Chapter 1

To save my daughter, I collected 50,000 plastic bottles.

Day after day, I dug through trash, carried them home, and traded them for scraps of hope.

However, when I finally hauled them all to the recycling center, I learned their selling price had dropped.

The 50,000 bottles were worth only enough to buy my daughter a better urn.

Desperate, I held my feverish daughter in my arms as she suffered a seizure. I called my actress wife for help.

Her answer was ice-cold. “$5,000 for a fever? Do you think I’m some kind of charity?”

The irony was that she had spent $50 million building a private hospital for her screen partner’s dog just hours earlier.

Chapter 1

When the $2,000 payment labelled ‘medical expenses’ finally came through, the doctor had just removed the ventilator from my daughter’s face. It was what had kept Ellie alive through the night.

I stood frozen outside the hospital room, completely numb.

I watched as the nurse slowly unfolded a white sheet and recorded the time of death.

Then, suddenly, the phone in my hand began to buzz.

I tapped the screen and answered mechanically.

A sharp, middle-aged woman’s voice immediately came through the receiver.

“Mr. Spencer, how many times do I have to explain the reimbursement process before you finally understand?

“Once the payment arrives, you’re supposed to notify our finance department immediately!

“I wired the money more than three minutes ago! Why haven’t you replied that you received it yet?

“Also, the font on this expense request form is wrong, the formatting isn’t aligned, and the paper itself has water stains…

“And another thing, how many times have you applied for medical expenses this month? Even if your child were made of paper, she wouldn’t need to go to the hospital this often!

“Miss Lane specifically instructed us to inform you that from now on, all medical expense requests will only be approved for one-tenth of the amount you apply for!

“If you can’t fix this habit of casually lying, don’t even think about getting another cent from her in the future!”

I watched silently as the cart carrying Ellie’s body was pushed farther and farther away.

Only after a long time did I finally come back to my senses.

In a calm voice, I said to the finance manager on the other end of the phone, “I’m sorry for causing you trouble.

“Also, please pass this message to Miss Lane: please ask her to come back and finalize our divorce whenever she has time.”

…

This year marked the ninth year of my secret marriage to Claire.

Before that, I was the award-winning talent manager who personally brought her into the entertainment industry.

With my careful planning and connections, I helped her stand out among countless new actresses in less than two years.

When Claire won her first newcomer award, I could no longer hide my feelings and proposed to her.

From that moment on, I became the invisible husband standing behind the famous actress Claire Lane.

I always believed Claire was a star I had personally lifted into the sky.

Thus, I thought I should step aside and give her the stage she deserved.

Still…

When did Claire start to despise me?

I could not remember the exact moment.

I only remember the day I spent long hours making an herbal soup, hoping to surprise her on set.

Instead, I accidentally saw her walking with rising star Xavier Grant, their behavior far too intimate.

Before I could even ask what was going on, Claire’s expression turned cold.

She grabbed me and dragged me into her dressing room.

She immediately started yelling at me without giving me a chance to explain.

She called me a stalker.

She said my twisted obsession and controlling behavior were suffocating her.

Faced with Claire’s overwhelming anger, all I could do was apologize again and again.

I even knelt and begged Xavier for forgiveness, just to earn her approval.

Later, Claire became pregnant.

At first, she wanted to terminate the pregnancy.

It was only after I begged her over and over again that she reluctantly agreed to keep the baby.

However, she had one condition. I had to hand over all assets under my name.

From that day onward, any expense over $10 had to be approved by her personally.

I understood.

Claire wanted to trap me inside the villa where we secretly lived as husband and wife.

However, the enormous emotional investment I had already put into this marriage, the years I had sacrificed, the love I had poured into her, and the price I had paid made me willingly lock myself inside a cage of my own making.

Chapter 2

Claire had never cared about her pregnancy, so the child she gave birth to was not healthy.

I had to rush Ellie to the hospital every few days.

The medical reimbursements Claire provided were never paid on time.

Yesterday, the entire city was hit by a torrential storm.

Ellie once again fell unconscious after suffering a high fever and seizure.

The hospital refused to begin emergency treatment because the unpaid medical bills had not been settled.

I was desperate, and I forgot about the agreement we had made regarding our secret marriage.

I ran through the rain all the way to the set where Claire’s latest drama was holding its wrap party.

When I arrived, drenched in mud and looking utterly pathetic in nothing but a pair of slippers, Claire only stared at me coldly as I desperately tried to explain our daughter’s condition through broken, frantic words.

“Sorry, I don’t know you. Xavier is my fiancé.”

Her professionalism as an actress allowed Claire to keep a graceful smile on her face the entire time.

In that instant, her icy voice struck me like thunder on a stormy night.

It left me standing there, completely shattered.

Then, every memory I shared with her flashed before my eyes.

