Chapter 1

New York-Presbyterian Hospital, general ward.

The moment I opened my eyes, my brows furrowed involuntarily.

The roof of this ward is terrible; I've never stayed in such a awful ward before.

"You're finally awake, Mr. Adrian."

A woman sat on a chair beside the hospital bed, dressed in ordinary business attire, her face showing exhaustion and impatience.

I turned my head and looked at her with a puzzled expression, asking, "Who are you?"

She glanced up at me while looking at her phone, her tone revealing obvious helplessness.

"I'm Amy, Ms. Selena's secretary . Please don't pretend you don't know me. " She rubbed her temples. "To be honest, I'm very tired right now, so can we get straight to the point?"

I don't know her at all.

I am Adrian Sterling, the sole heir to the Sterling family, one of Europe's top conglomerates—a title I know better than anyone.

How could someone whose secretary is either a graduate of a top university or a workplace elite know such an ordinary and tired secretary?

Also, why does the calendar show June 13, 2026?

This year is clearly 2021!

"Ms. Selena is currently attending an important business meeting and is unable to attend," Amy mechanically repeated, clearly having said these words many times before .

"She asked me to relay a few things so we could all go home and rest earlier."

Selena? I frowned.

The name sounds unfamiliar, but from the secretary's words, it seems that this person is very important to me?

"who is she?"

"Your wife," Amy said, flipping through the documents without looking up, "While I don't quite understand the emotional games you two play, I don't want to participate in this amnesia game ."

wife?!

I stared at her in shock.

Wife? When did I get married? The marriage alliance of the Sterling family was a big deal; it's impossible for me not to remember it.

"That's impossible, I don't have a wife."

Amy finally looked up at me, a hint of impatience flashing in her eyes . "Listen, Mr. Adrian, I don't know what kind of car accident amnesia trope you're trying to pull this time, but I've already worked three hours overtime today. Can you please stop this nonsense?"

"And these," Amy pulled a stack of papers from her bag and placed them unceremoniously on the bedside table, "your credit card statements and various outstanding balances. A total of $120,000. Ms. Selena has suspended your supplementary card and told me to tell you it's time to learn to be independent."

I stared at the stack of bills, completely stunned.

Credit card debt? Supplementary card?

I am the heir to the Sterling family, the controller of a European financial empire. How could I possibly owe a mere $120,000? And why would I need to use someone else's supplementary credit card?

This is definitely not right!

"One last thing," Amy glanced at her watch, clearly wanting to wrap things up quickly, "Mr. Lucas will be moving into your and Ms. Selena's apartment tonight. Regarding accommodations, you could consider a rental in Brooklyn."

A strange man wants to move into my apartment with my "wife"?

"Wait, who did you say Lucas is?"

"Ms. Selena's... friend." Amy 's tone had been perfunctory until she mentioned Lucas, at which point she seemed a little unnatural.

This is all so absurd!

I need to find out exactly what happened.

I picked up my phone from the bedside table and dialed the butler Sebastian's private line.

"Young Master?" A familiar, aged voice came from the other end of the phone, but with unexpected excitement in its tone. "You finally contacted me!"

Amy looked up in confusion when she heard the title "Young Master".

"Sebastian, I'm in a hospital in New York right now . I seem to have lost five years of memory because of a car accident! Tell me, why am I here? And when did I get married?"

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, then a sigh came through: "Young Master... perhaps I should congratulate you?"

" Five years ago, you fell in love with a woman named Selena Vanderbilt, so you severed ties with your family, concealed your identity, and married her..."

What? I voluntarily severed ties with my family? For a woman?

"Impossible! How could I do something so stupid?"

"Young Master, in these past five years... you've changed. You gave up everything for that woman, even... even let her train you into a lowly... lapdog."

A simp?

Me? The heir to the prestigious Sterling family?

The phone almost slipped from my hand.

Amy had completely stopped what she was doing and was staring at me in shock.

" Whatever happened before, I'm back now! " I said coldly into the phone , my voice carrying the characteristic authority of the Sterling family. "I'm reclaiming my place in the family and continuing the pioneering projects in New York! "

I only remember coming to New York five years ago to expand my family's new business, but I never imagined that when I woke up, five years would have passed and I would have become a woman's devoted husband!

"Understood, young master! According to family rules, the countdown to the lifting of the ban is set at 30 days. You need to build your own power and prove your eligibility to regain family power." Sebastian 's voice was filled with suppressed excitement.

The atmosphere in the entire ward changed instantly after I hung up the phone.

An invisible pressure emanated from me, the innate aura of authority inherent in the Sterling family bloodline. Amy instinctively sat up straight, her previous tired impatience completely vanished, replaced by an indescribable sense of tension.

"Now I finally understand." My voice was low and cold. "For the past five years, I've been played like an idiot by a woman."

I picked up a pen, quickly wrote a few lines on the back of the payment reminder, and then handed it to Amy.

"Take this to your mistress. Tell her the game is over."

Amy took the paper with trembling hands:

Unconditional Divorce Agreement

I, Adrian Sterling, agree to immediately dissolve my marriage with Selena Vanderbilt, leaving with nothing and asking for nothing in return.

Signature: Adrian Sterling

Amy stared at the contents of the paper, then at me, completely dumbfounded. Just moments before, she had been complaining about working overtime, but now she was facing a complete stranger—a superior exuding a dangerous aura.

"I...I'll contact Ms. Selena right away..." Her voice began to tremble.

"No need." I stood up from the hospital bed, put on my blood-stained trench coat, and said, " Time waits for no one. Take me directly to her."

The majesty inherent in the Sterling family bloodline has fully awakened; I am no longer the tamed sycophant.

Amy was completely intimidated by my imposing manner. She mechanically tidied up the files, then whispered, " Okay, okay... "

On the way , Amy stole a few glances at me through the rearview mirror , then mustered her courage and asked, "Are you really... from some old-money family?"

I didn't answer, I just quietly looked at my reflection in the mirror .

Although his face was pale, his eyes regained their usual coldness and authority.

Countdown: 29 days, 23 hours, and 42 minutes.

Within a month, the family business was fully expanded in New York.

The first step is to immediately divorce the woman who cheated on him!