Cheating Wife

My hand was hurting from the pulling and the needle poking around, but I did not answer right away. "Why do you want the ring?"

Designing that ring took me a lot of time and effort. For months, I did the project by hand. It was proof of our unbreakable and eternal love.

"Jonathan says he likes it. He wants to wear the same model I'm wearing. Just give it to him. This ring isn't worth much anyway. There's not even a diamond anywhere."

She then saw the ring that was sitting on the corner of my desk, and without hesitation, she grabbed it and walked off. I tried to get up and take it back, but I'd forgotten that my leg was in a cast. Still, I kept my hand tightly wrapped around the ring.

"Give it back!"

Rachel looked at me, disappointment evident in her eyes. "I thought you were a more generous person than this, Leonardo. What happened? Why would you fight me over something this worthless?"

I snapped, "If you take this ring, then we're done. We're breaking up."

Rachel froze for a moment and quickly got on her knees. In disbelief, she asked, "W-What?" Her voice faltered. "But we've had ten years together. You can't just… break up! You know I can't live without you! We are not breaking up!"

I looked at her icily, the fire in my heart dying down. "You ditched me over Jonathan."

Rachel slid into my arms and held me tightly. "No! I was just… That was pity! Yeah, pity! He was going to kill himself, and I had no choice but to assuage him. When he gets better, I'll hold a wedding for us. Trust me!"

She was getting a little worked up, so I nodded. "Fine."

A sigh of relief escaped Rachel's lips, and she left, her worries thrown away. She took the ring, though. I touched my empty ring finger and called my colleague, who was working abroad.

"Hey, does the professor still need someone at the lab? I'd like to pick up my research where I left it."

My colleague was overjoyed. "You're coming back? Man, the professor was heartbroken when you left. He's going to be ecstatic if you're coming back. I'll need to ask him, though. Say, I thought you were getting married. Are you sure LDR is going to work?"

I was going to find an excuse and cover for Rachel, but then again, that thought was ridiculous. I said, "Yeah, it won't get in our way. The land of the dead is the kind of LDR where you can't reach anyone anyway."

I hung up and booked a flight abroad, after which I went through the paperwork for my discharge and got back home to recuperate.

…

Jonathan spent all his time showing off his shiny relationship on social media. He posted the new watch and sports car he got from Rachel. I saw how he and Rachel were holding hands with their fingers intertwined. The ring he was wearing? The one Rachel took away from me.

They took sets of wedding photos, and Jonathan captioned them, 'Three years being a side piece. Now I can finally be the main guy.'

Rachel reposted it, but she deleted it just in case I saw it.

Yet, I did.

However, she tried to cover it up by sending me an invitation to her mother's sixtieth birthday. Before the wedding, Rachel told me about this celebration and kept telling me I had to be there. We'd see her mother as a couple then.

Melanie Winters, her mother, happily held my hand and invited me warmly to her house. The wedding didn't go through, but still, I got her presents for the event.

And the first thing I saw when I got into her house was something I never expected. The banquet was underway, and the Larsons' relatives were here. There was someone sitting between Rachel and Melanie, and he was surrounded by a lot of people.

Jonathan.

Melanie filled Jonathan's plate up with prawns. "You've lost a lot of weight. You need protein."

Rachel glanced at her mother. "He can be spoiled, Mom. He wouldn't eat any prawn unless I peeled it for him." Though she was complaining, Rachel still peeled the prawns and fed them to Jonathan herself.

I was standing there, alone and forlorn. But then someone noticed me.

"Leonardo?" they gasped.

Idiotic Wife

Rachel looked at me, and her face fell. "Why'd you show up? Mom didn't invite you!" Before I could say anything, she dragged me away.

I was still holding a crutch because of my broken bone, and I nearly fell when she yanked me, so I shook her hand off. "Don't pull me. I can walk by myself."

Icily, Rachel demanded, "I don't know why you're here, but no one gave you an invite. If this is about declaring how I'm yours, then you're not welcome here. It's also Jonathan's moment."

That was shocking. I blurted, "Someone did send me an invite. You."

She opened her mouth, and she was a little nervous. "I don't remember that. You could be lying."

Melanie came after us, saying, "Jonathan's in a bad mood lately, Leo, so I asked Rachel to bring him alone. Can you go back for now? I don't want him getting mad."

