You Humiliated Me, I Left No Trace

Chapter 1

In the west wing guest room of the Sterling estate, the food on the table had long gone cold.

Adrian lifted his eyes to Robin, his longtime assistant. "Do you think Lila will come tonight?" His voice was a thread, fragile and barely carrying across the silence.

Robin shifted his weight, searching for comfort where there was none. "Mr. Sheldon... just give it a little longer. She might still come."

Adrian gave a faint nod and lapsed into silence.

It was the fifteenth of the month—a mandatory arrangement dictated by the Sterling family. No matter how much Lila despised him, marriage obliged her to share a meal with him on this single day. But ever since she had moved Dorian Lennox into the main villa six months ago, she hadn't set foot in Adrian's quarters for two full months.

A sharp tightness seized his lungs. Adrian leaned forward, unable to stifle a dry, hacking cough.

Footsteps echoed from the hallway outside—measured, unhurried.

Lila stepped through the doorway, statuesque in a deep crimson evening gown. Out of sheer habit, Adrian pushed himself up from his chair, his tone laced with the quiet deference beat into him over four years of marriage. "Lila."

She crossed her arms, her gaze lingering on his hollow cheeks and pale lips. A faint crease appeared between her brows. "Are you sick?"

For a breathless second, Adrian's chest tighted with a foolish, desperate spark of hope.

Then her cold voice snuffed it out entirely.

"Dorian's immune system is fragile," Lila said, her tone flat. "He can't risk catching anything. If you're sick, stay away from him. If you infect him, I won't forgive you."

Bitterness flooded his mouth, choking the air from his lungs.

Adrian closed his eyes, swallowing the metallic taste rising in his throat. He forced his head high, clinging to whatever pride he had left. "The doctor was here two days ago, Lila. It's terminal. I don't have much time."

Lila didn't flinch. She simply arched a dark brow, her expression hardening into irritation.

"My grandfather has completely stepped down," Adrian continued, his voice raw. "He's out of the picture. I'm only asking for one thing... for the sake of the four years we've spent together. Stop targeting my brother-in-law, Victor."

He had stripped himself bare—stating the tragic fact of his imminent death, lowering himself before the woman he had loved his entire life, begging for a single drop of mercy.

The only response was a dry, mocking laugh.

"Fabricating a terminal illness just to get me to lay off the Sheldons?" Lila sneered.

Adrian froze. Every drop of blood seemed to drain from his face as he met her eyes, seeing the naked contempt burning within them.

"Listen to me carefully, Adrian Sheldon," she said, stepping closer. "If your grandfather hadn't used his influence back then to drive Dorian out of the city—to back him into a corner—I would never have married you. Everything your family is suffering now is what you brought upon yourselves. It's retribution. You deserve every bit of it."

Years of buried agony shattered his composure. Adrian's eyes burned red, tears threatening to spill.

They had been promised to each other since childhood. Everyone used to say they were a match made in heaven. But four years ago, Lila fell for Dorian Lennox—a nobody who had appeared out of nowhere. She had publicly broken their engagement, turning Adrian into the laughingstock of high society overnight. Once the proud heir of the Sheldon family, he had lost everything to a ghost.

Furious and heartbroken, Adrian's aging grandfather had forced Dorian out of the city and coerced Lila into honoring the original marriage contract. That was how this hollow marriage was born.

No one could have predicted that Old Mr. Sterling would pass away two years later, leaving Lila in total command of the Sterling Group. Her first act as CEO was to launch a ruthless campaign against the Sheldon family, dismantling their empire piece by piece.

Watching the grief raging in his eyes, Lila felt no pity—only deepened disgust.

"Remember your place," she said coldly. "You're nothing more than a kept husband. Stop crawling around trying to save the Sheldons. Watching you cling to life like a desperate stray is revolting."

She turned on her heel and swept out of the room.

The heavy door shut, leaving behind a suffocating chill. Adrian stood paralyzed, every limb growing numb. The vast room felt terrifyingly empty, silent save for the draft rattling the windowpane. Another fit of coughing tore through his chest, sharp enough to bring him to his knees.

"Mr. Sheldon!" Robin rushed forward, but froze the moment he reached him.

The back of Adrian's hand, pressed tightly against his mouth, was smeared with dark, fresh blood—bright and damning.

Half a month later, Adrian returned to the old Sheldon estate.

Where high-society guests had once lined the driveway, the estate now stood frozen in decay—bleak, silent, its former glory reduced to peeling paint and rusted gates. Adrian stared up at the faded family crest mounted above the doors, an aching weight settling in his chest.

"Adrian? Why are you standing outside?"

He turned quickly, wiping away every trace of weakness. "Celia."

Their parents had died young, leaving his elder sister, Celia, to raise him alone. They had weathered every storm together; no bond ran deeper.

Celia took his hand, pulling him into the courtyard. Her voice trembled with concern. "You've lost so much weight. Is it really that unbearable living in that house?"

Adrian's throat tightened, but he forced a reassuring smile. "It's just the summer heat. My appetite's been off."

Celia squeezed his hand. She knew he was lying, but she didn't push.

Inside, Harold's face lit up the moment he saw his grandson. For the first time in months, the three of them sat down for a quiet family dinner. But as Adrian passed a dish, the sleeve of Celia's blouse shifted, revealing faint, dark bruises along her wrist.

Adrian's heart plummeted.

Once their grandfather had finished eating and retired to his room, Adrian pulled Celia aside. "Celia," he whispered, "is Victor hurting you again?"

Celia stared at the floor, exhaustion etched deep into her features. After a long pause, she gave a faint nod. "Don't worry. I'm pregnant now. He won't push it too far. I'll be fine."

The words hit Adrian like a physical blow. His eyes dropped to her flat stomach, a mixture of shock and heartache paralyzing him.

Celia took his hand, her voice suddenly fierce with resolve. "Adrian, all I want is to let Grandpa live out his remaining years in peace. As for Lila... if you can't take it anymore, if it's killing you, just come home. I'll protect you, no matter what it takes."

"Celia..."

The fierce, unconditional warmth of his family cracked the last of his armor. Tears finally spilled over. Like a wounded child, Adrian leaned his head against his sister's shoulder, clinging desperately to the last sanctuary he had left in this world.

At dusk, Adrian pulled himself together and returned to the Sterling villa alone. Passing through the central gardens, he froze.

In the soft twilight, Lila stood among the blooming flower beds. With incredible tenderness, she was tucking a white jasmine blossom behind Dorian's ear.

The breeze carried the sweet scent of flowers, creating a picture so romantic it cut Adrian like a blade.

He stood pinned to the stone path, coldness seeping into his bones.

After what felt like an eternity, he forced his feet forward, walking toward the woman he had spent his life loving—and who had broken him beyond repair.

The moment Lila noticed him, the tenderness on her face vanished, replaced by a mask of frost. "What do you want?"

It felt as though the wind was blowing straight through a hollow cavity in his chest.

Adrian took a trembling step back. Meeting her freezing stare, he sank to his knees on the hard stone path. Lowering his head until his forehead brushed the cold ground, he surrendered every last scrap of his pride.

"I'm begging you," he rasped, his voice scraping against the dirt. "Show mercy. Let Victor go. Just say the word... and I will pay whatever price you ask."

Silence stretched across the garden.

Then, Lila's detached voice drifted down to him. "Any price? Even divorcing me and walking away with nothing?"