After telling Alicia my name, I did my best to wipe the mud off my face so that she could recognize me. But the instant she heard my name, her expression stiffened.

"Don't worry, Alicia. I'll take care of this. I won't let this shithead tarnish your reputation," Steven said, sliding an arm around her waist.

I was furious, but Alicia didn't bother avoiding his show of intimacy. Her polished army boots paused in front of me as she scrutinized me from above.

"Peter Lawson, huh? The Peter Lawson I know is nothing but a rapist!" Alicia abruptly stomped down on my already battered hand. "What right do you have to call yourself my husband?"

Her tone was icy. The heel of her boot ground against the calluses on my hand, the ones formed from years of handling a gun. Her expression remained completely impassive.

I couldn't believe it. Eyes wide, I stared at her and asked, "Don't you recognize me anymore? You said you'd wait until I woke up again!"

"What a bunch of nonsense!" Alicia pressed down harder, cutting me off.

I saw none of the affection she once had when she looked at me. The disgust in her eyes was unmistakable.

Lying on the ground, I was in such agony that I couldn't even speak. Sneering, she crouched down and muttered, "What a shame. Why didn't you just die on the operating table, huh? I'm a major now. How can a major spend the rest of her life with a cripple? However…"

Her lips curled into a sinister smile. "Today, you'll vanish without a trace. I won't let you stand in the way of Steven's future and mine."

"But you said…" I murmured hoarsely, unable to believe that the vicious woman before me now was the wife I had once shielded from an explosion with my own body.

"That was when you could still run five miles while carrying me on your back!" Alicia abruptly kicked me in the ribs, the splintered bones stabbing into my flesh. "Now, you can't even crawl into the shooting range."

Chuckling, she added, "It's unfortunate, and you can only blame yourself for coming from a lowly background. Your parents are dead. Your family has no power and no influence. If I stay with you, I'll have to suffer for the rest of my life!

"You were a pretty exceptional soldier back then. I could've at least benefited from your glory and achievements, but now…"

She eyed me like I was some sewer rat and clicked her tongue. "Steven is young and healthy. He has a bright future in the army ahead of him. And I have the commander's favor.

"If you had the slightest shred of self-awareness, Peter, you would've died long ago. Why bother staying alive when you're just a useless cripple?"

So that was it. Alicia thought that I was just a crippled man with no support. That was why she brazenly fabricated lies about me and allowed these people to humiliate me.

Only now did I finally see her true colors.

But what would she do if she found out who my grandpa was?

Alas, they didn't give me the chance to speak. The soldiers snickered as they dragged me toward a muddy pit.

I watched as Alicia looped her arm through Steven's and said, "The commander is inspecting the army base today. You sure you want to kill someone right now?"

"Hah! As long as I get rid of you now, how would anyone find out what happened? Who would ever know?" Alicia retorted.

She looked away and began adjusting Steven's collar. "Steven is about to be made the operations officer next week. What does trash like you know about having good career prospects anyway?"

Immediately after that, Steven's belt buckle smashed into my forehead. Blood streamed down over my eyes.

He dragged me across the ground by my hair. The gravel and shards of broken glass drove deep into my wounds.

The butt of a rifle slammed into my flesh, which was already torn from a bullet wound. I howled in agony.

Arms still crossed, Alicia laughed. "Peter, just like that crippled leg of yours, you should've been taken out years ago."

While speaking, she pressed her boot into my knee.

Four soldiers pinned my limbs in place. Steven's belt lashed against the steel rods in my spine. Each strike shot excruciating pain through my body. The more I screamed, the harder they laughed.

Just then, several military vehicles began approaching from a distance.

Alicia's expression stiffened, and the other soldiers were stupefied. Wasn't the inspection supposed to happen this afternoon? Why was the convoy here ahead of time?

Steven grabbed a tactical vest and a gun from one of the soldiers. As he stuffed both on me, he said, "Commander Lawson hates deserters. We'll just say that you—"

His words died out when I bit down hard on his wrist. The taste of blood filled my mouth, and the back of my head slammed against the concrete.

"You bastard!" Steven grabbed a shovel and swung it at my uninjured left leg.

My bones split with a loud crack, and my consciousness grew hazy.

"Soldiers, attention!"

Following the thunderous command, a gray-haired old man in an army uniform strode forward.

"Permission to report, sir!" Alicia spoke up in a solemn voice. "We're dealing with a rapist who is impersonating a military officer."

Steven forced himself to remain calm and stepped forward. "Commander Lawson, this man is a rapist. He's been impersonating Major Connor's husband and came here to cause a scene.

"We're simply doing our duty to maintain order here at the army base. We couldn't turn a blind eye to his evil deeds, so we decided to teach him a lesson."

"Who dares to violate the law like that?" Grandpa's voice boomed furiously. "I'd like to see who's the bastard that had the nerve to impersonate a soldier!"

As he came over to me, the other soldiers continued to insult and slander me.

But it wasn't long before Grandpa saw my face. His eyes widened in horror. "It's you!"

With the last of my strength, I lifted my head and opened my eyes, which were now crusted with mud and blood. I called out weakly, "Grandpa."