Chapter 2

Vivian froze. I ignored her, casting a glance at Chase, who was standing nearby.

He brushed the dirt off his clothes and flashed me a wide grin. It looked like encouragement, but his eyes were filled with smug malice.

Vivian wanted to say more, but I didn't give her the chance. I climbed straight into the production crew's truck.

Under their watchful eyes, the truck drove off. I looked back at the airport one last time.

I wasn't looking at them. I was looking at civilization, wondering if I would ever make it back alive from that primal jungle.

This show was brutal. Cameras were pre-mounted all over the trees. Before entering, contestants had to sign a waiver stating that participation was voluntary and the show wasn't liable for any deaths.

My waiver had already been signed by Vivian.

Hearing this from the director, I wasn't even surprised. It seemed almost expected at this point.

When I arrived at Chase's campsite, my brows furrowed. I knew he was useless, but I hadn't realized he was this pathetic.

He hadn't even built a basic shelter before leaving. I had to start completely from scratch.

Soon, it was the fifth day. There was still no word from Vivian. It was as if she had completely wiped me from her memory.

I hadn't eaten in two days. In the beginning, I could forage for wild berries, but now there was nothing left.

I tried to catch fish in the river, but ran into a wild lynx that had come to drink. It mauled my arm, leaving a deep gash that exposed the bone.

In the sweltering heat, with insects everywhere and no antiseptic or medicine, the wound quickly became infected and started to rot.

The flesh around the cut turned black, and a raging fever from the infection had plagued me for three days.

Today was the fifth day. According to the rules, I was allowed a five-hour medical extraction back to civilization, during which my emergency contact would decide whether to pull me out of the game or send me back.

The fever made my head spin. Fortunately, my makeshift shelter was right under a camera.

The crew followed protocol and brought me out of the jungle.

As the medic treated my wound, the crew members' whispers drifted into my ears.

"I heard his wife sent him here. Their family doesn't look like they need the money, though?"

"Ha, let me tell you. There was another guy here first. His wife swapped him out to save the other dude!"

"Holy crap, seriously?"

"Oh, it gets better. His wife promised to call today to pull him out, but it's almost 3 PM and we haven't heard a peep. “

“He only has an hour of medical leave left. If she doesn't call, he has to go right back into the jungle."

The staff member gossiped eagerly. Every word hit me like a physical blow. The burning heat of my fever was instantly replaced by an icy chill in my chest.

With a final shred of hope, I turned on my phone.

There wasn't a single notification from Vivian. Not one text over the last five days.

Frowning, I opened Snapchat. My feed was flooded with photos of her and Chase.

One photo showed them under the Northern Lights in Norway. Another showed them on the snowy slopes of the Alps.

Looking at their radiant smiles, a wave of profound bitterness washed over me.

Those were the places I had always wanted to go. In our five years of marriage, Vivian had never taken me once.

And yet, in just five days, they had traveled to multiple countries, visiting places I had begged to see for five years.

I guess that was my true worth in Vivian's heart.

I had given her my absolute best for five years, but I still couldn't compare to Chase, who did nothing but take and take.

While I was fighting for my life against wild beasts, struggling to find a drop of clean water, Vivian was busy traveling the world with her lover without a single thought for me.

All her promises, all her vows—they were nothing but lies!

The only person she ever loved was Chase. And I was just a pawn she used to buy his freedom.

There were only five minutes left before I had to be sent back into the wild. Having completely given up on Vivian, I started asking the crew for survival tips.

Just then, my phone rang.

It was Vivian!

The dead embers in my chest flared up once more.

I rushed over, grabbed the phone, and answered with trembling hands.

I was holding my breath, my heart hammering against my ribs.

But a man's voice came through the line.

"Hello? Is this the production team?"