Scarred for Love, Repaid with Betrayal

When I catch my wife, Megan Fisher, cheating with my best friend, my severe depression drives me to the rooftop. My best friend, Alan Smith, is so remorseful that he slashes his face with a knife and leaves the country. To put me at ease, Megan puts a tracking device on herself and hands over her phone whenever she comes home. Whenever she leaves the house, even if it's just for five minutes, she will video call me to tell me where she is. That goes on until Megan becomes pregnant for the second time. While I set up Megan's prenatal records at the hospital, I receive a video call from myself—ten years in the future. The man on the screen looks as gaunt as a ghost, making my heart tremble. "Is my illness still not cured yet?" His eyes turn red, and he flips the camera around. In the frame, Megan is standing behind Alan. She is looking at him with eyes that hold suppressed devotion. "You asked me to be a good wife, so I did. But I'll never have his child! That's his punishment for ruining your face." "Megan, have you lost your mind?" Alan yells at her, but tears are streaming down his face. My face turns pale, and my future self lets out an unhinged laugh. "Go ask the nurse and see for yourself just how big a fool you are." Just as he finishes, the nurse says in confusion, "Mr. Sullivan, the system shows that you're single. You said your wife's name is Megan Fisher. She registered here last year, and her husband is listed as Alan Smith." Chapter 1 Under the nurse's pitying gaze, I stumbled out of the hospital, clutching the fake marriage certificate in my hands. That's when I realized everything was fake. The breakup four years ago was fake. Our five-year marriage was fake too. In their love affair, I, the so-called husband, was the other man all along. Just as I was on the verge of breaking down, Megan's video call came through. She looked at me with deep affection through the screen. "Honey, I'm heading to the airport to pick up a high-maintenance client today. Just thinking about it gives me a headache. I wish I could come home and cuddle with you right now." She panned the camera around the car as she spoke. "There's no one else in the car. I'll come home to be with you once I settle the client." She moved the camera quickly, but I still caught a glimpse of what was in the passenger seat. It was the Patek Philippe watch I'd had my eye on at an auction preview, but a mysterious billionaire ended up outbidding me. It was a matching pair to the one on Megan's wrist. I wanted it, and Alan did too. Megan knew that. When she noticed where I was looking, she shifted slightly to block my view and casually pulled out a cheap red string bracelet. "Honey, I got a gift for you. I made it myself. It's very meaningful." Long after the call ended, my future self let out a bitter laugh. "The so-called client she's picking up is Alan, and that bracelet is just a free gift that came with a necklace purchase. "Henry, you're worthless." I couldn't find a single word to defend myself as a wave of nausea washed over me. The rain was pouring outside, but I walked slowly home down the street in the rain. The shopping district was named after me. It was Megan's wedding gift to me. She had recreated every landmark that held a special place in our memories along this street. The hospital behind me commemorated the day we met. When she was 12, she stabbed the director of our orphanage to death when he tried to assault me. She was beaten half to death. I carried her on my back and begged in front of the hospital until they agreed to treat her. The shopping mall on the left commemorated the day we fell in love. When she was 18, she worked three jobs a day just to pay for my tuition. She had worked so hard that her shoes wore out, but she refused to replace them. I secretly worked as a tutor for six months to buy her her first pair of high heels, and I finally built up the courage to confess my feelings. Her eyes lit up that day. However, she pushed me out of the door right away. "You idiot! I paid for your tuition so you don't end up rotting in the gutter with me. I'm stuck with the life I have, but you must live a better life." When I told her I wanted a family with her, she immediately opened the door and hugged me. "Fine. Be with me then. At least I'll never let you suffer." Yet, the woman who said she'd never let me suffer cheated on me with my best friend of ten years in the first year of our marriage. Just when I was almost ready to forgive her, I found out I wasn't even her legitimate husband, but just the other man all along. Then, Megan's second video call came in. The camera only pointed at her, and her eyes were filled with affection for me. "Honey, I'm going to be home late tonight. I'm just arranging a place for the client to stay. There's absolutely no other man here." However, I caught their intertwined fingers at the corner of the frame. I didn't even have the strength to question her anymore. I just nodded quietly. "It's fine. I trust you. You don't have to tell me all these things anymore." The smile on Megan's face froze. I hung up the phone without another word and told the driver, "I'm not going home. Take me to Oakridge Estates." That place was the home we designed together before we got married. It was also the place where I had fallen into depression and tried to kill myself after Megan had cheated on me and had our baby aborted. That was where my first child's ashes rested. Since his mother didn't love him, I was going to take him with me and leave. My future self heard me and sneered, "You really should go take a look. Otherwise, you'll never give up." Chapter 2 I stood in front of the familiar front door as memories from four years ago flashed back. It was supposed to be the day I accompanied her to her prenatal checkup. However, when I pushed open the master bedroom door, I found my best friend, Alan, on top of her, the two of them tangled together in bed. Our wedding photo sat on the nightstand, my happily smiling face smeared with filthy stains. As they thrashed around in bed, the frame fell onto the floor and