I witness my wife, Janice Grant, sleeping in the same room as her childhood friend, Bruce York, in nothing but a skimpy nightgown.

But Janice claims that she has gotten bound to a conquest system, so she has to conquer Bruce's heart just so she can complete the mission.

I know that this is just a lie Janice has come up with, but I decide to endure her antics for the sake of our daughter, Millie Grant.

But one night, Millie lapses into an asthma attack. My father-in-law, Phil Grant, and I rush her to the hospital immediately.

Unexpectedly, as soon as we arrive at the hospital, we stumble upon a group of people who are there to cause trouble. Phil ends up getting stabbed in the chest just so he can protect Millie from harm.

I quickly call Janice on the spot. But after hearing my explanation, she thinks I'm lying to her.

"Evan, I told you I'm in the middle of a mission! If I don't complete it, I'll get punished by the system! Can you stop being so unreasonable?"

Despair and rage overwhelm my senses at that moment.

Since Janice is adamant on casting her own father and daughter aside for her beloved Bruce, she can forget about inheriting the hundred-million-dollar assets!

"Millie, Dad, hang in there!" I shouted.

The doctor pushed my daughter, Millie Grant, and my father-in-law, Phil Grant, toward the ER, moving at a dead run.

Despair washed over me as I stumbled to keep up. I could only watch as the doors to the ER slammed shut behind them. My legs went weak, and I dropped to my knees in the hallway.

That night, Millie's asthma had suddenly flared up. The medicine hadn't helped at all. I'd panicked and yelled for my wife, Janice Grant, wanting her to come with me to take Millie to the hospital.

But the bedroom had been dead silent. There hadn't been any response at all. All I'd seen was a text message on my phone screen. "The system gave me another mission. I have to stay with Bruce all night."

My hands had shaken with rage as I'd stared at that message. I might've put up with it on any other day, but just a few days ago, I'd specifically told Janice that Millie's condition was getting worse and that her asthma could deteriorate at any time. I'd begged Janice to stay home and keep a close eye on Millie.

She'd agreed without hesitation then, yet she'd still ditched Millie to go be with her childhood sweetheart, Bruce York.

Now, Phil and Millie were both in surgery and fighting for their lives. When I'd called Janice earlier, she'd actually thought I was lying to her.

My hands trembled as I unlocked my phone again, only to see a flood of photos from Bruce. In every picture, he held Janice close to him, the two of them clinging to each other like lovers.

A sharp pain tore through my chest. My vision swam and went completely black as I collapsed to the floor. Through the haze, I heard a nurse shouting urgently, "His heart condition is acting up! We need to resuscitate now. Where is his family?"

Family?

I smiled bitterly. What family did I have left?

The nurse grabbed my phone and called Janice at least ten times, but all calls went unanswered. She cursed, "Her husband and kid are both in emergency, and she's nowhere to be found? We have to activate the emergency protocol and proceed with surgery first."

I was half-conscious as I listened to her, and tears leaked from the corners of my eyes.

When I woke again, my throat felt like sandpaper. I pushed through the discomfort and croaked, "How's my heart?"

The nurse looked at me with open pity. "Your heart was recovering pretty well, but it was damaged again because of how worked up you got. You can't do any intense physical activity from now on, or…"

I stared blankly at her for a moment before finally giving a tired nod.

She left the room for a bit. When she came back, her expression was even more sympathetic. She sighed and said, "Mr. Stark, your daughter's out of danger. She's been moved to a regular room. As for your father-in-law… I'm sorry, but he's not going to make it. Do you want to see him one last time?"

"What?" I croaked. My mind went completely blank.

The nurse supported me and brought me to Phil's room. He lay weakly on the hospital bed, tubes running all over his body.

When he heard us come in, he forced his eyes open. "I've long since had my will done up. After I'm gone, you and Millie will inherit everything I own. As for my imbecile of a daughter… She's always complained that her mother and I forced her to do things she didn't like.

"Fine, then. I'll set her free. If she wants to be with Bruce, then she can have him. But she won't see a single cent of the Grant family's money!"

"Dad, don't say that. You're going to get better." I leaned over Phil's bed, tears streaming down my face. But no matter how I begged him to hold on, he still passed away.

Phil and my father had been close friends back in the day. After my parents died, it was Phil who raised me and covered all my expenses. Six years ago, he'd asked me to marry Janice and help run the Grant family's company. He'd also asked me to take her name so the Grant family line wouldn't end. I'd agreed without hesitation.

Phil had even apologized to me before, saying that once the Grant family had an heir, he would allow Janice and me to divorce. But now, he would never see that day happen.

Just then, another batch of photos and videos came in from Bruce. In them, Janice was leaning against his chest, her face full of bliss as she watched fireworks bursting all over the night sky.

Despite being weak, I pushed myself to take Phil's body to the crematorium. After collecting his ashes and returning to the hospital, I looked down at Millie, who was still hooked up to an IV. I silently told myself that from now on, Millie and I were all the Grant family had left.

