Chapter 1

Zack's POV

The blood in my veins turned to ice in an instant.

The sales assistant's face was full of envy as she looked at my apprentice, Hayden Erikson. "You treat your wife so well. She must love you a lot."

The corners of Hayden's lips curled up into a smug smile. "She's my teacher and a top-class race engineer. She took good care of me from the very beginning.

"I didn't know anything when I first joined the racing industry. She was worried that I would hurt myself, so she personally taught me the ropes and ordered a custom-made race car for me that was worth hundreds of millions of dollars."

My wife, Rebecca Samson, only became a race engineer to accompany me. News of our marriage had sent shockwaves through the entire city. She was a top-class race engineer, and I was a genius racer. The people had enviously called us a match made in heaven.

However, whenever I won a race and excitedly wanted to share my happiness with her, she would shoot a cold look at me and tell the people who were egging me on to be quiet.

When I questioned her about it, she simply said, "The racetrack is a serious place of competition. It shouldn't be turned into entertainment."

It turned out that Rebecca wasn't actually old-fashioned. She just didn't want to be associated with me.

"She gets so worried if I just start coughing after overexerting myself a little. She immediately calls a doctor to conduct a full-body checkup on me."

Two weeks ago, Rebecca offered to accompany me for my checkup of her own volition when my old leg wounds started hurting again. However, right before we left, she suddenly mentioned that something urgent had come up. She told me to go to the hospital by myself, and she would pick me up later.

I stood in line by myself, had my blood drawn, and waited in the hospital hallway for six hours. In the end, Rebecca wired some money to me and told me to order a cab to go home by myself.

Happiness was written all across Hayden's face. Just then, his phone rang.

"My wife is here to pick me up," he said. "Don't forget to deliver the products."

I stood at the corner, feeling stunned as I watched a black Maybach park next to the curb. I held my breath as I watched Rebecca come out of the car while cradling her slightly swollen belly.

After listening to Hayden ramble about how he had bought everything in the maternity store, Rebecca's words were laced with helplessness when she asked, "How old are you? Why do you still behave so childishly?"

"Why do you think I'm acting so childishly?" Hayden retorted. "It's all for the sake of a certain someone who's two months along."

He scoffed and feigned being hurt by her words. "Do you feel repulsed by my behavior? Do you think that I'm not as strong as my mentor, that old geezer?"

"Stop spouting nonsense," Rebecca answered affectionately. "No one is more important than you in my heart."

My heart felt as if it had been stabbed by a blade. I had just won the Global Racing Grand Slam when my legs were broken. I had been a rising star in the racing world. I couldn't even stand up anymore after the attack, becoming a complete cripple.

I couldn't accept my crippled state and became severely depressed. I even tried to end my life several times, but Rebecca pulled me back from the brink of death each time.

To stay by my side during my recovery process, Rebecca gave up the fame and fortune that came with being a race engineer and resigned from the position. She also let her assistant take over the operations of her million-dollar company.

She sent a lawyer’s letter for the first time after people criticized me for dragging her down, stating in it that I did not deserve her at all.

"My husband is my life," she said. "It's my duty and responsibility to take care of him and stay by his side. I will take legal action if I see anyone slander my husband again."

I couldn't believe that the same woman who defended me back then was pregnant with Hayden's child at that moment.

Seeming to sense my presence, Rebecca suddenly looked in my direction just as a sour sensation spread through my chest. I reflexively hid behind the wall.

"What are you thinking about?" Hayden asked in confusion. "Why are you ignoring me? Don't think that you can appease me with just some words. I won't let you off the hook unless you tell me exactly how I'm better than that old geezer."

Rebecca burst into laughter. She stood on her tiptoes and pecked his lips, saying, "You're better than him in every way. I should record you right now so I can show our children just how childish their father is in the future."

"You're already planning to have more kids with me?" Hayden asked with a pleased expression. "I heard what you said! No takebacks! I'll put another one in you once you give birth to this one!"

Every word that he said was like blades that stabbed themselves into my heart. I couldn't help but shiver as a cold gust of wind billowed past.

Hayden immediately wrapped an arm around Rebecca and ushered her into the car. "Don't want you to catch a cold. Let's go home."

I impulsively called Rebecca as I watched the Maybach drive away. In the past, she would pick up on the first ring even if she was in another country. However, at that moment, she rejected my call the first and second time, completely turning it off when I called her the third time.

Feeling stunned, I pressed my hand to my face. I didn't know when I started crying. I felt as if my soul had left my body when I made my way home, but when I opened the door, I saw Rebecca sitting on the couch.