shattered. Alan suddenly paused, staring at Megan's pregnant belly with a flash of concern in his eyes. "Henry is an orphan. He values you and the baby more than his own life. "When you were kidnapped by your enemies early in your pregnancy, he risked his life to save you. He was tortured in captivity and ended up with severe depression. "Do you really want me to keep going hard and make you lose the baby?" Megan looked at her pregnant belly, clearly annoyed. Then, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "If it's not your baby, I'm not having it. Henry trusts us a lot. I'll just tell him I had a bad fall, and he will believe me." Her words shattered my heart as the blood stained the sheets. On that day, I lost the three most important people in my life—my childhood sweetheart, a friend whom I saw as family, and the child I had been waiting for three years. That familiar sense of suffocation hit me again. My hand trembled uncontrollably as I entered the passcode. I entered my birthday. It was wrong. Then, I entered Megan's birthday. It was wrong again. I had one last try. My hands trembled as I entered Alan's birthday. The lock clicked open. I pushed the door open in a daze, but I froze the moment I saw the room. Megan had restored the house I destroyed during my breakdown four years ago. She took the floor plan I had spent six months designing for us and built a home for Alan. The wall where our wedding photo used to hang was now covered with Alan's pictures. There were pictures of him eating, sleeping, and cooking with his arm wrapped around Megan's waist. Every picture was filled with the tender love of the person who photographed it. I couldn't figure out how this happened. For the past four years, Megan had video-called me every time she went out. How had she managed to spend every day with Alan behind my back? My future self sneered from the other end of the call. "Four years ago, Megan didn't want you to be sad, so she moved the baby's ashes here. Then, she used visiting the baby as an excuse to build a home here with Alan. "Take a closer look at the pictures on the wall. The oldest ones are from ten years ago." I froze as I stared at one of the pictures. It was a picture of them kissing on my birthday ten years ago. That was when Megan and I made our relationship official. Around that same time, I saved Alan from nearly being beaten to death by his creditors. The two of them had ordered birthday cakes for me from the same bakery. As they were rushing back to surprise me, they got caught in a sudden downpour. That night, I ran all over the city with two umbrellas, looking for them in the heavy rain while they talked about everything—from life to dreams. That was when they slowly fell for each other. At that time, I was only worried about them catching a cold. I was too blind to notice the suppressed longing they held in their eyes for each other. So, it wasn't just four years. This love I thought could be mended had been rotten from the very start. My body felt cold. I was trembling. It was as if a hole had opened in my chest. I held my child's ashes close, unable to bear to stay in this house any longer. Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly heard voices coming from downstairs. Pauline Jones was among them—a friend I'd grown up with in the orphanage for 20 years, and who had been a mutual friend to Megan and me for ten. She stood beside Alan, who was holding a baby, and showered the baby with well-wishes. Even though Megan was smiling, she kept glancing at her phone. Alan pursed his lips and wrapped his arm around her. "Megan, we're legally married and have a child together now. Why don't we just come clean with Henry? That fool has been kept in the dark for ten years. I feel bad for him." "Telling him the truth is basically pushing him over the edge. He already tried to end his life four years ago," Megan said firmly, though the grip on her phone tightened. "Besides, the fake marriage is enough to keep him satisfied. So, there's no need to tell him." Her dismissive words felt like a slap across my face. I walked out in a daze, my voice hoarse. "There's no need to make things so complicated. I'm done being your husband." Chapter 3 The room fell silent. Everyone who had been cooing over the baby went quiet when they saw the tiny urn in my arms. Megan's eyes widened. She forced a smile. "Henry, it's not what you think." She quickly handed the baby to Alan and rushed toward me. "Honey, that is Alan's baby he had with another woman while he was overseas. The mother didn't want anything to do with the baby, so I'm just helping out." Just as she finished speaking, the baby in Alan's arms started wailing at the top of his lungs until his face turned purple. Megan immediately called for the family doctor, her hands trembling with panic. The doctor examined the baby thoroughly, but he found nothing wrong. With tears welling in his eyes, Alan pointed at the urn in my arms. "Megan, could it be because of that thing?" he shouted. "Hurry, get rid of it! If Bruce keeps crying like this, he could die!" Megan's face darkened. She walked toward me. "Henry, give me the urn." I held the urn protectively against my chest and stared at her in disbelief. "Megan, this is your child, too! This is the only thing he left behind in this world!" Megan was stunned for a moment. As she was about to speak, the baby started crying again. "Megan, Bruce is struggling to breathe! "Henry, I know you hate me, but my child is innocent!" Alan dropped to his knees, clung to my leg, and begged. However, under the guise of begging, he dug his fingernails into my flesh. The pain threw me off guard. While I was distracted, Pauline snatched the urn from me and threw it out the window. The urn shattered into pieces. I ran outside like a madman. It was pouring outside. A handful of what remained of my child's ashes was washed into the mud. Seeing me completely break down, Megan seemed to finally realize what she had done and rushed over to hug me. