Chapter 1

I became a vegetable for my wife Tessa.

But the day I regained consciousness, I heard her talking to another man beside my bed. .

They were breathing heavily and there were ambiguous sounds of clothes rubbing against each other.

"You are so brave to be intimate with me next to your unconscious husband?"

I opened my eyes slightly and saw my wife's hands deftly unbuckling the man's belt.

"Don't you think it's more exciting in front of him?"

I lay motionless on the bed, my mind was blank.

Because I recognized the man.

My brother, Bonnie.

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After a while, there were more distinct, damp sounds next to me, and I could even smell the odor filling the room.

I tried not to think about what it was.

I don’t know how long it took, but it finally stopped.

A man got up and said in a haughty, satisfied voice:

"That's awesome, I love you so much."

"But Tessa, when are you going to divorce my useless, crippled brother?"

Someone looked in my direction.

Under the blankets, I clutched the sheets tightly and used all my willpower to stop myself from shaking.

"He's just a patient in a vegetative state, perhaps one day when they remove his oxygen supply, he'll pass away.

"For now, I haven't conceived yet. Once I do, we can send him away then."

It was a voice that I was extremely familiar with, but it carried with it a venom and indifference that emanated from its bones, a venom that I had never seriously noticed.

My stomach twisted violently and an intense, indescribable nausea came over me.

My whole body was shaking, and I wanted several times to stand up desperately, rush over and strangle them both.

But I simply can't do it.

My body hadn't moved for three months and had become stiff, and I couldn't even get up.

Bonnie laughed:

"How can you really have the heart to kill him?"

There is something behind his words.

"Women are all vicious. You won't treat me like this in the future, will you?"

Tessa's charming voice rang out:

"What are you talking about? Can you be the same as him?"

"He is your brother. He is older than you and will age before you."

"I might get old, ugly, and penniless someday. I don't want to serve a loser."

"Besides, I'm not in good health, and I might not even live longer than you. By then, you'll be young and strong, and I'll be old and ugly. Will you dump me and find a younger girl right away?"

The two laughed together and then tangled together again.

"It's boring to play at home, it's more exciting to go out..."

Tessa's coquettish voice sounded.

"Let's go to the hot spring hotel. I haven't been there for a long time."

Bonnie: "I can't do anything about you."

The door closed and the room fell silent.

I listened to the sound of doors closing and footsteps fading away outside, and the devastation I felt inside was beyond words.

How could they get together!

Bonnie is my adopted brother.

Because I didn’t like studying, I didn’t continue my studies after graduating from high school and spent all day playing games at home.

I urged him to study abroad several times, but he insisted on staying in the country, saying that he didn't want to leave me and Tessa.

So, that's what he meant.

I thought back to previous times when my friends had hesitated over what to say.

They said they seemed to have seen Tessa in and out of the hotel with some man, but they didn't think of Bonnie at all.

I also foolishly wondered if Tessa had been set up by one of my business rivals.

How ridiculous!

They didn't come back yet.

I stayed awake until dawn, then fell into a drowsy sleep.

When I woke up the next day, my face was as pale as a ghost, which scared the nurse who came in to change the saline bottle.

She quickly ran out to call for help.

Then a group of medical professionals rushed in and surrounded me, performing various tests.

They were all surprised that I regained consciousness so quickly.

But my body is still very weak and I need to continue resting.

I was sent back to a solitary ward to rest. I vaguely heard two young nurses whispering at the door.

"Rich people, how much true love can there be? It's just for money."

"But I heard that she still comes to visit every few days, and she insists on preserving her husband's sperm. Why is that?"

"Maybe she's afraid that her husband will die and she won't be able to inherit the property, so she wants to leave a child behind."

"Come to think of it, didn't you hear the sound of water in his room last night? Could it be that she really tried hard all night to wake him up?"

"Don't talk nonsense, how can this be possible?"

The two nurses burst into laughter.

I was in the ward, afraid of being discovered.

After they finally finished talking and came to my bed, I pretended to have just woken up and said weakly that I wanted to bask in the sun.

I pictured Tessa walking into the hotel with Bonnie by her arm, and I pictured her lying next to my brother.

I guess she thinks I'm still lying unconscious in bed?

I imagined Tessa's shocked face when she found out I woke up. Her expression would be amazing.

Tessa didn't show up until noon.

I squinted my eyes and pretended to doze off. She tiptoed to the bed and leaned over as if to hug me.

I suddenly reached out, pinched her chin, pushed her away, and stared at her.

She looked like a demon fished out of hell, so haggard and vulnerable.

“You’re awake!”

Her eyes widened in disbelief and her voice trembled.

"Where have you been?"

I looked at her expressionlessly, as if I was looking at a lump of mud.

Tessa's expression wavered for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure.

She raised the thermos in her hand:

"I made you some soup, dear."

As she spoke, she pressed the button on the bedside, asking the nurse to come in as a witness.

As soon as the nurse came in, she raised the thermos bottle enthusiastically and said:

"When I heard that he woke up in the morning, I hurried home to make soup for him. It's still hot. Please bring him a bowl and I'll feed him."

Tessa was thoughtful as always, but I saw through her game.

As she spoke, she was about to touch my hand.

I pulled my hand away immediately.

Her hand froze in mid-air, and a hint of annoyance flashed in her eyes.

"Tessa, where's Bonnie?"

I asked calmly.

"Bonnie? How do I know where he is? He's not my friend, why are you asking him?"

Tessa's face darkened instantly.

She suddenly lost her temper and slammed the thermos onto the bedside table.

"It's my fault. I shouldn't have gone home to prepare soup in the morning. I should have just lied down next to you until you woke up like others said!"

"You are satisfied now, right?"

She stared at me and roared hysterically.