In the world of these so-called natives, I would always remain an unwelcome outsider.

My hands trembled, my chest tightened, and I fought the urge to smash the phone. Instead, I quickly took screenshots of their chat and saved them.

By the time Kristoff walked in, I had already put the phone back in its place.

He picked it up, hesitated, and finally said, "Wife, these people act like they've never seen the world before. They insisted on tagging along with me, so you just stay home and wait, alright?"

I calmly picked up my bag. "Garrett has been my friend for over a decade. This project—I'm going too."

Kristoff froze, then raised an arm to block me. "You never get along with their kind anyway. Better if you don't come, saves you from feeling left out."

He turned to leave after saying that.

I grabbed his sleeve and looked at him straight in the eyes. "Today is my birthday."

I didn't add anything else.

That was his last chance.

At the doorway, Aileen stomped her foot in irritation.

Kristoff instantly grew impatient. With a sharp shrug, he shook me off.

"Why are you acting like my mom? Always using the same old tricks. What's so special about a birthday anyway?"

The back of my hand hit the doorframe hard, the sting in my skin echoing the pain in my chest.

"Tsk!" Aileen stood on tiptoe and tapped Kristoff's head playfully.

"What did your sister teach you? Be gentle with girls! Honestly, I think Elodie's petty little temper makes her kind of cute. Bro, you should be grateful!"

Kristoff sneered. "That's just how she is—always looking for trouble. She can't survive a day without making a fuss."

He ignored me completely, his hand snaking toward Aileen's waist.

"And who were you just calling ‘bro,' huh? No respect at all!"

Aileen giggled, twirling out of his reach. "Oh no, you almost touched your sister's chest—such a pervert!"

Kristoff's lips curled into a smirk, and this time he reached out deliberately. "Is that so? Hah, it feels just like little steamed buns."

Laughter erupted as the group walked off together, leaving me standing frozen in place, the air sucked out of my lungs.

Watching them disappear behind the elevator doors, I pulled out my phone and dialed Garrett.

"I'll come find you at the campsite later."

He didn't waste words. "Okay."

Growing up alongside Garrett, I knew the difference between friendship and something more. Our bond was pure, with clear boundaries.

Two years of dating. Three years of marriage.

I needed to see with my own eyes just how disgracefully my marriage with Kristoff would end.

The campsite was far from the city, the cool breeze of early autumn rolling gently down the mountains.

Beside rows of white tents, a cluster of young men and women burst out in cheers and laughter.

Garrett led me to a quiet spot at the edge of the camp and handed me a chair.

Across an artificial lake, I could see a group of men surrounding Aileen at the center of their game.

Blindfolded, dressed in a tank top and shorts, she reached out blindly—yet somehow perfectly landed in Kristoff's arms.

The crowd roared. "Kristoff lost! Truth or dare—truth, truth!"

"Tell the truth, Kristoff—do you like Aileen or not?"

Aileen looped her arms around his neck, laughing as she scolded them.

"Oh, shut up already, you're so annoying!"

The teasing grew louder. "Come on, isn't it obvious?"

"How about a dare instead? Didn't Aileen already bite Kristoff's ass once? Let's see her do it again!"

Amid the raucous laughter, Aileen cast Kristoff a sultry sideways glance.

"Sounds good to me."

Before anyone could react, she reached for his belt.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Kristoff laughed as he dodged, but his resistance lacked conviction.

Then Aileen suddenly slipped. Kristoff immediately caught her, and the two of them tumbled together onto the soft grass.

In the chaos, Aileen's skirt rode up to her waist. Kristoff's arm tightened possessively around her waist, while his other hand pressed firmly against her bare thigh—as though claiming her.

When their eyes locked, the air seemed to thrum with quiet, growing heat.

Neither of them let go.

The crowd's deafening chant of "Be together! Be together!" stabbed into me like a thousand blades, leaving me bloodied and raw inside.

At that moment, I felt exactly like a thief, skulking in the shadows, watching my own husband whisper and laugh intimately with another woman.

Beside me, Garrett's face had gone ashen with rage. He was about to storm over, but I quickly reached out to stop him.

Instead, I pulled out my phone, my fingers trembling as I dialed Kristoff's number.

Through blurred vision, I saw him take out his phone. Annoyance flashed across his face at the sudden ringtone.

Once. Twice. Three times...

The word "Wife" kept flashing on the screen, but he never answered.

Aileen, sprawled lazily against his chest, gave a contemptuous little snort.

