When my father was critically ill, I begged my fiancée to lend me money for his surgery. However, instead of lending me money, she left me and got engaged with Luke Hammond.

Just as I was drowning in despair, my childhood friend, Jill Baker, knelt on one knee in the hospital and proposed to me. She even offered me a dowry worth one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

I immediately agreed and arranged for my father to be operated on as fast as I could. Yet, in the end, he did not survive the operation.

I was too devastated with grief that Jill was the one who arranged my father's funeral and the wedding continued as planned.

However, five years later, it was so happened that I heard her conversation with a doctor.

"Jill, when you secretly transplanted Cody Wilson's father's organs to save Luke's father without telling Cody, have you ever thought about what would happen if he found out? Are you really going to sacrifice yourself for Luke?"

"So what if I was? I would do anything for him. A single life in exchange for his? I've already spent my whole life repaying Cody and that should be enough," Jill said.

Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. It was only at that moment I realized the marriage I cherish so much was nothing more than a lie from the very start.  

Her heart had always belonged to Luke. If this were the case, I would be happy to step aside.

——

Just across the door, there was a tinge of regret in Jill's voice and every word that she said was filled with sorrow, "I failed to make him love me, so the least I could do was to save Luke's uncle. At least, by this, he did not have things to worry about anymore. That was the only thing I could do for him.  As for Cody ... I’ve spent my entire life repaying him. That should be enough.

Across from her, her childhood friend Diana Moore sighed, a hint of pity in her voice as she spoke, "Isn't it a shame that Luke hasn't known what you sacrificed for him? That was a human life, Jill!  If anyone ever finds out, you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison. Is it really worth it for a man who doesn’t even love you?"

"It doesn't matter if it's worth it or not, as long as he’s happy, I’d do anything. Even if I had to use my own organs instead of Cody’s father’s, I wouldn’t hesitate."

"Let’s never speak of this again. It’s in the past now. As long as he’s living well, that’s all that matters," she added.

"How about Cody then? It seems he genuinely loves you. If he ever finds out you caused his father’s death, what will happen to you two?" Diana asked.

Silence filled the room. Then, Jill let out a bitter laugh, her voice laced with self-mockery as she said, "If it's the case, I'll pay for it with my life. The money I’ve earned over the years should be enough for him to live comfortably."

Diana sighed. "I really don’t understand you. Why put yourself through this? Cody is a good man, yet you insist on holding onto him… Never mind. If this is what you want, I won’t say anything more."

As their footsteps neared, I fled back to my room in a daze.

The hot tea in my hands spilled onto my clothes, but all I felt was an icy chill spreading through my bones.

So my father didn’t die on the operating table. Instead, he had died because of the conspiration that Jill had meticulously concocted for Luke's sake.

Back then, Gail Young betrayed and abandoned me. She made me a laughingstock.

Jill’s proposal had never been about giving me happiness. It was simply her way of stabbing me one last time.

Our years of marriage had been nothing more than her attempt to compensate me out of guilt and I had been flaunting her pitiful charity and showing off my happiness everywhere.

What a joke.

The sound of the door closing signaled Diana’s departure. Jill stumbled into the room. She cupped my face in her hands as she kissed the corner of my lips.

Her drunken eyes were filled with concern when she asked, "Why are you standing by the door?"

"It's nothing," I answered. "I just spilled some tea and was about to clean it up.

"Let the housekeeper handle it. You’re not in good health. Get some rest, or I’ll worry about you."

Then she kissed me again. She was as loving and gentle as she did before. However, I could no longer feel her warmth.

Can a person really go to such extremes for someone else?

As I closed my eyes, tears slipped down my face. I helped her onto the bed and tucked her in.

Since she was drunk, it did not take long for her to sleep.

I then sat at the edge of the bed and quietly picked up her phone. I only needed to try one and the screen immediately unlocked. The password was Luke's birthday.

I scrolled through the documents she had signed over the years. In every contract, it had some connection with the Young Family.

I had never been involved in the company’s operations, but even I could tell that she had sacrificed a lot of profit for Luke.

The company’s brand ambassador was Luke's favorite celebrity. The projects were chosen in places he loved.

Even the amounts on every contract had some connection to Luke, whether it was his birthday, his wedding anniversary, or the day he first met Jill.

With trembling hands, I opened her private photo album.

Inside the album, all the picture was a smiling Luke's

Some were from his appearances as the CEO of the Young Corporation, others were of him celebrating successful deals with Gail Young. Except Jill cut off all Gail's face from the picture and left only Luke's face there.

There were thousands of them, their timeline spanned five years. Apart from that, there were countless records of brooches and wristwatches that were bought at the auctions.

She used the company's name as the sender to send to Luke and claimed them as "gifts for a business partner."

Her love was both blatant and hidden and it was woven into every tiny detail. Each detail was like a knife that stabbed his heart.

I had seen these luxury brands before and she told me they were gifts for me but in reality, they were just promotional giveaways from the auction houses.

I let out a bitter laugh and stopped scrolling. Instead, I booked a one-way ticket for three days later. I also filed to have all my legal documents canceled.

