The onlookers who didn't know the truth immediately started pointing fingers and whispering.

"He looks like a decent young man, but it turns out he's just another cheating scumbag."

"That's why they say you can't judge a book by its cover…"

I listened to them gossip about me while watching Courtney openly clinging to Travis without a shred of shame. Images of them from my previous life—deliberately diverting the rescue team away from me—flashed in my mind, and rage spread like wildfire in my chest.

I lunged forward and grabbed Travis by the collar. But before I could swing, Courtney grabbed my arm. I flung her off, harder than I meant to, and she stumbled backward, falling to the ground.

Travis started shouting again, "Nathan! You dare lay hands on a woman?"

Just then, someone in the crowd yelled, "The police are here!"

Before I could say anything, Travis rushed to the police and began to spout lies. "Officers! That's him! He's not only cheating on his wife, but he just hit her, too. Everyone here saw it! Quick, arrest him!"

The words had just left his mouth when a few busybodies chimed in as well.

"That's right! We all saw him hit his own wife!"

"Women these days really need to open their eyes wide when they're looking for a husband. They really can't just go by looks. Who knows whether they're marrying a man or a monster."

I shot Travis a cold look, knowing that he was doing this deliberately. He wanted to rattle me so I'd forget about the embezzlement.

But I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction.

Ignoring him completely, I turned my gaze to Courtney, who hadn't said a word.

"Are you going to come clean yourself, or should I do it for you? If you turn yourself in, it's a voluntary surrender. If I'm the one telling them, it'll be an official report."

Seeing that I was serious, a flicker of panic crossed Courtney's eyes. But she was used to acting superior in front of me, so she couldn't back down so easily.

Feigning calmness, she threatened, "Nathan, are you sure you want to take things so far? Aren't you afraid you'll be the one left with no way out in the end?"

I let out a cold scoff, not bothering with her anymore. Instead, I turned to the police and said, "Officers, I was the one who called. She's the Chief Financial Officer of Apex Technologies—and the one who embezzled company funds. As for the evidence, that should be easy enough to find."

"Nathan!" Courtney screamed in rage while Travis glared daggers at me.

He wanted to say something, but he didn't, afraid of implicating himself. After all, Courtney had embezzled the money for him.

In the end, all three of us were taken to the police station. It didn't take long for the police to gather evidence of Courtney's embezzlement, and she was detained on the spot. But no matter how they questioned her, she never mentioned Travis' name.

Seeing all this unfold, something bitter rose inside me. The thing I'd begged for my entire life—Travis got without even lifting a finger.

In my previous life, even after 50 years of marriage, I never received a shred of warmth from her. She couldn't care less when I was in the hospital, but if Travis so much as sneezed, she'd panic all day. If I touched her hand, she'd disinfect it with alcohol, but Travis could kiss her, hold her, even sleep with her without restraint.

The only time she acted affectionately toward me was when she needed something.

Thankfully, fate had given me another chance—a chance to choose again.

With that in mind, I looked at Courtney and said firmly, "I've already filed for divorce with the courts. I hope you'll cooperate."

Her eyes widened in fury as she snarled, "This is all your fault, Nathan! Don't even dream of walking away from me right now!"

I scoffed coldly. "Is that so? Alright then, let's see this through."

Ignoring her furious screams, I turned and walked out of the station without looking back.

News of Courtney's embezzlement spread quickly through our circle of friends.

Jacob Lipp, one of our friends, asked me cautiously, "Nathan, why did Courtney take that much money? Did something happen to you guys?"

I shook my head.

"So, she'll be fine as long as she pays back the money?" Jacob asked.

I shook my head again.

Not wanting to let it go, he pressed on, "She's your wife, after all, Nathan. Shouldn't you help her? Otherwise, she could be facing over ten years in prison!"

This time, I let out a soft sigh. "I couldn't help even if I wanted to. You know our family's situation. Even if I sold both my kidneys, I still wouldn't be able to scrape together 30 million dollars. Unless you'd be willing to lend me some?"

That last question shut down all further questions.

…

I had planned on using the time while Courtney was detained to cut all ties with her, but she was released just three days later. She'd signed an agreement with Apex Technologies, promising to repay all the funds within two weeks.

I was in the middle of packing my things when she and Travis showed up at the front door with a large group of friends.

Travis strode in first, rudely kicking over the suitcase I'd just finished packing, and jabbed a finger in my face.

"Nathan, Court's suffered in that detention center. As her friends, we've been worried sick about her, so we came over to check on her. Yet you, her husband, not only show her no concern, but you're even trying to divorce her at a time like this? Aren't you afraid of getting run over by a car the second you step outside, you heartless bastard?" he yelled.

I looked at the raging man in front of me and replied calmly, "If she hadn't been trying to pay your gambling debts, she wouldn't have suffered at all."

The group of friends all exchanged glances at my words—clearly, none of them had known about this.

Courtney glared at me, her eyes full of contempt. "So that's why you refuse to help me? You want to get back at me?"

