Her Betrayal Broke More Than Bones

On the day of the World Racing Championship, my race car spins out of control and plunges off a cliff. I use every ounce of my strength to call my wife, Giselle Stewart, for help, but she chooses to ignore me. All I hear through my headset is her icy voice. "I told you that you'd regret this, Craig Dorsey." She then turns her back to me, walking away to celebrate her "nephew", Dennis Turner, who wins the championship in the end. Meanwhile, I plummet down the cliff, shatter my spine, and am left paralyzed from the waist down. I'm then reduced to a wretched existence in a wheelchair. Six years later, Giselle finds me just as debt collectors are pinning me to the ground and beating me into a pulp. Her eyes well up with tears. "I spent six years searching for you everywhere! Why didn't you come home if you were alive?" I don't answer her. The truth is that every last bit of love I had for her vanishes completely on that day. Chapter 1 I wiped away the blood from the wounds on my face. Then, I hoisted myself back into my wheelchair with my hands. Giselle Stewart's gaze was fixed intently on my legs. There was a grim expression on her face. "What kind of stunt are you pulling now, Craig Dorsey?" she snapped. "You vanished into this air for nearly six years, only to turn yourself into a wretched mess like this?" The wounds on my body made even breathing painful. The thugs from the debt collectors had no intention of letting me off easy, and they rapped the thick steel pipes in their hands, rapping them sharply against my wheelchair. Then, they turned their aggression toward Giselle. "And who the hell are you? I'm warning you to stay the hell out of this, bitch." Giselle shot them a cold, dismissive glance, and her bodyguards immediately closed in around them. The thugs' next cuss words died in their throats at once. They weren't interested in getting involved in more trouble, so they just spat in my direction with dark, sullen expressions on their faces. "Consider yourself lucky this time, brat! If you don't pay up next time, I'm going to make sure you won't even be able to get up from bed next time!" Then, they sauntered off and disappeared, leaving only me and Giselle behind. I sat in my wheelchair, silently wiping the red paint off the rolling shutter doors of my tiny workshop. Giselle looked around. This cramped auto-repair workshop was my only source of income. The pungent smell of motor oil made her stop in her tracks outside the entrance. "Do you owe people money?" Her sudden question made my fingers clench tightly. I replied in a cold, distant voice, "That's none of your business." Just as the tension hung heavy in the air, a cheerful voice approached. "Aunt Gigi? What happened…" Dennis Turner caught sight of me at once. His eyes widened in shock and astonishment. "Uncle Craig! It really is you! Where have you been all these years? Aunt Gigi and I have been looking for you everywhere!" Even if he referred to me as his uncle, I still saw him inching closer to Giselle, reaching out and holding her hand, interlacing their fingers together at times and hooking her pinky with hers at times. The couple rings on their fingers shone brilliantly whenever they caught the light. Giselle ruffled his hair in a helpless manner before turning her attention to me. "Come home with me, Craig. You don't even know how much trouble you've caused for me over the past six years because of your disappearance. "It was just a championship. What's the point of you throwing such a huge tantrum with me like this just out of spite?" I looked down at my legs and felt a sense of helplessness. To Giselle, it was nothing but a championship race, but to me, it was something that completely ruined my life. "I don't have anything to do with you anymore," I said. "I have a home now. I don't need to go back with you anymore." I then pulled down the roller shutters, shutting her out. She looked like there was still something she wanted to say to me, but Dennis pulled her back. "It'll be fine, Aunt Gigi. Uncle Craig's just doing this to spite us. He'll come back to us after he's finally thought things through." The roller shutters completely rolled all the way down. I also ignored the voices that I could still hear outside as I turned my wheelchair around to pick up the tools on the ground. The motorcycle that I'd been working on earlier was still leaking motor fluid. My glove rubbed against a wound that hadn't yet scabbed over, sending sharp stabs of pain through my hand. Suddenly, my phone chimed with a text message from an unsaved number. "Dennis runs his own racing team now. I'm giving you a chance to be in charge of vehicle maintenance for his team. "I'll clear your debts as long as you're willing to accept him." Even though the sender didn't say who they were, I knew the message had to be from Giselle. Nobody else would speak in a tone like that. I felt a sudden urge to laugh. Yet, a bitter sense of resentment and frustration welled up in my heart. Giselle still didn't realize it yet, but she could no longer afford to repay me with the thing I truly wanted from her. Chapter 2 I left the repair shop and wheeled myself home. My rental wasn't far from where I worked. It was a tiny place, less than 100 square feet, and it was incredibly cramped for two people to live together in it. And because of my paralyzed legs, it was always a struggle for me to get through the front door. The dim, yellow light flickered on, dazzling me momentarily. My tattered racing suit hanging on the wall seemed to mock me every time I looked at it. I touched my legs, and still, I couldn't feel a thing. Six years ago, I had been a high-spirited race car driver. I had won countless awards, and every club was vying to sign me on. However, on the day of the World Racing Championship, Giselle came to me and asked me to throw the race. "This is a crucial