Chapter 1

When Ethan's family went bankrupt, I stayed with him in that basement apartment, working three jobs a day to pay off his debts.

When he made his comeback, he promised during his proposal to give me a real home.

In our third year of marriage, I accidentally saw the deed to our house. The owner's name listed was his first love.

He explained with reddened eyes, "This is what I owe her."

I nodded and pushed toward him photos of the mountain of debt collection notices that had once covered our entire table in that cramped basement.

"You've repaid what you owed her with the house. So what about what you owe me?"

I gently pushed the property deed toward Ethan.

"Owner: Lauren."

Ethan's face instantly turned deathly pale. He instinctively moved to take the paper back, his hand freezing mid-air.

"Sophia, let me explain..."

His voice was hoarse, his eyes quickly reddening. An expression I knew all too well.

Whenever he felt he'd wronged me, he would show this innocent, vulnerable look.

Once upon a time, I fell for it every single time.

"Go ahead. I'm listening." I picked up my glass of water, my tone eerily calm.

He looked at me, a flash of panic crossing his eyes, as if my composure had caught him off guard.

"Lauren... she's not doing well."

He began with difficulty. "Back then, my parents opposed us and forcibly tore us apart. Because of that, she developed severe depression, had to take a long break from school. It completely destroyed her."

"So this house is my way of compensating her. Sophia, this is what I owe her."

I nodded, indicating I understood.

"And what about what you owe me?"

Ethan froze, as if he hadn't understood my words.

I stopped looking at him and pulled out my phone, finding a photo I'd treasured for years.

It was taken in the basement apartment we'd rented-barely a hundred square feet.

On a shabby folding table, debt collection notices were piled so thick you could barely see the surface.

In the corner of the photo, you could still see his face, worn down by despair.

"You've repaid what you owed her with the house. So what about what you owe me?"

He looked down at the photo, his body trembling violently.

The image seemed to remind him of those memories-of struggling together through unbearable hardship.

To pay off the astronomical debts the family owed, I'd quit my stable job and worked three jobs a day.

For those three years, I slept less than four hours a night.

Once, when I had a high fever, I didn't go to the hospital to save money. I just buried myself under blankets and nearly developed pneumonia.

Ethan had held me and cried like a child, swearing he would give me a real home and never let me suffer again.

He'd kept his promise.

He made his comeback and became a rising star in the business world.

He also gave me a home-a home with someone else's name on it.

"Sophia." Ethan raised his head, guilt practically overflowing from his eyes.

"I know. The person I've wronged the most is you. But Lauren and I are over. The one I love is you. You're the only wife I'll ever have."

"I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, okay?"

He reached out to take my hand, his tone almost pleading. "Lauren has already lost me. She can't be left with nothing. This house-consider it my way of putting our past to rest."

I gently avoided his hand.

"Alright. I understand."

Seeing I wasn't making a scene, his expression visibly relaxed. He thought I'd accepted this absurd explanation.

Meanwhile, I took out my phone and silently messaged my lawyer, asking her to draft divorce papers as soon as possible.