Shortly after our wedding, my wife Ava was paralyzed in a car accident. I cared for her for over forty years, but it wasn’t until she passed away that I discovered she had left a will giving all our assets to Ryan, her ex-classmate from years ago. I was kicked out of the house we’d lived in for decades. Leaning on my cane, I shakily made my way to a law firm, hoping to reclaim the property as her husband. Instead, I was informed that Ava had secretly divorced me years ago. Before I could process this shock, Ryan sought me out, taunting me with cruel words. “You didn’t know, did you? She was worried about me, so she’s been sending me your salary and her pension all these years.” “When you were younger, she refused to have children with you because we already had a child together. Come to think of it, I should thank you for paying to raise our kid.” I was devastated and enraged. But before I could react, Ryan kicked me into a muddy puddle. Later, his son hired a group of young thugs who beat me to death in a sack. When I opened my eyes again, I saw my young, newly paralyzed wife crying before me. “Lucas, the doctor says I’ll never walk again. What will I do if I can’t work?” I silently pocketed the bank card I had prepared for her and sneered, “What else? When you starve to death, I’ll give you a grand funeral.” 0
“What did you say?” Ava might not have heard clearly, looking at me with tear-filled eyes. Those deep, loving eyes had fooled me in my previous life. I had believed she loved only me, but she had deceived me for a lifetime. “Ava, don’t worry. Lucas makes good money, he can definitely support you. He’s young, he can even pick up a second job,” said Ryan, the young man beside her, patiently comforting her. Ava had told me Ryan saved her during the accident and was her savior. In my previous life, I had been so focused on the devastating news of Ava’s paralysis that I hadn’t noticed how familiar they seemed with each other, as if this wasn’t their first meeting. Perhaps seeing no reaction from me, Ava’s red-rimmed eyes darted to Ryan. He immediately understood her meaning and spoke directly to me: “Lucas, let me be frank. Women are sensitive, and now that she’s in this condition because of you, she’s bound to have doubts. As a man, you should give her some security. For example, you could put your savings in her hands. It would be good for your family’s stability.” The same words as in my previous life. On the day of Ava’s accident, I had just returned from a business trip abroad. Having finished my work early, I had waited until I reached the airport to tell her, wanting to surprise her. As a result, Ava had rushed to pick me up and gotten into an accident on the way. I had spent a lifetime drowning in guilt and pain, trying everything to make it up to her. But it wasn’t until just before I died that I learned the truth: that day, Ava had been in Ryan’s car, and they weren’t on their way to pick me up at all. Yet she had never told me the truth, allowing me to be consumed by guilt day after day. Coming back to my senses, this time I didn’t hurriedly offer her my salary card and apologize, promising my loyalty as I had in my previous life. Seeing that I still hadn’t moved, Ava grew angry: “Lucas, I’ve become like this, what do you mean by this attitude?” Ryan also seemed anxious but still tried to mediate: “Maybe Lucas is still in shock from the bad news and hasn’t processed it yet.” I earned a good salary and had always been generous with her. Whenever she asked for money, as long as it wasn’t excessive, I would give it to her. Perhaps she also felt that handing over my salary card wasn’t a small matter. Not suspecting anything, she sighed and said, “No matter what, Ryan is my savior. He saved my life, you should at least show some appreciation.” “You probably haven’t prepared a gift, so why don’t you give Ryan a red envelope with $2,000?” “Oh, I couldn’t,” Ryan immediately declined. Ava insisted, “No, you must. When it’s given, you should accept it.” The scene was repeating itself. In my previous life, after Ava said this, I immediately gave him $3,000, even adding an extra thousand. After all, I believed a life was priceless. Later, I even sent him many other gifts to show my gratitude. At the time, the look in his eyes had been strange, but I had thought he was just shy. Now I understood that it had been mockery at my stupidity. This time, I didn’t move. Seeing this, Ava, annoyed at my hesitation, reached for my phone herself. She knew my bank card PIN and had secretly transferred money to Ryan many times before. Whenever I asked about it, she would use the “life-saving grace” to silence me. This time, I dodged Ava’s hand and stepped aside: “It’s fine to give money as thanks, but I have a few questions first.” Ava was clearly surprised that I, who had always been quick to give money, would suddenly challenge her. She looked puzzled. Ryan also froze for a moment, glancing at Ava before saying, “What questions?” I looked at Ryan: “I heard that all the car doors were jammed shut. How did you manage to pry them open?” This was Ava’s version of events, but there were many holes in the details she had given me. In my previous life, whenever