opportunity for Deniis. You've already got so many accolades. Can't you just let him have this one?" I had been smoking at that time. The swirling smoke made it hard for me to read her expression. In our five years of marriage, Dennis had always come between Giselle and me. I didn't answer Giselle's question but instead followed up with a question of my own. "You're only thinking about Dennis. Have you stopped to consider what would happen to me if the truth about me throwing the race were to come out?" I watched as her face darkened, and a sharp, stinging pain spread through my chest. "Who is Dennis to you anyway? Why are you always so protective of him?" Giselle pursed her lips and said impatiently, "I told you that he's the only family I have left! Isn't it a given that I just want to treat him well? "What about you? We've been married for five years, and you still refuse to accept him. How many times do I have to tell you that he's just my—" "Just your nephew," I said, cutting her off in a trembling voice. "A nephew with no blood relation whatsoever to you. "Giselle, do you seriously think that I'm stupid? You stayed up all night by his side when he was sick. You even stole a kiss from his lips while he was asleep. Did you think I never knew about it?" Her expression grew darker with every word I said. Her lips trembled, but ultimately, she had no comeback for anything I said. "You disgust me." Giselle and I got into a heated argument after that. As I was leaving, she spoke to me in a sinister tone, "You'll regret this, Craig Dorsey." I ignored her and pulled away even more from her. I would never throw a race for anybody's sake. However, I never expected what would happen next. On the day of the race, while taking a sharp corner, my handbrake failed. I lost control and plunged off a cliff. I had been a professional racer for years, and I immediately knew it was a mechanical failure. My heart sank. So, this was what Giselle meant when she threatened me that day. My survival instinct drove me to call out to her for help, but she deliberately ignored me and instead celebrated Dennis' win as he claimed the championship that should have been mine. As for me, I was left half-dead in this wretched state. A sudden, searing pain shot through my entire body. I braced myself as I collapsed onto the floor, gritting my teeth as I crawled toward the medication on the table. I quickly poured out a handful of the pills and swallowed them dry. As the tablets slid down my throat, the bitter taste barely managed to bring me back to my senses. I was lucky that I survived, but I was left permanently disabled. I sighed and tossed the ratty racing suit into the corner of the closet. Six years had passed since then, and Dennis was no longer the rookie he used to be. His posters were everywhere on the streets, and everyone always hailed him as a genius all-kill racer. However, none of that had anything to do with me. The dim screen of my phone lit up again with another text message from Giselle. This time, it was just an address. "This is the address. You can come over anytime." At the same time, I got another call from a debt collector. My meager income was nowhere near enough to pay off the massive debt I owed them. I clenched my fists and remained silent for a long time. Ultimately, I tapped out a reply on the keyboard and sent it out. "Fine." Chapter 3 This was the first time I set foot on a racetrack in the past six years. Dennis knew I was coming. He was already waiting for me with a huge crowd of people behind him. The moment they caught sight of me, they sized me up and laughed out loud, asking, "Why didn't you just get yourself a decent mechanic, Dennis? "Our cars are really expensive. If he scratches or dents one, he can't possibly afford to cover any of the damages." I was used to hearing such insults, so I paid them no heed. However, Dennis draped his arm over my shoulder in a familiar manner and said, "This is my Uncle Craig, so watch what you say. He's the man who once conquered 'Death Curve' in the past." His sudden closeness to me made my stomach churn. "It's been a long time since we raced, Uncle Craig," he said. "Wanna race me right now? No matter if you win or lose, I'll pay you triple the usual rate." His gaze fell on my battered toolbox in my hand, and he flashed an inscrutable smile at me. "I bet the payout beats being a mechanic." I tightened my hold on the toolbox and pushed him away. "Which car needs fixing?" Dennis was stunned for a moment. However, he burst out laughing right after, and the rest of the crowd laughed along with him. "He chickened out! Hah!" "Come on, Dennis, how do you expect a crippled guy like him to drive? You're making it seem like we're the ones bullying him now." "Conquered the 'Death Curve,' you said? He's lucky to even be alive!" "I heard that he flew right off the cliff in the race six years ago. There was no stopping him." They kept insulting me one after another, and each word pierced into my heart like a sharp blade. But there was nothing I could do about it. I took a deep breath and looked Dennis in the eye. "If there's no car to fix, I'm leaving." I didn't want to waste any more time on him. It had been a mistake agreeing to Giselle's request to come back to the racetrack. Just as I turned to leave, Dennis grabbed the handles on my wheelchair and pinned me in place. He then leaned in and lowered his voice, speaking in a voice that only the two of us could hear. "I know what you're most afraid of. You think that the people you cherish the most will be gone the moment you die, don't you? "I know you have a new family now, Craig. Would you like me… to destroy them too?" He stopped acting gentle with me as his facial expression turned vicious. I grabbed him by the collar with all of my might, my face deathly pale. Then, all the six years of my rage and resentment erupted at that moment. Why did he get to live on unscathed in this world while I wasn't even allowed to hold onto the last shred of my own happiness? I raised my hand and punched him hard in the face. A sharp thud rang out, sounding like that of bone fracturing. The rest of the crowd, who had been buzzing with chatter earlier, stopped and gasped in shock. Dennis had been knocked to the ground by my punch. He clutched his cheek and howled aloud in pain. My chest heaved violently as I gasped for breath. But before I could catch my breath, a searing pain shot through my chest, and I was kicked out of my wheelchair onto the ground. Chapter 4 I clutched my chest as the taste of blood filled my mouth. Giselle's face was cold as she dug the heel of her stilettos firmly into the back of my palm. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Craig? Who gave you the right to lay a hand on Dennis? "If I hadn't arrived when I did, you'd have already beaten him to death! Do you even realize what you just did?" The excruciating pain made me break out in a cold sweat. When Dennis saw that Giselle was here, he immediately put on a pitiful, aggrieved expression and exclaimed, "Aunt Gigi! Please don't blame Uncle Craig for this! I just asked to compete against him to settle the regret from six years ago! "So what if his leg is broken? He used to be so incredible. His broken leg shouldn't even have affected anything about his performance. "I only had his best interests at heart, but he reacted as though he wanted to kill me!" I lay sprawled on the ground, unable to move. I looked up and glared at him with seething resentment. "You wanted to compete against me? You people were the ones who reduced me to this state six years ago! And now, you want me dead? "I don't even have anything to do with you anymore! Why won't you just let me go?" Giselle dug her heels harder into my hand, and the sound of bones shattering was sickeningly clear. I bit down hard on my lower lip as drops of blood fell from my mouth to the floor. Giselle stared down at me condescendingly just like she did in the past. "Craig, I spent every day in the past six years looking for you when you went missing. I never believed that you were dead. "And my request to you was simple. I only asked you to accept Dennis. Why is it so hard for you to do that? All he did was ask to race against you. What's the matter with that?" Giselle's shameless words made me laugh in sheer disbelief. She knew fully well that I was completely paralyzed from the waist down and could barely even manage the simplest daily tasks, and yet, she still insisted that I satisfied Dennis' demands to race him. "On what grounds?" I gritted. "He's a world champion now. He could race against anyone. Why must he race against me?" That question grated harshly on Dennis' ears. The world champion title should have been mine, after all. A dark look immediately appeared in his eyes as he grabbed Giselle's hand, speaking in a trembling voice, "Aunt Gigi was the one who raised me. I just wanted to be your family too, Uncle Craig. But why do you keep picking on me like this?" His words made Giselle feel sorry for him. She then turned to look at me with anger, disappointment, and helpless resignation in her eyes. She let go of my hand and took a step back. Then, she told her bodyguards to grab me and lift me from the wheelchair. I had a horrible feeling about this. I glared at her with shaky eyes and yelled, "What are you trying to do, Giselle Stewart?" She shifted her gaze and said with an unperturbed expression, "I've already paid off your debts. I've also transferred a sum of money to your account to ensure you'll never want anything anymore after this. "Once this is over, I'll bring you home, and we can remarry." She then waved her hand at her bodyguards, and they dragged me away before stuffing me into an autonomous race car, locking the seatbelt firmly in place. Dennis grinned as he engaged the throttle for me, and the car shot forward at once at excessive speed. If anyone tried to turn at this pace, there was a very high risk of flipping. My face went deathly pale. I tried to hit the brakes, but my legs were completely numb and refused to move. The loud screaming, cheering, and jeering outside the car sounded like just a buzz in my ears as they were swallowed by the rushing wind. Suddenly, the sound of a part falling off made my heart lurch. It felt just like that accident from six years ago. The next turn was a very steep bend, and it was clear that Dennis had rigged this car up. I had no control over the vehicle whatsoever. A wave of dizziness made my vision turn black. The car flipped violently. My world spun, and flames immediately burst forth. I struggled desperately to undo the seatbelt around me, but it was locked tight and refused to budge. "Save him! What are you useless idiots standing around like that for? Save him!" Giselle's heart-wrenching cry sounded from across the arena as I slammed my hands urgently against the side of the car door, completely trapped. There was nothing I could do aside from watch helplessly as the flames raged on. I didn't know how much time passed. It was long enough for me to think that I was on the verge of death. Suddenly, I heard Giselle's shaky voice in my ears. "Craig. Craig! Stay awake with me! Don't go to sleep! You'll be fine, I promise!" Her voice sounded farther and farther away from me. I ended up being rushed to the ER. "This patient needs surgery immediately. Which one of you is his family member? Come here and sign the waiver forms at once!" Giselle instinctively grabbed the pen to sign the documents. However, I stubbornly held on to the last of my consciousness and grabbed the doctor's arm. "Not her…" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I heard a familiar voice drifting into my ears. "I'll sign it. I'm his wife." Giselle's face immediately turned pale as she turned around in shock.