I bought my fiancé a private island, only to discover he had invited his first love, Nicole, there for a debauched party.

When we were exposed, they stabbed me again and again, then fled in the island’s only lifeboat, leaving me to die.

At the edge of despair, Elliott, a police officer, risked his life to reach the island and save me. He later told me that Nicole had drowned at sea. With eyes full of devotion, Elliott swore he would protect me for the rest of my life.

But a year later, I accidentally witnessed Elliott entwined with Nicole, alive and unmistakably real.

“You deliberately withdrew the island’s security and schemed your way into marrying him, all to make him sign over his inheritance?” she demanded.

Elliott replied coldly, “Once Brenda inherits that vast fortune, she will inevitably come after you. I cannot protect you by force alone. I had to eliminate the danger at its source.”

“And won’t Brenda hate you for this?”

Elliott gave a bitter smile. “I have already paid for it with the happiness of the rest of my life. I owe him nothing.”

In that moment, my heart turned to ashes. I drafted the divorce papers without hesitation.

This love of Elliott’s, sweet on the surface yet laced with poison, is something I refuse to accept.

1.

I wiped away my tears and walked toward the hospital alone.

The doctor had called to say my grandfather was in critical condition and that I needed to prepare myself. My wife entangled with my grandfather’s would be murderer right before my eyes was no longer something I had the strength to care about. All I wanted was to stay with him in his final moments.

Yet the instant I arrived at the hospital, several people in military uniforms stopped me at the entrance.

“Officer Ye has ordered that no outsiders be allowed near the ward. He is accompanying his loved one as her grandfather passes,” one of them said.

I said urgently, “Do not stop me. I am Elliott’s spouse. The one being rescued is my grandfather.”

The leading officer’s expression turned cold.

“That is impossible. The person Officer Ye brought is Nicole, and the one in critical condition is Nicole’s grandfather.”

“You have it wrong!”

With trembling hands, I called Elliott.

“Elliott, tell your people to let me in. I need to be with Grandpa. That is my grandfather!”

There was a brief silence on the other end before his voice grew impatient.

“Stop making trouble, Brenda. Grandpa’s condition is very bad. I am afraid you will be too overwhelmed if you come in. Just wait outside.”

The call was cut off abruptly.

But I knew he was lying, because moments earlier I had clearly seen the lawyer walk in with the will.

Suddenly, a wave of crying erupted from the ward. Grandpa was gone.

I struggled desperately to rush inside, only to be warned again and again.

At that moment, Nicole walked over. He shot me a provocative glance and said to the officer blocking the way, “Officer Ye told me to come.”

The officer nodded and immediately let him through.

And I was still kept outside.

“Nicole, what are you trying to do? That is my grandfather. Let me go in!”

Nicole only looked back at me with a taunting smile and said to the officers, “Please keep a close watch on him. This person is mentally unstable. I do not want him barging in and disrupting the rescue.”

With that, he turned around and walked off hand in hand with Elliott, who had just come out to greet him.

Elliott never once looked at me.

All the blood in my body seemed to freeze. Overcome by shock and fury, I collapsed unconscious.

For Nicole, he would not even let me see my grandfather one last time.

When I opened my eyes again, I met Elliott’s worried gaze.

I clenched my teeth and asked about Grandpa, but the moment I spoke, bitter tears slid into my mouth.

Elliott raised his hand in panic and wiped my cheek.

“I am sorry, Brenda. I did not let you in because I was afraid you would be too heartbroken.”

I threw off the blanket. “I want to see Grandpa. I want to hear the will being read.”

Elliott’s face changed instantly as he stopped me.

“Do not rush. There is something I need to tell you.”

“Before Grandpa passed, he changed his will. He said that Nicole surviving such a disaster and staying by his bedside to care for him was rare and precious, so he left all of his inheritance to Nicole.”

My body trembled violently, a breath stuck in my throat as I stared at Elliott without blinking.

“Elliott, do you actually believe what you are saying?”

For the sake of protecting his lover, this man was truly a master of acting.

I had long known that Nicole was not dead, and I also knew they had been scheming behind my back.

“I heard A Ting was swept onto a beach and was luckily rescued by fishermen.”

“Do not overthink it, Brenda. He has already died once in a sense. Let the past be buried. I will protect you from now on.”

Protect me?

If I had not overheard his conversation with the lawyer, I might truly have believed him.

Elliott choked slightly, then continued, “I know this is hard for you to accept. Grandpa pitied Nicole for being an orphan. He even entrusted me to take good care of you. From now on, I will make sure you lack nothing in life.”

I could not listen any longer. I pushed past him and ran to the morgue, collapsing over my grandfather’s body and sobbing uncontrollably.

I had treated Elliott well throughout our marriage. Why did he have to treat me like this?

