Chapter 1

A hundred needles jabbed into me, each one a fiery sting, blurring the line between life and agony. I was already hurt, but that…that was torture.

Heat washed over me, snapping me back to reality.

In the last second before the sauna door shut, I reached for my wife, Susie Rogers, clutching at her pant leg, desperate to stir the love we once shared.

"Susie, I swear I didn't do anything to Chester; you've got to believe me..."

Susie used to be my partner in everything: coming home to cook and clean with me, laughing as she recounted her day at the office.

I could not wrap my head around it. How could she do that to me?

The pain was getting worse, a crushing weight on my chest making it hard to breathe.

However, Susie might as well have been miles away, her voice distant as ice as she said, "You did this to Chester! He's frail and can't handle spice. Yet, you went and spiked his meal with mustard, setting off his appendicitis. He was just getting over his wife's death; you had no right to mess with him!

"The heat's supposed to help with the pain and the bleeding, or so the expert said. It's just a bit of pain; you'll be fine."

I looked down at myself through the haze, my body a map of wounds, still oozing blood, and I begged, "Susie, I'm dying here!

"Please, just get me to a hospital. I promise, once I'm patched up, I'll disappear. I won't get in the way of you and Chester..."

She wavered, almost giving in, but then the assistant burst in.

It turned out that Susie had personally arranged Chester Tucker's private jet, which had just arrived.

"He's bleeding out; hit him with more needles! Sew him up, but make sure he doesn't get to surgery before Chester does!"

Under Susie's command, a bunch of medics in masks and white coats rushed over, fumbling as they held me down.

They sewed up my wound right there and then, without a drop of anesthesia. The needle pierced my skin, adding to the agony of the car crash injuries, and I nearly blacked out from the pain.

Susie's face went ghostly white when she saw Chester, her heart aching as if it were bleeding.

Chester was a mess, tears streaming down his face as he cried in her arms, making her heart shatter into a million pieces.

With a voice choked by tears, Chester stammered, "Susie, I was so scared. I thought... I thought I'd never see you again."

Susie, ever the comforter, wrapped her arms around him and whispered soothingly, "Chester, I'm so sorry you were scared. However, I promise to always be here, right by your side. You won't lose me, ever."

There they were, right in front of me, clinging to each other with such tenderness, as if they wished they could melt into one.

After her sister's tragic death years earlier, Susie insisted on bringing her grieving brother-in-law, Chester, into her home. She was determined to care for him and stand by his side during the darkest time of his life.

I had been against it, but she had lashed out at me, saying, "What's the big deal? It's just one more person at the table. Chester's lost his wife, and it's hard for him to be alone. What if he gets too sad and does something drastic? Can't you think of anyone but yourself?"

Looking back, I realized it was all just a convenient excuse for their secret romance!

Right then, Susie's phone buzzed.

It was a call from Tania, Susie's grandmother.

"Susie, did Edward get into a car accident today? You have to be there for him; every second counts! Do whatever it takes to save him!"

Susie gave a half-hearted response and ended the call.

Chester, still in Susie's embrace, looked up at her with those big, sad eyes and murmured, "Susie, is Edward okay after the crash? You should check on him right away. Grandma really cares about him; you can't let him be hurt..."

However, Susie just pulled Chester close, brushing off the concern with a wave of her hand.

"Why worry about him? You're the one who needs someone right now, not Edward."

Yet, as my cries of pain filled the room, Susie's expression softened ever so slightly. It was as if she could tell my screams were not just an act.

She even started to question the so-called experts' opinions.

However, that doubt vanished as quickly as it came.

In a sly move, Chester stepped on my bloody, freshly stitched wound while Susie's back was turned...

The pain was too much, and I screamed.

Susie spun around, her curiosity piqued by the noise, and in that critical moment, Chester yanked his necklace off and hurled it to the ground.

Then, with tears streaming down his face, he bent over me and sobbed. "Edward, I just couldn't stand seeing you in so much pain. I wanted to comfort you. How could you destroy the lucky necklace Susie gave me..."

Susie looked at him, her eyes brimming with pity, and quickly reassured him, saying, "Don't worry about it. It's just a necklace, right? I'll get you a hundred more just like it!"

Then, she turned toward me, her voice sharp with anger. "Chester was just trying to be nice, and you repay him by breaking the necklace I gave him?

"I should've laid down the law before we got married. That would've taught you a thing or two about respect!"