My Wife Doesn’t Want Her Childhood Friend Anymore

I stood at the door of the church chapel and watched my wife, Olivia Spencer, lean into the arms of another man. That man was my younger brother, David Spencer.David complained, “This rosary really digs into the skin.”“Then, take it off for me.”Olivia had always treasured her rosary. She would not even let me touch it. Yet, my brother was teasingly lifting it between his lips and pulling it from her neck. He tossed it to the floor like it was worthless.There was no pain sharper than comparison. At that moment, the world I had held together for six years completely fell apart. My years of persistence and devotion suddenly became a joke. Back in my room, I clutched my chest and sank to the floor. My face was drained of color.“System, I request to exit the mission world.”After saying that, I tried to get up, but my stomach churned violently. The taste of blood surged up my throat.Then, I coughed it up.At the same time, I heard the system’s familiar mechanical voice in

Bryan cheered in excitement as he cut the cake with David, while Olivia watched them with all the warmth in her eyes, as if they were the perfect family of three.None of them spared me a glance.In the past, seeing that would have left me feeling despondent. However, there was no longer any sorrow left within me.After the cake was cut, Bryan started demanding to open his gifts.Olivia’s gift to him was a limited-edition toy sports car.Then, she turned to me. Her eyes still held that soft affection as she handed me a box.“Hugh, this is your birthday gift. Open it and see if you like it.”Inside the box was a luxurious Rolex watch. At one glance, I could tell that it cost a fortune.However, the same watch had appeared in David’s social media feed just a few days ago.She really made things easy for herself, keeping everything fair and equal. She gave her husband and her lover the same gift.I closed the box with a neutral expression and said politely, “Thank you for the gi

Olivia’s expression turned cold. She replied with irritation, “Robert, Lisa, Hugh and I just have different roles in this family. Today is Hugh’s birthday as well. There’s no reason the birthday boy should be the one running around.”Seeing Olivia standing up for me made a deep bitterness bubble up.Since I was very young, I had known that while my parents loved me, they loved David more.I used to think Olivia was my savior, who had healed the pain inflicted by my family. She was the one who told me that I had to love myself even if no one else loved me. She even made a vow at our wedding to make up for everything my family had denied me.For a time, I thought I had been saved. I thought I would never have to envy anyone again.Unfortunately, the salvation I believed in turned out to be just another form of torture.The love I believed was mine, and mine alone, was divided into two parts. Perhaps in the future, it would be divided even more.After Olivia spoke up, my parents

Inside the church, before the solemn figure of the statue, Olivia looked at me with deep affection.“Hugh, no matter what happens, you have to believe that you are the one I love most. From now on, let’s spend the rest of our lives together. You are my guiding light, so I won’t lose my way when I struggle in this sea of suffering. Okay?”How familiar this scene was. It was those same devoted eyes that got me to fall for her back then. I thought she was my salvation. Instead, I had fallen into another torturous place.Crack!Perhaps even God had grown tired of hearing false vows from one of his own faithful. A small chip of stone broke loose from the windowsill beside her and landed heavily at her feet.Olivia clutched her rosary until her knuckles went white. She began whispering prayers under her breath, over and over.I found it bitterly ironic.Due to that incident, the priest himself came to apologize. He ordered the church staff to prepare a special meal for us. It was a si

I turned off my phone expressionlessly.Later that night, when Olivia saw me lying in bed, safe and sound, she was relieved.“I was so worried, I sent you messages, and you didn’t reply. I thought something had happened to you. Was your phone dead?”With a ready excuse, I decided to go along with her assumption. “Yeah, that’s exactly what happened. I had to take a cab back on my own.”“You really scared me. I thought something was wrong.”Olivia seemed like she was genuinely worried.Even when she slept, she clung to me tightly, as if I were a lost treasure she had just gotten back.She slept peacefully, while I lay wide awake, unable to sleep.I silently wondered, ‘When I’m gone, will you regret this?’Four days remained. “The host has four days left before departing this world.”Another day passed.I suddenly felt a bit disoriented. Time seemed to be flying by.While I was lost in thought, Olivia suddenly presented me with an elegantly wrapped gift box. She treated it l