Chapter 1 : No Rest for the Wicked

At 2 a.m., lightning and heavy rain covered the entire city. A black, unmarked car drove into Spark City Cemetery and stopped in a large open area.

The car door opened, and a young man, bound and gagged, was kicked out of the car, landing heavily on the ground.

Two burly men got out of the car next, dragging the mud-covered young man and forcing him to kneel in front of a recently erected tombstone.

The next second, the young man''s head was yanked back by his hair, but it wasn''t the two burly men who did it. It was a man who had just stepped out of the car, holding an umbrella. The man was dressed in a black suit, with a white rose pinned to his chest. His usually gentle face was now filled with malice, and his bloodshot eyes were full of deep-seated hatred.

He ripped off the black cloth covering the young man''s eyes, savoring the look of shock and disbelief on his face. A bloodthirsty smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Adrian Mellon?"

"Yes, it''s me. Surprised?"

Brandon Ford stared in disbelief at the man in front of him—his legal partner. He never imagined that the person who had kidnapped him from the hospital and brought him here was his own lover.

The rain was heavy, the thunder loud, and Brandon, still recovering from a severe car accident, felt like his whole body was falling apart. He wanted to laugh but ended up choking on the rainwater that filled his mouth. "Why?"

"Because..." Adrian''s grip on Brandon''s hair tightened, causing Brandon to grunt in pain. "I like Christian Phipps, but he likes you."

Adrian''s fingers traced down Brandon''s delicate, handsome face like a venomous snake, sending chills down his spine.

"Do you know why I never touched you all this time we''ve been married?" Adrian threw Brandon to the ground and stomped on his face. "I knew him first. If it weren''t for you suddenly showing up, he would have loved me. You ruined everything!"

Brandon''s ears rang from the stomp, but he had no strength to resist and could only lie there, being trampled. Every nerve in his body screamed in pain, but he couldn''t tell if it was physical or emotional.

What shocked Brandon the most were Adrian''s words.

Christian liked him?

Brandon had never known. To him, Christian was someone who excelled in every way, making him feel inferior, envious, and jealous. And Adrian married him because of this...

"If I can''t have him, no one can!" Adrian''s vicious voice pulled Brandon back to reality. "So what if he loves you? He still had to watch you marry me!"

"Adrian, you''re insane!" Brandon couldn''t hold back any longer. "I must have been blind to fall in love with a lunatic like you!"

"Yes, I''m insane. I went crazy the moment he left me to go find you when I was cornered by a gang and called him for help!"

"You''ll never understand my pain." Adrian lifted Brandon and slammed him against the tombstone. "I love him, but I hate him even more! But no matter how much I hate him, I never wanted him dead! If it weren''t for you, he wouldn''t have had that car accident! Now that he''s dead, you don''t deserve to live either."

Adrian took one last look at Christian''s black-and-white photo on the tombstone and stepped back coldly.

The two burly men understood and began to beat Brandon mercilessly.

Bound and unable to fight back or escape, Brandon could only roll in the mud like a dying dog, blood pouring from his mouth, washed away by the relentless rain.

Before this, Brandon had thought his marriage to Adrian might end in failure, but he never imagined that their two-year marriage was nothing but an absurd, grotesque joke from start to finish!

"Don''t let him die here. I don''t want his blood to dirty Christian''s grave. Take him to the car and dump him in the river."

As his consciousness faded, Brandon vaguely heard Adrian''s words. Strangely, he felt a sense of peace. There is no greater sorrow than a heart that has died.

When he was lifted up, Brandon struggled to open his eyes to catch a glimpse of the photo on the tombstone, but all he saw was darkness.

Suddenly, Brandon remembered the moment of the car accident. Christian had swerved the car and then threw himself over Brandon to protect him. The memory, filled with blood, played back in his mind like a movie reel. He realized that Christian had occupied most of his short life, always looking at him with complex yet gentle eyes, which he had never understood before.

In the enclosed car, he passed out, and finally, he could see clearly.

Brandon slumped in the driver''s seat, watching the car, now driverless, crash through the guardrail. There was no panic, only a calmness before death. The colors of the world turned gray, just like the photo on the tombstone.

His lips moved weakly, "I''m sorry..."

Boom—

The car exploded as it hit the water. The flash of fire passed by him, and Brandon lost consciousness before he could feel any pain, falling into endless darkness.

"Quick! Someone fell into the water!"

"I''ll take him to the hospital!"

The chaotic sounds of footsteps, breathing, and engines filled the air, making Brandon frown.

So noisy...

Why is it so noisy?

Aren''t I dead?

He wanted to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as lead, refusing to obey. The smell of disinfectant filled his nose, and he lost consciousness again.

When Brandon woke up, he was lying in a hospital bed.

In a daze, he thought he had been saved until he saw Christian walk through the door. Then he realized something was wrong.

Christian, wasn''t he already dead?

Brandon stared at him in shock, trying to speak, but no sound came out. To make sure Christian wasn''t a ghost, he looked at his feet.

Not floating...

Christian isn''t dead!

Wait...

Brandon''s shock quickly turned into realization. This scene felt familiar, like it had happened before.

When...

Oh, he remembered. Once, his nephew had insisted on going to the swimming pool with his friends. Brandon had followed to keep an eye on them. A child had sneaked into the deep end and started drowning. Brandon had tried to save him but got a cramp and nearly drowned himself. Christian had saved him then.

But that was before Brandon married Adrian.

So what''s happening now?

How...

Brandon was confused, something flashed in his mind. He wondered if this was a memory flashback before death. He pinched his thigh, felt the pain, and confirmed his thought.

He had been reborn.

Christian walked closer and saw that Brandon was awake, staring at him with wide eyes. He smiled.

"You''re awake?" He touched Brandon''s forehead and asked with concern, "The fever''s finally gone. Are you still feeling unwell?"