Chapter 1

My girlfriend eloped.

Not with me, but with her first love.

I went completely insane with jealousy and called to confront her, only for her to scream at me through the phone:

"He's willing to die for me! Would you ever do that for me?"

All because he had once saved her life and told her: "My life was given to you a long time ago. So now, you belong to me, too!"

I might have never saved her life, but everything she possessed today was something I had handed to her.

Hearing her shrill demand—"I only married him to fulfill his dying wish! Are you seriously going to get jealous over a man on his deathbed?"—my heart turned cold, inch by inch.

Since she didn't value what she had, I would gladly give it to someone who actually deserved it.

The moment I hung up on Savannah, I immediately dialed my mother.

"Mom, cancel all of Savannah's upcoming appearances and endorsements. And pull her from that lead role. She's off the project."

My mom sounded utterly astonished on the other end.

"What happened? Did you two have another fight? That doesn't sound like you, Tyler. You're never this impulsive!"

"No, Mom. She married someone else."

Swallowing the bitter lump in my throat, I let out a hollow laugh.

Savannah and I had grown up together. I had known since we were kids that she dreamed of becoming a star. To make that dream come true, I tapped into every single resource and connection my family owned. In just a few short years, I transformed her from a complete nobody into one of the hottest rising starlets in the industry.

I had even planned to step into the family media empire right after our wedding, pouring everything I had into pushing her into the A-list so she could cement her place in Hollywood forever.

My mother had fully supported the plan.

I had wanted to surprise Savannah with the news right after we registered our marriage at city hall. But now, it was glaringly obvious that she didn't deserve a single bit of it.

When I got back to the penthouse, I walked in right as Savannah was dragging Justin around my walk-in closet, holding up clothes against him.

"Justin, you really are the only one who can pull off this kind of style," she said, her voice dripping with admiration. "Unlike Tyler. Even if you put him in a bespoke designer suit, he still looks like an awkward poser."

A sharp ache pierced my chest, but I pushed the door open and stepped inside anyway.

Caught red-handed, a flicker of guilt flashed across Savannah's face, but she quickly masked it. Within seconds, she was barking orders at me as if nothing had happened.

"Oh, you're finally home? Justin's starving. He wants to eat."

"And make sure you cook it yourself. Don't let the housekeeper do it. Justin said that braised pork belly you made last time was amazing, so get in the kitchen."

She was as bossy and demanding as ever, acting like she was the master of the house and I was just an unpaid servant she kept on a leash.

Justin leaned against the wardrobe, looking pale and fragile. His lips were bloodless, his eyes faintly rimmed with red, and a mocking smirk played at the corner of his mouth as he looked at me.

"Tyler, man, I'm really sorry to trouble you to cook for me."

I didn't even bother giving them the time of day. Walking straight into my bedroom, I pulled out my suitcase and started packing.

I had originally bought this luxury downtown condo out of pure consideration for Savannah's grueling commute. The location was prime, right in the heart of the city, convenient to everything.

Now, the very air in this place felt filthy. Even breathing the same oxygen as them disgusted me.

On my drive home, I had already decided to put the condo on the market.

"Tyler! Did you not hear me talking to you? Justin is hungry. Go make dinner right this second!"

Savannah's irritated voice snapped behind me.

I didn't even bat an eye. Brushing past her, I methodically took my clothes out of the closet and folded them into the suitcase one by one.

Only then did Savannah actually notice what I was doing.

"What kind of tantrum are you throwing now?"

"God, you're so pathetic, Tyler. You're a grown-ass man, and you're storming out of the house over every little thing? It's ridiculous."

Our home? Once upon a time, I genuinely believed this was our home. But the foundation had rotted away.

In the past, every single argument had ended with me backing down and apologizing. She naturally assumed this time would be no different.

That was why she was always so arrogant, acting as if she were totally untouchable.

Except this time, I had zero desire to indulge her nonsense. Even opening my mouth to respond felt like a chore.

"Think whatever you want."

Savannah and I had been inseparable since childhood. Over twenty years of shared history had rooted her deep inside my heart.

I had spoiled her endlessly, turning her into my personal, demanding princess.

Until high school, when Justin showed up.

He was a rebellious day student with bleached hair, riding around with a careless, delinquent attitude.

Accustomed to my gentle, attentive care, Savannah was instantly captivated the moment she met someone so "edgy" who treated her with total indifference.

Savannah, who had always been the obedient, well-behaved golden girl, suddenly started skipping class, dating, staying out all night, smoking, drinking, and partying at clubs.

She even went street racing on motorbikes late at night with Justin and his reckless crowd. That was when the accident happened.

Justin threw himself in front of her to shield her, leaving him with a permanent limp in his left leg.

Later, when Savannah's older brother found out about the entire disaster, he used every means at his disposal to send Justin far away, finally putting an end to the madness.

I never could have imagined that a ghost from over a decade ago would suddenly reappear right on the eve of our wedding, completely obliterating fifteen years of sweet, shared history in a matter of days.

"Tyler, is it because Savannah and I got married today? Is that why you're mad?"

Justin was wearing the custom-tailored groom's tuxedo that had been made specifically for me, complete with the boutonnière pinned to his lapel, his gloating pride practically oozing from his pores.

Suddenly, he put on a deeply remorseful face and bowed deeply toward me, staying bent at the waist for a long, exaggerated moment.

"I'm so sorry, Tyler. It's all my fault. Savannah just wanted to fulfill my dying wish of marrying her, which is why she agreed to it."

"The truth is, I have late-stage cancer. I don't have much time left."

"Once I'm gone, Savannah will still be yours."

It was as laughable as it was pathetic.

Savannah would rather legally marry a man with terminal cancer than marry me.

Seeing this, Savannah rushed over in a panic to help Justin up, tenderly dabbing the sweat from his forehead.

"Justin, stop humiliating yourself! Getting sick isn't your fault! You don't need to apologize to someone so petty and narrow-minded!"

"Tyler's only throwing a fit because I agreed to marry him first, but ended up signing the marriage license with you instead. He brought all of this on himself. Did he really think those filthy, disgusting things he did all those years ago would stay buried forever?"