After speaking, Cora picked up her bag and headed downstairs. She had just reached the roadside when Kimberly caught up and grabbed her hand.

"Are you angry? I'll give you the concert tickets, then. You only have one last month together anyway. Seize the chance to make some memories. Otherwise, when you're old and looking back, you might have regrets."

Cora pulled her hand away and stepped back twice, her expression cold.

"No need. After the divorce, I'll forget the past. There's nothing worth remembering between him and me."

"That's harsh. Even though George only got together with you because I forced him to, you did take some of the burden off me. It's bad enough you can't have his love, but if you can't even have a few good marriage memories, wouldn't that make me too cruel?"

Kimberly continued offering false comfort while pulling at her, refusing to let her leave. As they struggled, neither noticed the car rushing toward them.

By the time the driver laid on the horn frantically and they both turned around, it was too late to dodge.

In that critical moment, George rushed over, swept Kimberly into his arms, and carried her to safety.

Cora was hit by the car and sent flying nearly 70 feet away. She crashed heavily to the ground. There was a loud thud. Bright red blood poured from her lips and nose, pooling on the pavement.

Her limbs felt like they were being torn apart. The pain made her whole body convulse and spasm.

It hurt. It hurt so much.

Her consciousness gradually grew hazy. Before passing out, she saw George comforting Kimberly, who was in shock.

She did not know how much time passed before the pain jolted her awake.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in the hospital. The first thing she saw was George's face, full of worry.

"Cora, how do you feel? You've been unconscious for two days. Do you know how worried I was?"

Cora looked at his anxious expression and remembered what she had seen before losing consciousness. She found it laughable.

On the edge of life and death, the person he chose to save was not her. She had been lying in a pool of blood, and he had not even noticed she was seriously injured.

She had never occupied a place in his heart. How could he possibly worry about her?

She took a light breath and spoke in a hoarse voice. "I'm fine. Go take care of Kimberly."

George froze, thinking she was upset that he had not saved her. He rushed to explain, "Kimberly's fine. You were hurt so badly. Of course, I'm staying to take care of you."

Cora shook her head and simply said she was tired. She closed her eyes to rest.

George did not disturb her further. He tucked in her blanket, fetched some water, and ordered a light lunch. After that, he took a phone call saying something had come up at the company and left. He told her he would come back tomorrow.

When the nurse came to check on her and saw how thoroughly he had prepared everything, she kept telling Cora how lucky she was to have married such a good husband.

Cora said nothing. She had just opened the plain lunchbox when her phone rang.

When she unlocked it, she saw a message from Kimberly.

[Sorry! That accident scared me so badly that I developed psychological trauma, so I sent George a message. He's having dinner with me right now. Afterward, he's taking me to the amusement park to help me relax, and later we're going to a movie too. Rest well in the hospital, okay?]

The attached photo showed a famous health food restaurant in the city. The table was covered with light, nutritious dishes.

Across from the camera, only George's hands were visible as he peeled a large bowl of shrimp for her, Kimberly's favorite.

Cora looked quietly at these photos and replied with only two words: [Have fun.]

Over the next week, George came to the hospital every day. He would sit for ten minutes, then leave.

Kimberly also sent messages on schedule, reporting their activities.

He would accompany her to the beach to watch the sunset, picking up shells to spell out their names in the sand. He would drive her to the countryside for a spin, buying flowers and balloons to cheer her up like she was a child.

He would take her to flower fields to ride in a hot air balloon, snapping thousands of photos of her alone with his camera.

Everything he did was not quite as intimate as lovers would be yet showed far more care than ordinary friends. It fell somewhere between friendship and romance. George had never done any of these things when he was dating Cora. The contrast was stark.

Once again, Cora felt grateful she had agreed to that wager.

After the doctor's final checkup, he handed over the prescription.

"Everything's healed up nicely. Have your husband handle the discharge paperwork and pick up the medication."

Cora took it, her tone completely neutral. "He's not my husband. We're divorced."

The next second, the hospital ward door swung open.

George walked in, looking shocked. "Divorced? What do you mean, divorced?"

Cora had not expected George to appear suddenly. She froze for a moment. "Nothing. I was just saying you've been gone these past few days and weren't at the hospital."

Seeing her calm expression, George did not think much of it. "I've been busy working overtime on a new project lately, so I couldn't come take care of you."

Watching him lie so effortlessly, Cora's eyes flickered slightly.

"If you're that busy, you don't need to come. I can take care of myself."

She meant every word, but George thought she was upset. "It's my fault. I've mostly finished the work. I'll spend more time with you from now on."

As he spoke, he prepared to take her home. He even had his assistant send over many designer bags for her to choose from.

Looking at these gorgeous, expensive luxury goods, Cora calmly refused them. When she said she did not like them, George quickly had his people prepare new ones.

"I'll send you other gifts, then. What do you like? Jewelry? Clothes? Let's buy everything. There has to be something you like, right?"

Cora felt not a ripple of emotion at anything he mentioned. For three years, he had sent piles of gifts on every anniversary and holiday. These items, with their similar logos and styles, filled the walk-in closet. At a glance, it looked like some luxury store's warehouse.

