Chapter 1

It was the fifth year of my marriage to Victoria, and the news of her affair had just broken, spreading like wildfire.

To shield Tristan from being branded as the "other man," Victoria came to me with divorce papers.

"Professor Evans helped me back then," she said, her voice firm, "I can't let his son become a homewrecker."

All these years, Tristan was always Victoria's first priority.

In my past life, when I heard those words, I had a complete meltdown, refusing to divorce her.

But she directly orchestrated a scheme, framing me for cheating, and then filed for divorce.

That was when I finally understood that I could never compare to a debt of gratitude.

In utter despair, I took my own life.

When I opened my eyes again, I signed those divorce papers without a second thought.

"Julian, once this blows over, can we get back together?"

I was sitting in the villa garden, lost in thought, when Victoria arrived with Tristan.

Just three hours earlier, paparazzi had exposed Tristan as Victoria's lover. The entire internet was furious, calling him the third party who shattered our marriage. Victoria's "devoted wife" image had crumbled, and her company's stock price was plummeting.

In my past life, when Victoria presented those papers, I had ripped out every rose she'd planted for me, madly questioning her relationship with Tristan. He was merely the son of her mentor; there were countless other ways to resolve this. But she chose to sacrifice me, all to prevent Tristan's depression from worsening. She never knew that during that same period, I, too, had been diagnosed with moderate depression.

"Julian," Victoria called my name again.

I lowered my gaze to the divorce papers on the stone table. She knelt, looking me in the eye, and reached out to hold my hand. Her tone was coaxing. "Julian, just for me, please?"

"We can tell everyone our marriage was over a year ago, that we wanted to separate but hadn't found the right time to announce it publicly."

I remained silent. Behind her, Tristan, in his thin clothes, had pale lips and red-rimmed eyes.

"Julian, please, help me, okay?"

"My mom committed suicide because of cyberbullying-induced depression. I don't want to follow in her footsteps. I'm begging you, please..." He made to kneel, but Victoria immediately rose and pulled him up, shielding him behind her. Her face darkened, and she snapped in a low voice, "What are you doing?"

Tristan choked, his voice trembling, tears welling as he lowered his head. "I... I just wanted to make him feel better."

Victoria's brows furrowed instantly. When she looked at me, that hint of gentleness in her eyes completely vanished.

"Julian, I'm not here to negotiate."

"This is already decided. If you don't divorce me, then don't blame me for—"

I met her gaze, and her words died on her lips. But I knew what she was going to say. She would have said, "Julian, you know what I'm capable of. I have plenty of ways to make you sign."

"If you force this to court, you won't win against my legal team."

Those were her exact words in my past life. Later, I was framed, waking up in bed with other women, with irrefutable proof of my "infidelity." Overnight, I became the cheating one, enduring endless scorn. She and Tristan, ironically, became the victims.

"I'll sign," I said after a long silence, "but you have to promise me one thing."