Chapter 1

Chris Green looked at the clock hanging on the wall for the fifth time. The hands had just reached twelve. He looked at the spread on the table and smiled wryly. He knew she wouldn’t remember today was his birthday and didn’t know what he was expecting. He stood up and was about to throw away the dishes that had gone cold when he heard the sound of someone entering the passcode at the door. Chris paused. Jessica Wilder walked in, leaving the cold wind behind her. She looked tired and was holding a bag. After entering the house, she looked up at Chris and then placed the bag on the shoe cabinet. “Happy birthday. Sorry for coming back so late. I had to work overtime. Try it on and see if it fits.” With that said, Jessica made a beeline to her bedroom with her head down before Chris could say anything. Chris stood where he was for a long time before walking over to the entrance, as if accepting his fate. When he saw the brand of the clothes, he couldn’t help but sneer. It was a high-end custom brand from Francas. There was only one store in Cheria. From the brand alone, Chris had to admit that Jessica had put in quite some effort. However, he never wore clothes from this brand. He didn’t even need to take the clothes out of the bag; Chris could tell from the color alone who this set of clothes belonged to. After standing at the entrance for a while, Chris whispered with his head down, “Thank you.” After that, he placed the bag back where it had been.

Jessica didn’t see the dishes that had gone cold on the table. She didn’t even ask whether Chris had eaten or not before walking into the bathroom. Before she did so, her phone rang, which made Chris feel exhausted deep down. “Hello, Michael? Yes, I’m home. What’s up?” At that moment, Chris felt like all the energy had been drained from him. He was exhausted. He and Jessica had been married for five years, but the time they had been together didn’t even add up to ten days. She was either in meetings all the time, or she didn’t care about him at all. At that moment, someone knocked. Chris stood up and went to open the door, where he saw a familiar figure. “Mom.” Chris’s voice was very soft. He stepped aside to let Jessica’s mother, Linda Jones, into the house. “Jessica’s back, but she’s having a shower right now. Let me get you a drink.” Linda saw the dishes on the table out of the corner of her eye, and her heart couldn’t help but ache. She grabbed Chris’s arm and led him to the sofa to take a seat. “Chris, have you thought about what I said to you?” The wind outside howled as the snow was blown against the window. It was warm inside, but Chris’s hands were ice cold. Linda looked at the exhaustion in Chris’s eyes. His eyes were even a little red. “Mom, I… agree.” Linda nodded. “We used our favor to ask for something in return from you, but a good thing is that it’s not too late to fix the mistake.” She looked at the bedroom where running water could be heard and said softly, “After the divorce, it’s time for you and Jessica to return to your own lives. Alas, it’s all my fault. Why did I agree to the marriage between you and Jessica?” The marriage between Chris and Jessica was more like a deal. Back then, when Jessica hadn’t graduated from university, she had been in a very passionate relationship. She even gave up her identity as the daughter of the Wilder family for that man. She wanted to be with Michael Hall no matter what. During their elopement, they were involved in a car accident. Chris’s mother was also one of the victims of the multiple-vehicle collision. Chris was also nearby. He ran to the scene and dragged his mother out of the car, and also saved Jessica, who was trapped. On the other hand, Michael had left a long time ago after being saved by passersby. It was said that Michael had been caught by the members of the Hall family and sent abroad overnight. From then on, he and Jessica had never seen each other.

Chris hadn’t expected Jessica to bring up the marriage. After the car accident, Chris’s mother, Shona Smith, suffered multiple organ damage. A lot of money had been spent, but she wasn’t recovering. However, the people of the Wilder family did everything they could to help Shona recover. They helped with the hospital transfer and made appointments with experts in related fields. They also paid for all of Shona’s medical bills. The day when Jessica brought up the marriage, Shona suffered from excessive bleeding again. Chris didn’t want to ask for the Wilder family’s help, so he used his scholarship funds to pay for the medical bill, but it still wasn’t enough. At that moment, a hand reached out from behind him, holding a bank card. “Use my card.” Chris turned around and saw Jessica. Unlike the terrible state she had been in when she was first rescued from the car accident, at that moment, Jessica was extremely beautiful. Chris said after a short pause with his head down, “I’ll pay you back.” “No need.” After making the payment, Jessica waited outside the operating room with Chris for four hours, until Shona’s life was no longer in danger. “Chris Green, number one student in the School of Medicine at the University of Askaton. Your father cheated on your mother and left with all your family’s savings. Your mother has poor health and has been involved in the car accident.” Jessica talked about Chris’s life as if she were reading it from a book. But the next second, Jessica’s eyes turned red. The hand that she grabbed Chris with was cold, and she was trembling. It was as if she were putting her life at stake. “Will you… marry me?” It was an absurd request. But when Chris saw the tears in Jessica’s eyes and thought of how the Wilder family helped him, he was convinced that this was a deal. He had lost the right to say no from the start. Only after a long time did he find out that on that day, Michael, who had been sent abroad by his family, had gotten engaged to another daughter of an affluent family. Thinking back now, Chris had already let go of the past. “Mom, I mean, Mrs. Wilder, I’ve said from the start that I’ll pay you back. Marrying Jessica was my own decision. You didn’t force me. There’s no need to feel guilty.” Over the past few years, Linda and Jessica’s father, John Wilder, had treated Chris really well. They knew that their daughter was spoilt and still had feelings for Michael, so they could only treat Chris as best as they could. They could tell that Chris was a smart young man. However, Michael came back to the country six months ago. No one expected that the first thing Michael did after returning to Cheria was to contact Jessica. From then on, Jessica began coming home late. Sometimes, she would even stay out all night. The only explanation she had for her husband was that she was working overtime. It was a ridiculous excuse. Jessica hadn’t even bothered to come up with a good one. “Here’s 600 thousand. I’ve contacted a university abroad for you. I know it was a pity that you weren’t able to study for a Master’s degree back then. John and I will support you.” Linda had left before Jessica came out of the bathroom. Chris didn’t touch the bank card. He tidied the dining table and then went to bed. “My mom came?” Chris was already half asleep, so he just nodded. Jessica snorted. “Stop accepting my mom’s money. They’ll think I’m mistreating you.” After saying that, Jessica threw something beside his pillow. Chris only saw what it was the next day. It was a bank card. What Jessica said the previous night echoed in Chris’s head. “Don’t always stay at home. You’ve got the money, but you don’t even know where to spend it. Go out and have some fun. Go visit your mom. I don’t have time to go with you, so you can go by yourself.” Chris went to visit his mother as he was told. He squatted down in front of the tombstone in silence for a while before reaching out to wipe the dust off it. He would never forget the smile that Shona had, just like the one in the picture in front of him. He then placed the card in front of the tombstone. “Mom, Jessica’s busy. You’ve only got me this time. However, Jessica’s always been generous.” The tombstone couldn’t talk, but even the wind seemed to feel sorry for Chris. “I’ve missed you, Mom. I’m about to get a divorce.”