Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English | NEW
Synopsis
My younger brother died in a horrific car crash on the freeway.
Right before his last breath, he begged me to take care of his pregnant wife and their unborn child.
To look after my brother’s family, I devoted everything to Gwen. I even gave up my own chance at finding true love, marrying her just to give the baby a stable, two-parent home.
For seven years, my conscience was completely clear. I gave Gwen and our son everything I had.
Yet, she never once looked at me with anything resembling love. Worse, the boy grew up to despise me just as much as she did.
Brokenhearted and exhausted, I finally filed for divorce.
Gwen smirked, tossing the divorce papers straight out the car window.
"If you jump out of this car right now and pick up those papers," she mocked, "I’ll sign them!"
I watched the speedometer climb higher and higher. Without hesitation, I reached over, pushed the door open, and threw myself out into the oncoming wind.
Three days later, breaking news blasted across every major outlet: Billionaire CEO Gwen Vance’s Husband Jumps from Car at 60 MPH!
With Both Legs Shattered, He Crawls Through the Dirt, Signs the Divorce Papers in His Own Blood, and Collapses on the Shoulder!
Gwen, Liam—from this moment on, you mean nothing to me.
The night before Gwen and I signed the marriage license, I went to the clinic and had a vasectomy.
From that day on, Liam was my only child.
Every year on the anniversary of my brother’s death, I would bring a bottle of good whiskey up to his grave. I’d sit beside him for hours, sharing stories about how much Liam had grown over the past year.
Gwen walked up, caught sight of me, and immediately frowned.
"Tyler, your brother is dead. Stop acting like you own things that never belonged to you. Let him rest in peace. And let me remind you—I only agreed to marry you for Liam’s sake!"
I slowly raised my head and saw the pure disgust etched onto her face. Every word I wanted to say got caught in my throat.
She kicked my shin with the toe of her designer heel. "Get moving. Stop embarrassing me here."
Seeing that I didn't budge, her temper flared. "Oh, so my words don't mean a thing to you anymore? Fine! Since you love hanging out in the cemetery so much, stay out here all night. Don't bother coming home!"
My mom, standing nearby, wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. She started to speak, then stopped herself.
Only after Gwen’s footsteps faded into the distance did my mom whisper, "I know our family owes her after the accident, but Tyler... why don't you ever explain yourself to her?"
I popped the cork off the bottle, poured a splash onto the grass for my brother, and offered a bitter smile.
Seven years together under the same roof, and Gwen had never bothered to understand my heart. If she was determined to hate me, what difference would words make?
I had dedicated seven long years of my life to raising Liam. I had kept my promise. My conscience was clear.
Even knowing she didn’t love me, I foolishly thought she could at least offer me basic human respect.
Besides, the cemetery was perched on top of a mountain. Temperatures dropped drastically at night. Did she really expect me to freeze out here until morning?
My mom gently rested a hand on my shoulder, patting it. "Head on home soon, son. Don't freeze to death out here. Don't punish your own body."
Just as I pushed myself up to leave, Liam stomped over.
He was my brother’s flesh and blood, but I had raised him from day one.
He looked so much like Gwen—the same stubborn chin, the same sharp eyes. And worse, he held the exact same burning contempt for me.
"Hey, Liam, let's—"
Before I could finish, Liam cut me off, sneering, "Tyler, you're nothing but a pathetic freeloader living off my mom's money!”
“You were just supposed to babysit me for my dad, but you actually tried to replace him? You make me sick! You're so greedy!"
I tried to reach out to him, but his venomous glare froze me in place. "You deserve to sleep out here in the dirt. You should be on your knees begging my dad for forgiveness!"
Listening to those words coming out of the boy I loved shattered whatever was left of my heart. "Liam, I raised you. I changed your diapers, I cooked every meal, I tucked you in every single night. How could you say that to me?"
"Stop patting yourself on the back! If my dad hadn't left behind an empire for my mom to run, I'd be living on the streets! You don't care about me.”
“You just wanted our money. Tyler, you're disgusting. You'll never be half the man my father was!"
He screamed at me, spun around, deliberately stomped hard onto the back of my hand, and bolted.
