Chapter 1

After surviving a horrific plane crash, my wife promised she would come to the hospital to see me.

But I didn't see a trace of her until the day I was discharged.

When I got back home, I found a note she had left on the kitchen counter:

"Julian has a cold. I'm going over to take care of him. I'll be back late."

I called her, but the person who answered was Julian, the ex she could never let go of.

"Lily is in the shower. She'll be back in a bit. Hold on."

Just like every single time before, whenever I needed my wife, she was always by Julian's side.

In her mind, my life and death didn't even compare to his mild cold.

This time, I was completely calm. I hung up and called my lawyer.

It was time for a divorce.

I had just hung up with my lawyer, Mark.

The empty house was filled with only the sound of my heavy breathing.

I couldn't believe that right after surviving a near-death experience, I had to face this devastating news.

I lay weakly on the sofa. I didn't turn on the lights, staring silently at the ceiling in the dark.

Suddenly, the sound of keys jingling in the lock echoed through the empty apartment.

"Ethan! When did you get back?"

My wife, Lily Vance, walked through the door. There was a hint of surprise in her voice.

"Why are you back? Are you done with your checkups?"

Lily's tone was cold and routine, as if I weren't her husband of five years, but rather her worst enemy.

I looked at her face—a face I used to love so deeply—and let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"What, this is my home. I'm not allowed back?"

Hearing my words, her cold tone instantly flared into anger.

"How dare you speak to me like that? Have you lost your mind?"

"Ethan Crawford, don't you dare use your little injury from your trip to throw a tantrum!"

Just a tiny disagreement, and her temper was immediately ignited.

Ever since we started dating, I had never talked back to her. I had yielded to her every whim, never arguing or disputing. This was probably the first time I had ever asked her a question with such a sharp tone.

While she scolded me, her eyes were glued to her phone, fingers tapping away.

I didn't even need to think to know she was messaging Julian.

A surge of anger rose inside me, and I demanded, "My plane landed this morning, and now it's night!"

"You've been with Julian for the entire day!"

"I barely made it back alive, and you couldn't even spend one day with me?"

I stood up and stared at Lily, the woman I had loved for five years.

Even after everything I said, she was still frantically looking at her phone, refusing to look up at me.

This time, she didn't get angry. She just offered a messy, rushed explanation.

"Julian has a cold. He's not feeling well, so I went to look after him."

"I was just worried about him."

Hearing this, I actually laughed. I was laughed out of sheer anger.

So, the reason she didn't pick me up from the airport was because she was busy taking care of Julian's mild cold.

My plane had crashed into the ocean. I had fought to survive on a deserted island in a wild jungle for two long months.

The only thing that kept me going was the thought of my wife waiting for me. I couldn't die.

I had struggled against wild beasts and poisonous insects, desperately fighting just to see her smile again.

And what about her?

She had promised to pick me up, yet she abandoned me—someone who had just returned to civilization from hell—to tend to her ex's cold.

This was the wife I had loved deeply for five years!

At that thought, I stared intensely at Lily, my eyes locked onto her.

"Let me ask you, Lily. I survived in a jungle for two months, living on the edge of death every single day. Does two months of torture not even compare to Julian's cold?"

"Who is actually your husband here?"

Lily froze, her panic becoming more obvious.

"Ethan, how can you say that? Julian and I are just friends!"

"How can you think of me like that? Am I that kind of person?"

Her voice carried a fake certainty that anyone could see through.

"Just friends? Do 'just friends' take showers at each other's houses?"

"Is there any point in lying anymore?"

Lily's voice grew sharp, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"How dare you accuse me, Ethan Crawford!"

"We've been married for so many years, and you still suspect me? Can't you give me some trust?"

"Why are you making a scene out of nothing?!"

Due to prolonged starvation and malnutrition, combined with my sudden rage, blood rushed to my head.

Dizziness washed over me in waves, and I could barely stand.

Just then, a man's voice sounded from the doorway.

"Lily, what are you doing standing at the door? Why don't we go in?"

I knew exactly who that voice belonged to.

It was Julian Mercer.

He walked up to the door naturally and put his arm around my wife.

"Lily, what's... Ethan, buddy? You're back?"

The moment Julian saw me, the smug grin on his face widened.

Lily's panic reached its peak, yet she still didn't pull away from Julian's embrace.

"I'm sorry, Ethan. I caught a cold and had no one to take care of me, so I had to ask Lily for help."

"I hope you don't mind, Ethan!"

Lily didn't know what to say. She just buried her face in Julian's chest.

Julian had a triumphant smile, as if boasting his victory to me.

He deliberately raised the shopping bag in his hand, and I could clearly see a box of condoms sitting right at the top.

They hadn't expected me to be home, so their plans for tonight were crystal clear.

It seemed that during the two months I was fighting for my life on that deserted island, they had slept together in my home countless times.

Looking at Lily, whose face was flushed as she avoided my gaze, my heart shattered completely.

On our wedding day, her face had been flushed just like this, too shy to look at me.

But back then, it was out of shyness and excitement. Now, it was only guilt and panic.

I had given Lily everything.

Years ago, the company she poured her soul into creating was on the brink of bankruptcy. To make matters worse, Julian, her boyfriend at the time, ran off with all her remaining assets.

Just as she was about to end up on the streets, I saved her.

For her sake, I flew to a remote island to live-stream a dangerous wilderness survival challenge.

By risking my life over and over again to attract viewers, I earned a fortune.

And I turned around and invested every single penny of that money into her company.

I pulled her business back from the edge of bankruptcy.

With my financial support, her company grew more and more successful, and we naturally got married.

She had told me she hated Julian to the bone, promising she would make him pay if she ever saw him again.

But when Julian blew all his money and came crawling back to her, begging for a loan...

She threw herself right into his arms.