MasukAfter leaving the courthouse, I bought a villa in the suburbs. I really liked the backyard, for it was big enough to plant all the lavender I loved.A few days after I moved in, a frantic knocking on the door woke me up.I got up, still half-asleep, and went to the door. A ragged, shabbily dressed man stood there. His eyes were dull and lifeless, but he looked familiar."Tyler, I haven't seen you in years. I never thought I'd find you hiding out here."Shocked, I asked, "Who are you?""You don't remember? Seven years ago, I set fire to Nancy's house, and you pulled her out. I still remember that beam hitting you hard."The man smiled faintly, as if he were lost in the memory of that day.I stepped back instinctively. "Who are you? How do you know about that fire seven years ago?"I had always believed that fire was just an accident. After I was taken to the hospital, Nancy's parents handled everything. By the time I recovered and was discharged, everything had been settled."M
I stood up to leave, but Nancy slammed her hands on the table. "Wait, Tyler! I have something to show you."She pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.When I took it, I discovered it was a wish list I had made in elementary school.Back then, the teacher made all the students write down what they wanted most when they grew up. Everyone else wrote one line, but I filled a whole page.Nancy smiled and pointed at the paper."Honey, don't divorce me. I'll make all your wishes come true, okay? It says here you want to see the lavender in Provon. Let's go tomorrow, alright? It also says you want to learn free diving and then dive in Sevane. How about I take lessons with you?"And here, it says you want to—""Enough, Nancy!" I cut her off, putting an end to her unrealistic fantasies."Do you know what my biggest wish used to be?"Nancy shook her head."My biggest wish was to marry you," I revealed.I continued calmly, "In the end, I did marry you like I wished, but it turned out tha
During the three days Nancy was abroad, Derek couldn't get hold of her, so he waited outside my house every day.I got annoyed, so I called security to chase him away. He could only wait at the gates every day, watching and following me.Derek looked extremely worn out. His eyes, usually so sharp and lively, were suddenly dull and lifeless.As I poured him a cup of tea, he stared at me, eyes wide."Did Ms. Curtis contact you? Why is she talking to you and ignoring me?" he demanded.I shrugged helplessly. "You'll have to ask her that. What's it got to do with me?"Derek said provocatively, "Don't think just because you're Ms. Curtis' husband, you're something special. I'm telling you—Ms. Curtis will dump a freeloader like you sooner or later!"When I didn't respond, he took a sip of tea and continued, "I'm younger than you, and I know how to spice things up. You should take a good look at yourself. How many times has Ms. Curtis touched you this year?"I nodded. "That's right. Wh
That day, when I got home, I secretly opened Nancy's WhatsApp chat history while she was in the shower.Derek: "Ms. Curtis, was I out of line today? I felt like Tyler was upset with me!"Nancy: "Don't worry about it. He goes around with a long face all day anyway!"Derek: "Ms. Curtis, I know it's not right to say this, but I have to tell you. I think I'm falling for you…"Nancy didn't reply directly to his confession and just sent a blushing emoji back.I grabbed her phone and stormed into the bathroom to confront her. She looked at me, terrified. "Tyler, have you lost your mind?"My voice cracked as I asked her, "Darling, have you fallen in love with Derek?"Nancy turned off the shower, grabbed a towel, and dried her hair. Then, she looked at me with a mocking smile on her face."Yeah, I'm in love with him. So what? You want to leave me?""You're so heartless, Nancy! I want a divorce!""Do you? Fine! Let's do it tomorrow! Things will look up for me after! Let's see who els
One week later, I was discharged from the hospital.The first thing I did after leaving was to find Nancy and finalize the divorce.Nancy refused to sign the papers. She'd either say the company was too busy lately and that she had no time, or she'd claim there were a few things wrong with the divorce agreement Jayden had prepared.She said the issue in the agreement was with the assets division. I had asked to leave with nothing, but she insisted on compensating me.Nancy knew very well I wasn't after money, yet she kept using this to drag things out with me.At first, she said she'd give me 5.2 million dollars. Then, she said she'd give me 13 million dollars. I refused her both times.Because I refused twice, Nancy thought I still had feelings for her and didn't really want the divorce.I rolled my eyes at her. "Nancy, are you insane? I told you, I don't want your money. I just want to leave with nothing!"Nancy poured me a cup of tea. "I know you're not after money. I rememb
When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed. Jayden was there, and so were Nancy's parents, but there was no sign of Nancy.Nancy's father, Richard Curtis, was shaking with anger. "How did I raise such a disgrace to this family? She's an animal!"Nancy's mother, Melinda Neal, was crying sorrowfully too. "Why isn't Nancy answering her phone? Tyler is this badly hurt, yet…"Jayden said calmly from the side, "Tyler, let's call the police. This is attempted murder!"Melinda immediately came and sat on my bed. She stroked my hair and said, "Tyler, we're family. Every family has its ups and downs, right? Nancy is sensible. She'll apologize to you—I'm sure of it!"Jayden was about to talk back to her, but I stopped him. "Jayden, can you go get me something to eat? I'm a little hungry."Jayden nodded and left, leaving just me and Nancy's parents in the room.I pushed myself upright on the bed with both hands, struggling to sit up. Then, I said, "Mom, Dad, we're getting a divorce."Af