Fighting through the searing pain in my fingers, I wobbled to my feet. The mountain fog was rolling in thick and heavy, turning into an icy drizzle.
When I finally dragged myself to the cemetery gates, I saw Liam holding hands with a man, trying to guide him into the SUV.
"Liam, what happened?" Gwen rushed over, her face pale with concern.
"The trail was slippery from the rain," Liam whined. "Uncle Julian slipped and hurt his ankle trying to catch me."
Julian Campbell. Gwen’s childhood sweetheart, and currently her executive vice president at Vance Enterprises.
I once heard through the grapevine that Gwen was supposed to marry Julian years ago. Through some bizarre twist of fate, she had ended up marrying my younger brother instead.
Hearing Liam's words, Gwen dashed over and immediately dropped to her knees to inspect Julian's ankle. "Let me see! Are you okay? Does it hurt?"
The pure, raw panic in her eyes felt like a serrated blade tearing through my chest.
Julian offered a soft, reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Gwen. Really."
Gwen and Liam supported him from either side, helping him gently into the passenger seat.
Once inside, Julian glanced back, asking innocently, "Wait, where is Tyler? Is it wrong for me to take the front seat?"
Gwen glanced over, barely sparing a look in my direction before looking away. "Forget about him. He loves being pathetic."
I stood in the cold, watching the SUV speed away into the mist, looking like a complete, happy family of three.
The rain beat down harder and harder. Each step I took toward the city felt like dragging lead weights. By the time I walked up the driveway of the mansion, the sun was already rising.
The courtyard was dead silent. They hadn't come home last night.
As soon as I pushed the front door open, the maid scoffed, eyeing me with pure disdain.
"Mr. Vance, it's bad enough you sit around all day doing nothing, but could you at least have some pity on the staff? Stop tracking mud inside and creating extra chores for us."
I looked down at the caked dirt clinging to my shoes, sinking into silence.
Was this really how I was going to waste the rest of my life? Stripping away every ounce of my dignity for people who viewed me as nothing more than dirt?
I had spent seven grueling years honoring my promise to my dead brother. My debt was paid.
And right now, one thing was crystal clear: I was done being their punching bag.The next morning, I still woke up early and made breakfast like I always did.
I poured a glass of warm milk and walked toward Liam’s room. Just as I reached the door, it swung open, and I bumped right into someone.
The milk splashed across his designer shirt. Instinctively, I reached out with a napkin to wipe it off, but my hand was slapped away.
I froze. When had Julian arrived last night?
Before my brain could piece it together, Gwen bolted out of nowhere, shoved me violently out of the way, and rushed to Julian's side. Her voice trembled with panic. "Did it burn you? Are you okay?!"
Liam rushed over from down the hall, his little fists pounding randomly against my chest and stomach. "You're so evil, Tyler! Uncle Julian is already hurt, and you tried to burn him on purpose!"
Watching the raw, desperate concern on both their faces for this other man, a bitter agony seized my chest. "I didn't do it on purp—"
"Save your pathetic lies!" Liam screamed.
Julian gently smoothed Liam's hair, putting on a saintly smile. "It's okay, buddy. It doesn't hurt at all."
Gwen turned on me, her eyes arctic. "Don't bother defending him, Julian. I know exactly what kind of monster he is!"
I snapped.
I raised the half-empty glass in my hand and hurled the rest of the milk onto the hardwood floor. I stared coldly at my wife and the child I had raised. They treated me like an enemy, ready to tear my throat out just to comfort an outsider.
"Gwen, when I suggested getting married so I could step up and take care of Liam, you didn't say no," I said, my voice shaking with years of suppressed rage.
"For seven years, I gave up everything to serve you and Liam. My conscience is clear before God. Why do you constantly humiliate me for another man?"
I dropped my gaze to Liam, whose jaw was slack with shock. "I raised you because you are my brother's flesh and blood. You carry my family's legacy.”
“I bathed you, I fed you, I wiped your tears, all to make sure you never felt the emptiness of growing up without a father. And how do you repay me? How do both of you treat me?!"
By the time the words left my mouth, hot, humiliating tears were streaming down my face.
I thought my breakdown would provoke at least a flicker of emotion from them, but Gwen’s face remained stone-cold. She curled her lip in disgust.
