Chapter 1

"Babe, something really has happened to Gideon. I have to go to the hospital and stay by his side."

I was in the lounge at the wedding venue, getting dressed, when Lenora burst through the door in a panic, blurted out those words, and started changing clothes without even looking at me.

Caught completely off guard, I frowned. "What did you say?"

Lenora repeated herself. That was when I realized she wasn't joking.

I stared at her and finally snapped. "Lenora Bennet, if you walk out on this wedding today, we're done. For good."

Lenora's hands froze for a second as she took off her wedding dress, but she quickly continued. She frantically changed into her casual clothes, rushed over to me, and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of my lips.

"Babe, don't be unreasonable. Gideon can't manage without me right now. Once he gets better, we'll have another wedding—a perfect one—to make up for this, okay?"

With that, she ran out without looking back.

I watched her leave and felt all the strength draining from my body. So, our wedding was contingent on her first taking care of my older brother, Gideon Sloane, until he fully recovered.

How disgusting.

Not long after Lenora left, my mom, Gwen Goodwin, walked in.

I thought she had come to comfort me, but instead, she grabbed my hand and pleaded, "Ivan, Gideon's sick, and he can't be without Lenora right now. Be a little more understanding and let her keep Gideon company, okay? I'm begging you."

Her words hurt even more than Lenora walking out on our wedding.

My own mother was asking me to be "understanding" and allow my wife to abandon me on our wedding day to be with another man.

Before I could even react, another person burst in through the door. It was my older sister, Hillary Sloane.

The moment she stepped inside, rather than showing concern, she started scolding me. "Ivan Sloane, can't you be more understanding? Your brother is lying sick in the hospital, and all you can think about is marrying Lenora.

"You're heartless. If it weren't for Gideon, do you think you'd even be standing here today? You shouldn't be so selfish. Can't you just let him have this?"

Their words struck me like lightning, leaving me reeling.

After finding out what happened, Mom and Hillary's first reaction was to yell at me, as if I were some unforgivable villain.

Yet Gideon was the one who had stolen my life.

Once they were done berating me, Mom and Hillary hurried out. I knew they were going to see Gideon.

Right then, a WhatsApp notification sounded. I unlocked my phone and saw that it was a message from Gideon.

"How does it feel to be abandoned by your own blood, Ivan Sloane? It must hurt to see them choosing me and abandoning you, huh?

"So why did you even come back in the first place? You should've just stayed in that backwater village. I've already told you—one word from me, and they'll all take my side. You'll always be the one abandoned.

"If I were you, getting abandoned by my family over and over again, I'd have ended my life a long time ago. What's the point of living such a pathetic, failed life?"

I felt nothing as I read those cruel messages from Gideon. I'd long grown numb to such venomous words.