Chapter 1

1

It was the thirty-eighth time Hudson had brought up divorce for the sake of his first love.

Then, I found a pair of matching designer swimsuits he'd bought.

Hudson said calmly, "I wanted to surprise you for our anniversary. Since you've seen them, I'll see you at the beach."

I arrived at the pier early, but I sat by the shore all night and he never showed up.

Pulling out my phone, I saw a post from his first love, Shelby.

"Even though we didn't make it to the beach, someone took me on a trip around the world. I'm pretty satisfied," she wrote.

If this were the past, I would have made a scene and forced Hudson to apologize.

But this time, I was the one who brought up the divorce.

......

After sitting in the freezing ocean breeze all night, I came down with a fever.

I was about to head back to the hotel to rest when Hudson's phone calls started coming in, one after another, like a death knell.

I frowned and finally answered.

Hudson's voice on the other end was filled with nothing but impatience.

"Avery, what the hell did you tell my grandfather?"

I rubbed my temples. "Just the truth."

I hadn't said anything wrong.

Grandpa had asked how we spent our anniversary.

I told him Hudson went on a world tour with his little model girlfriend instead.

Hudson's voice was as irritable as ever. "Stay at the hotel. I'm coming to get you."

So, he knew I was at the beach.

He knew I had waited for him all night.

Yet, he had still chosen to accompany Shelby on her trip without saying a single word to me.

He probably even made fun of how stupid I was while he was with her.

But I was stupid. Otherwise, I wouldn't have kept hoping for a miracle.

Seeing that I was silent, Hudson continued.

"I had to cancel the trip, and Shelby is devastated. You better find a time to go over and apologize to her."

How ridiculous.

I, the legal wife, was expected to apologize to the mistress.

I gripped my phone, my voice raspy. "That won't be necessary."

Hudson let out a cold laugh. "What, are you going to play the victim to Grandpa again? You use that trick every single time. Aren't you tired of being so pathetic?"

I was speechless and hung up the phone immediately.

My head was already pounding, and Hudson's shouting only made the dizziness worse.

As soon as I ended the call, my vision went black, and I collapsed right there on the sidewalk.

When I woke up, I was met with the harsh smell of disinfectant.

A nurse saw me stirring and came over to touch my forehead. "Your fever just broke. How are you feeling?"

I nodded and asked about my condition.

She changed my IV bag. "Fever combined with low blood sugar. You need to eat something later. By the way, we tried calling the person listed as 'Husband' in your phone, but... well, see for yourself."

I thanked her and took my phone.

The nurse had indeed called Hudson multiple times, but he hadn't picked up once.

Eventually, she had sent him a text.

"Hello, this is the City Hospital. Your wife, Ms. Avery, has collapsed from a high fever. Please come over immediately."

The message wasn't replied to until the early hours of the morning.

The response was brief and cold.

"Shelby is sick, and I need to look after her. Since Avery is awake now, she can find her own way home."

Looking at those words, a bitter smile crept onto my face.

He knew I had waited for him all night, yet he'd rather care for Shelby than check if I was alive.

I was about to close the app when I saw Shelby had updated her feed again.

She had posted several times while I was unconscious.

At 7:00 AM, there was a photo of Hudson holding Shelby's hand while she received an IV drip.

"Feeling so dizzy and miserable. I ruined our world trip, but he didn't blame me at all. He just looked so heartbroken for me~"

I remembered the last time I was sick. I only asked to delay a movie date.

Hudson had called me dramatic and told me I should learn to handle a little pain.

At 8:00 AM, there was a photo of specialty bagels and coffee.

"I mentioned I wanted my favorite bagels from the other side of town, and he drove there without a second thought. So sweet."

I knew that shop. Hudson was the one who first took me there.

But later, when I wanted to go back, he complained that it was too much trouble to drive that far for breakfast.

It turned out that those were Shelby's favorites.

One word from her was all it took for him to go the extra mile.

At 1:00 PM, she posted a side profile of Hudson driving.

"Someone told me his passenger seat is reserved only for me. I guess I'll have to accept the honor."

I turned off my phone, tears finally streaming down my face.

While I was fighting a fever in a hospital bed, they were having a very busy, romantic day.