Unworthy

The night deepened.

It was shockingly cold all year around in Mapleley.

A military jeep just began treading the snow-covered road, leaving a trail of white billows in its wake. The young man in the back seat rubbed his tired, slightly red eyes.

A little ways behind the jeep was a military base with a dense mass of uniformed soldiers gathered at the gates.

At this moment, they all saluted with moist eyes at the fading jeep.

"Thank you for your service, God of War!"

"Thank you for your service, God of War!"

All the soldiers shouted in unison, and the frigid air carried their voices into the night.

A burly man named Vincent Wagner was driving the military jeep, and he glanced at his passenger through the rearview mirror. He cleared his throat and reluctantly asked, "Is this really it for you, General? Are you really leaving the service?"

The man to whom he was speaking was Ryder Valdez. He was a young man who had only been in the army for five years but had already made great contributions.

At the age of twenty-seven, he managed to become the youngest General to ever guard Mapleley.

After rising to the rank of General, he had led his men into countless battles and won, earning himself the title God of War.

"Now that we're unconquerable in Mapleley, who will dare pick a fight with us?"

After saying that, Ryder took out a photo.

In the photo, he was next to a woman with fine features. She looked like she was in her early twenties, and she had long hair, which was tied in a ponytail. Her eyes were bright, her nose was straight, and her mouth was plump. She was even lovelier than those female stars.

However, in the photo, she didn't look happy.

"I wonder how you're doing now, Zoey," Ryder murmured, staring at the woman in the photo.

It was the only picture he had gotten with her. A happy smile soon curled his lips as memories flooded his mind.

Five years ago, Zoey Swain, who just started her senior year in college, founded Sanhoy Group and then went on to become one of the most well-known successful businesswomen in Linbourne.

Unfortunately, at the critical moment of Sanhoy Group's development, she had been set up. She was drugged, and slept with one of her company's security guards.

And that lucky security guard was Ryder.

"Linbourne's Prominent Woman Allegedly Involved with a Security Guard!"

Before Ryder and Zoey could even make it out of the hotel, the news had already spread like wildfire. The media went on a frenzy, and Zoey's reputation went down in flames.

Overnight, Zoey went from being a formidable entrepreneur to being a woman who had a one-night stand with a security guard.

And along with her name, the market value of Sanhoy Group plummeted.

In order to perform damage control, the Swain family searched for and found Ryder and convinced him to marry Zoey.

The news of the two's nuptials quickly gripped all of Linbourne. For a while, it was all everybody could talk about, but at the same time, the Swain family had become a joke.

However, not long after their wedding, Ryder left secretly and went on his own way, hoping to make himself worthy of Zoey.

Over the past five years, he had made Zoey his inspiration. Whenever he thought about giving up, he just pictured her perfect face, and then he was ready to give his all again. Zoey was the reason he had reached the peak of glory.

However, Ryder also felt debilitating guilt when he thought of her.

Three days later, an airliner landed at the Linbourne International Airport.

"Finally, I'm back."

Ryder deplaned and, for the first time in five years, set foot in Linbourne. He couldn't help putting on a bright smile.

"Mommy! Mommy, where are you?"

At the airport's arrivals area, Ryder heard a little girl crying. For some reason, he felt his heart crack a little.

"General..."

Before Vincent could continue, Ryder interrupted him. "We're no longer in Mapleley, Vincent, and I'm no longer General. Put away the title."

Looking at Ryder's serious face, Vincent trembled slightly and muttered tentatively, "Ryder?"