"Tyler, you're a grown man. Don't humiliate yourself in front of Julian."
Julian shifted awkwardly, hesitating for a moment before chiming in with fake gentleness, "Tyler, Ms. Vance and I have a strictly professional relationship. Please don't misunderstand."
The moment Liam heard that, he instantly stepped in front of Julian like a protective shield, glaring at me with blazing fury.
"You have some nerve! Do you have any idea how much I get bullied at school because of you? Everyone laughs at me because my dad is just an unemployed househusband!”
“They call you a coward who leeches off a woman, and they tell me I'll grow up to be a useless gold-digger just like you!"
Liam... I had held him in my arms from the very hour he was born. Yet in all these years, he had never once called me Dad.
Just like his mother, he always addressed me by my first name.
The day before yesterday, I was standing in the freezing mountain rain at the cemetery. Yesterday, I burned with a fever all day long.
And this morning, dragging my sick, aching body out of bed, I still cooked breakfast for them. Right now, exhaustion pulled at every muscle in my body. Yet their eyes were glued to Julian's ankle, and not a single soul bothered to ask how I was feeling.
Watching this sickening display, every last ember of warmth in my heart died out.
After seeing Julian off, I watched the two of them sit down at the dining table, enjoying their meal. I thought to myself: This is the last time I will ever cook for them.
I stood in the doorway for a long time, quietly gathering what little courage I had left. Finally, I spoke up. "Gwen, I'm leaving."
She looked up, her gaze frosty. "Leaving? Where would you go? What about your mom? How are you going to explain this to the family? Tyler, why are you so damn selfish? If you wanted to run, why did you beg to marry me seven years ago?”
“Now that your brother is gone, you're just going to abandon me too? Do you have any idea what people will say about me?"
Thud.
My knees hit the hardwood floor.
I bowed my head low before her. "I'm sorry. This first apology is for my brother. He gave me everything, and I promised him on his deathbed that I would protect his family. Today, I am breaking that vow."
"This second apology is for failing as a husband. I couldn't provide the life you wanted, and instead, I brought you shame and made Liam a target for bullies at school. That was my failure."
"And for this final bow... I truly wish you both the best. From now on, our paths diverge, and we walk our own ways."
With that, I pushed myself up from the floor, turned, and headed for the door.
"Stop right there!" Gwen's voice cracked with rage behind me. "Tyler, you're thirty years old, not a toddler throwing a tantrum! What is this, some dramatic runway act?"
"Stop making a scene! Let me make one thing crystal clear: if you take one single step out that door today, don't you dare come back crawling on your knees, because I will never let you in!"
Gwen stood there, her chin tilted up, smug and completely in control. She was utterly convinced that I couldn't bear to leave, that I couldn't abandon Liam.
And even more, she believed there was no way in hell I would ever walk away from this lavish mansion and a life of luxury.Ignoring Gwen's shouting echoing behind me, I stepped out of the estate and into the street.
The fever had been raging for two days straight, so I decided to head to the hospital for an IV drip. At the end of the day, I had to look after my own health.
Just as I reached the intersection outside the gated community to hail a cab, a massive semi-truck suddenly barreled toward me out of nowhere.
"Help!" I screamed in sheer terror.
For the first time in my life, I felt the icy grip of death right against my throat.
BAM!
The violent impact launched me through the air, slamming me onto the pavement. The truck sped off into the distance without stopping. As the darkness crept into my vision, my phone buzzed violently. It was Gwen.
The second I tapped to answer, her sharp voice exploded through the speaker. "Tyler, where the hell are you hiding?!"
"I'm at the intersection down the road... I got hit by a truck..."
Gwen let out a cold, mocking scoff. "Tyler, if you want me to come chasing after you, at least come up with a believable lie!"
"I'm not... lying..."
"Enough! You really will stoop to anything just to get my attention, won't you?!"
Before I could get another word out, she hung up with a sharp click.
Using the absolute last ounce of strength left in my body, I tried to dial 911.
Before my shaking finger could tap the call button, the world turned pitch black, and I passed out.
When I woke up, the smell of antiseptic filled my nose. The doctor stood over my bed, informing me that I had suffered massive internal bleeding and needed absolute bed rest.
