Chapter 1

Aurora Sterling saw that I wasn’t responding and angrily slapped me across the face.

"Can you be a little reasonable? Kieran Holt has spent all these years taking care of a vegetative patient. He’s a normal man with needs, too. Do you expect me to just stand there and watch him suffer?

"This matter is settled. Today is Wednesday. If you have nothing to do, hurry up and get out. Stop interfering with us!"

After saying that, she dropped straight into Kieran Holt’s arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him passionately.

Kieran slid his hand under Aurora’s clothes and began groping her brazenly.

The absurd scene in front of me stabbed at my eyes until they burned with pain.

Clenching my fists, I rushed forward and yanked her off him.

"Aurora, I’m not putting up with this. Him or me: choose. There’s no discussion!

"And stop talking about repaying favors. Kieran isn’t someone you’re the only option for. If he’s that desperate, can’t he just find a prostitute himself? Do you really have to offer yourself up?"

Aurora didn’t hesitate before slapping me again. "Rowan Vance, do you want to ruin Kieran’s future? He finally managed to pass the bar exam, and you’re telling him to go hire a prostitute?"

Hearing this, Kieran’s eyes immediately reddened, and he began crying pitifully. "Rowan, I know you’re jealous of me.

"But you stay at home all day doing nothing while Aurora supports the company on her own. Now that I can finally help her, you want to destroy me. Are you even a man?"

He pointed at me while accusing me self-righteously.

Provoked by his words, Aurora grew even angrier. "Rowan! Are you done yet? You’re the one who benefited from this, and now you’re still acting wronged. I'm warning you. If you still want to remain my husband, then stop making trouble. Otherwise—"

She deliberately dragged out the last word, a warning flashing in her eyes.

I let out a bitter laugh and suddenly tore open my shirt, exposing the dense scars across my chest.

"Aurora! Without me, your rivals would have chopped you into pieces and thrown you into the river to feed the fish! You want to repay his favor, but what about mine? What about the wounds I suffered for you?"

Back then, when Aurora had just started her career, she had taken on a major commercial case.

To force her to withdraw, her opponents sent dozens of thugs to corner her in an alley. I took eighteen knife wounds to pull her out of that desperate situation.

Afterward, she held my dying body in her arms, crying uncontrollably as she swore she would treat me well for the rest of her life. She had declared that she would love me forever.

Yet now, in only three short years, she was threatening me with divorce just to force me to compromise for Kieran.

The moment I brought up the past, Aurora’s expression instantly changed from anger to disgust. She grabbed the ashtray from the table and smashed it viciously toward my head.

Bang!

Blood immediately began pouring down my face.

"Such a tiny favor, and you keep bringing it up again and again? If I hadn’t been earning money to support you all these years, a useless piece of trash like you would’ve ended up begging on the streets long ago.

"Eighteen knife wounds in exchange for wealth and luxury. You didn’t lose out on that deal at all!"

The contempt growing in Aurora’s eyes completely chilled my heart.

I wiped the blood from my face and let out a cold laugh.

"If that’s the case, then let’s get divorced. May you two scum stay locked together forever."