Oh wow. Mother and daughter both forgot what they told me. Still, it was fine. They didn't welcome me, so I saw no need to stay back.

I nodded and was about to leave, but Jonathan came out. He actually tried to keep me around. "Melanie, Rachel, I won't get mad about Leo being here. He's hurt. It's not easy coming all the way here. He should stay."

I acted like I didn't see the smug look in his eyes. Calmly, I replied, "No, thank you, but thanks for the offer."

Rachel sidled up to me and stopped me from leaving. "No, you're staying. He doesn't mind an uninvited guest, so you'd best take that offer. Don't give him attitude. Leave, and our wedding is canceled. You quit your job for me. If you leave me, you'll have nothing left."

I froze. Rachel spent ten years trying to steal my heart, but I never planned on going out with her.

Then, one day, an oncoming truck was going to crash into me, but she pushed me away and took the hit instead. Before she was carted away, she held my hand tightly. "I'd die to save your life. Just… Just give me a chance in the next life."

That was touching enough for me, so I quit my job despite a lot of people asking me not to. I came back just to get married to her. I quit my job out of love, and she was using it to threaten me.

I took a deep breath. "Fine, cancel the wedding. I don't care." And I left without even a moment of hesitation.

…

I did not notice the confusion in Rachel's eyes. That night, I packed up all my stuff and got ready for the next day's flight, but Rachel came back in the middle of the night. She was surprised to see the home empty.

"Where's the photo wall? I spent a lot of time making that. Where are the pictures I took of the vacation?"

I answered half-heartedly, "It fell to the ground and broke, so I tossed it away."

Rachel hugged me from behind. "Why aren't you looking at me? Are you angry?"

She sighed. "Honestly, why couldn't you just let it go? The whole family's there. I was already introducing Jonathan to them, and then you just showed up. Do you know how awkward it was for us? If you'd just put the presents down and left, none of that would've happened."

I felt her holding my hand and sliding something down my ring finger. It was a ring, of course, but not the one I made.

"Stop throwing a tantrum. I will fulfill my promise. The wedding's tomorrow. Jonathan will not get in our way. Promise me, show up, alright?"

She was going to kiss me, but I moved away. Her face shifted. She was about to say something, but then someone called. I knew that ringtone. The caller was Jonathan. Rachel quickly left the room for the call.

…

A while later, she said, "I need to go out. Remember to show up tomorrow." The door slammed shut. Yet another sleepless night for me, then.

…

I wasn't going to attend the wedding, but I changed my mind, since I had to give the ring back to Rachel. However, the scene stunned me. Instead of me, the groom for the event was Jonathan.

His name was sprawled all over the banner, and he was in a white suit, a bouquet in his hands. The guy was standing at the entrance, welcoming the guests to his wedding.

His grin got wider when he saw me. "You thought this was your wedding, Leonardo? Rachel promised she'd give me the wedding today, but I told her I needed a witness. Yes, it's you. And so, she invited you. You should thank me, or you wouldn't even be here today."

Then, he put on a weird smile. Alarm bells rang in my head, but it was too late. He tossed the bouquet of roses at me, and the thorns drew a scar over my face. Droplets of crimson fell, and my line of sight was dyed in red.

Rachel noticed the commotion and came running, but she shoved me aside instead. Disappointed, she looked at me and roared, "I invited you out of the kindness of my heart, and you attacked Jonathan? I gave you a ring! What more do you want? I was going to take that marriage license, but I've changed my mind! It's your fault!"

She looked dark, and she took Jonathan away. Even through my blurred line of sight, I saw Jonathan's gloating smile. I dragged my useless leg along, but eventually I got back up and placed a letter and the ring at the entrance.

…

And I made my way to the airport, sparing not even a glance for the scene.

Rachel and Jonathan were on the stage. Jonathan slid a ring down Rachel's finger. "Will you marry me?"

Rachel was all smiles, and she was about to say yes, but someone barged into the hall. It was a bodyguard, holding a ring and a letter.

"This is bad, Ms. Larson. It's Mr. Riviera! He's gone! He booked a flight abroad, and the airplane's taking off! Forget the wedding! You need to get Mr. Riviera back!"