Chapter 1

When I got into a delivery accident, my wife, Zoe, was with her childhood friend Ethan, taking his child to the doctor.

I called her and begged her to come take care of me, but she refused without hesitation: “You’re an adult. Can’t you take care of yourself? Ethan’s kid is still little and needs a woman with him. Stop trying to play the victim.

“How much can you even make delivering food? You’d be better off finding another job.”

She never showed up during the week I was in the hospital.

Only when I was completely done with her and handed her the divorce papers did she kneel and beg me, “I still love you. Give me one more chance.”

I smiled, got into my luxury car, and left. I didn’t want her late-blooming love anymore.

......

After getting laid off in middle age, I took off my once-proud suit and started delivering food to help support the family.

Today’s order was to a high-end gated community I had once promised Zoe I’d buy for her—Imperial Court.

I was full of hope, but the security guard at the gate stopped me.

Delivery drivers weren’t allowed into upscale communities, so I had no choice but to call the resident. What I got instead was a stream of insults: “Are you stupid? If he won’t let you in, why don’t you sneak in through the back? What kind of delivery guy is as dumb as you? If you don’t get it delivered to me, I’ll give you a bad review.”

A child’s crying and a woman’s gentle comforting voice came from the other end of the line.

When I looked around, trying to find the back entrance he’d mentioned, the security guard suddenly pulled the key out of my e-bike.

We were at a standstill, so I had no choice but to give up on this order. “I’m sorry, the guard won’t let me in. I’ll leave the food at the gate. Come get it yourself.”

But the guard still wouldn’t let me leave. “I’m not the delivery guy. You wait until he comes out and gets it.”

With the deadline for my other orders getting closer and closer, I panicked and dropped to my knees in front of him. “Please, give me the key. My other orders are going to be late.”

Only then did the guard give me the key.

The moment I rode off on my e-bike, a wave of helplessness flooded my nerves.

I had once been a company manager, respected by everyone, earning over a million a year. I never thought I’d end up humiliated like this.

If only I hadn’t bought that house back then.

While waiting at a traffic light, an out-of-control car suddenly came charging toward a child not far in front of me.

At that moment, my only thought was to save the kid.

I pulled the child away and threw him toward a passerby. The huge impact hurt so badly I nearly blacked out.

I called Zoe, hoping she could come to the hospital. I was scared I might die right there.

On Zoe’s end, I could hear a child crying, and she refused me without hesitation: “You’re an adult. Can’t you take care of yourself? Ethan’s kid is still little and needs a woman with him. Stop trying to play the victim.

“How much can you even make delivering food? You’d be better off finding another job.”

Before I could even finish, she hung up.

I didn’t give up and called again, but all I got was a rejected call.

The nurse on the ambulance couldn’t stand it and muttered, “What kind of wife acts like that?”

Another nurse took out her own phone and tried calling Zoe for me.

When Zoe answered, she was very polite at first, but the second she heard my name, she got impatient. “Tell Ryan he can stop using these childish tricks to lie to me. Even if he dies right now, I still won’t go over there.”

Her curses echoed through the empty ambulance.

I looked up at the light above me. It was so bright it stung my eyes, and I actually felt like crying.

Because my organs had been injured, I had to find someone else to sign the surgery consent form for me.

My younger sister, who was studying for her master’s degree in this city, dropped everything and rushed over.

The surgery went well.

I had two broken ribs, a fractured left collarbone, and internal injuries that meant I had to stay in bed and recover.

But when I thought about the huge medical bills, I couldn’t help worrying.

If the costs went beyond what insurance covered, I’d have to use the card I had once given Zoe to pay them.