1 I’d always taken advantage of Tom, my childhood sweetheart—borrowing money, running errands. He spoiled me endlessly. Until our engagement party, when we both "awakened." Turns out I was cannon fodder in a novel, and he was the male lead destined for the true heroine. I tried to back out, but he dragged me to the courthouse, snarling, "No script matters. I choose you." We married, built an empire, and the novel’s plot faded… until Julia, a real estate heiress, joined our company. During an office fire, she knocked over a shelf. I shoved Tom out of the way—taking the crushing blow. Blood pooled around me as Julia screamed, "Tom, help me!" He sprinted past my dying body toward her. Of course. The heroine’s name was Julia. Tom’s panicked cries echoed in my ears, each syllable a blade twisting in my heart. Blood was streaming down my face, but I couldn't feel the pain. My eyes were locked on him. I watched as he wrapped his arms tightly around Julia, his face a mask of terror. "Did you hurt your leg? Julia, don't be scared, just hang on, I'm getting you to a hospital right now!" The blood kept flowing. My breathing grew ragged. I fought through the agony, my voice a barely-there whisper. "Tom... help... help me..." But the man who was only feet away didn't seem to see me. He scooped Julia into his arms and scrambled for the stairs. "Someone's hurt! Call an ambulance!" It wasn't until he was gone that the cold finally seeped in, a chill so deep it felt like an arrow piercing my soul. In a moment of crisis, my husband had abandoned the wife who had just saved his life, and run off with the woman he truly cared about. People screamed and fled around me, too consumed by their own fear to notice my plight. I was left crumpled in a corner, helpless. The pain in my head intensified. My eyelids grew heavy. I bit my lip until I tasted blood, desperately telling myself to stay awake. Faye, you can't sleep. You have to hold on... I swallowed the metallic tang rising in my throat and used every last bit of strength to cry out. "Help... help me..." It felt like a gut-wrenching scream, but in reality, it was a faint whimper. My vision blurred. As I teetered on the edge of consciousness, my mind, for some reason, drifted back to our wedding day. In front of all our friends and family, Tom had dropped to one knee, his voice thick with devotion as he pledged his love. He’d held me tight, promising, "I don't believe in fate. I only know that you are the love of my life." The memories of our love were so vivid, yet now, he had abandoned me for another woman without a second thought. I didn't understand. Was 'fate' truly this inescapable? Was he being driven by some unseen force to fall hopelessly in love with Julia? My whole body throbbed, and I couldn't tell if it was my heart or my head that hurt more. Then, the world went black. When I came to, I was in a hospital bed. The familiar voice of my best friend, Olivia, cut through the haze. "Doctor, doctor! She's awake!" She turned to me, her eyes red-rimmed. "You idiot, how did you get so hurt? You have a giant hole in your head, do you know that?" I was too weak to answer. Just then, our assistant, Leo, rushed in with a young doctor. The doctor had the earnest, clueless look of a fresh-faced intern, his ID badge proclaiming his status in big, bold letters. Olivia was aghast. "An intern? Where's Dr. Chen?" Leo looked deeply uncomfortable. "Mr. Tyler had the hospital director assemble all the senior doctors for a consultation for Ms. Vance. I tried calling the other attending physicians, but they all said they were busy." "What?" Olivia was dumbfounded. "Did you tell him Faye was critically injured and needed immediate treatment?" "I did." Leo's voice was heavy with apology. "Mr. Tyler said... Ms. Vance took a fall. She’s delicate, and he's worried about long-term damage, so he wants the specialists to give her a thorough examination." Leo couldn't bear to look me in the eye. I felt exposed, a cold dread washing over me. Tom and I were famous in our circle for being the perfect, loving couple, comrades in arms who had conquered the business world side-by-side. Everyone knew he would do anything for me. Once, I was kidnapped. He went alone to the rendezvous point and offered himself in my place. He was beaten bloody, but he shielded me with his own body without hesitation. No one could understand it. The man who would have died for me was now acting as if I didn't exist. Worse, knowing I was grievously injured, he had deliberately diverted every senior doctor away from me. Only I knew why. Because Tom was in love with Julia. Just like the book foretold, the