Chapter 1

The day Sabrina Kerr filed for divorce from her husband, Cameron Sterling, her name began trending on social media for all the wrong reasons, as everyone condemned and insulted her.

The news article read, "Lark City Star Lawyer Exposed: Defending a Scumbag, Abandoning her Disabled Husband, and Driving Her Sister-in-Law to Suicide!"

Meanwhile, the alleged husband was currently sitting in his wheelchair, staring at the divorce papers in front of him, writing it off as nothing more than Sabrina throwing a tantrum.

He sounded a little frustrated as he said in an indulgent voice, like coaxing a child, "I will never agree to the divorce, Rina. Stop making such a fuss."

His voice remained as gentle and soothing as ever—just like that rainy night five years ago, when he dragged Sabrina from the mangled cab despite his own legs being a bloody mess. Even then, his greatest concern was whether she was hurt.

However, it was this gentle, loving, humble man who had lied to her for five entire years.

…

Three days ago, Cameron's grandfather, Abram Sterling, suddenly fell terribly ill. Sabrina immediately set down her case file and went to look for Cameron, who had been discussing business with his friend at the latter's house.

But when she reached the door, she froze—Cameron, her husband, who had been wheelchair-bound for five years, was standing as if nothing were wrong.

A few of his other friends were there as well, and they teased Cameron about it.

"Come on, Cam, you recovered five years ago. Are you really planning to hide this from your family for the rest of your life?"

"Especially your wife, Sabrina! She's been diligently looking after you over the years. I'm sure she's the one who wants most to see you walk again!"

Cameron crossed his legs, his wheelchair abandoned in a corner, as if it were something he didn't use every day. Beneath his elegant front, however, a subtle, rather complex emotion lingered in his eyes.

"If I didn't do this… I wouldn't be able to sleep in separate rooms with her…"

"What?"

Cameron's friend, Harry Duff, was shocked. He blurted, "But Sabrina has been by your side, caring for you every day for five whole years! How could you do such an inhumane thing to her?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, however, he was immediately kicked in the shin by another friend.

Said friend, Simon Walters, handed a glass of red wine to Cameron, a complicated look in his eyes. He said, "I heard that you got Sabrina to help you win Katherine's divorce case. Cameron, don't tell me that you still haven't given up on Katherine yet."

When Cameron didn't respond, and his eyes only darkened, his friends understood immediately.

"But Katherine already has a son. If the Sterlings didn't accept her five years ago, they won't accept her now—especially since she's divorced and has a son.

"Also, you've been married to Sabrina for five years. You know how well she's been treating you all along. How could you bear to abandon her for someone else now?"

Cameron said, "In all that time, I've never treated her poorly. As for abandoning her…"

He finished all the wine in his glass in one gulp and let his sentence hang in the air. He simply lowered his gaze so that no one could see the emotion in his eyes.

However, Cameron's friends knew he wouldn't have given such an ambiguous answer unless he was seriously thinking about abandoning Sabrina just to be with Katherine.

Harry and Simon continued complaining about Cameron, but Sabrina couldn't bear to listen to the rest of their conversation anymore.

It had been five years.

Five whole years.

As it turned out, Cameron's legs had already recovered a long time ago. This whole time, he had only been lying to her.

Sabrina kept retreating, stumbling backward before turning to leave.

She suddenly tasted something salty yet bitter in her mouth. When she reached up to touch it, she realized that her cheeks were wet with tears.

Her mother-in-law, Mindy Sampson, texted her again, asking her if Cameron was on his way. She also told them to be careful on the way there, saying that Abram's condition was stable now and that they shouldn't get too anxious if they were rushing to see him.

Sabrina left the air-conditioned living room and stepped into the sharp chill outdoors. Yet, the temperature outside was no match for her cold, lonely, and frozen heart.

Abram's life was at stake. Although Sabrina didn't want to see Cameron again, she knew that she couldn't possibly hide the news from him. So, she called him instead.

The phone rang for a long time, but nobody picked up. After that, Sabrina decided to just forward Mindy's message to him instead.

When Sabrina gave it some more thought, she realized that it was strange that Mindy didn't text Cameron straight away but instead told her to tell him in person.

Still, Sabrina's mind was in turmoil. Five years of deception had clouded her judgment, and she simply couldn't stop to calm down and think things through.

After all, Cameron had only sustained his leg injury because of her. It had been years since, but Mindy and all his other extended family members often had a thing or two to say to her about it.

It was a bitter winter day. Sabrina suspected Mindy just wanted her out in the cold for a while—as if a little freezing would make up for what Cameron had suffered.

Sabrina first called a cab to the hospital. However, she just couldn't shake what Simon had said—that Cameron hadn't yet given up on Katherine—from her mind.

Finally, her curiosity got the better of her, and she decided to call her friend to investigate.

"Hello, Julie? Can you please help me look into Katherine Johnston's background, before she went abroad?"

"Katherine Johnston?"

Juliana Dawson was surprised. "I thought her divorce case had been dealt with."

Sabrina didn't elaborate; she simply asked Juliana for her assistance.

The cab stopped in front of the hospital. Sabrina hopped off after paying the driver, but she was still too late.

When she arrived at the inpatient area, there were sounds of loud crying and wailing coming from the ward.

Abram had already passed away.

Sabrina looked like she'd just had the life force drained out of her. She stood rooted to the ground, unable to snap out of her daze for a long while.

Mindy then weaved through the sea of relatives and wiped at her tears, asking, "Where's Cameron?"

"I already texted him. He—"

Before she could finish speaking, Sabrina was suddenly slapped hard on the cheek.

The slap was so hard that she was immediately sent reeling to the side. She hadn't even managed to steady herself when a barrage of insults was hurled in her face.

"You jinx!"

Abram's wife, Tina Patterson, had just lost her husband, and she was distraught. Her eyes were swollen, and her voice was hoarse from too much crying.

"Cameron broke his legs as soon as you appeared five years ago! And now, it's all your fault that he and Abram never even got to see each other for the last time before he died! Abram had missed Cameron so much, too…"

Tina, unable to complete her sentence, began crying and wailing loudly again.

The other relatives who saw Tina cursing at Sabrina immediately began chiding and condemning her as well.

Sabrina felt dizzy and disoriented from all the cursing.

Cameron had broken his legs and turned into a cripple because of her, and, out of gratitude, she had chosen to marry him when he proposed to her. And for the next five years, Sabrina had to put up with all of the insulting remarks the Sterling family hurled at her.

Abram was the only person who never scolded her for anything.

He always took pity on her whenever Tina punished her at home, sent food and medicine when she was sick, and comforted her by saying some things were simply beyond human control.

But now, Abram was gone. The only person in the Sterling family who would always have her back was gone now.

History was repeating itself. Years ago, the person who protected her had also disappeared, and she was thrown out of the household like trash.

Sabrina was so lost in her thoughts that she forgot to blink. Her eyes were as dry as the desert, and she couldn't even fake that she was crying.

When Tina saw that Sabrina didn't have a single tear in her eyes, she flew into a rage and yelled, "You heartless creature!"

Then, she raised her cane, meaning to strike it heavily against Sabrina's shoulder.

"Stop that!"