Joanne and I met through an arranged matchmaking. Back then, she was radiant and beautiful, and I fell for her at first sight.

She didn't like me, yet she still agreed to be with me.

I knew I wasn't worthy of her, so after we got married, I poured all my effort into being the husband she deserved.

No matter how cold she was toward me, I kept believing that she would be moved and truly fall in love with me one day.

Then, Steven appeared. That was when I learned that Joanne had agreed to marry me only because she couldn't withstand her family's pressure.

He kept showing up around Joanne, and one day, my patience finally snapped. I wanted to warn him to stay away from my wife.

But Steven always managed to injure himself on purpose right before Joanne appeared, framing me every time.

Joanne wouldn't even spare me a glance. She had eyes only for Steven as she walked straight to his side, soothing him softly.

She would turn cold, glaring at me as if I were her enemy. "Charles, I never thought someone who appears so upright could be this twisted deep down. If I hadn't arrived in time, were you planning to kill him?"

I stared at the wound on my hand in shock and tried to explain. "I didn't do anything. He fell on his own…"

Besides, Steven wouldn't be injured at all. I was always the one who got hurt.

But Joanne couldn't be bothered to listen.

In her eyes, Steven was kind and harmless. He couldn't possibly frame me.

Naturally, all the blame fell on me.

She slapped me in anger and roared, "How could you blame someone else after doing wrong? Charles, you've really shown me who you are. Marrying someone as petty and vicious as you was pure damnation! Hurry up and apologize to him!"

I didn't want to apologize. And I wanted even less for Steven to ruin the fragile relationship I had painstakingly built with Joanne.

I never expected that apologizing would only make Steven more relentless.

Every day, he put on the same show, pretending I'd somehow hurt him. Bit by bit, he destroyed everything I had struggled to build with Joanne.

She completely lost trust in me and even warned me outright, "Stay out of my business with Steven. If you dare interfere again, I'll divorce you."

Later, when I discovered the truth behind Steven getting close to Joanne, he stabbed me with a knife.

It was the same routine.

When Joanne arrived, Steven shoved the knife into my hand and dragged it lightly across his own body a few times.

She couldn't see the gaping wounds in my body or the blood pouring out of me.

She held Steven in despair, helping him stop the bleeding while calling for an ambulance.

It was the medical staff who noticed me and tried to rush me into surgery, only to be stopped by Joanne.

"He tried to murder someone! Why bother saving him?" she yelled.

Fortunately, passersby also called for an ambulance.

That was how I ended up being taken to the hospital.

When Joanne saw me being wheeled toward the emergency room, she immediately stopped them. "What are you doing? He's hurt Steven so badly! He's only lost a little blood, so why bother treating him? Get over here! If anything bad happens to Steven, I'll hold all of you accountable!"

The doctors hesitated. "But…"

Joanne kicked my gurney into the corner and said, "I'm his wife. I know he's faking it. Hurry up and treat Steven. If you waste time and delay treating him, I'll report you to the hospital director!"

As she turned to leave, I used my last bit of consciousness to beg her, "I'm not faking it… Save me…"

She only cast me a cold glance and walked away.

All I could do was wait for death in despair.

Joanne got up early to cook for Steven.

But Steven had no appetite. He said worriedly, "Jo, maybe we should go get Charles. My injuries aren't serious. If he ends up with a criminal record, it'll destroy his life. And if you two have children in the future, their lives would be ruined too."

He wasn't worried about me at all. He was just afraid Joanne would discover the truth.

Joanne sneered. "He deserves whatever consequences he gets! Steven, don't worry. I'll never have children with him. I've been taking precautions all these years."

No wonder she never became pregnant after five years of marriage.

I had even suspected something was wrong with me and gone to the hospital for tests. I never imagined that all these years, she had secretly been preventing pregnancy, afraid of carrying my child.

Joanne even took leave to bring Steven out to relax.

They hadn't been out long when my best friend, Frank Jensen, called.

"Joanne, my friend is dead, and you're off taking your lover out for fun? Don't you have any decency?"

Joanne's expression darkened as she snapped back, "You of all people should know what kind of person Charles is! If he's so determined to die, he should just get it over with and stop getting in the way of Steven and me."

Frank fumed, "You shameless woman! I—"

Joanne hung up the phone.

Steven, ever good at reading the room, pulled her into his arms and asked gently, "Jo, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Her anger vanished the moment she faced Steven.

Joanne wanted to go on a short vacation with Steven, but the hospital director, Jasper Henderson, called. This forced her to abandon the plan.

"Joanne, you have 30 minutes. Get back to the hospital now!" Jasper ordered.

Confused, she rushed back.

Steven felt uneasy and followed her.

Inside the morgue were not only Jasper, but also police officers and a medical examiner.

Believing she understood the situation, Joanne said impatiently, "Did Charles stir up something again? It hasn't even been that long, and it's already unraveling. Are you here to gather evidence against him for attempted murder?"

A police officer replied flatly, "Mr. Jenkins is really dead."

Annoyed, Joanne scoffed. "What kind of joke is this? Didn't I already say he was faking it?"

"Well, the medical examiner needs to perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death now. If you don't believe it, stay and watch."

Joanne laughed. "Fine! I'd like to see how long he can keep pretending."

Steven tugged at her arm, panic flashing across his face. "Jo, we mustn't let them do an autopsy. What if they hurt Charles?"

"He deserves it!" Joanne personally pulled back the white sheet covering my body, completely ignoring how pale my face already was.

"Hurry up!" she urged the medical examiner.