Chapter 3

Adam's POV

"I wonder which poor sucker has to go to a place like Nambara," Diana remarked.

I lowered my eyes. That "poor sucker" was me.

Seeing the gloom on my face, Diana took my hand, her expression turning complicated. "The rehab specialists I hired are some of the best in the field. And you have me, your wife, by your side. You'll get better."

If she hadn't told her friend to inject me with a nerve-numbing drug the second I became stable, I might've believed her.

"By the way, Adam, the project you were in charge of is having its final inspection ceremony. But since you're still recovering, you should stay home."

There was basically no room for discussion.

When we got home, she grabbed a jacket and left. The moment she was out the door, I hailed a cab and followed her.

…

The inspection ceremony was anything but ordinary. The turnout was far grander than I had expected.

When my colleagues saw me, they began whispering among themselves.

"I've never met an explorer this unlucky. The weather was perfectly fine, and yet a torrential downpour just happened to hit on the exact day he went out on the mission."

"If I were him, I'd quit while I was ahead. Who knows? He might end up causing trouble for the rest of the team someday."

"I feel sorry for Ms. Nelson. She'll have to spend the rest of her life looking after a disabled man. Now that I think about it, she and Flynn are a much better match."

The voices were never-ending.

I followed their gaze. Flynn stood at the center of it all, basking in the praise from everyone around him. The terrain was rough, so Diana had taken off his dress shoes and carried them for him herself.

He was like a pampered houseplant she had carefully tended.

When everyone split off to mingle, Diana helped Flynn into the car so he could rest. "You don't need to feel guilty about taking the credit. Adam can't use the data anymore anyway. As long as we don't tell anyone, it's yours.

"Don't worry. There's no way I'd let you go to Nambara. It can be anybody, but I won't let it be you."

A smug look flashed across Flynn's eyes. He pressed Diana against the car window. "So, how should I repay you for everything you've done for me? Like this… Or this?"

In an instant, her cheeks flushed, and her breathing grew heavier. The heat inside the car rose, fogging up the windows.

Despite fighting to hold herself back, she finally gave in. She grabbed the back of his head and pulled him into a kiss. Whatever was happening inside the car became harder to watch.

I covered my mouth and hid behind a tree, closing my eyes as my heart turned to stone.

This was the place where I had barely survived. It was also where I had lost my reproductive ability. Yet Diana was inside that car, lost in pleasure.

As the ceremony drew to a close, everyone gradually began to leave. I was about to follow the others when a familiar male voice came from behind me.

"Adam, you're the most useless man I've ever met."

Flynn stood in front of me with his arms crossed, his body covered in fresh hickeys.

A bitter smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. In the end, as much as I hated to admit it, he was the one who came out on top.

He kicked my useless arm, his eyes filled with smug satisfaction. "How does it feel to be betrayed by your own wife? So what if you got your wish and married Diana? I'm still the one she can't let go."

He added, "Your woman, your career—they all belong to me now. And you, Adam, are nothing but a cripple!"

Then, he showed me the video from the day of the cloud seeding.

I was trapped beneath the mountain by the landslide, my body covered in wounds. Blood kept flowing from between my legs, washed away by the rain, sealing my fate as a man who would never be able to have children.

At that time, Diana was watching with one arm wrapped around Flynn, the other tilting the umbrella toward him. "Enough watching. You'll catch a cold."