I said flatly, "Sorry for the trouble."