She used to think this meant he cared, so even though she was not interested, she would happily accept them.

Yet today, hearing that he did not even know what she liked, she finally understood. He was simply too lazy to put in any thought, so he chose these kinds of gifts.

With prices like that, he could not go wrong. Hence, this time, Cora stated her position directly. "I don't need any of it. You don't need to send me these things anymore. Don't trouble yourself."

This was the first time George had heard her say something like this. Panic suddenly rose in his heart. "You're my wife. Preparing gifts for you is only natural. How could it be trouble?"

What if she was not his wife anymore?

How laughable. He still had no idea he had already signed their divorce papers.

…

Over the next few days, George stayed home without going out. Cora slowly began packing up her things.

She packed up unused cosmetics and clothes, the suits and electric razors she had bought him, their matching mugs, and photos of them together.

Seeing her suddenly clear out so many things on a whim, George was astonished. He was about to ask when Kimberly's call came through.

George instantly forgot about it. He answered the phone and left.

Cora also saw the caller ID on the screen. She knew he was going to keep Kimberly company.

After watching him leave, she threw all these items into the trash. She had just finished cleaning up when she received a call from George's assistant, Janet Lowe.

"Ms. Shepard, please come to Nightfall Club right away. Mr. Lambert is in trouble!"

Hearing the usually composed assistant suddenly become so anxious and panicked, Cora frowned. She grabbed her bag, hailed a cab, and looked up the club on her phone during the ride. It was a racing club.

Had George not gone to see Kimberly? Why did he suddenly go to a club?

When she arrived at the scene and saw the man facing George, Cora understood immediately.

It was Tyler Finch, Kimberly's college boyfriend who loved drinking, smoking, fighting, and street racing. She had heard from others that after they broke up, Tyler would still harass Kimberly from time to time.

From the looks of it, he had probably hit hard times again and come to pester his ex-girlfriend. And the reality was not far from what she imagined.

Tyler threw a racing suit in front of George.

"Kimberly doesn't like uptight rich boys like you at all. She likes adventure and thrills! Since you keep saying you'll protect her, race me. Whoever loses has to stay away from Kimberly forever!"

George picked up the racing suit with a cold expression. "It's a deal."

Hearing that he was really going to race, the group of friends around them panicked and kept trying to talk him out of it.

"George, he's been racing for years. You've never even been on a track. There's no way you can beat him! Don't gamble with your life like this, okay?"

"Yeah, you're married now. There's no need to risk your life for Kimberly! If something happens to you, what about Cora?"

Even so, George would not listen to a word. He even automatically ignored Cora's name when his friends mentioned it. Instead, he looked deeply at Kimberly, who was standing to the side.

"I won't lose. I can give her the thrills she wants too."

Hearing his resounding declaration, Cora's eyes flickered. She unconsciously clenched her hands.

Several friends saw that Cora had arrived and rushed over, asking her to help persuade him. They pushed her toward the prep room.

Looking at the door so close in front of her, Cora's emotions churned. She did not understand racing, but she knew George had no chance of winning.

Racing against a professional driver so rashly, he might not even make it off the track alive.

Although she had already decided to let go, she still could not bring herself to watch him go to his death. So after careful consideration, she raised her hand to push open the door.

The next second, Kimberly walked out from inside. Seeing Cora, her eyes lit up with a meaningful smile. "Did you come to convince George to give up the race? I'd suggest you not waste your effort, because George won't possibly listen to you.

"Do you know how much he loves me? Once, on a whim, I said I wanted to run away with him. He got on a plane with me without any hesitation. After we were caught and brought back, he'd rather endure family punishment than betray me.

"In high school, so many people sent me love letters. He tore up every single one he saw, forcing them to transfer classes or drop out. He even got into a fight with a whole group of people for me and ended up hospitalized while covered in blood.

"To him, you're just a fallback option, a second choice. How could he possibly give me up because of something you say?"

Looking at Kimberly's undisguised gloating expression, Cora felt a sharp pain in her heart.

"He loves you that much, but what about you? Since you've chosen to be with him, why aren't you stopping him when you know he'll definitely lose and might even die?"

Kimberly looked as if she had heard something hilarious. She showed a mocking expression.

"Why would I stop him? Don't you think it's fascinating to watch a man abandon his principles and throw himself into danger for you? Since I've decided to choose him, of course, I want him to prove that he loves me enough to give up his life for me.

"This is the perfect test, isn't it? Of course, it's normal that you don't understand. After all, George would never risk his life like this for you."

Each word hit Cora like a blow, making her chest tighten painfully.

Many words surged to her throat. Her lips parted slightly, but she could not get a single word out.

Watching her expression, Kimberly took her phone and dialed George's number.

"Since you still won't give up, I'll prove it to you one more time. Call him and say you've been in a car accident and you're in the operating room. Let's see if he'll give up this race for you."

The dial tone echoed through the hallway. Soon, the call connected.

"Cora, I'm in a meeting. Whatever it is can wait until I get home."

He did not even give Cora a chance to speak before hanging up.

Looking at the screen going dark, Cora's hand dropped limply to her side. She lowered her head. A resigned smile curved her lips as she said softly, "You won again."