I questioned the details, Ava would get angry and eventually explode, accusing me of being heartless, saying she had almost died and I was focusing on such trivial matters. Eventually, I stopped daring to ask. To avoid bringing up painful memories, I even avoided mentioning the accident altogether. Ryan’s eyes darted around: “I’ll tell you these things in private later. Let’s not revisit the accident in front of Ava. She’s already upset, and I’m afraid it might cause her more trauma.” I laughed and asked, “Are you really afraid of hurting her, or are you looking for a chance to get your stories straight?” Both Ryan and Ava’s faces darkened. They spoke in unison: “What do you mean by that?” Their synchronization was impressive. No wonder they had been able to fool me for a lifetime, leaving me penniless and alone in the end. I swallowed my hatred and said with a cold smile, “Ryan doesn’t look strong enough to force open a car door. How did he manage it?” “Besides, forcibly opening a door would surely have left injuries on his hands. The wounds I see on your hands don’t look like they’re from prying open a car door. They look self-inflicted.” “Also, the accident happened two days ago. Why didn’t you come then, and only show up now? I heard you were in a car accident yourself a couple of days ago? What a coincidence, isn’t it?” “…” “Enough!” Ava angrily interrupted me before I could finish. Ryan, still young, was already looking guilty. He said pitifully, “Ava, I never thought Lucas would doubt me like this. If that’s the case, let’s forget it. I’ll leave.” Ava grabbed his wrist, refusing to let him go. Then she turned to me, her eyes blazing with anger: “Lucas, what’s wrong with you? Is this how you interrogate someone who saved my life?” “I order you to transfer the money to him right now and apologize to Ryan!” It was clear she was truly furious. I chuckled lightly and asked innocently, “What is there to apologize for? These are normal questions. If he’s not lying, why is he so flustered?” “Besides, he’s your savior, not mine. If anyone should transfer money, it should be you.” But I knew that over the years, she had secretly transferred all her money to Ryan behind my back. Now she couldn’t come up with any money. Sure enough, Ava flew into a rage. She grabbed the fruit knife from the bedside table and hurled it at me. I dodged just in time; the blade barely missed my face. She acted as if she hadn’t seen it and pointed at me, shouting, “Is this how you treat me? Fine! Why should we stay together? As soon as I’m out of the hospital, we’ll go file for divorce!” “Divorce?” I repeated the word questioningly. Ava thought I was scared and a flash of triumph crossed her eyes. She was about to say something, but I calmly interrupted her with a question. “Aren’t we already divorced?” 0
In my previous life, when I had painfully walked into the law firm, hoping to claim a share of the property as Ava’s husband, they told me we had divorced a few days before the car accident. Later, when I wanted children, Ava kept refusing. I guess she was afraid I would discover this fact. Clearly struck by my words, Ava’s face paled for a moment. But she was certain I couldn’t produce any evidence now, so she continued to deny it: “What nonsense are you talking about? Lucas, is it because you see my legs are injured that you want to abandon me?” “How can you be so heartless? Have you forgotten all I’ve done for you? We’ve been married for six years. All these years, I’ve been bringing you lunch every day because I was worried about your stomach. Three years ago, when your health was poor, I went to the temple to pray for you for three months, chanting sutras and eating vegetarian food every day…” Ava choked up, her voice full of tears. We had met through an arranged date and married because our views aligned. It wasn’t a passionate love, but after so much time together, feelings had naturally developed. Over the years, I had taken on the family responsibilities, and she had indeed taken good care of me. But later I learned about Ryan’s existence. When she brought me lunch, she would first deliver a portion to Ryan. The things she bought for me, she would inflate the price, then use my money to buy something better for Ryan. As for going to the temple to pray for three months… I sneered inwardly, guessing that was probably when she had given birth to Ryan’s child. Unfortunately, in those years, I had been so busy trying to earn money to give her the luxurious life she wanted – the mansion, the expensive car – that I had left this opening for them to exploit. Ryan also tried to smooth things over for Ava: “Lucas, don’t let this come between us. I know you might be thinking about all the money you’ll have to spend in the future, so you’re feeling a bit stingy. It’s okay, I didn’t save Ava for money. Actually, I don’t need money…” He pretended to be generous. I knew he was trying to provoke me, but I didn’t fall for it. Instead, I turned to Ava and said, “See? He says he doesn’t need the money. Why are you insisting on giving it? Does it burn your hands?” Ava’s face turned blue with anger. Ryan also glared at me resentfully. Just then, a doctor came in, urging