Your Dead Husband Is Happily Married

Ten years of marriage ended the day my seven-year-old daughter’s body was cremated. That was the same day I saw my wife holding the man she’d always truly loved in her arms, whispering soft, sweet reassurances, begging him to eat just one more bite of dinner. I finally understood then that the man enshrined in her heart had never been me. "Host, your mission to devotedly protect the female lead is near completion. Would you like to depart this world?" I didn't hesitate for a single second. "Yes." I turned my back on everything. What I didn't expect was a catastrophic glitch in the system. I didn't just leave; my original reality merged directly into this one. When I saw Giselle again, I was a completely different person. Yet she recognized me. She grabbed my wrist, her eyes bloodshot, weeping as she refused to let me go. "Why did you abandon me? Was everything between us a lie?" "I can't live without you. I love you!" … 1. The day our daughter’s small body was reduced to ash was also the day Giselle won the National Fashion Design Championship. She knew how fragile I was. She had made a rare promise: she would come home after the ceremony and share a quiet dinner with me to say goodbye to our little girl. I waited. I sat at the kitchen table as the twilight bled into total darkness, watching the food go cold, watching the sun begin to creep over the horizon again. Her shadow never appeared. Driven by an ache I couldn't contain, I rushed to the grand hall where the awards gala was held. The moment I stepped out of the stairwell, I froze. In the dim, quiet corridor ahead, two bodies were wrapped around each other. Giselle was gently massaging Ted’s hand, her voice laced with a tender devotion I hadn't heard in years. "You silly boy. If you don't eat properly, how will you have the strength to walk as my showstopper tonight?" Ted leaned his head against her chest, rubbing softly against her collarbone. "I just wanted to look perfect for you tonight, Giselle. This... this might be our very last collaboration..." Giselle’s eyebrows knitted together in immediate protest. "Don't speak such nonsense. As long as I'm alive, my grand finale model will always be you. Only you." My fingers tightened around the paper bag in my hand until the handles cut into my palm. It was true, wasn't it? They were the golden pair, the match made in heaven, perfectly aligned even in their artistic souls. It was no wonder millions of fans on the internet rooted for them to end up together. There was even a phrase trending online: "The most romantic thing in the world is that her final bow always belongs to him." Netizens had unearthed their years-long love story, obsessing over an old photograph of them smiling at each other beneath a blooming cherry blossom tree. It was a beautiful story. Except everyone had forgotten one minor detail. Me. Giselle’s husband of ten years. In the shadows of the hallway, Ted’s eyes flickered with a calculating light. Their hot breath mingled in the narrow space between them. His face drifted closer to hers, their lips nearly brushing— Then, with a sudden, melancholic sigh, Ted gently pushed her back. "You're just trying to make me feel better... I know Jesse has always hated me. Sooner or later, you'll pull away from me because of him..." At the mention of my name, the softness vanished from Giselle’s face. She took a step back, her expression souring. "Why should his opinion matter? You will always be number one in my heart. Don't waste your time worrying about him." She paused, letting out a heavy, dismissive breath. "You know I can barely stand the sight of him. Years ago, when you vanished without a word, I only accepted his proposal out of spite. A pathetic puppy like him could never have won me over if you hadn't left." My heart went completely numb. Right. If my opinion had ever mattered, she would be standing beside me right now, helping me scatter our daughter's ashes. She wouldn't be standing in a backstage corridor, bribing another man to take a bite of his meal. A decade of my life, spent devoted to a woman who viewed me as nothing more than an instrument of revenge against the man who had abandoned her. I turned to walk away. Suddenly, a cold, synthetic chime rang directly inside my mind: [Host, your mission is complete. Would you like to depart this world?] How could I have forgotten? I didn't belong to this universe. I had been brought here for one purpose: to protect Giselle, to ensure her rise to glory. And now, the only real bond we had ever shared—our daughter—was gone. What reason did I have to stay? I closed my eyes, letting out a quiet, shuddering breath. When I opened them again, my resolve was absolute. "Take me away." If there was nothing left for me here, then Giselle... we will never see each other again. 