"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!"

Bruce lay on the couch, looking smug as he said, "Thanks for this, Evan. I had a little fall just now, and Janice felt so bad for me that she asked you to come clean up instead."

I stared at the mess on the bed and felt a wave of nausea. I couldn't stop myself from punching Bruce squarely in the face. "You're disgusting. Do you really enjoy being the other man that much? Don't you have any shame?"

He covered his cheek and looked pitifully over at Janice. "Janice, am I the other man here?"

"How dare you hit Bruce, you lunatic!" Janice kicked me hard in the back.

I stumbled, my foot catching on their clothes strewn across the floor, and crashed to the floor. My forehead slammed into the corner of the bed, splitting the skin open.

I reached up and touched the spot. My fingers came away bright red with blood. The sting of pain brought tears to my eyes.

There was a flicker of guilt in Janice's eyes when she saw the blood and my tears, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. She said icily, "The only extra person in a relationship is the one who isn't loved. You used Mom and Dad to guilt-trip me into marrying you. I accepted that, but don't you dare ask for anything more.

"Bruce and I will be having our wedding in a month. Get as far away from us as possible if you know what's good for you. If you don't, then don't blame me for what happens next."

I pressed my hand to the wound on my forehead as I listened to her threats. Then, I walked out without a word. Behind me, I heard Janice's voice soften as she started comforting Bruce.

I didn't even bother to bandage the cut. I just grabbed Millie and left. The rooms I'd once decorated so carefully were already almost empty. I'd cleared out everything that had ever held my stupid, romantic fantasies about my so-called relationship with Janice and tossed it all in the trash.

After settling into a hotel room with Millie, I made a phone call. "Is everything I asked for ready? Janice wants a grand, unforgettable wedding with Bruce, and that's exactly what she'll get. I want her name all over the city on her wedding day!"

Back in the day, the main reason Phil had asked me to marry into the Grant family was that Janice was incompetent and nowhere near capable of running their massive company.

He'd known very well that if she took over, she would burn through the family fortune in just a few years. That was why he'd picked me—an intelligent, highly educated man.

Before the wedding, he'd told me that once Janice and I had a child, all of the family's shares would be transferred to our child. So, after he passed away, his lawyer had come to me with the paperwork for the transfer. There was a special clause written in black and white that stated Janice would walk away with nothing.

Once everything was in place, I took Millie to an island to rest and recover.

Initially, Janice didn't take my departure seriously at all. She thought I was just throwing a tantrum. It wasn't until her wedding was right around the corner that she realized she hadn't seen me in ages. She suddenly started to panic as the sense that she was losing something vital crept up on her.

She called me over and over, but every time, all she heard was an automated message saying the number didn't exist. She furiously hurled her phone to the floor, her face blotchy with rage as she muttered, "There's no way you won't show up on my wedding day."

Time flew by. Before anyone realized it, the wedding day arrived.

Janice stood there in an exquisite wedding gown, looking stunning. But her eyes were distant and unfocused, like her mind was somewhere else entirely.

Suddenly, her best friend burst into the bridal suite, out of breath and frantic. "Janice, there's trouble! You need to get out here. Now!"