Chapter 1

The day I found out Julian was cheating on me, his mistress, Mia, dragged me straight into oncoming traffic.

"Look closely, Sera! Let's see who he actually saves!"

When Julian rushed over, his instinct kicked in—he shoved me aside and tackled Mia, rolling with her safely onto the grassy median.

I was pushed directly into the middle of the road.

I watched in frozen horror as an 18-wheeler barreled toward me.

When I woke up, I had lost my left leg and was blinded in my right eye.

The doctor mentioned that due to severe head trauma, I might suffer from amnesia.

Mia flashed Julian a sweet, dazzling smile.

"Then we can finally be together out in the open."

"I mean, she won't even remember anyway."

Seeing her hopeful expression, Julian gave her an indulgent, affectionate nod.

Hearing my weak cough, Julian shoved Mia off his lap in a panic and ran to my bedside.

"Sera, you're finally awake."

He reached out to touch me, but flinched back, as if suddenly remembering something.

He tested the waters cautiously: "Do you... do you know who we are?"

One was my husband.

The other was his mistress.

Touching my blinded eye, something strange took over me, and I shook my head.

If I had to suffer this much hell, they were going to pay the ultimate price.

Julian's breath hitched. He gripped my wrist tightly.

"Sera, you really don't remember me?"

His voice shook with panic, his eyes wide in disbelief.

I looked at him with an innocent, puzzled stare. "Am I supposed to?"

"Of course! I'm your hus—"

Ahem.

Two sharp coughs cut him off. Mia glided over with a bright, fake smile and hooked her arm around his.

"We're your old friends. You were in a terrible car accident, and we brought you to the hospital."

"I'm Mia, and this is my boyfriend."

She gave Julian a playful wink.

Julian shook his head helplessly, his gaze soft with sheer indulgence.

"Yeah. I'm her boyfriend."

"Julian."

On the monitor behind me, my heart rate spiked violently at those words.

I stared at their intertwined hands for a long moment before looking away.

"Why was I in an accident?"

Mia smirked, a venomous glint flashing in her eyes.

"Your husband fell in love with someone else. You couldn't handle it, so you ran into traffic trying to kill yourself."

I stared at her, suppressing the boiling fury clawing at my chest.

When Mia first joined our firm as an intern, her clothes were frayed and her sneakers were falling apart.

Her mother was sick, so she worked two jobs and practically lived under her desk at the office.

I took pity on her. I promoted her to my executive assistant and personally arranged an emergency corporate grant to cover her mother's medical bills.

And how did she repay me? She used her position to sleep with Julian right under my nose.

My kindness had watered a venomous viper.

"Where is my husband now?" I asked.

Mia lifted her chin like a strutting peacock, looking down at me with pure disdain.

"Oh, him? He ran off with his lover."

"He said he was sick of an old, boring woman like you."

She leaned in, pressing her body against Julian, fishing for validation.

"Right, babe?"

After a long pause, Julian gave a slow nod.

Something deep inside my chest shattered into pieces.

Maybe it was because my remaining eye had been open for too long, but a single tear slipped down my left cheek.

Julian reached out out of habit to wipe it away.

Then he froze.

He was Mia's boyfriend now.

He had to keep his distance.

My throat felt parched. I pointed at the water bottle on the nightstand.

"I'm thirsty."

"I'll get it for you."

Julian reached for the bottle immediately, poured a glass, and went to hand it to me—only for Mia to snatch it out of his hand.

Mia tipped her head back, gulped it down, and pouted playfully at him.

"I don't want you pouring water for her."

"Stop fooling around," Julian muttered, but he never poured me another glass.

I struggled to push myself up, but collapsed back onto the mattress after several failed attempts.

I had just lost a leg. I didn't know how to balance my own body anymore.

"Being thirsty for five minutes won't kill you. If you can't sit up, just lie back down," Julian snapped impatiently, pressing the nurse call button on the wall.

When the nurse came in and found out I just needed a sip of water, she shot the two of them a look of pure disgust.

"Unbelievable. With two grown adults standing here, I assumed this room was empty."

Her mocking remark made Julian's face drain of color.

Once the nurse left, Julian said awkwardly, "You don't need to be so dramatic. Your husband is just messing around. He'll come back to you eventually."

"He cheated on me. Why would he ever come back?"

Julian nodded vigorously. "I... I mean, he definitely will. Because he loves you."

Right.

He loved me.

Apparently, loving me didn't stop him from betraying me.

I offered him a faint smile that didn't reach my eye.

My voice came out colder than ice.

"He doesn't need to come back. Honestly, I'd rather he drop dead."

Julian froze, stumbling back two steps, his expression darkening.

"Sera! He just stepped away for a bit! How can you wish death on him?"

The corners of my mouth curled into a bitter sneer.

"I'm not wishing for it."

"I genuinely want him dead."

Seeing the raw, burning hatred in my eye, Julian stood paralyzed.