2. I sat on the couch until 3:00 AM, waiting until the front door finally clicked open and Giselle stumbled in, reeking of expensive scotch. She seemed startled to see me sitting in the dark. A flicker of guilt crossed her face, but it was instantly replaced by irritation. She unzipped her leather handbag, pulled out a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills, and tossed it straight at my face. "Don't give me that corpse-face the second I walk through the door," she snapped. "Cheer up a little. It's not like I don't give you money to spend." The paper cash scraped against the bridge of my nose. It hurt, but I didn't reach up to touch it. I just lifted my head slowly and looked at her. "Giselle. Do you even know what day today was?" She stiffened. An unmistakable flash of remorse passed through her eyes, but her impatience burned it away almost immediately. "How many damn times are you going to throw this in my face?!" she shouted, her voice shrill in the quiet apartment. "Do you think I'm not heartbroken that our daughter is gone?! But Jesse, life goes on! She's dead, but we still have to live! Do you expect me to spend the rest of my life locked in a cage of guilt?!" Something inside me snapped. I slammed my hands onto the coffee table, sending glass coasters and vases crashing to the hardwood floor. "You "should" feel guilty!" I roared, my voice breaking. "If you hadn't left her alone on the beach while you were off flirting with Ted, she wouldn't have drowned!" Giselle’s face paled, her jaw twitching violently before a wave of pure rage overtook her. Fueled by the alcohol, she stepped forward and slapped me across the face. "PA!" "Enough!" she screamed. "So what if I made a mistake?! I brought her into this world! I gave her life! Even if I lost her by accident, neither of you has the right to judge me! Without me, she wouldn't have even existed!" The echo of her voice died down, leaving the apartment in dead silence. The wall clock ticked loudly—sec by sec. We stood there, staring at each other across the wreckage of the broken glass, neither of us willing to back down. After what felt like an eternity, a bitter laugh escaped my throat. "I used to think that even if you despised me, you at least loved our child," I whispered, looking at her like she was a stranger. "Now I realize... you don't have a heart at all." Giselle trembled with rage, opening her mouth to hurl another insult, but I cut her off. "Why did you even come back tonight?" The question reminded her of her original purpose. She straightened her blazer, letting out a cold scoff. "I came back to tell you to stop targeting Ted. Don't think I didn't know about the dirty little tricks you used against him in the past. I only kept quiet for the sake of our daughter. Now that she's gone, I suggest you know your place and stay away from him." I stared at her, and then, uncontrollably, I began to laugh. She looked at me as if I had lost my mind. "What the hell is so funny?" I laughed until tears streamed down my cheeks, until my stomach cramped and my face burned. When I finally stopped, I wiped my eyes and looked at her. "Giselle... do you even remember the vows you made to me when we first met?" 3. When the system first dropped me into this unfamiliar world, I was terrified. I had no friends, no family, no history. Everything I had ever known had been erased, leaving me as a phantom wandering a world that wasn't mine. The only thing that kept me sane was Giselle. I still remembered the first day I met her. She was wearing a simple white dress, walking down a narrow, rain-slicked alley where I was huddled, quietly sobbing. She had knelt beside me, offering a sweet, bright smile. "Hey. I've been looking for you. Why are you crying all by yourself?" Back then, even though I knew she was my 'mission target,' I was too consumed by grief to respond. I just kept weeping. She didn't get angry. She just sat down on the damp pavement right next to me, waiting patiently until I ran out of tears, before handing me a clean tissue. "Can you tell me what's wrong now?" she had asked softly. "I want to go home," I had whimpered. "I miss my mom and dad..." In this world, my assigned identity was an orphan. Naturally, she assumed I was crying over my lost family. Her smile faded into a look of deep, tender sympathy. She wrapped a small hand around my shoulder. "It's okay," she whispered. "Even if you don't have a home anymore, I'll be your family from now on. I'll stay by your side forever." That day, I walked out of the alley holding her hand, believing every word. Later, I learned that her lifelong dream was to become a high-fashion designer. The trouble was, she lacked true talent. Her sketches were derivative, messy, and constantly rejected by fashion houses. I couldn't bear to watch her crush her own spirit, so I began quietly drawing concepts for her, submitting them under her name. Those designs blew the fashion industry away. Overnight, she became the hailed prodigy of the design world. The day she accepted my proposal, it felt like a dream. I genuinely believed I was the luckiest man alive. But on our wedding day, everything shattered. Ted, looking pale and unkempt, barged into the venue. He dropped to his knees in the middle of the aisle, crying, begging her to forgive him for running away years ago. Giselle threw her bridal bouquet straight at his face, screaming at him to get out. But the moment Ted turned to walk away, her composure crumbled completely. She broke down in tears and threw herself into his arms right in front of all our guests. That was the day my dream ended. From then on, they were inseparable. She made him her exclusive runway star. Every major show she hosted ended with Ted holding her hand at the center of the stage. The media dubbed them star-crossed lovers. Paparazzi caught them staggering out of late-night lounges, locked in passionate, messy embraces. I tried to confront her. I fought, I pleaded, I demanded respect. But all I ever received was her growing indifference, until eventually, she stopped coming home altogether. The only comfort I had left was our daughter, Sadie. Whenever Giselle and I had a screaming