Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

”Are you satisfied with that answer?” Darius asked, his voice returning to that measured tone.

”Yes.” Soren gave a nod. ”I now understand why you went through all that trouble to find someone as ordinary as me. You just wanted Ethea to experience a normal life for once.”

He paused, letting the silence stretch for a beat before his gaze sharpened and fixed on the older man.

”But even with that ’perfect’ explanation, there are still too many things that do not make sense,” Soren continued, his voice steady despite the underlying tension. ”You implied you wanted to keep her safe, yet that contradicts what has actually happened. I am certain you are already well aware, but there was an assassination attempt on our very wedding day. And then there was the incident yesterday. She has nearly died twice since we married.”

Soren leaned forward slightly, refusing to back down from the unreadable eyes staring back at him.

”If you truly orchestrated everything down to the smallest detail, then why did those things happen?”

Darius remained quiet, his gaze shifting briefly toward Ethea’s sleeping form before returning to Soren, his silence speaking volumes.

Soren watched him closely, a sudden realization clicking into place.

”It has something to do with the ones after Ethea, right?” He asked out loud, his voice dropping to a lower register.

Darius gave a slow nod.

That single confirmation was all Soren needed to see the larger picture.

The lack of protection, the wedding day ambush, and the chaos yesterday were not security failures at all. It was all a calculated risk in his father-in-law’s grand game. Darius had allowed those terrifying situations to play out on purpose because it served his agenda.

Soren squinted slightly, studying the man’s stoic face as a cold clarity settled over him.

’I think I get it now,’ he thought. ’He doesn’t care about anyone outside his immediate circle.’

If Darius possessed even a shred of empathy for outsiders, he would have factored in the collateral damage. He would have considered the innocent bystanders who got caught up in yesterday’s chaos, the people who were injured, those who died, and even Soren himself. To a man playing a high-stakes board game, everyone else was just an acceptable sacrifice.

’He’s not that different from them.’

But why risk Ethea at all? Soren’s mind raced, hitting upon a darker, more precise conclusion. Darius must have known their enemies wanted her alive. He had purposely used his own daughter as bait, confident she would survive the encounters, all to draw his targets out into the open.

It was a ruthless strategy, and if Ethea was the primary lure, then he... he had been chosen only to serve as the disposable buffer between her and the blades. Darius was fishing for sharks, and Soren was nothing more than the weight holding the line down.

’...’

Knowing he was just a piece of lead on a hook only proved one thing. He was playing a game where the rules, the stakes, and the ultimate goal were completely hidden from him.

Suppressing the chill that ran through him, Soren forced his voice to remain level.

”And... you can’t tell me anything about it?”

”Unfortunately, no,” Darius replied, his voice tinged with a rare note of grim finality. ”In your current position, knowing too much about them is dangerous. Especially for you.”

Soren didn’t push past that boundary, recognizing the genuine warning in the man’s tone. Instead, he pivoted to the more pressing concern. ”Then, do you at least know who they are? Can you tell me that much?”

”I... don’t know about them either,” Darius admitted, a trace of frustration breaking through his calm facade. ”But I am working on it.”

Soren kept his expression entirely neutral, but inside, his mind was racing.

’So I was right. He’s really ’hunting’ the enemies like that.’

He then thought about asking about the Zero Circle, but he quickly decided against it since he had promised President Craig and Sir Hector to keep it a secret.

’Wait...’

Soren paused, suddenly recalling something.

’I see... That’s why the President and Sir Hector were urging me to come back here.’

They already knew Darius was here, so they had deliberately sent him back, perhaps even expecting a similar situation. But if so...

’Does he know about our situation too?’

Soren’s eyes flicked to the older man as he considered his next move. He debated whether to ask his father-in-law for help in securing a new, safe place, but the idea vanished as quickly as it came. Because in a game where everyone else was an acceptable sacrifice, stepping willingly into a cage built by the architect himself was too great a risk. In fact, Darius might already have predicted it and been waiting for it.

’I should just discuss it with Ethea later,’ Soren thought, looking down at her briefly. ’She should have a say in this, and she might know more about her father’s tendencies than I do.’

Before the silence could stretch any further, Darius shifted, his gaze glancing toward the hospital room door. The cold aura vanished in an instant, replaced by that familiar, impeccably tailored, friendly expression.

”Unfortunately, our conversation will have to be cut short,” he said, his tone perfectly light and cordial once more. ”It seems you will be having some company.”

Soren had also sensed the approaching presences just outside the room, and he quickly corrected his expression, wiping away any trace of tension.

”Let’s continue this later,” Darius added, standing up smoothly. ”I will make a visit to an old friend in the meantime.”

Without another word, his mysterious father-in-law disappeared from the room, leaving no trace of his presence.

A moment later, a polite knock sounded.

”Come in,” Soren called out.

The door opened, and two familiar figures stepped into the room.

”Ryan. Ms. Seria,” Soren greeted them, nodding as they walked in.

”Mr. Soren,” Seria said, stepping into the room with a polite smile.

”Brother Soren!” Ryan added, his smile widening as he followed close behind.

The two greeted him back warmly, their gazes naturally falling upon him first before shifting over to check on the sleeping Ethea. Finally, their eyes landed on the mountain of items piled high on the nearby table.

Ryan blinked, staring in disbelief at the sheer volume, while Seria looked equally taken aback.

Soren followed their gaze to the table and felt a minor headache coming on.

’...I forgot about that.’