My health was completely wrecked after the emergency treatment, but I still had to take care of Millie while dragging myself through company matters. I was exhausted in every possible way.

Janice still couldn't be reached. Meanwhile, Bruce kept sending photos and videos of the two of them acting all affectionate. He even messaged me to provoke me.

"So what if you married Janice? I'm the one she loves. Has she ever chased the aurora with you? Has she ever gone on safari with you?"

I didn't respond. I just saved every photo and all his messages. After days of this torture, I finally grew immune. Looking at those pictures again no longer affected me in the slightest.

…

Half a month later, Janice came back, boldly bringing Bruce with her right into our home.

I stared at them icily.

Bruce wrinkled his nose at me and asked snidely, "How many days have you gone without showering, Evan? You reek."

Millie had burned up a high fever the night before. I'd stayed up by her bedside the whole night, my clothes soaked in sweat. I hadn't had time to wash up.

I turned to Janice and asked coldly, "Janice, are you aware that Millie was just rushed out of the ER?"

A flicker of diffidence flashed in her eyes. She glanced toward Millie's bedroom, then forced a laugh. "She's fine now, isn't she? And you had Dad to help you. It couldn't have been that hard on you."

I'd already texted her to tell her about Phil's passing. If she'd so much as glanced at her phone, she never would've said something like that.

"Janice, didn't you have something you wanted to tell Evan?" Bruce shot me a smug, triumphant look as he reminded her.

Janice cleared her throat, clearly diffident. "The system gave me a new task. It says I have to spend at least 12 hours a day with Bruce."

Janice watched my expression carefully as she spoke, saying, "I want Bruce to stay with us so I can complete my task. Also, daytime might not be enough, so I want him to share a room with me at night. Don't worry, though. We won't do anything."

How absurd. I couldn't believe she could actually say something so ridiculous with a straight face. Then again, I'd never mattered to her. Why would she waste any effort on me?

I smiled faintly. "Sure. He can move right in."

I was going to move out with Millie at some point, anyway.

Janice was taken aback for a moment at my response, clearly not expecting me to be so calm and not kick up a fuss. Then, she said, "I'm glad you're being understanding for once."

Bruce wanted to have the master bedroom. I agreed without the slightest hesitation. As I headed there to pack my things, he joined me. He shot me a vicious glare and snarled, "How shameless can you be? Janice has already thoroughly humiliated you, yet you're still clinging to her. Don't you have any pride as a man?"

I gave him a cool glance. "That's rich, coming from someone who's the other man. You're lecturing me about pride? As long as she and I don't get divorced, you can forget about getting a single cent of the Grant family's money!"

Bruce's eyes filled with spite at that. He turned around and stormed out. I ignored him and continued packing my things, but a bad feeling suddenly crept up on me.

I rushed to Millie's room to see Bruce walking toward her with a bouquet of flowers. She was allergic to pollen!

"What do you think you're doing?" I saw red and charged at him, snatching the bouquet from him and hurling it out the door. Then, I kicked him hard and sent him sprawling onto the floor.

For a split second, I saw a flash of smug satisfaction in his eyes. Then, he clutched his abdomen and played the victim. "Evan, I just wanted to bring Millie some flowers. Why did you hit me?"

Janice ran in. The moment she saw Bruce on the floor, she slapped me hard across the face without asking a single question. I was already weak from my condition and all the exertion. Thus, that slap made the room spin and my ears ring.

She screeched, "How dare you, Evan Stark! I genuinely thought you'd accepted Bruce. I didn't expect you to be so cruel!"

I steadied myself and slowly wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth. I pointed at the flowers lying outside the door and spat, "Millie just had an asthma attack and can't be anywhere near pollen! He brought those flowers into her room—isn't it clear that he was trying to kill her?"

Bruce hastily shook his head and feigned innocence. "I'm sorry. I really had no idea Millie had asthma."

Janice wrapped her hands around his arm protectively and glared at me, snapping, "That's enough! Bruce didn't do it on purpose, so stop blowing things out of proportion. You're only making me hate you more!"

I stared at the fury blazing in her eyes. I'd long since fallen out of love with her, but my chest still tightened with a sharp, stabbing pain.

I'd pinned a post about Millie's asthma at the very top of my social media profile. There was no way Bruce hadn't seen it. Janice clearly knew he'd done it on purpose, yet she was still taking his side.

I forced my anger down and drove the two of them out of Millie's bedroom. Then, I gently soothed her. "Millie, hang in there just a little longer. I'll take you away from here soon."

She nodded obediently.

…

Late that night, I'd just fallen asleep when my bedroom door was suddenly kicked open. Janice stormed in with a look of utter impatience and grabbed my wrist. She yanked me toward the master bedroom.

"Clean up the bed," she snapped. "This is your punishment!"