Chapter 1

It had been a full week since our wedding anniversary before Susan finally came home.

She flopped lazily onto the couch and didn’t even look at me.

“That slap was me teaching you not to talk nonsense from now on. Who even teaches people these days? You should know how to be grateful.”

I said nothing, only found it ridiculous.

Susan really was good at manipulating me.

If this had been before, I would have only thought she loved me.

If she didn’t love me, why would she only manipulate me and not other people?

Only now did I finally understand. It turned out I was the only idiot here.

A week ago was the fifth wedding anniversary of Susan and me.

She had once lain in my arms and told me she wanted a grand, happy, enviable anniversary.

So I started arranging the venue six months in advance.

Even the guests were carefully chosen by me.

I had imagined the happy smile on her face when she arrived, but she gave me a loud slap instead.

On the big screen at our anniversary party, what played was not the happy memories between her and me, but her steamy bath with her male best friend, Eric.

How ridiculous.

Seeing that I still wasn’t talking, Susan threw a high heel at me. I couldn’t dodge in time, and it hit the bridge of my nose.

Blood poured down at once.

And because my stomach pain flared up, I couldn’t even stand up straight.

“What kind of melodrama are you playing?”

Susan looked annoyed. She walked over, then stepped back a few paces in surprise when she saw how pale I looked.

“Not feeling well?”

“Are you an idiot? If you’re not feeling well, why didn’t you say something? Standing there like a wooden post, completely useless.”

“The blood is dirty. Pay attention and don’t get it on the floor.”

As she spoke, she tossed me a few tissues with a smile. Only after I wiped myself clean did I finally say:

“Sorry.”

As soon as I said that, Susan froze, and the smile on her face faded a little.

“Why are you being so polite?”

“I was joking just now. I didn’t really mean to disgust you.”

“Are you mad?”

Susan seemed a little nervous.

It was rare for her to be nervous around me.

If this had been before, I would have been flattered, and I would have told her I would never be angry at her.

But now, I didn’t want to say anything.

“I know.”

My stomach hurt so badly that I could barely bear it. I turned to leave, but Susan grabbed me.

I lost my balance, and we both fell. Instinctively, I ended up underneath her.

Susan let out a soft laugh.

“See? You still know how to protect me.”

I didn’t answer. My vision blurred for a moment, and even breathing became hard.

Only then did Susan realize something was wrong with me, and she hurriedly called a family doctor.

Right then, Eric’s call came in too.

“Susan, I think my blood sugar is low. I feel awful.”

When Susan heard that, her eyes filled with worry. While putting on her shoes, she said to me:

“You’re probably just tired. It’s nothing serious. I’ve already had the family doctor go take care of my brother first.”

“Susan, I…”

My survival instinct made me grab her pant leg, but she kicked me away.

“You’ve really been unreasonable lately.”

Hearing that, I knew I couldn’t count on her anymore.

I struggled to open my eyes and reached for my phone that had fallen on the floor, forcing myself through the pain to pick it up, but the next second, Susan stepped on the back of my hand.

“I can tell you’re feeling bad because you’ve been on your phone too much.”

“Get some rest. I’m taking your phone with me.”