us to pay the continued hospitalization fees. Ava had actually met the standards for discharge, but she had been reluctant to leave. In my previous life, she had made me pay for two more months of hospitalization. It was a top-tier hospital with a private room. The room alone cost $1,000 a week. She had said she wanted a better treatment environment, and I had supported her, straining myself to earn money to give her the best. But later I realized she had stayed in the hospital just to make it easier to meet Ryan. Hearing about the hospital fees, they exchanged a glance. Ava coldly said to me, “Lucas, I don’t know why you’ve become so stingy, but we can’t delay the treatment. Aren’t you usually busy? Just transfer the hospital fees to my card, and I’ll pay it myself.” Asking for money so righteously? I laughed bitterly and asked the doctor, “I remember she’s met the discharge standards. Let’s cancel this room and discharge her today.” Ava’s eyes widened: “Lucas, are you trying to kill me? What if my legs get worse at home?” Before I could speak, the doctor said, “That won’t happen. The dangerous period has passed. Being at home now is the same as staying in the hospital.” Ava’s face turned ashen. Ryan was about to say something, but I spoke to Ava first: “I don’t have money for you to stay in the hospital anymore. If you insist on staying, either pay for it yourself or borrow from him.” I pointed at Ryan: “Didn’t he just say he has money?” Their faces looked as if they had eaten something bitter, but I didn’t pay them any more attention and turned to leave. I didn’t have time to argue with them. Right now, I urgently needed to get evidence that Ava’s car accident had nothing to do with me, as well as proof that they had been together for a long time. This would help me protect all my assets if we ever ended up in court. After working myself to death for so many years, the past was already gone. Now, even if Ava took a single cent, I would feel disgusted. After leaving the hospital, I immediately called a lawyer and asked him to investigate the accident car from when Ava was injured. In my previous life, I had noticed some suspicious details, but because I was busy taking care of Ava, it was a long time before I had someone investigate. By then, the car’s interior had been tampered with, and the dash cam was missing. After a car accident, this kind of situation was normal. Later, because I was busy earning money to cover Ava’s medical expenses, working three jobs a day, I simply didn’t have the energy to think about these things anymore. This time, Ryan hadn’t been discharged yet, so he shouldn’t have had time to destroy the evidence. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the lawyer called back. The accident scene hadn’t been disturbed. He had collected fingerprints and some hair and blood samples. Finally, he sent me the dash cam video. At the time of the accident, Ava was sitting in the passenger seat, anxiously asking Ryan, “I’ve already divorced Lucas. When are you planning to marry me?” Ryan was stunned for a moment, then carelessly said, “No rush. Let’s talk about this after you’ve transferred all the assets to your name. Otherwise, what if your husband finds out?” Ava looked at him anxiously: “But you always say that. I’ve given you a car, and I’ve given you all the savings Lucas entrusted to me for you to invest, which you lost completely. Every time you say you’ll marry me to thank me. You’re not… lying to me, are you? You do want to marry me, right?” “How could that be?” Ryan said, and as if to prove it, he leaned over to kiss Ava. With that one action, Ava’s doubts were dispelled. She giggled, “Watch the road.” “It’s fine, just for a second.” Hearing this, Ava relaxed and leaned in to meet him. Just then, a huge crash sounded, and the image flipped. At this moment, I also understood why Ava had divorced me so early but had delayed marrying Ryan. Ryan was clearly deceiving her, but she didn’t know. Or maybe she did know, but was willing to accept it. The lawyer added, “The DNA test will take some time, probably about three days before we get the results.” I nodded, about to hang up when I remembered something else: “Also, help me find a child.” By my calculations, their child should have been born by now, about 3 or 4 years old. For the past two years, every weekend, Ava would find various excuses to go out alone in her wheelchair, probably to see the child. I gave him the locations Ava frequently visited, then went to the hospital for a physical examination and froze all the assets under my name. In this life, everything was just beginning. My body hadn’t suffered from heart failure caused by working three jobs non-stop, and not too many assets had been transferred away. That night, for the first time, I “irresponsibly” went home alone. Perhaps sensing something was wrong, Ava called me, but I hung up when I saw the incoming call. Soon after, I saw a post she made on social media. It was a series of messages cursing me, ending with how she had sacrificed so much for me, but now that she was injured, I was abandoning her. To gain sympathy, she even posted the doctor’s diagnosis and a pitiful photo of herself in