4. The Guilt

At that time, Edmund found his wife's suitcase. Waving his index finger, he gritted his teeth. “Please don't test my patience. I'm about being crazy because of her betrayal. My chest almost exploded when I had to ask her for a divorce. So tell me where she is.”

Emma's head pushed back. "Betrayal?"

"Did she go with her new man?"

"Her new man?" Her confusion doubled.

Edmund sighed in disbelief. "Gosh, Emma. Stop pretending! You know Alice is having an affair."

"Having an affair?" Emma's voice rose. “What joke are you saying, Ed? Have you forgotten that she is still alive because of you? You're the one who gave her those promises so she had a reason to rise! After what you've been through together, do you think she can turn her back on you? You're crazy, Ed."

While Emma and Edmund were staring at each other, someone knocked on the front door. "Darling?"

Hearing that voice, Edmund widened his eyes. He rushed out. Seeing Henry, his face immediately turned dark. "You ...."

Edmund stepped forward and threw a punch. Emma spontaneously screamed and pulled him back.

“Edmund, what the hell? Why did you hit Henry?” She yelled before checking her lover. “Honey, are you okay?”

Hearing that call, Edmund sighed in disbelief. "He's your boyfriend?”

Before Emma had time to answer, Edmund's laughter filled the air.

“Don't you know? This man is the one who is having an affair with Alice!”

Henry furrowed his brows deeper. "What did you say?"

Emma also gave him a sharp gaze. “What kind of nonsense is that? How dare you accuse Henry and Alice?”

"They're having a date behind you, Emma. He even bought Alice jewelry and took her to the hotel.”

While Edmund expressed all his suspicions, Emma shook her head in disbelief. "That's not true."

“I have the proof.” Edmund took out his phone and opened the photo gallery. "Look!"

Emma looked at the what Edmund was showing with her mouth tightly closed. After that, she showed him a ring on her finger.

"Is this the jewelry you mean?"

As Edmund blinked, Emma tucked her hair behind her ear. “Or these earrings?”

Then, she took out a jewel from under her T-shirt. “Or this necklace?”

"I asked your wife for help in preparing Emma's birthday surprise." Henry's voice followed. "Because of that, we often met. The jewelry I bought was not for her, but Emma."

Edmund secretly clenched his fists. His chest was tight with unsettling confusion. "You could just buy two sets of jewelry. If there was nothing between you and Alice, why did you take her to the hotel room?"

"To celebrate my birthday," Emma said. “They arrived first to decorate the room.”

“You trust them too much, Em. You don't know what they were doing in that room before you came.”

Edmund checked his phone again and showed another picture. There, Alice and Henry were in a hotel bed, without a single thread.

Unexpectedly, Emma let out a laugh. Folding her arms across her chest, she shook her head. “Ed, aren't you smart? Why can't you differentiate between original and edited photos?"

Lifting her chin, she continued, “Henry has a birthmark on his neck. Where did the mark disappear if this photo is real? And can't you recognize your own wife? Where did the mole on Alice's thumb go? And also the scars from the cuts?”

Seeing the birthmark on Henry's neck, Edmund's eyes widened. After examining the photo carefully, he gasped.

“Alice isn't having an affair? This photo is fake?” Edmund started to break out in a cold sweat. His breathing was ragged.

"Who sent those photos?" Emma asked.

Edmund swallowed hard. Feelings churned in his chest.

"Why did Mom have the heart to do this to Alice?" he groaned before clutching his head.

“Are you pretending to be stupid or are you really stupid? Isn't it clear that your mother doesn't like Alice?” Emma said sarcastically.

Edmund looked at Emma full of worry and regret. "Where is Alice now?"

"I don't know. She went to your office this morning. Haven't you met?”

Just when Edmund was about to shake his head, his phone vibrated. A voice message came in. Seeing the name that appeared, his eyes widened.

“Alice?”

While Emma shifted to his side, he opened the message. Alice's hoarse voice greeted them softly, "Ed?"

Edmund swallowed hard. A bad feeling suddenly hit him.

"Sorry. I think I have succeeded in being the best wife for you. Apparently not?" Alice's sobs could be heard briefly.

“You should just be honest with me that you are not happy with our marriage. You don't need to chase me away like that. I would willingly sign our divorce papers if I knew the truth."

“Now, be happy with Giselle. I won't be an obstacle in your relationship. As I promised, I will let you go and disappear if you no longer love me."

“Thank you for being my reason and motivation to keep going this far. Really … thank you.”

Sighing heavily, Edmund staggered back. A single tear rolled slowly down his cheek.

He realized that his mistake was too big. Alice had lost her zest for life, just like before their first meeting on the bridge.

“Ed, what have you done? Are you having an affair with Giselle? Why is Alice so desperate?” Emma shook his shoulder.

Edmund looked down and swallowed hard. Cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.

“If I knew it would turn out like this, I shouldn't have stopped you when you were about to jump on the bridge. Just let you drift in the river as a stranger I didn't know. That way, I wouldn't have to say those promises. I would never fall in love with you, and I wouldn't feel so much pain.”

Those harsh words rang in his head again. Where was his common sense when he said it to Alice yesterday?

While guilt crept into his heart, Edmund closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. He let Emma hit his shoulder. He felt he deserved it.

“Why am I so stupid?” he regreted.

Emma flinched at the murmur. "What? You're really having an affair with Giselle?”

One breath later, her hand flew to hit Edmund's cheek.

“How could you be so cruel, Ed? If you can't fulfill your promise, don't make it. You saved her only to hurt her deeper, huh?”

"I didn't mean to hurt her, Em," Edmund straightened his head again. His face was bent, his eyes dim.

“When I got the news that she was cheating on me, I thought she no longer needed me. I divorced her so she could be happier with her new lover.”

"Then you had an affair with Giselle?"

"I'm not having an affair!"