Chapter 4

I didn't sleep at all that night.

All the heinous acts of the novel's villain, Liam Miller, replayed frantically in my mind.

Liam bullying and ostracizing Adam with his clique, Liam setting up business traps to sabotage Adam, Liam using his family influence to constantly throw obstacles in Adam's path...

Suddenly, the Liam Miller in my dream turned around, and it was a face identical to mine.

That face was twisted with malice, a terrifying sneer etched across it, making even me feel horrified.

Time flowed fast in dreams, and Adam and Skylar grew quickly before teaming up to retaliate against me.

Chloe's eyes, cold and indifferent, stared at me like I was some lifeless object.

"Since you enjoy trampling others with your power, then taste what it feels like to crash from grace, to lose absolutely everything."

The dream shifted. I was framed, stuck with massive debts. The Miller family enterprise collapsed, and my parents, crushed by pressure and shame, fell ill and passed away one after another.

And there I was, abandoned by everyone, riddled with poverty and illness, choking on my last lonely, painful breath.

"No!"

I shouted, startling myself awake!

I looked up to meet Chloe's concerned gaze, which overlapped with the brutal, vicious look from my dream, making me tremble with fright.

Chloe was covering me with a blanket and looked completely confused.

"Honey, what's wrong? Why didn't you sleep in bed? You'll catch a cold on the couch! Are you mad at me for waking you up last night? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

I shook my head, overcome with exhaustion and fear, not wanting to say anything.

There were no guest rooms in our house.

Chloe had sworn she'd never upset me; even if we had disagreements, she'd communicate openly and never let arguments linger overnight.

As a result, when I really needed space, I didn't even have a room where I could hide alone.

I was indeed being "watched" very closely by her.

Chloe didn't notice my odd behavior. She rubbed her temples, her voice tinged with weariness as she complained.

"Honey, I think I might have caught a chill last night. My head hurts so much. Do we have any headache medicine?"

"I don't know."

I actually knew where the medicine cabinet was, but I didn't want to move.

Chloe came from a humble background, while I was born into privilege.

She always insisted on achieving success through her own efforts, earning my father's approval, proving she was worthy of me.

Because of this, Chloe worked incredibly hard. In her early years, to close deals, she'd work tirelessly, networking and pulling all-nighters when stress hit.

I deeply loved Chloe. As her husband, I'd always meticulously cared for her health, finding remedies and focusing on her well-being.

If I hadn't known her true feelings, I might still have been the considerate, devoted partner I'd always been.

Yet in reality, my efforts were nothing but one-sided love.

[Liam Miller uses his family background to harm Adam. I can't let him have even the slightest chance to hurt Adam. I need to establish myself in the business world, gain enough power to stand against the Miller family. If they harm Adam like they did in the previous life, I'll make the Miller Group pay a heavy price!]

Chloe's desperate efforts were simply to gain real power, to protect the man she truly cared about.