Chapter 1

The police in Jevokia worked fast.

Just as I had stepped out of the graduation venue, an officer stopped me. I had to show them my marriage certificate and explain the situation before they finally let me go.

The moment they left, I received a text message from my wife, Rachel Carter.

"There's a reason I acted that way earlier, Sam. Please don't overthink it. Just head back home and wait for me there, okay? I'll explain everything when I get back."

I stared at the text message on my phone. For the first time, I abruptly realized that I didn't want to wait.

Shortly after Rachel and I got together, she told me she wanted to continue her education. To give her and her family a better life, I decided to work overseas with a few of my college friends.

During my time abroad, I lived frugally and sent nearly all of my earnings back home to Rachel in hopes of making her life easier.

Last year, I caught up with the AI boom at just the right time.

I developed several hit products, and my net worth skyrocketed almost overnight. Then, I seized the opportunity and founded my own company.

In just one year, my company grew at an incredible pace and quickly established itself as one of the industry's biggest rising stars.

Initially, I had planned to relocate the company to Jekovia so I could finally settle down and build a life with Rachel.

I'd prepared for every possible setback and come up with the best possible solution for each one. But to my dismay, the one variable I failed to account for was my own wife.

I was just about to take a taxi home when my phone started to ring. It was my good friend, Liam Sawyer.

"Your flight has already landed, right? Come on over to our usual spot. We're throwing you a welcome-home party," he said.

After hanging up, I took a taxi straight to Alley Bar.

By the time I arrived, Liam and the rest of our friends had already been waiting for some time.

The moment Liam saw me, his face lit up.

"There he is!" he exclaimed excitedly. "He's back at last. Come on—have a seat."

As soon as I sat down, I grabbed a drink and downed it in one big gulp.

"What's wrong?" Liam asked. "You just got back, and you're already in a bad mood?"

Then, he added jokingly, "Are you starting to feel lonely because you've been single for too long?"

His comment caught me off guard. I couldn't help but flash him a blank look as I tried to make sense of what he'd just said.

"What do you mean 'single'? Don't you know that I've been married for years?" I asked, puzzled.

"Didn't you get a divorce? When my wife was giving birth two years ago, Rachel was in the bed right next to hers. She's the one who told me about your divorce."