Chapter 1

My wife, Nancy Curtis, came home at two in the morning. The moment she pushed the door open and walked in, we locked eyes. Neither of us broke the silence.

Nancy's eyes flitted to the candlelit dinner on the dining table, but instead of feeling guilty, she lashed out at me.

"So what if I got back a little late? What was that post supposed to mean? All that passive-aggressive stuff is really irritating!"

Seeing that I didn't say anything, she threw a tie at me.

"Derek specifically bought this for you. Do you see how thoughtful he is? He said if you still won't accept his apology, he'll delete his Facebook account."

I looked at the stains on the tie and smiled. It was an old tie—maybe one he'd already used.

Derek Jones really knew how to get under my skin.

When Nancy saw me smile, she assumed I wasn't mad anymore. She picked up my phone from the table and handed it to me, saying, "Derek is so thoughtful. Aren't you going to thank him?"

I ignored her and kept watching TV.

"Tyler Lind, are you deaf?" Nancy yelled. She grabbed me and yanked me up, causing me to lose my balance and fall to the floor.

As luck would have it, my back slammed into the corner of the table as I fell.

It hurt so much!

My back injury was a result of a fire seven years ago, when I was hit by a collapsing beam while trying to get Nancy out.

I clutched my side and doubled over, trembling from the pain.

Nancy looked at me with guilt flickering across her face. "I'll go get the ointment," she said.

I looked up at her departing figure. I wanted to call out and stop her, but I held back.

The medical report in the drawer had been sitting there for three days. When the test results came back, the doctor specifically told me it was early-stage stomach cancer and that I had a high chance of recovery.

He also said I needed to stay in a good mood, be careful with my diet and medication, and take good care of myself.

Next to the medical report were two plane tickets for a seven-day trip to Isvalia. I initially planned to tell her on Valentine's Day, so I could relax with her before the surgery.

Now, that was no longer needed.

Nancy rushed back with the first-aid kit and rifled through it a few times before stopping. "Where's the ointment? Did you…"

She cut herself off halfway through. I caught the fleeting expression on her face—guilt mixed with a hint of unease.

Just then, I remembered something Derek replied to someone on Facebook.

"She's very gentle. When I accidentally burned myself while cooking, she immediately put some ointment on it for me."

If it weren't for what just happened, I would've asked Nancy straight up whether she'd given Derek the ointment that was brought back from overseas for me. But this time, I didn't call her out.

I smiled helplessly and said, "Nancy, stop looking. I'll go out and buy some."

Nancy looked at me seriously. "How can you go out like this? Just stay home. I'll go—"

Before she could finish speaking, her phone rang. She looked down at it and immediately picked it up. "Derek, what's up?"

Derek's whiny voice came through from the other end. "Ms. Curtis, I went to a bar because I was feeling down. Some guys started trouble and I ended up getting hurt. Could you take me to the hospital?"

Nancy threw the first-aid kit onto the couch and jumped up. "Wait for me, Derek! I'll be right there."

"Thanks, Ms. Curtis, but maybe you shouldn't come. Tyler would get upset if he knew. I'll figure something out myself!" Derek said pitifully.

"What right does he have to be upset?"

As Nancy said that, she cast a cold glance at me as I lay curled up on the floor.

After hanging up, Nancy hurried out the door.

"Nancy, wait!" I quickly called out to her.

"Tyler, can you stop being so unreasonable?"

"How are you going to help anyone without your phone and wallet?"

I pointed at the couch, where her stuff was lying next to the first-aid kit.

Nancy looked at the first-aid kit beside them and paused for a moment. "I'll go help Derek first. I'll take you to the hospital when I get back."

After she said that, she left in a hurry.