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Henry, I'm sorry! I was just panicking!" Alan's eyes were red-rimmed. "Henry, I was afraid something would happen to Bruce. I didn't know that those were the ashes of your child with Megan." Pauline, the woman I'd always considered family, stood beside Alan and turned on me. "Henry, how long are you going to pull these crazy stunts just to make Megan come back to you? "Four years ago, you threatened to kill yourself. And now, you showed up at Bruce's birthday party with an urn and caused a scene. We're all so sick of all your stunts!" So, to them, each time I called for help while on the verge of breaking down was nothing more than another scheme. They were the people who mattered the most to me, yet they turned a blind eye to my suffering and helped Megan keep me in the dark for ten years. In that instant, the depression I spent four years treating had been undone. I grabbed the fruit knife from the table and drove it toward myself. "Henry, what are you doing?" Megan cared so much about Alan that she didn't even see where my knife was pointed. She kicked me so hard, sending me flying. The pain made me instinctively call out to them for help. However, Pauline looked at me with disgust and shouted, "Hold him down! Don't let him hurt Alan!" The people around immediately pinned me to the muddy ground. As I slipped into unconsciousness, I caught a glimpse of the wariness in everyone's eyes. Back then, Pauline held a knife to Megan and made her come back to me when I found out she had cheated on me. Yet, today, still shaken by what had just happened, she said, "Megan, if I'd known Henry would go this far and try to kill someone, we should've let him die with the baby in that house four years ago." This time, Megan didn't say a word. Neither did anyone else. Their silence made me realize that not a single person I loved wanted me to live. Chapter 4 When I woke up in the hospital, Megan was holding my hand tightly. She had aborted our baby. "Henry, I was told our baby would cause problems for Bruce. So, I had an abortion." She looked at me apologetically. I broke down and yanked my hand away. "Megan, how could you? The baby was already seven months along! His hands and feet were already formed. The doctor said he was perfectly healthy!" I screamed at her. Megan's eyes flickered. She let me rage as she slowly injected a sedative into me. "Henry, you're emotionally unstable right now. Just sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up." When I woke up again, Alan and Pauline were by my side. Pauline saw the hollow look in my eyes and sighed. "Henry, do you think your child is the only one suffering? "Ten years ago, on your birthday, Megan was already pregnant with Alan's child. "They registered their marriage the very next day. But Alan felt he owed you his life, so he begged Megan to have an abortion." Alan's eyes turned red, pooling with tears. Pauline looked at him with sympathy, then turned to me and said, "Henry, if you hadn't threatened to kill yourself all these years, Alan wouldn't have had to sit by and watch you take his place as Megan's husband for ten whole years. "He was never the other man. You were." I stared blankly at the ceiling, laughing through my tears. I finally knew why everyone kept me in the dark. To them, I was the one who had forced this relationship from the start. I was the shameless intruder who invaded their happy relationship. Yet, none of them ever tried to tell me the truth. They just stood by and watched me sink into depression after catching Megan cheating, letting me slash myself all over until my whole body was covered in deep, bone-exposing gashes. When Alan saw me breaking down, he leaned in closer with a smile. "Actually, you didn't have to go through that torture and captivity four years ago. But I suddenly passed out from heatstroke," he whispered. "Megan was rushing to take me to the doctor, and she forgot to call the police or send anyone to rescue you. When she finally remembered you, you were half-dead." My eyes widened in shock. I grabbed his arms so tightly that my nails dug into his flesh. "Alan, what did you say?" He pried my fingers away, still smiling. "What's wrong? Can't take it? "I was the one who arranged your kidnapping four years ago. I arranged your vasectomy too. You'll never be able to have children for the rest of your life. "As for the baby that you lost, you'll never ever hear that child call you 'Dad.'" I totally lost it. I grabbed Alan by the hair and slammed his head against the wall. "You bastard! Go to hell!" Alan's blood splattered across the room as he screamed in pain. Pauline screamed for Megan in panic. Megan rushed in and hurled me violently into the corner. The next second, I heard the crack of my own bones. "Henry is insane! He attacked Alan out of nowhere!" Pauline shrieked. "Megan, you can't keep enabling him! Send him to the mental hospital now." For four years, Megan never gave up on me and kept taking me to see a therapist. She would even fight anyone who called me crazy. Now, she called the mental hospital without a single second of hesitation. She didn't even notice I was barely clinging to life on the floor. All she was concerned about was Alan. I dragged myself with all the strength I had left. "Do you know what people go through at the mental hospital?" I asked Pauline and Megan. "Electric shocks. Beatings. Fighting dogs for food," Pauline sneered. "But you deserve it." It turned out they knew what I would suffer if they put me in the mental hospital. However, to protect Alan from getting hurt, they would rather destroy my life. Megan wrapped her arms around Alan, who was trembling. I saw hatred in her eyes. "Pauline is right. Four years ago, I shouldn't have stopped you when you tried to jump off that building." That night, after they left, memories flashed through my mind. The last image that flashed through my mind was Megan walking away. The last flickering flame of hope inside me died out as I lay on the hospital bed. In the dark, I flicked on the lighter and tossed it toward the curtain. As the fire swallowed the room, I heard the nurse shouting in panic, "Ms. Fisher, the room is on fire! Mr. Sullivan is still inside."