Three months into our marriage, my wife’s brother-in-law suddenly went into kidney failure. After a month of treatment with no improvement, her sister vanished without a trace.

Just when I was trying to figure out how to comfort him, Olivia Hayes handed me a kidney-donation consent form.

“Ethan, it’s our Hayes family that owes Nathan.

Now that you’ve married into the Hayes family, you should give him one of your kidneys.”

I stared at the document, stunned, then pushed it back.

“Olivia, you know I’ve already had a third of my stomach removed.

I’m not in good shape. Losing a kidney will shorten my life expectancy.”

But Olivia looked at me stubbornly.

“Ethan, it’s just one kidney. You’ll recover.

I’ll take care of you after the surgery—make sure you’re healthy and well.”

Looking at her pleading eyes—seeing tears tremble on her lashes—I finally nodded.

The surgery was successful.

A month later, I was discharged.

As soon as I sat down at home, Olivia took out another document.

“Honey, we should help all the way.

Victoria isn’t here, and Nathan needs a child—an heir.”

“This is a wife-rental contract. Sign it.”

Lightning cracked across my mind.

The contract read:

“From this day forward, I voluntarily rent my wife, Olivia Hayes, to Nathan Drake Jr. for the purpose of conceiving a child.

For three years, marital intimacy is prohibited.

Violation… may you suffer a fate worse than death.”

I slammed the contract into her face, my chest splitting with pain.

“Olivia Hayes, I already gave him a kidney.

Now you expect me to loan him my wife to have a baby?”

“You promised you’d take care of me.

This is what you call devotion?

Aren’t you ashamed?”

She looked troubled.

“Three years—two at most.

I’ll get pregnant soon. Nathan is afraid his illness might return before he has children…”

As she spoke, she slowly wrapped her arms around me.

“Ethan, think about it…

Nathan Drake is one of the wealthiest heirs in Los Angeles.

He’s smart, handsome, connected to the East Coast Big Four Elite Families.

And look at you—your health…”

Staring at the admiration flooding her eyes, my heart went cold.

Who begged me to donate the kidney?

Who am I sick for?

Just one month… and she already forgot.

Tears fell. I choked out:

“Olivia Hayes, what if I refuse?”

Before she could answer, Mrs. Hayes hurled a teacup at my face.

“You’re a nobody!

Since when does a live-in son-in-law get a say in Hayes business?”

“Refuse and get out—go back to your shabby rental.

Without us, you are nothing.”

Relatives rose to “persuade” me:

“Calm down, Clarice. He just got out of the hospital.”

“Ethan, apologize. Olivia is thinking of the family.

Nathan Drake is not someone you want to anger.”

“It’s only two years!

You’ll even get a child—kind of.”

I looked coldly at this flock of jackals.

No wonder Victoria ran after the catastrophe—

Cruelty here must be hereditary.

With hopeless desperation, I asked Olivia:

“Between Nathan and me… who do you choose?”

Guilt flickered across her face.

Then she looked at me with chilling resolve—

“Ethan, we’ve struggled side by side for eight years,

helping my family survive.

I thought you’d understand me.

Having Nathan’s child strengthens the alliance between our families.

There is no ‘choice’. It’s necessity.”

A bitter laugh tore from me.

I was supposed to understand my wife cheating?

Support her giving birth to her brother-in-law’s child?

I stood up, shredded the contract, and let the pieces fall like snow.

“Olivia, I can accept IVF—someone else as a surrogate.

That’s my limit.”

Her eyes darkened with irritation.

“Ethan Carter, this child must be conceived.

I’m informing you, not negotiating.”

My fists clenched. My heart went ice-cold.

“Olivia Hayes—let’s divorce.”

Silence crashed through the room.

A live-in son-in-law daring to demand divorce?

Unthinkable.

She stared for a long time.

Her voice finally cracked and fell to silence.

She stood up and dismissed the relatives.

Before leaving, she turned back:

“Ethan…

You love me so much.

Can’t you think for me—just a little more?”

That night, I sat alone—drying out inside.

Then I dialed that confidential number.

“You told me you owed me a favor.

I’m cashing it in.”

“Done. Whatever you need.”

The next morning, Olivia had packed her suitcases.

“Nathan is flying to Miami for a project negotiation.

He just had surgery—I’m going to take care of him.

You keep the company running.”

She strode out.

No concern for my health.

No explanation.

Everything already decided.

I washed up and went to work—numb.

The private investigator’s report hit my phone.

My shaking fingers tapped it open.

Olivia accompanied Nathan for a post-op check in Miami—everything normal.

She posted on social media:

“A brand new life, hand in hand with you.”

She attended a groundbreaking ceremony with him—arm in arm like a married couple.

They went sightseeing in Paris, signed their names beneath the Eiffel Tower lights.

