Chapter 1

I ended up in the hospital after a car crash while frantically searching for my wife in a storm.

At the hospital, I discovered that my child-free wife was pregnant with my younger brother's baby.

She said, "You can't have kids yourself, so why shouldn't I? Don't be so selfish."

Yet she was the one who had insisted on never having children and pressured me to get a vasectomy in the first place.

She said, "Justin saved my life when we were kids. What's wrong with having a baby for him to repay that debt?"

Except... I was the one who saved her back then.

I chose divorce to set them free.

In the end, she fell to her knees and pleaded, "Please, let's remarry. I love you."

Her desperate sobs echoed through the hospital room. Even after she aborted that bastard child, I never looked back.

Chloe slammed the door and stormed out after throwing a fit over the steamed sea bass I made for dinner. She didn't return all night.

I drove through a blinding rainstorm looking for her, got into an accident, and woke up in the hospital.

Limping on crutches to settle my medical bill, I saw my wife walking out of the OB-GYN clinic.

A second later, she threw her arms around a man, radiating pure joy.

That man was my half-brother, Justin.

They turned and caught sight of me frozen in place, leaning heavily on my crutches.

"What are you doing here? What happened to your leg?" Chloe hurried toward me. Justin shot me a mocking smirk.

Then, Justin tenderly held her arm. "Careful, Chloe. You can't afford to take a fall right now."

What a picture-perfect, loving couple awaiting their miracle baby.

"Are you pregnant?" I ignored her questions, my voice rasping and raw.

Chloe stroked her belly with a beaming smile. "Yes. I'm going to be a mother."

"Congratulations. You're carrying a bastard." I stared at her, voice dripping with sarcasm. So that was why she had been so irritable lately.

"What's that supposed to mean, Ethan?" Chloe frowned. "My baby will be completely legitimate. You can't have kids, so why can't I find someone who can?"

Passersby overheard her and shot me looks of open disgust.

"She's right, Ethan," Justin chimed in earnestly. "You can't rob Chloe of her right to be a mother. Every woman wants a child of her own."

"Too bad your legal husband is still me," I retorted, the pain from my stitches flaring like fire as I sank onto a nearby bench. "Unless we divorce, that baby is nothing more than an illegitimate mistake."

Chloe flipped her hair impatiently. "Stop throwing a tantrum. I'm not divorcing you. Since you can't have kids anyway, you can just raise him as your own. He shares your family blood anyway. Isn't that a win-win?"

I really couldn't have kids.

Because I had gotten a vasectomy.

She was the one who claimed she wanted a child-free life. To give her absolute peace of mind, I underwent the surgery.

There had been complications. I spent an entire month bedridden in the hospital.

A sharp stab of agony shot through my injured leg. I couldn't bear to look at them anymore.

Supporting myself against the wall, I struggled to stand up. It was time for my meds back in the ward.

My body swayed dangerously, on the verge of collapsing.

"Ethan, wait!" Chloe shoved Justin's hand away and rushed toward me.

With a look of genuine concern, she gripped my shoulder, supporting me with one arm while taking one of my crutches.

I tried to pull away, but she refused to let go.

"Let me help him," Justin offered smoothly.

Ignoring my protests, Justin grabbed my arm and dragged me forward at a brisk pace.

The stitches on my thigh tore open. Hot blood seeped through the fabric of my pants.

"Remember what I told you on the phone?" Justin whispered, his voice audible only to the two of us. "File for divorce yourself while you still have some dignity left."

When I first woke up in the hospital, my first instinct had been to find my phone.

Fearing I would agitate my wounds, the nurse had quickly turned it on and handed it to me.

My call log showed over a hundred outgoing calls to my wife before the crash.

Not a single missed call or text from her in return.

Terrified something had happened to her, I dialed again.

This time, the call connected.

It was Justin's voice on the line.

"Ethan, why are you such a desperate simp? Calling a hundred times? Too bad Chloe and I were busy. We didn't have time for you."

"By the way, I discovered a fascinating secret."

"Do you know why she married you in the first place?"