I figured three days would be enough to say goodbye to five years of relationship.

That night, I didn't sleep and after the dawn came, I freshened up.

My phone buzzed. Then I heard Jill's confused voice sounded, "Cody? Why did you cancel your documents?"

I quickly took my phone from her and answered casually, " Oh, it's nothing. My ID has expired and I have scheduled time to renew it."

“Aren’t you busy with meetings today?" I asked. "Go on ... go to work."

She didn’t question me any further and just nuzzled into my embrace. With a gentle voice, she said, "Thank you for your understanding, Husband. Being married to you is truly my blessing."

I smiled but said nothing.

“As a reward, I have a special surprise for you today.”

"All right, I'll wait for you at home," I said

Jill had just left the house when her assistant came to bring me a delicious breakfast.

Jill knew how much I liked this hotel's food, so she always had it delivered every day for five years.

I used to think it was a sign of her love for me, but now I realize it was just convenient.

If she really loved me, how could she not learn a dish in five years?

She had done everything she could to keep me from disturbing Luke.

I tossed the breakfast into the trash and walked out the door. It was time for this five-year charade to come to an end.

At the administrative office, I filed my paperwork quickly and headed to my lawyer’s office.

There was a template for the net divorce agreement and it didn't take long for the lawyer to give me two copies of it.

With the documents in hand, I went straight to Jill’s company.

As soon as I entered, I heard employees whispering.

“That’s President Baker's husband, right? He looks amazing! No wonder she keeps him hidden like a treasure.”

“He must be! Do you see the Rolex he’s wearing? I personally delivered it to him last week! The auction price was seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars! Even if I started to work part-time, I wouldn’t be able to afford that. I'm so jealous!”

"I heard they were childhood sweethearts and he was President Baker's first love! Even after building her own company, there’s still only one man by her side. Isn’t this like a romance drama coming to life?"

As I stood outside the top-floor office, a familiar voice came from inside.

“Is she treating you well?”

"Yeah, she’s been great. Just the other day, she bought me a private island as a belated honeymoon gift. Honestly, after five years of marriage, she still acts like a child..."

Jill's voice carried a mix of bitterness and restraint.

"That's great. If that is the case, I feel relieved."

"So are you. Why do you keep sending me expensive gifts? If Cody knows about it, he'll be upset.

Luke had always been like this. He always took everything for granted. At the same time, he would turn around and secretly mock me by talking sarcastically at me.

Years ago, when Gail broke off our engagement, it was Luke who ran straight to the hospital and told my father while he was still on his sickbed.

The shock sent my father into cardiac arrest and he was rushed into emergency surgery that night.

This made me fight with Luke endlessly.

When Jill and Gail arrived, instead of standing by me, they took his side. They scolded me for being immature.

That was the day I cut my relationship with Gail and Luke and Jill became my only lifeline.

However, now, Jill was the only one who pushed me into the abyss.

The secretary was in a hurry to deliver the contract and rushed to open the door in front of me.

When she saw me a flash of shock appeared on her face. "Cody? What are you doing here? Don't think too much about this. Luke is here as the representative of the Young Corporation. We're just talking about a project."

"Cody, it's been a while."

Luke stood up. He was wearing the latest high-end designer suit. His look made me look like a beggar when I stood beside him.

I forced a smile and nodded. As I suppressed my resentment, I spoke calmly. "It's fine. I was just out for a walk and thought I’d drop by to see you. Since you’re busy, I’ll head back first."

Jill, assuming I was angry, chased after me. She tried to explain to me franticly.

Seeing how frantic she was, I suddenly felt like laughing. She bent over backward to secure a deal with Young Corporation just to be close to Luke. Now, when Luke was here to see her just like she wanted to, for who she acted like this?

I calmly said, "You don't have to worry. I'm not a petty an. Just work hard, I'll wait for you at home."

Relief visibly washed over her face and she instructed her secretary to escort me personally downstairs.

As I stepped out of the elevator, the employees’ mocking gazes burned into me. They did not even care if I heard their taunting remarks.

I Ignored them and walked out of the company.

After we got married, she told me she didn’t want me to work. She wanted me to live a carefree life.

I believed her. So, from that moment on, I became a stay-at-home husband, shackled to the house.

Meanwhile, Luke, my former classmate, became the project leader for the Young Corporation.

Now, the gap between us was insurmountable, whether in status, power and influence. I was nothing compared to him.

Jill, is this the outcome you wanted? That I'll never become the rival of her true love ever again.

Back home, I gathered everything she had given me over the past five years, packed them into boxes and carried them downstairs. Then I lit a match and set them on fire.

As the flames roared to life, Luke appeared before me. With a swift kick, he sent the burning box flying.

When the photographs scattered all over the place and embers clung to his expensive suit, he only grinned.

"Cody, after all these years, you are still as useless as ever. You couldn’t protect your father back then and now, you can’t even protect yourself. You’re nothing but a joke!"

So, he knew the truth about what had happened back then?

As rage surged through me, I could not hold back anymore and punched him in the face.

However, although I did not use too much power, he fell into the fire.