I let out a cold laugh. "Getting back at you? Not exactly. But I'm certainly not going to help you. After all, I'm not in the habit of supporting my wife's boy toy."

In my previous life, after I had bailed Courtney out of her financial hole, Travis had gloated right in my face.

"I heard you sold all your precious patents just to help pay off my gambling debts, Nathan. I really don't know how I could ever thank you—how about I take good care of your wife for you?"

I'd lost it at his words and lunged at him.

But Courtney, without even wanting to know what happened, slapped me across the face and didn't come home for half a month. In the end, I had to grovel and apologize to Travis before she'd even consider forgiving me.

Thinking of how pathetic I'd been in my previous life made me look down on myself.

Yet, even after I laid it all out so bluntly, Travis still managed to twist the truth. Without blinking, he said, "Bullshit! You were the one who said your new project was short on funds and asked Courtney to help you figure something out. That was why she took the risk of moving company funds around. Now that it's blown up, you're trying to keep your hands clean and dump all the blame on me!"

Courtney walked up to me and slapped me across the face. With her eyes red, she snapped, "Nathan, I willingly helped you! I never expected you to do anything for me in return, either. But how can you tarnish Travis' and my reputation just to clear yourself of responsibility?"

The looks on everyone's faces shifted when they heard this, and some of them even started speaking up for Courtney and Travis.

"Nathan, since this whole mess started because of you, you have a responsibility to help Court fix it."

"That's right, if Court really goes to prison, how will you be able to live with yourself for the rest of your life?"

I pressed my tongue against the side of my cheek where she'd slapped me. When I looked up, I met Courtney's faintly smug gaze.

Did she think this would pressure me into covering the funds? How naive of her.

I swept my eyes over everyone in the room.

"Don't worry. Even if Courtney rots in prison, I'll still eat and sleep just fine for the rest of my life. Also, our divorce hearing is scheduled for next week. Anyone interested is welcome to come watch."

With that, I grabbed my suitcase and walked out without another backward glance.

After moving out, I deliberately kept my new address secret from everyone, but Courtney still managed to contact me every day, each time from a new number.

The closer the repayment deadline became, the more she sought me out. But I ignored her every time.

What I didn't expect was just how far she'd go to force my hand.

When we had first gotten together, we'd adopted a stray cat—Patches. I hadn't found a new place yet when I first moved out, so I didn't take Patches with me.

The day before our divorce hearing, I suddenly got an alert from the pet monitor back at the apartment. When I opened the feed, I was horrified to see Patches tangled in the ceiling lights, her once-glossy fur now dirty and streaked.

Travis stood beside her, a thin whip in hand. When he noticed the camera swivel, he immediately flipped it the finger and even mouthed the word "trash".

Without a second's thought, I rushed back to the apartment. By the time I arrived, Patches was barely hanging on, while Courtney just stood to the side, watching.

My chest tightened. Hoarse with rage, I roared, "Are you heartless, Courtney? Regardless of everything, Patches has lived with you for five whole years! How could you even do this to her?"

Courtney, however, didn't feel guilty at all. Instead, she glared at me furiously.

"Even a filthy animal can make you this upset, but I'm your wife, and you treat me so cruelly? Who's the one who's truly heartless here?"

I gritted my teeth. "Oh, now you remember you're my wife? Why didn't you seem to remember that when you were screwing around with Travis? Alright, enough bullshit. Just tell me—what will it take for you to give Patches back to me?"

She sneered. "You just need to sign this contract, and I'll return the animal to you."

She tossed a folder to me. I opened it and saw that it was a contract to sell my patents.

"You want me to sell my patents? Absolutely not."

Courtney didn't say anything, only shooting Travis a glance. The next second, he snapped the whip again. The poor cat didn't even have the strength to cry out.

"Stop it! I'll sign!"

My hand shook as I grabbed a pen and scrawled my signature on the contract.

"Now, can you let her go?"

Seeing the signature, Courtney nodded, satisfied. Travis tossed the whip aside and lowered Patches down.

I had barely exhaled in relief when he suddenly grabbed her and threw her out the window.

"Patches!" I screamed, sprinting over to the window.

We were a few floors up, so I couldn't quite see where Patches landed. I spun around, glaring at them with bloodshot eyes.

"You killed her!"

Courtney's face was pale. She clearly hadn't expected Travis to just throw Patches out of the window.

Travis took her hand, smirking as he looked at me. "We only said we'd return the animal to you. We never said whether she'd be alive or dead. She's just downstairs anyway. You can just go pick her up."

With that, he pulled Courtney out of the apartment.

As I watched the two of them walk out, hatred burned through me.

…

The next day, our divorce hearing went ahead as scheduled. Courtney agreed to the divorce without hesitation because to her, I was worthless now. In fact, I was merely an obstacle between her and Travis at this point.

When the ruling came down, she hooked her arm through his and walked past me triumphantly. But before they could leave the courthouse, several police officers stepped in front of them.

"Courtney Clarked, you're under suspicion of illegal patent trading and embezzlement of company funds. Travis Foster, you're under suspicion of participating in group drug use, gambling, and usury. You're both coming with us."