Elliott’s mother had died early, and his father never knew how to care for others, so he grew up being rough and boyish.

Back in high school, Nicole mocked his short hair for being unfashionable and even led others in bullying him.

It was I who kept comforting him, telling him that girls with short hair were beautiful, often bringing him home with me, helping him regain his confidence.

Because of me, Grandpa had always been kind to Elliott as well, giving him lucky money every year.

Only later did I learn that he had always been deeply in love with Nicole, to the point of colluding with him to alter Grandpa’s will.

Grandpa had never even known Nicole. All he knew was that Nicole was the man who had once betrayed me and ruined my marriage. How could he possibly leave his inheritance to him?

Legally, such a forged will would never be recognized. What they did was a crime.

I held Grandpa’s funeral without informing Elliott.

Yet he came uninvited, bringing Nicole with him.

I blocked their way. “What are you doing here?”

Nicole put on a wronged expression. “Brenda, Grandpa left his inheritance to me. I should at least come and fulfill my filial duty.”

The relatives who had come to pay their respects immediately began to question the situation.

“What is going on? Shouldn’t the old man’s inheritance go to his own grandson?”

I let out a cold laugh and looked straight into Elliott’s eyes.

“Do not believe him. Grandpa said clearly while he was alive that the will would only be left to me.”

“Elliott, Grandpa once showed you great kindness. Do you dare swear in front of his portrait that you never altered his will?”

Elliott’s expression shifted slightly, yet his voice rang loud and firm.

“Brenda, I am your wife and a soldier. How can you doubt me like this?”

“And if we are talking about favors, have I not shown you kindness as well? Do not forget who saved you from that island back then.”

I clenched my fists tightly and shot back,

“Then who was it that caused me to be stranded on that island in the first place?”

He knew full well that I had nearly been murdered, yet now he stood on the side of the killer against me.

Elliott fell silent, and the surrounding relatives began to criticize him one after another.

Just then, Nicole suddenly burst into tears.

“I know Brenda hates me, but I was forced into all of this. Now that Grandpa is gone, maybe I should just follow him into death.”

She lunged toward the nearby pillar, yet before she even touched it, she collapsed to the ground.

“Nicole!”

Elliott rushed forward and gathered her into his arms, his face drained of all color. I had never seen such panic on his face before.

“Brenda, are you out of your mind?” he roared. “If Grandpa’s spirit can see you hurting people like this, he will never forgive you!”

“The inheritance will always belong to Nicole. I was going to give you a small share out of pity, but now you will not get a single cent!”

After hurling a few more curses at me, he supported Nicole and left.

Grandpa’s funeral turned into a farce whispered about by others, and the relatives soon dispersed. All I felt was guilt toward Grandpa as I carried his ashes home.

I contacted a well known lawyer to prepare a lawsuit and drafted a divorce agreement.

As I sorted through Grandpa’s belongings, my heart grew heavier with each item.

“Brenda, who gave you permission to enter my house?”

Nicole suddenly walked in and kicked over the box on the floor.

I grabbed him by the collar. “Get out. This is my grandfather’s home.”

Nicole sneered and easily pried my hand away.

“Oh? Grandpa clearly stated in the will that all his property belongs to me, including this house. The one who should get lost is you.”

Cold sweat broke out all over my body, and I barely had any strength left.

The stab wounds from three years ago had left lasting damage. I was no match for him physically.

Seeing my sorry state, Nicole looked at me with open contempt.

“Back then I stabbed you in the kidney. Now you are basically useless. Brenda, no wonder you could not satisfy Elliott in bed. He screamed happily under me.”

“Oh right, do you know how your grandfather died?”

“That night, after the old man fell asleep, Elliott could not hold back and insisted on dragging me onto the bed next to him. The old fool overheard us and got so angry that his heart gave out on the spot. Hahaha.”

I completely lost control and clamped my hands around Nicole’s neck.

Nicole did not resist at all, until a furious shout exploded from the doorway.

“Let go of him!”

A dark figure rushed at me, and my body was sent flying.

In a daze, I saw Elliott holding Nicole tightly, his voice trembling like a bowstring pulled to its limit.

“Nicole, what happened? Please do not scare me…”

Nicole coughed softly. “I am fine. Do not be angry, Xiao Min. I do not blame Brenda for taking it out on me.”

Elliott turned toward me, his eyes blazing with fury.

“Have you lost your mind? Why would you hurt Nicole?”

He knew exactly how to make me suffer. The kick landed right on the spot where I had been injured three years ago.

I forced myself up through the pain and slapped him hard across the face.

“Because he deliberately caused my grandfather’s death. Is that reason enough?”

But the next second, something dark filled my vision.

I widened my eyes and saw that Elliott had somehow raised a gun and aimed it at me.

He stared at me coldly, his finger resting on the trigger.

“Try touching him again and see what happens.”