Chapter 1After My Diagnosis, My Cruel Wife Went Crazy

For three years, my wife, Seraphina, pretended to be paralyzed, confined to a wheelchair.

The night the yacht caught fire, a burning beam came crashing down, shattering my leg. I screamed her name, a raw, desperate plea for help.

She watched me from her wheelchair, her expression a cold, distant mask.

"You’re too far," she said, her voice devoid of emotion. "I can’t get to you. You’ll have to crawl."

But a moment later, her childhood sweetheart, Flynn, lost his footing and plunged into the sea.

In a flash, Seraphina was on her feet. She shot up from her chair, sprinting to the edge of the deck with an agility I hadn't seen in years and diving headfirst into the black, churning water.

Trapped by the flames, my leg was burned beyond recognition. My mind was starved of oxygen, leaving me with the intellect of a six-year-old, forever.

Three years later, after a frantic, world-spanning search, Seraphina found me again. I was on a street corner, begging for scraps.

She fell to her knees before me, her eyes bloodshot and brimming with tears.

"To hide from me, you let yourself fall this far? Asher, was it worth it?"

I tilted my head, studying the strange woman. I reached into my pocket, pulled out a piece of candy, and offered it to her.

"Ma'am, your legs are fine. Why are you kneeling like me?" I asked. "Are you trying to learn how to beg? I only have one piece of candy left. You can have it."

* * *

Seraphina didn't take my candy.

"Asher, how long are you going to keep up this act?" she demanded, her voice sharp and loud.

I flinched, instinctively clutching the battered bowl in my lap. There were a few coins inside—enough for tonight's dinner. I couldn't let her take it.

My silence only seemed to fuel her anger. She grabbed my arm, her grip like a vise.

"Ow! You're mean! Stop hurting me!"

I burst into tears, the pain sharp and sudden. But even as I cried, my other hand held tight to the single piece of candy. Lily had given it to me this morning as a reward for not wetting the bed last night.

The word "ma'am" seemed to curdle her expression. "Playing the fool!"

She sneered, her eyes fixing on my clenched fist. She must have thought I was hiding something valuable. She pried my fingers open, one by one.

Lying in my palm was a single hard candy, slightly melted and flecked with dust.

Seraphina froze for a second, then a wave of profound disgust washed over her face. "You're doing all this... for this?"

She snatched the candy from my hand and threw it to the ground. Her stiletto heel ground it into the pavement, once, twice.

"No!" I shrieked. That was my candy.

A surge of strength I didn't know I possessed coursed through me. I tore free from her grasp and fell to my knees on the sidewalk. I scrambled, my fingers frantically scraping at the sugary dust trapped in the cracks.

It was so dirty.

But it was so sweet.

I shoved the mixture of dirt, grit, and candy dust into my mouth, tears and snot streaming down my face.

"Sweet... it's sweet..."

A crowd was gathering, some people filming with their phones. My actions seemed to enrage Seraphina even more. She grabbed the collar of my shirt and hauled me to my feet, dangling me like a stray cat.

"Asher! Have you no shame? Are you even a man anymore?!"

I ignored her, my tear-filled eyes fixed on the sugary smear on the ground.

"Give it back... Ma'am, give me back my candy..."

Seraphina's jaw was clenched tight. She dragged me across the sidewalk and shoved me into a sleek, black luxury car parked at the curb. I banged on the window, watching my little bowl, abandoned and alone on the pavement.

"Money! My money!" I cried out. "Lily will go hungry!"

Seraphina locked the doors and ordered the driver to go. She turned to me, her eyes burning with a hatred so intense it felt like a physical blow.

"It would be for the best if that little stray starved to death," she hissed. "Asher, since you love acting so much, I'm taking you back to the one place you tried so desperately to escape. You can perform there until you drop dead."