male lead would always prioritize the heroine's needs above all else. My heart felt like it was being torn in two. My breath hitched, and the heart monitor began to shriek, its lines spiking erratically. "Her condition is critical," the young doctor said, his voice sharp with anxiety. "We can't wait any longer. We have to operate. Now!" I was rushed into the operating room. The sting of antiseptic on my open wound was a searing, white-hot fire. A pained groan escaped my lips. It hurt so much. As he stitched, the young doctor's voice was a gentle murmur. "Hang in there. It'll be over soon. You're going to be okay." The surgery lasted ten hours. Nurses and doctors moved in and out in a blur. They issued critical condition warnings again and again. I was unconscious through it all. When I next opened my eyes, I was back in a private room. Olivia’s face was etched with worry. "You're finally awake. How do you feel?" Every inch of me ached. My mouth was dry as dust. My first instinct was to ask if Tom had come to see me, but I stopped myself. There was no point in seeking out more pain. But Olivia saw the question in my eyes. Her voice was laced with fury. "That bastard has been by Julia's bedside for a day and a night. He hasn't come to see you once. He's not human!" Olivia caught herself, her voice softening. "The soundproofing in these VIP rooms is really good. Maybe... maybe he's hard of hearing and didn't hear what Leo said. I'll go find him and get this straightened out!" I spoke, my voice frail. "Don't bother. It doesn't matter if he comes or not." My friend looked at me, her heart breaking. "But, Faye, you were so badly hurt. Your head... it was full of blood. The doctor said if they had operated any later, you might have ended up in a vegetative state..." I lowered my gaze. "Yes. I was lucky." What happened that day had made one thing crystal clear: Tom and I were over. That shelf didn't just smash my head; it smashed the rose-tinted glasses I'd been wearing. My love was a bloody, mangled mess on the floor. That afternoon, I was resting in bed with my eyes closed when I overheard two junior assistants whispering outside my door. "I'm so jealous of Ms. Vance. The boss is so handsome, and he's so in love with her!" "I know, right? She just got a tiny little scrape, and the whole hospital's best doctors are tending to her. Talk about a fuss!" "That's not all. This morning, she was craving pastries from that famous downtown bakery, and Mr. Tyler drove over there himself to get them. You know how hard it is to get anything from that place." "Sigh. Faye’s life is tough. If she weren't so lucky, she would've died in that fire. Mr. Tyler always seemed to adore her, but the second there was trouble, he completely forgot about his own wife. Poor Faye." Their voices faded as they walked away. I let out a bitter laugh. I had been waiting for Tom to see me. To hear him say, in his own words, that he loved someone else. To hear him ask for a divorce. Or at least, to offer an explanation. An explanation for when the man who had promised me the world had started to stray, and how he had gotten involved with Julia. But I never imagined this. He hadn't just strayed. He had completely forgotten my existence while running off to buy pastries for his damsel in distress. If that was the case, then I would be the one to let go. I summoned Leo. "Draft a detailed divorce agreement. Tell Tom I want a divorce." Leo looked stunned, but he nodded. "Right away." Not long after, I got a call from Tom’s assistant. He greeted me respectfully before relaying Tom's message. "Ms. Morgan, Mr. Tyler asked me to tell you that Ms. Vance is the daughter of a major client. He was entrusted with her care, and he must prioritize the company's interests. He hopes you won't throw a tantrum over him saving someone and to please stop talking about divorce." "He wanted to explain everything to you in person yesterday, but you weren't in your office, so he went to handle other business." "Today, he has to follow up on another partnership, so he needs you to manage things at the company for now. He said that once this is all over, he will apologize to you personally." I hung up the phone and laughed until tears streamed down my face. He didn't even know I was injured. He had no idea I'd been critically wounded, that I'd been fighting for my life in this very hospital. And on top of it all, he thought I was playing some childish, jealous game by asking for a divorce. It was so absurd, so utterly ridiculous it was comical. But I couldn't stop the pain in my chest, or the tears that fell like rain. This time, my heart, which had held on