"We notified your emergency contact on file as well, so just rest easy and recover."
I gave a faint nod, staring blankly at the sterile white ceiling. I had been in a coma for three whole days, yet Gwen hadn't shown up once. Having her listed as an emergency contact was no different from having no one at all.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small silver cross, clutching it tightly in my palm. My brother had bought this for me with the very first paycheck from his startup.
I cherished it more than my own life.
Whenever I remembered him covered in blood in the ICU, gripping my hands and begging me to take care of Gwen and the unborn baby, my chest tightened in agonizing pain.
Now, their lives were firmly established and thriving. Brother, I kept the promise I made to you.
Seven years. Now, I just want to live for myself.
The next time I saw Gwen was a month later, right as I was being discharged.
"Where the hell have you been this past month?! Do you know how long I've been looking for you?" With Gwen’s vast wealth and connections, tracking down a missing person was effortless.”
“I had been lying in a downtown hospital bed for an entire month; if she had cared even a little, she would have found me on day one.
The truth was, she hadn't bothered to look for me at all.
"What do you want?" I asked coldly, completely ignoring her question.
"Your parents couldn't reach you, so they came knocking on my door! They said we need to visit the family estate today to plan the reception dinner." Her voice dripped with annoyance.
I hesitated for a second, then nodded.
This was something I owed my family—an official closure.
Just as I moved to open the passenger door, Liam stepped right in front of me, sneering, "Do you have any self-awareness at all? The passenger seat belongs to me and Uncle Julian. Who do you think you are to sit there?"
I lowered my eyes, swallowed my words, and walked around to the back seat.
Gwen glanced at me through the rearview mirror as she fired up the engine, immediately launching into a lecture. "When we get there, you'd better know what to say and what to keep to yourself."
"Exactly. Stop causing problems for my mom," Liam chimed in from the front seat.
"Your mom wants to throw a proper wedding reception, but I think it's ridiculous. It wouldn't look good coming from me, so you'll be the one to turn her down when we get there."
Seeing that I remained completely silent, Gwen glared into the mirror. "Did you hear me? Signing that marriage certificate with you was already doing you a massive favor. Don't go daydreaming about things you don't deserve."
Every venomous word out of her mouth only reaffirmed that our marriage had reached its absolute end.
I had planned to wait until we spoke to the family to bring it up.
But watching her relentless arrogance right now, I couldn't endure another second.
"I made myself clear last time. Going to see the family today is just to give everyone a final explanation."
I reached into my bag, pulled out the signed divorce papers, and held them out. Gwen glanced down, letting out a dismissive laugh. "A whole month away, and you're still playing this pathetic game? Just name your price. How much do you want?"
"This isn't about money. I want a divorce."
"Did you suddenly forget how to speak English?"
"Tyler, know your place. My patience has limits. If it weren't out of respect for your dead brother, do you really think I'd be wasting my breath talking to you right now?"
I was quiet for a long moment before replying, "It is precisely because of my brother that I have thought this through completely."
"You're dead set on a divorce?"
"Completely." I didn't hesitate for a single heartbeat. Gwen's face darkened instantly. "Fine!"
She snatched the papers from my hand, hit the window button, and hurled them into the rushing air outside. "Since you want a divorce so badly, jump out right now and fetch them back! If you do, I'll sign!"
I looked at the dashboard speedometer and let out a bitter, lifeless laugh.
Sixty miles per hour, and she was still pressing the gas. We were on the interstate, surrounded by heavy traffic. Gwen had never intended for me to make it home alive.
"Too chicken?" Gwen smirked smugly. "Turns out your talk of divorce is just hot air."
"Are you serious about that deal?"
"Of course. When Gwen Vance makes a promise, she keeps it!"
The second the words left her mouth, I grabbed the handle, pushed the car door wide open, and jumped without a single second of hesitation.
"Tyler, are you out of your fcking mind?!"
Her furious shriek was swallowed instantly by the roaring wind. A blinding, agonizing tear ripped through my elbows and knees, followed by a sickening crunch as my skull slammed hard against the asphalt.
This time, between them and me, it truly was goodbye forever.
Chapters (3)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Watch & Promotions
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