Chapter 1

With a hand that once wielded a scalpel, I saved Nathan's life.

In five years, he turned me from his wife into a shell of my former self.

On the anniversary of my brother Ryan's passing, he brought his new lover home.

I knelt on broken glass, slapping myself, begging him for money to save my parents. All I got was a check that bought out my dignity.

It was too late.

Unable to afford medical bills, my parents died tragically in a foreign country.

When the fire consumed everything in the villa, I finally understood.

Loving him was the greatest surgical error of my life.

Later, he went blind, became a wreck, and knelt, begging me to come back. I walked past him in my heels, not even blinking.

The Alicia who died in that fire was the one who loved him. The one who survived would never look back.

Alicia POV

Nathan Harrison didn't come home on the fifth anniversary of my brother Ryan's death.

I sat in the empty dining room of the villa, staring at the dinner that had long since grown cold on the table. The wall clock ticked, its hands already past midnight.

I didn't call him frantically like I used to, nor did I hysterically smash things. I just sat there quietly, like a puppet drained of its soul, my breaths barely audible.

Until the sound of the password lock unlocking echoed from the main door.

Nathan walked in, carrying the chill of late autumn. His impeccably tailored black bespoke suit accentuated his tall figure, and his eyes were deep. But those eyes, which once held only me, were now filled with fatigue and impatience.

Seeing me sitting in the darkness, he frowned, loosening his tie. "Why aren't you in bed yet? Didn't I tell you I wouldn't be back tonight? The company has an urgent PR crisis to handle."

I lifted my gaze, my eyes settling on the woman behind him.

She stood there, dressed in a sharp white professional suit, wearing seven-centimeter heels. Her red lips were striking, and her eyes held an undisguised sharpness and arrogance.

That was Seraphina, Nathan's highly-paid Chief PR, and now his most capable right-hand woman.

"Today is Ryan's death anniversary," my voice was barely a whisper, hoarse as if scraped over sandpaper.

Nathan's hand, unbuttoning his shirt, froze. A flicker of quick annoyance crossed his eyes, but it was swiftly masked by righteous indifference. He walked over, habitually trying to appease me with his condescending manner.

"I apologize. The PR department was busy suppressing several damaging trending scandals tonight. It completely slipped my mind. Tomorrow, I'll have my assistant buy more flowers to send over. Be a good girl, don't throw a tantrum."

"Don't throw a tantrum?" I forced a smile, one uglier than a cry.

How Nathan used to dote on me.

Five years ago, I was the brightest genius surgeon in the medical world.

To save Nathan, who was trapped in the driver's seat during a multi-car pileup, my right hand was completely crushed by the twisted car door, making it impossible for me to ever hold a scalpel again.

Back then, Nathan knelt by my hospital bed, his eyes red, kissing my bandaged hand.

He swore he would cherish me like a rare treasure for the rest of his life.

He built this all-glass conservatory villa for me, hired top chefs and staff, and even personally fed me water.

With a nearly pathological possessiveness, he clipped my wings, turning me into a canary dependent solely on him.

But now, he found this canary too quiet, too boring, too unreasonable.

"Nathan's time is worth millions a minute. Him taking the time to stand here and explain to you is already a huge concession," Seraphina suddenly interjected. She stepped forward, her gaze critically sweeping over my faded loungewear, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Alicia, people can't always live in the past."

"You spend every day in this mansion, shielded from the elements, never facing media cameras or internet trolls. Of course, you have plenty of time to wallow in self-pity."

"But Nathan can't. He has tens of thousands of employees waiting to be paid. The PR department saved billions in market value tonight. That's what truly matters."

Seraphina paused, her eyes growing even more contemptuous. "Since you're already useless and can't help him, you should at least learn to keep your mouth shut and stop being a stumbling block on his path to success."

The word "useless" pierced my heart like a sharp knife.

I instinctively hid my right hand, covered in grotesque scars, behind my back, trembling all over.

I looked at Nathan, hoping he would, as he used to, throw out anyone who dared to speak ill of me.

But Nathan didn't.

Not only did he not get angry, but he even gave Seraphina an appreciative look.

Then he turned to me, his tone condescending.

"What Seraphina said is harsh, but it's true. Alicia, you truly are out of touch. What else do you do every day besides watching for when I come home? Can't you be a little more mature, a little more independent, like Seraphina?"

I felt as if I'd been struck by lightning.

Turns out, he didn't just forget the anniversary; he truly had changed his heart.

He had fallen for Seraphina, who could fight alongside him in the arena of fame and fortune, resolving all his public image storms. And he had grown weary of me, whose wings he had personally clipped and caged.

I suddenly felt utterly disgusted. I took a deep breath, suppressing the metallic taste of blood rising in my throat, and calmly looked at him. "Nathan, let's get a divorce."

Nathan paused, then let out a cold laugh.

In these five years, due to my insecurity, I had brought up divorce countless times.

Every time he neglected me even slightly, I would use this tactic to make him back down.

He must have grown used to it, and annoyed by it, by now.

"Fine," Nathan didn't even bother to humor me anymore. He took off his suit jacket and tossed it on the sofa, his tone dismissive. "Draft the agreement however you want. My lawyer will sort out the assets; you won't be treated unfairly. But I'm tired tonight, and I don't have time to play these hysterical games with you."

With that, he turned to Seraphina, his voice instantly softening. "The guest room is upstairs, first left. It's too late tonight, so you can rest here. We'll head to the company together tomorrow morning for the press conference."

They walked up the stairs side by side, their backs a perfect match.

I stood there, neither crying nor making a scene. I just felt a painful dryness in my eyes.

I took out my phone and dialed my lawyer.

"Lawyer, please draft a divorce agreement for me. I want nothing. Just the quickest possible signing."

The lawyer on the other end was stunned. "Alicia, are you sure? Before, you always demanded an additional clause that Nathan had to spend two hours with you every day."

"No need," I interrupted him, my voice as cold as ice. "Just one, and the sooner, the better."

Because this time, I was truly leaving.