It finally stopped on the moment when she gently covered Xavier’s mouth and nose with her hand.

They both thought I was dirty.

How ironic.

After nine years of marriage, Claire remained the untouchable star everyone admired, while I had already fallen deep into the mud.

…

The moment I received Ellie’s death certificate from the doctor, Claire called.

I thought she had heard from the finance manager and was calling to discuss our divorce.

I did not expect that after I answered, all I heard was her lazy, hungover voice.

“What? I just gave you some money, and now you’ve learned how to stay out all night?

“You didn’t even make breakfast. Are you trying to starve me?

“You have fifteen minutes. Get back here now, or don’t bother coming home.”

Claire did not give me any chance to refuse.

She simply hung up.

I looked up at the sky.

For the first time, I felt how completely I had failed in these ten years of my life.

Even the final request I made after my heart had already died was not important enough for anyone to care about.

Since I had no money left, it took me two hours to walk home from the hospital.

When I opened the door, a warm and loving scene appeared before me.

A scene that was both cruel and completely expected.

Xavier, dressed in casual home clothes, sat across from Claire, spooning food into her bowl.

Claire held her spoon and accepted everything without hesitation.

It was just a bowl of plain oatmeal and berries, yet she ate it as though it were a gourmet feast.

Compared to the way she always nitpicked and criticized every meal I cooked, I finally realized Claire’s dissatisfaction and impossible standards had only ever been meant for me.

I had no desire to interrupt their happiness. I only wanted to leave as soon as possible.

My daughter was gone, and I still had her funeral arrangements to handle. I had no time to waste on people who no longer mattered.

“You finally decided to come back?”

Claire’s cold, mocking voice came from behind me.

“I thought you were planning to die outside.”

I turned around and glanced at her indifferently.

I had no intention of speaking.

“Gideon, you’re back?

“My friend saw you at a bar last night. I never expected someone your age could still find four or five women in one night.”

Xavier gave me a gentle smile.

Hidden in his eyes was a provocation that only another man could understand.

“Claire works hard for her money. You can’t keep using the child as an excuse to take money from her, right? She must be so worried.

“Since you enjoy being a stay-at-home husband and taking care of her, why don’t you manage all her money from now on?”

Without a trace of anger in my eyes, I looked at him sincerely and replied, “Sure.”

Xavier froze for a moment.

I turned around and walked into the bedroom to pack my belongings.

Crash!

A crystal glass shattered violently against the bedroom door.

“Claire! Calm down!

“Gideon is probably just exhausted after being out all night. Let him sleep first. You two can talk things out when he wakes up.”

Chapter 3

Xavier openly wrapped his arms around Claire.

However, Claire’s rage showed no signs of fading.

“Gideon! What kind of attitude is that? Do you even know how long the PR team spent last night cleaning up the mess you caused and denying those rumors?

“I never imagined you could be this sinister and cruel! You’d do anything just to ruin my and Xavier’s careers!

“If I had known that making me keep the child was just your way of trapping me, I would never have softened my heart back then! I should have taken two pills of mifepristone and gotten rid of that wretched child. Then the whole world would have been at peace!”

My heart felt as though a blade had pierced straight through it, only to be twisted around again and again until everything inside was shredded.

The humiliation I had endured through nine years of secret marriage, the pain of losing my child, and the fury I felt as a father watching my daughter be insulted completely erased my remaining rationality.

I stormed out of the bedroom. I swung my arm and slapped Claire across the face.

“Gideon, don’t—”

At that moment, Xavier bravely rushed forward and stood in front of Claire.

He closed his eyes, waiting for my slap.

I could not stop in time.

My thin, fragile fingernails accidentally scratched across his face, leaving a red mark.

“Claire, that hurts.”

Almost the instant Xavier cried out, Claire used all her strength and kicked my legs.

“Gideon! If Xavier’s face has even the slightest mark that shouldn’t be there, I’ll peel your entire face off and feed it to the dogs!”

Claire supported Xavier and quickly walked away.

She never once looked back. She never saw me fall backward into the shattered pieces of the crystal glass and the blood slowly spread across my back.

…

I lay quietly on the floor, waiting for my blood to drain away and my body to die.

Before I completely lost consciousness, I received a call from the funeral home.

The staff told me my daughter had already been cremated. They asked when I would have time to come collect her ashes.

Then they asked whether I wanted to arrange a small funeral for my child.

They had connections and could help organize everything.

Yes! Of course I wanted one!

This was the final major event of my daughter’s life.

I wanted her to leave this world with dignity, with beauty, and with the ceremony she deserved.

I clenched my teeth and forced myself off the floor.

I used the first-aid supplies in the medicine cabinet to patch myself up as best I could.

On my way there, I swallowed my pride and called relatives and friends I had not contacted in years.

