Chapter 2

James' POV

The tight coil in my heart finally unraveled when I hung up.

I recalled how the entire world had been against Wanda's stubborn decision to marry me. Her parents looked down on me because of my regular family background, and Wanda herself was nearly expelled from Glorisia Business Association.

However, Wanda had shouldered the pressure of public opinion and married me in a grand wedding ceremony.

Everyone said that I was the luckiest man in Glorisia. However, I wasn't the only one attracted to Wanda, who seemed like a goddess in real life.

After receiving a call during our wedding night, she disappeared and didn't return.

I sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and smoked through an entire pack of cigarettes.

Wanda reeked of alcohol when she finally stumbled back in the early hours of the morning. She calmly patted my head and asked, "Do you know what the cutest thing about you is? You're mature enough not to cause any trouble. The Fosters need a head of the family like you."

At that moment, the anger I had been suppressing in my heart was completely extinguished.

I learned to behave and not cause a fuss, becoming her perfect trophy husband.

However, Wanda got involved with the man I hated the most in my life, Mason.

I recalled how Dad tried to force Mom to acknowledge Mason as her son when he brought Mason home for the first time.

At the time, Mom, who had always been a headstrong woman, simply hugged me without saying a word. Instead of acknowledging Mason, she gave Dad two options—he could either send Mason away, or she would take me and leave the Gulliver family.

Dad didn't give her an answer. He stood on the balcony and allowed the biting winds to blow past him. Only when he returned to his room did he realize that Mom had jumped out from the window and fallen to her death.

It was a stormy night, and the rain washed away the blood on Mom's corpse.

Wanda had rushed over to hold me. She allowed me to punch her over and over again as she repeatedly murmured, "It's okay…"

However, the same Wanda was also the one who chose Mason as her new lover, destroying what little pride I had left as the head of the Foster family.

…

Wanda didn't return again that night.

The trending topic that I had paid for was completely buried, disappearing without a trace.

Meanwhile, Wanda proudly took Mason with her while she attended banquets, letting him replace me as the CEO's husband.

She also made a show of inviting everyone in Glorisia to attend Mason's grand birthday party the next day even though she knew that his birthday was also Mom's death anniversary.

It was clear that Wanda wanted me to come to terms with reality and accept that someone like me could never stand a chance against someone like her.

She had also asked her personal doctor to tend to the deep gash on my shoulder.

"Ms. Foster still cares about you. You have to remember that your body isn't like everyone else's. Your injuries don't heal as easily."

I barked out a self-deprecating laugh but didn't say anything else.

In the next second, I received a video from an anonymous sender.

The video showed Mason, who looked like he was having an emotional meltdown.

"When I tried to convince Mrs. Gulliver to accept me as her son that night, she beat me and told me that I didn't deserve it. I accidentally pushed her out of the window during our scuffle, but I only did it out of self-defense. Dad, Wanda, what should I do?"

Mason then slapped his own mouth over and over again, blabbering about how sorry he was toward me.

There was a loud buzzing in my ears. I felt as if my entire world had been turned upside down.

Dad slapped Mason before clutching his chest in anger.

"How on earth did I end up with a son like you? You killed my wife!"

There was a bright red handprint on Mason's cheek as he turned to stubbornly stare at Wanda's back.

"You'll help me, right?" he asked. "You care about me, don't you?"

The silence stretched on for a long time.

My heart leaped into my throat.

I couldn't make out Wanda's expression in the video, but her voice was firm and calm when she said, "You need to go into hiding for the time being. I'll handle the police."