Eight hundred videos a day—

Flashing her happiness with him.

Titles dripping with affection:

“Happiness Beside You”

“Destiny Gives Us a Second Chance”

If the woman leaning so sweetly on his arm

weren’t my wife…

Maybe I’d even click “like.”

My vision stung.

I finally commented beneath a post:

“If you want a second chance with him,

start by divorcing me.”

My comment vanished instantly.

Then her sixty-second voice message arrived—

“What nonsense are you posting?

You’re the VP of a company—use your brain.”

“My reputation is the company’s.

Do you want to drag us down?”

Despite everything, her words still broke me.

Tears slipped without warning.

Colleagues glanced at me with strange eyes—

Sympathy?

Or ridicule?

Maybe they think I’m a spineless leech

staying for money.

I don’t understand

how people can change so fast.

Eight years ago, the Hayes Group was near bankruptcy.

I abandoned a lucrative job, joined them, and fought with all I had.

I helped Olivia win back clients, door by door.

I camped outside the bank president’s office for ten days—

staking my future as collateral

just to secure that loan.

I once pushed myself so hard chasing contracts that I drank until my stomach bled—

and they ended up removing a third of it.

That night, Olivia Hayes clung to me, tears streaming down her face.

“Ethan, you’ve suffered so much.”

“For the rest of my life, I will never betray you. If I ever do, may the world spit on me—may I die a wretched death.”

Back then, Mrs. Hayes grabbed my hand, eyes red.

“Son, you are the savior of the Hayes family. From now on, you are the one to lead. Hayes Group will be yours.”

But it only took the Hayes family a few years to stabilize—barely reaching the corporate mid-tier—before Mrs. Hayes’ gaze toward me changed.

Arrogance. Disdain.

Especially after Olivia’s older sister, Victoria Hayes, tied herself to the Drake family—

to Nathan Drake, one of the wealthiest heirs in Los Angeles.

Mrs. Hayes dropped all pretense.

She publicly claimed that I was the one climbing above my station.

She said if her second daughter weren’t so soft-hearted, she too could have married her way into a billionaire dynasty—

maybe even into one of the East Coast Four Elite Families.

She forgot everything.

She forgot how, if I hadn’t risked my life, slashing costs, fighting deals, saving Hayes Group from collapse…

they’d still be scavenging for scraps.

After I finished restructuring the Hayes assets, Olivia returned—alongside Nathan Drake.

She arrived to find me sitting on the windowsill, drinking alone,

a man hollowed out and exhausted.

She set down her suitcase and walked over, brows furrowed, throwing open the window.

“Your health is terrible—why are you still drinking? You’re a grown man. Stop acting like a child.”

Then she placed a hand on her lower stomach, and her next words hit me like a thunderbolt—

“I’m pregnant. Stop drinking—you’ll harm the baby.”

Pregnant.

After one month away.

How eager she was—

no hesitation at all.

My heart, strangely, turned calm.

Everything I needed to do next suddenly felt crystal clear.

I gave a soft laugh.

“Alright. No more drinking.”

I grabbed my clothes and headed to the bathroom.

I needed a shower—

needed to wash away the filth of what I’d become.

When I came out, Olivia was gone.

My phone vibrated—a message from five minutes earlier:

“Drake Enterprises’ anniversary gala is in two days. I have to attend.

Make sure you come Friday.

Don’t say anything stupid.

For now, we’ll say the baby is yours.

His true identity will be revealed when the time is right.”

Of course.

They cared about the baby’s reputation—

just not the day the truth would destroy mine.

Expressionless, I deleted the message

and called Attorney Collins.

“How much of the asset transfer is done?”

“Mr. Carter, we’ve completed about seventy percent.

A full transfer at once might draw attention—we need more time.”

“No rush. Keep going. Steadily.”

Friday came.

I arrived punctually at Moonridge Estate in Beverly Hills.

Olivia stood beside Nathan Drake at the main entrance—

a stunning red gown, practically glowing.

Anyone who didn’t know would assume it was their wedding.

I approached calmly to greet them.

Olivia’s voice was polite but cold:

“Go inside and sit.”

The tone of a woman who already saw herself as mistress of the house.

Inside, a few business partners came over:

“Mr. Carter, congratulations! We heard Mrs. Hayes is pregnant!”

“Hey, shouldn’t you be out there helping Mr. Drake welcome guests?

She’s the pregnant one—why make her do all the work?”

I smiled thinly.

“It’s fine. She likes being helpful.”

They stole glances at Olivia holding onto Nathan’s arm.

Awkward chuckles followed.

Soon, all the guests arrived.

Nathan Drake went on stage for his speech—

with Olivia Hayes proudly holding his arm.

As if she belonged there.