to hope for Tom, finally turned to ash. The doctor said I needed to rest properly, or I'd suffer permanent health problems that could affect my lifespan. And I very much wanted to live a few more years. Fortunately, I had a piece of healing jade, a special stone that was said to promote recovery. But before I could even feel a flicker of relief, Tom's assistant was back. This time, he was after my jade. "Ms. Morgan, this is difficult for me, but Mr. Tyler's instructions were clear. Whatever Ms. Vance wants, she gets." "She's not well, and she wants that jade to help with her recovery..." So that's how important Julia was to him. I had nearly died, and I desperately needed this stone to help my body heal. And he, without a moment's hesitation, was trying to snatch it away from me to give to Julia as a plaything. With his wealth, he could have anything in the world. Why was he so fixated on taking what was mine? My face hardened. "I need this jade to recover," I said, my voice sharp. "If he wants it, tell him to come and get it himself." The assistant nodded and left. A few moments later, my door swung open and Julia walked in. She was wearing an oversized hospital gown, which made her look fragile and pitiable. Her words, however, were anything but. "Faye. Tom sent me. Give me the jade. I need it to get better." I stared at her. "It's my property. Why should I give it to you?" "Because I'm the one Tom can't stop thinking about." She looked at me, her tone dripping with mockery. "I went to a lot of trouble to start that fire. It's a shame you're so hard to kill." A chill went down my spine. The fire... she had set it deliberately. "Aren't you afraid I'll call the police?" Julia was unfazed. "Do you have any proof?" "Let me put it this way," she continued, "The moment I saw Tom, I knew he was the one I'd been waiting for. And he knows it too. He knows I'm the heroine of his life story. He can't be without me. And with his protection, I can do whatever I want." I knew she was right, and the words died in my throat. Tom was completely bewitched by her, as if under a spell. For her, he could abandon his colleagues in a fire. For her, he would drive across town just to see her smile. And for her, he would give me up. She glanced at the diamond wedding ring on my finger, a dismissive sneer on her face. "Tom gave you this, didn't he? What a pity. The main diamond is gone." "A broken ring for a broken marriage. You and Tom are about finished, aren't you? I'd advise you to be smart and leave him on your own." She cast a sidelong glance at me, placing a hand on her still-flat stomach. "Besides, I'm pregnant. It's Tom's." "You've been married to him for so long with no baby. I guess your married life isn't that... harmonious. But that's normal. After so many years, even the best meal gets boring. No wonder Tom said that holding your hand feels like his left hand holding his right." She covered her mouth and giggled. I was stunned. They had slept together? She was carrying his child? A thousand tiny needles pricked at my chest. I stared at the triumphant woman before me and said, enunciating every word, "Is being a mistress something to be proud of?" "Everyone in this city knows that I, Faye Morgan, am Tom Tyler's wife. If I were to let it slip that you're the homewrecker who destroyed my marriage, what do you think would happen? Don't you think you and your precious Tom would become social pariahs?" The smile froze on Julia's face. She glared at me, her bravado faltering. "You wouldn't dare! Aren't you afraid of making Tom angry?" I smiled sweetly. "Why don't you try me?" Julia shot me a hateful look and stormed out. Just as she exited, she ran right into Tom, who was on his way back. Her face crumpled, and she burst into tears. "Tom, I'm so upset! The doctor said that jade would be good for my health. I was just curious, I just wanted to see if it was really that magical, but that person... she wouldn't even let me look at it! She just yelled at me and threw me out! Waaah! If she didn't want to show me, that's fine, but why did she have to yell at me?" Tom's face darkened instantly. "Who would dare bully you like that? I'll deal with them!" He took Julia by the arm and stormed toward my room. "How much is the jade worth? Name a price, I'll pay you double! But you," his voice boomed through the closed door, "you will apologize to my woman!" "I'd like to see just who is arrogant enough to mess with someone of mine!" He pushed the door open, his arm still around Julia. He took in the sight of me on the bed, the nurse cleaning my wound, and froze—
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