a wheelchair, looking haggard. But she hadn’t noticed that Ryan’s reflection was visible in the smooth metal armrest of the wheelchair. Perhaps to provoke me, in one of the photos, if you looked closely, you could see that Ryan was kissing her in the reflection. On one hand, she was asking me for money and cursing me, while on the other hand, she was giving her love and money to another man. Ava was playing everyone like a fiddle. The comments section was full of spectators, not one person noticing the cat’s paw in the picture. Everyone was comforting her, using the vilest words to curse me as a scumbag. I pretended not to see it and blocked Ava. The next two days passed as usual, but Ava seemed to have gone mad, cursing me every day. She even posted screenshots of me deleting her, accusing me of having a guilty conscience. Friends who didn’t know the whole story all spoke up for her, urging me to go back. I didn’t explain, just waited until the third day when the test results came out. To my pleasant surprise, the lawyer had also found their child. 0
Before I could go find Ava, on the third day, perhaps because she had run out of money for the hospital stay, or maybe because she realized something was wrong, Ava returned home early in the morning. Behind her were her angry parents, Robert and Linda, as well as my parents, John and Mary. Unlike Robert and Linda’s imperious attitude, my parents followed behind them looking somewhat guilty. “In-laws, judge for yourselves! Is this how he should treat my daughter?” Linda ranted. “What’s even more unbelievable is that he secretly divorced my daughter without telling her! He just dumped her unilaterally!” As soon as we met, Linda was spitting mad, her saliva flying. I realized what was happening and laughed bitterly. Ava had really turned things upside down. But the civil affairs bureau’s records weren’t open to the public, so they had no way of knowing the truth and could only listen to what Ava said. My parents, feeling guilty, let themselves be scolded. Finally, they said in a low voice, “We shouldn’t interfere in the children’s affairs, but since it’s come to this, we can compensate.” “Compensate?” Linda became even more worked up when she heard about compensation: “No matter how much you compensate, can you give my daughter back her legs?” I interrupted her: “Your daughter’s leg injury has nothing to do with me.” Hearing this, my parents hurriedly pulled me aside, advising me not to argue with them. Linda had a fiery temper and had given my parents a hard time over the years. Especially after learning that Ava’s legs were injured because of me, they would come to my mom every few days demanding compensation and money for nutritional supplements. My parents were afraid of upsetting me, so they never told me about this. I only found out by accident later. Seeing that Linda was about to flare up again, I took out the dash cam recording and test results and handed them over. After watching the video, Linda’s previously haughty face finally weakened, but she still angrily said, “How do I know you didn’t fake these?” “You can verify them,” I looked at Ava, whose face was pale with shock. “Or we can go to court.” “Forget it, let’s not air our dirty laundry in public,” Robert, who had been silent for a long time, said. “Both kids are at fault in this matter, but divorcing without a word is still wrong. Let’s discuss compensation.” My parents were about to speak, but I stopped them: “We won’t pay a single cent in compensation.” “What do you mean? My daughter was married to you for so many years, and this is how you treat her?” Linda shouted. I sneered: “I was married to your daughter for so many years and supported her all that time. Isn’t this how she treated me?” Linda’s face turned red: “Just based on one video, you can’t prove my daughter had an affair.” Seeing that I didn’t respond, Linda became annoyed. She stood up and went to open the door: “I’m not talking to this young punk anymore. Let the neighbors judge!” Her high-pitched voice had already attracted many neighbors who were waiting outside the door. Seeing her open it, they all looked a bit embarrassed. But Linda didn’t care. She recounted what had just happened, embellishing it along the way, glossing over the evidence with just a couple of sentences. The neighbors listened and tried to mediate, saying to me: “It’s really not that serious, it’s just a small matter. Ava surely still cares for you in her heart.” “Yeah, you’re husband and wife after all. It seems a bit much to leave her with nothing.” “…” Seeing me being criticized, my mom felt uncomfortable. She quickly stepped forward and took Linda’s hand: “In-law, let’s discuss this privately.” “Now you want to talk privately? Where were you earlier?” Linda suddenly pushed my mom. My mom wasn’t prepared and stumbled, almost falling. I hurried to support her. Just as I was about to get angry, a chubby little boy pushed through the crowd of onlookers and ran over. He hugged Ava’s legs in the wheelchair and shouted loudly: “Mommy, you haven’t come to see me in so long. I’m going to punish you by making you buy me a Transformer toy!”
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