Chapter 1

“Hey, Liam, those clothes look great on you.”

“Where did you buy that fabric? I want to make an outfit like that for my son.”

The neighbors saw Liam and were so dazzled by his clothes that they could hardly look away.

Liam smiled brightly and answered cheerfully,

“I don’t know either. Maya made them for me. I think they look great too.”

The neighbor teased them without thinking,

“I’m so jealous. You two have always been close since you were kids. I really thought you’d end up getting married!”

After saying that, the neighbor suddenly remembered that I was there and hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

“Ethan, I was only joking. Don’t take it to heart.”

“I’ll get going now. We can chat another day!”

I watched the neighbor walk away, then knocked Liam’s foot off my shoulder and said unhappily,

“I’m not taking any customers today. Go somewhere else.”

The moment I entered the house, Liam’s taunting words kept echoing in my mind.

“Bang!”

I slammed the door shut to vent my anger.

Maya, who had been sitting on a wooden stool, flinched at the noise.

She slowly walked over to me and asked in confusion,

“Ethan, what’s wrong?”

“Why did you close up so early? Did those troublemakers come after you again?”

The moment she said that, I let out a mocking laugh.

I still remembered the time I had been shining shoes at a stall in town.

Several thugs had stuck their feet out in front of me without a word and ordered me to clean them until there wasn’t a speck of dirt left.

When I saw their familiar faces, I realized they were the town’s notorious deadbeats.

I waved my hand, indicating that I wasn’t taking any more customers that day.

They assumed I looked down on them and started beating me.

They beat me until I was barely conscious, leaving my blood all over the ground.

There were plenty of people standing around watching, but not one of them was willing to step forward and help, including my wife.

At the time, she had stood frozen beside Liam, tugging lightly at his sleeve as she warned him in a low voice,

“Let’s not get involved. Those thugs are dangerous. What if you get dragged into it too?”

After saying that, she pulled Liam away and left without looking back.

When I came back to my senses, I could only find it ridiculous.

I had once treated her like a priceless treasure, afraid she would melt even when I held her in my palm.

After hearing that several robbers had appeared in town, I had picked her up from work and taken her home every day, no matter how hard the rain fell or how strong the wind blew.

But what about her?

When she saw the husband she shared a bed with being beaten half to death, the man she worried about was someone else.

At that moment, the heart that had loved her for fourteen years finally died.

I walked past her and into the kitchen, but she followed me and reached for the spatula in my hand.

“You’re in a bad mood today. I’ll cook.”

I replied flatly,

“How many times have you even stepped into the kitchen? Do you know how to cook?”

As soon as I said that, Maya pulled her hand back.

She asked angrily,

“What’s gotten into you today?”

I glanced at her and said heavily,

“Liam came to my stall today.”

“You used the fabric I bought for you to make clothes for him, didn’t you?”