Chapter 1

After falling into a coma, I heard my wife constantly talking about sleeping next to me in the hospital to conceive my child. But on the day I regained consciousness, I overheard her bringing a man back to my room.

They were making out on the bed next to mine, their heavy breathing, rustling clothes, and whispered conversations filling the air.

"Damn, you dare to get intimate with me right in front of your comatose husband?" the man said.

With a click, I glimpsed my wife's nimble hands unbuckling the man's belt.

"He's just a vegetable. He can't feel anything. Don't you find this more exciting?" she replied.

I lay motionless on the hospital bed, my mind blank with shock.

Because I recognized the man's voice.

It was my brother, Adam Wilson.

The sound of running water came from nearby.

After what seemed like an eternity, the commotion beside me finally stopped.

Adam got up from the bed, his voice tinged with smug satisfaction.

"When are you planning to divorce my disabled brother?"

Disabled?

My parents had passed away, and I had no siblings.

Adam was an orphan I had found in foster care. If it weren't for me, he might have starved to death on the streets.

I had raised him as my own, changing his diapers and feeding him. And this is how he repays me? By calling me disabled?

I felt a gaze flicker in my direction.

My hand, hidden under the blanket, clutched the sheets tightly. It took all my willpower not to tremble.

"He's just a coma patient. Who knows, maybe one day they'll pull the plug, and he'll be gone," my wife, Lily, said coldly. "For now, I haven't conceived yet. Once I have a baby, we can kick him to the curb."

I felt nauseous, my whole body shaking with disgust.

There were several moments when I wanted nothing more than to sit up and strangle them both.

But I knew my body, weakened after three months in a coma, wouldn't allow such a move.

Adam's tone turned flirtatious. "A woman's heart is the most poisonous of all. If you can do this to my brother today, won't you do the same to me in the future?"

Lily's voice dripped with honey: "You're different from your brother. He's older than you, and in a few years, he'll start smelling like an old man. You're young. I could never outlast you. Who knows, maybe in a couple of years, you'll be the one dumping me?"

As they talked, they began to get entangled again.

After a while, Lily, feeling it wasn't exciting enough, suggested they continue at a hot spring hotel.

When I heard the hospital room door close, the last thread of control in my mind snapped.

How on earth did Lily and Adam end up together?

Back then, Adam had failed his SATs and refused to study abroad despite my urging. He insisted on staying in the country.

Thinking his job prospects would be limited with his low education, I had arranged for him to work as Lily's driver, just to help him out.

Even when friends had mentioned seeing Lily entering hotels with a man, I had never once suspected him.

But now it seems they had been hooking up for a long time.

That night, Lily didn't return, and I lay awake the entire night.

It wasn't until dawn that I finally drifted off into a troubled sleep.

The next day, I woke up with a deathly pale face.

The nurse beside me was startled when she saw me open my eyes.

Soon after, a group of doctors and nurses flooded into the room.

I cooperated with the doctors' examinations, and they were all amazed at how quickly I had regained consciousness.

Back in the room, I overheard nurses gossiping.

"His wife comes every few days, always talking about wanting to conceive his child."

"Oh, I know. Last night during my shift, I even heard water noises from the room."

"No wonder. Maybe he woke up because of his wife's efforts."

I listened intently, my eyes filled with icy contempt.

After the examination, the nurse raised my bed so I could get some sunlight.

I figured Lily must be crawling out of Adam's bed by now.

If she found out I was awake, her face would probably hit the floor.

Around noon, Lily appeared.

"Honey, you're finally awake!" she exclaimed.

She made a move to throw herself into my arms, but I slightly turned my body towards the window.

She missed her mark.

I lay in bed, silently watching her.

"Where have you been?" I asked.

Lily's expression froze for a moment before quickly returning to normal.

She held up a thermos flask and pressed the call button for the nurse.

"I've been by your side the whole time. As soon as I heard you were awake, I rushed home to make your favorite pork rib soup."

She tried to touch my hand, but I avoided her.

Lily's hand paused, and her eyes showed a hint of impatience.

"What's wrong with you this early in the morning? I went home to make soup for you, and now I'm the bad guy?"

She slammed the thermos onto the bedside table.

I bit my lip, unable to speak, afraid that if I opened my mouth, my emotions would completely collapse.