match, Sadie would gently tug on my sleeve with her tiny hand. "Daddy, don't be sad. I'll stay with you forever." And now... I didn't even have her. Seeing the hollow look in my eyes, Giselle shifted uncomfortably, unable to meet my gaze. "As long as you behave yourself and stop bothering Ted, you can keep living your comfortable, wealthy life as my husband." "My comfortable, wealthy life?" She seemed to have completely forgotten that every single iconic garment that built her empire had been sketched, stroke by stroke, by my hands. Without me, who would even remember the name Giselle? Taking my silence for compliance, she turned toward the bedroom to change her clothes, preparing to go out again. As I watched her silhouette, I couldn't stop the words from slipping out: "Are you really leaving again tonight? Can't you just stay... just for one night?" I didn't want her love anymore. I just needed someone—anyone—who shared the memory of our daughter to sit in the quiet with me on the night of her cremation. I thought she might show a sliver of humanity. Instead, she paused at the door, turned her head, and sneered. "Psychopath." "SLAM." The heavy mahogany door shut in my face. I stood alone in the empty, silent house, staring at the blank walls. 4. The day before my scheduled departure from this world, I received a phone call from Ted. He wanted to meet at a glass-walled coffee shop downtown. I knew it was a trap, but I went anyway. It was time to close every chapter. He was already sitting at a corner table when I walked in, a smirk playing on his lips. "I thought you'd keep playing the coward. Surprised you actually showed up. Quite brave of you." Sadie’s death had drained every ounce of fight out of me. I sat down, my voice flat. "What do you want?" Ted scoffed at my lifeless tone. He pulled a thick document from his briefcase and slid it across the table. "Sign it. It's a divorce agreement. Your marriage is dead anyway. There's no point in clinging to Giselle like a parasite—she stopped loving you years ago." He leaned forward, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Did you know? She told me that just looking at your face makes her feel sick." "How could I not know?" I had heard far worse from her own mouth. During our worst arguments, she had thrown heavy crystal ash trays at my head, leaving me bleeding on the floor. Fortunately, it was all coming to an end. I picked up the pen, flipped to the final page, and signed my name without a second of hesitation. I slid the papers back to him. "Is that all?" Ted stared at the signed document, utterly stunned. He had clearly prepared for a long, dramatic confrontation, and my immediate surrender left him entirely off-balance. "What kind of game are you playing?!" he spat, leaning over the table. "I'm telling you, no matter what scheme you're cooking up, Giselle will never want you back!" I didn't answer. I stood up, preparing to leave. Suddenly, the ground beneath us jolted violently. A deafening roar echoed through the air as the floor lurched. The massive glass windows of the coffee shop shattered instantly. Concrete debris fell from the high ceilings. "Earthquake! Get out!" someone screamed. Panic erupted instantly. The crowd surged toward the exit, pushing and shoving. I stumbled toward the door, my hand reaching for the metal handle— When suddenly, a foot kicked out from the side, tripping me hard. I slammed onto the floor, my chin cracking against the marble. I looked up to see Ted standing over me, his face distorted in a manic grin. "You deserve this! That's what you get for taking what's mine!" Before he could step past me, a massive concrete support beam tore away from the ceiling above. "BOOM!" The structure collapsed, pinning both of us beneath tons of twisted steel and rubble. Darkness closed in. I was crushed from the waist down, my sight blurring as blood pooled beneath my head. Just as I was fading into unconsciousness, I heard the frantic, hysterical sound of Giselle’s voice echoing through the dust above. "What are you all standing around for?! Move the rubble! Save them!" A paramedic’s voice sounded hesitant, full of strain. "Ma'am, we can't move the main beam without causing a second collapse! Because of how they're pinned, we can only safely extract "one" of them right now. Moving the debris from the other man will cause immediate internal crushing... he won't survive." Silence fell over the ruins. For the first time in her life, Giselle hesitated. "Giselle..." Ted’s weak, wheezing voice sounded from beneath the rock beside me, heavy with calculated theatrical sacrifice. "Don't worry about me... save Jesse... As long as I know you're happy... I can die with no regrets..." It was a masterclass in manipulation. Giselle’s heart shattered instantly. "Save Ted!" she shrieked to the rescue team, her voice breaking. "Save Ted first! If Jesse becomes disabled, I'll pay for his medical bills for the rest of his life!" A heavy thud sounded above us as the hydraulics shifted the beam off Ted—and slammed the full weight of the structural slab down onto my torso. The final light in my eyes went black. "Giselle... is this the 'family' you promised to give me?" "Then I wish you and Ted a long, happy life together. May you burn in it." "System," I whispered in the silence of my fading mind. "I want to leave." [Are you certain, Host? Once you leave, your physical existence in this realm will be permanently erased.] "I'm certain." [System resetting...] [Ding. Welcome home, Host.]