Amid endless mockery and insults, I finally managed to gather a considerable amount of money.

After receiving the money, I slapped myself hard seven or eight times.

I was such an idiot.

Why did I not cling to my so-called dignity back then? Why did I obey Claire in everything?

Now that my child was gone, I finally dared to give up everything.

Still, what was the point?

I went to the funeral home and collected Ellie’s ashes.

Then I booked the most luxurious hotel banquet hall in the city, along with an entire truckload of her favorite daisies.

As I stood among the workers carrying flowers back and forth, I held her portrait tightly in my arms.

After hesitating for a long time, I finally sent Ellie’s death certificate and the funeral location to Claire.

I knew very well that a movie queen of her status would almost never check her own messages.

I sent the information only so she would not come looking for trouble and argue about some so-called ‘right to know’ in the future.

…

The wound on my back had not been properly treated.

The prolonged blood loss left my mind sluggish, and that sluggishness caused me to overlook many details.

I was only focused on giving Ellie the grand funeral she deserved.

I forgot that the hotel was the very same place where the incident happened last night.

After the workers finished setting up the funeral venue, I suddenly heard whispers coming from behind me.

“Is that the crazy guy who ran over yesterday and grabbed Claire’s legs?”

Chapter 4

“It’s him! It’s definitely him! I was camping outside yesterday taking street photos. I saw everything clearly!”

“Oh my, he’s disgusting! Yesterday he kept going on and on about his daughter being sick and all that nonsense, and he actually set up a funeral altar here today!”

“Seriously?! Claire and Xavier are so unlucky to get dragged into this kind of lunatic’s mess! Why doesn’t he just die?!”

A group of Claire and Xavier fanboys openly discussed me without the slightest hesitation.

Their voices were so loud that I could not ignore them.

I turned around, frowned, and said, “This is my daughter’s funeral. Please leave!”

The fanboy leading the group was wearing a hotel supervisor’s uniform.

He arrogantly stepped forward and slapped me across the face.

“You piece of trash! Who do you think you are?

“I’ve been Claire’s loyal fan for ten years. I work at this hotel just so I can have more chances to serve her.

“I’ve seen plenty of shameless delusional men like you!”

“The moment you see a successful woman, you start imagining she belongs to you. Then you even dream of forcing her to have children with you. You’re even more disgusting than those people who ruin other people’s families!”

“Exactly! Does someone like you actually think you’re worthy of Claire?” Another male fan, thin and skinny-looking, crossed his arms and sneered.

“Let me tell you something. In the hearts of all us fans, the only man we acknowledge is Xavier!”

Someone in the crowd shouted, “Stop wasting time talking to him! Let’s teach him a lesson today, so he never dares to show his face and disturb Claire and Xavier again!”

Immediately, everyone responded.

They worked together with frightening coordination.

One group rushed over to destroy the funeral decorations.

The flowers I had carefully chosen, the balloons, and the rosary beads were thrown onto the ground one by one.

Another group held me down tightly.

They forced my eyes open the entire time, making me watch even as I desperately screamed and explained through my pain.

“Stop! Please stop! I’m Claire’s husband! Her legal husband! I have photos of our marriage certificate on my phone!

“This child really was her daughter! Please, don’t destroy this! Stop!”

“Marriage certificate? Why don’t you just say you have a wedding video too? That’s hilarious. Do you think your two edited clips can fool anyone?”

The thin fanboy slapped me hard across the face.

“I’ll admit, you really put on a convincing act. This bastard even went so far as to make fake ashes?”

Another person picked up the pink urn from the offering table and shook it beside his ear.

My eyes widened in horror.

I shook my head desperately.

“No, please! I’m begging you! Don’t touch my daughter!”

“Your daughter?” The man looked at me with contempt. “Isn’t it just powdered milk mixed with bamboo charcoal? Why are you still pretending?”

Then, he raised the urn high above his head and smashed it onto the floor.

The scattered ashes flew into the air, blinding my eyes.

A father’s love gave me strength I had never known before.

I broke free from everyone holding me down.

Ignoring the wound on my back that was still bleeding, I crawled desperately toward my daughter’s ashes scattered across the floor.

“Ellie, Ellie, don’t be scared. Daddy will take you away from here. We won’t stay here anymore.

“Never again…”

A fangirl also wearing a hotel supervisor uniform saw this.

A cruel, bloodthirsty light flashed in her eyes like a wild beast.

“You disgusting liar! You’re still pretending?! Fine. Today, I’ll make sure you finish this little act!”

As she spoke, she grabbed the ashes scattered across the floor and moved to force them into my mouth.

Amidst the chaos, I closed my eyes in despair.

However, I heard Claire’s heartbreaking scream from outside the banquet hall.

“Stop!”