Chapter 1

I spat out a mouthful of blood and winced as I turned my head toward the passenger seat. Upon seeing Keaton Rourke wedged between the airbag and the seat, I ground out, "You disabled the airbag, didn't you?"

He looked at me like he wanted me dead. He ignored my question, raised an eyebrow, and smirked. "Hate to break it to you, but even with you bleeding out, Teresa will still come to me first."

I hunched over in pain, clutching my stomach with both hands. My vision was blurring, and I could barely keep my eyes open, but I still had to defend Teresa Bellamy. "She is my wife. There is no way she would save you before me."

Keaton snickered. Just then, Teresa's frantic shout came from outside. "Where are you, Keaton?"

As I struggled to look up, I saw her move past the driver's seat and open the passenger door. With a worried look, she grabbed his hand, her eyes brimming with tears. "Hang in there. I'll get you to the hospital."

He was totally fine, but she still went out of her way to get him into the ambulance without even sparing a glance at me.

Blood poured out from my mouth again. I stared at the ambulance driving away, laughing at myself in utter despair.

My injuries were much worse, and I was right in front of Teresa, but she only had eyes for Keaton. I slowly closed my eyes as memories of our time together flooded my mind.

Looking back, I was always the one chasing her—whether it was in high school, in college, or even after we tied the knot. She never once told me she loved me. Marrying me was just a decision she made after weighing the pros and cons.

I just gave up struggling as blood trickled down the corner of my mouth. I might as well just be dead, then Teresa could finally dump me and spend the rest of her life with Keaton.

Then, I heard people talking.

Someone remarked, "How could she do this? Lucien was the one who was in worse shape."

Another person chimed in, "Mr. Rourke just scraped his forehead. Give it some time, and it might have healed on its own. But Mr. Stroud's liver was ruptured. If it weren't for someone kind enough to help, he might not have survived."

The next person sighed. "If Mr. Stroud had gotten here earlier, he might have come out of this without any complications."

I opened my eyes with difficulty and found Teresa staring at me in shock.

When she saw me awake, she grabbed my hand, her voice trembling with emotion. "You're finally awake, Lucien. I was so afraid you would never wake up again.

"The doctors said you might have some minor complications, but your life is no longer in danger, and it won't affect your normal life. It's the best outcome we could hope for.

"By the way, Mr. Vexley needs the design urgently. Can you take care of it?"

I struggled to pull my hand free from Teresa and coldly stared at her, "Seriously? I barely survived and just woke up. You're not even worried about me, and the first thing you bring up is work."

Teresa dropped her gaze. For a second, she looked uneasy. "It's not like that. I was panicking and not thinking straight. I honestly didn't see you back then. Your seat didn't have an airbag, so I thought you had already been rescued."

I looked down and pursed my lips. She noticed the missing airbag, but somehow didn't see me.

I scoffed, staring darkly at Teresa as she lowered her head in guilt. "We're getting a divorce."