"Your wife is checking in on you again?"

Without waiting, she reached over, pressed the decline button, and playfully tapped his nose.

"Don't you dare ditch your friends for some woman. Otherwise, who'll be left to hang out with you?"

"Of course not!" Kristoff laughed, tightening his hold around her waist. "My wife will never be more important than my friends."

With practiced ease, he switched off the phone completely and tossed it aside, before rolling with Aileen across the grass again.

Yes. My wife will never be more important than my friends.

What else did I need to understand?

The cold mountain wind cut through me, leaving me trembling. I pointed at the pair tangled up on the grass, my voice steady despite the storm in my chest.

"Garrett, is there surveillance here?"

Garrett caught on instantly. "I'll have someone preserve the footage right away."

It felt as though a gaping hole had been torn open in my chest, my heart bleeding out with every breath.

'Kristoff, if this is the choice you've made... then the ending is already written: your complete ruin.'

Not far away, the group finished their roughhousing and gathered around the barbecue, drinking and laughing. As the alcohol flowed, so did the confessions.

Aileen raised a bottle high, her cheeks flushed, her tone half-dramatic, half-proud.

"You know, when Kristoff got married, I was so heartbroken. I went to the riverside and drank alone, and even posted about it online."

She giggled, then continued, "And guess what? He actually showed up—in his groom's suit, no less. We sat by the river all night, staring at the stars like a pair of fools."

My throat tightened painfully.

I remembered my wedding night, waiting alone on the marriage bed, while he had told me he had an ‘urgent matter.'

Aileen wasn't finished. "And later, I told him I didn't want to get married, but I did want a baby. Do you know what this idiot said to me?"

She paused deliberately, savoring the suspense before bursting into wild laughter.

"He got all serious and said, ‘Fine, I'll donate. But if you have a kid, it better be mine!'"

The crowd erupted into cheers. "Now that's brotherhood!"

Aileen shoved Kristoff teasingly.

"But hey, if you're such a loyal brother, what about Elodie?"

Kristoff lowered his eyes, his voice calm, almost casual. "I've been making her take birth control. I never planned on having kids with her anyway."

The collective gasp rippled through the crowd—and out of Garrett too.

"You've put up with this all along?" he burst out, furious.

The sunlight cut into my eyes, sharp and merciless. And suddenly, I laughed.

I laughed until tears slid down my face.

"Isn't it ridiculous? He even told me once he wanted us to be child-free, said we'd be a DINK couple."

For three years, I had tried countless times to conceive, always blaming my own body for failing me.

And all the while, he smiled so tenderly, assuring me, "Elodie, it's okay. Let's just live as two forever. You'll always be my treasure."

Treasure?

No. I was nothing but the cruelest joke.

Aileen's laughter still rang in my ears, sweet and poisonous. "Having a good brother beats getting married a thousand times over. No nagging wife, no dull married life—just all the perks with none of the chains. Tsk. I must've been a saint in my past life to deserve this."

Enough.

Truly, enough.

I stood up, no longer willing to look at that nauseating scene of "tender affection," and turned away.

After copying the surveillance footage, Garrett and I went straight to the law firm to submit the evidence and prepare for a final negotiation with Kristoff.

But the moment we stepped out of the building, my phone rang. It was a police friend of mine—he lived next door, so we were fairly familiar.

When I picked up, his tone was oddly hesitant.

"Has Kristoff been... acting strangely lately?"

A heavy sense of dread rose inside me. "Albert, just tell me directly."

He sighed. "A girl at the campsite got hit on—some guy's words were a bit crude. Kristoff went crazy, smashed a bottle over him, and ended up at the station for mediation."

"I can't really explain it properly. I'll just send you the footage from the station."

Moments later, an Instagram notification popped up.

Hands shaking, I opened the video.

On the screen, Aileen was clinging to Kristoff's injured body, tears streaming down her face.

"Kristoff, I've held this in for so long, but I can't anymore—I have to say it today."

"I like you. I really, really like you."

"If it weren't for Elodie barging in, I would've confessed to you first!"

And the moment those words fell, Kristoff cupped her face and kissed her deeply.

Like star-crossed lovers reunited after lifetimes apart, finally baring their hearts to one another.

And I... was reduced to a third party.

Hot tears splattered against my phone screen, my hands trembling so violently I nearly dropped it.

Albert's next message came through. [After mediation, the two of them went to the hotel next door. I'll send you the address.]

Almost at the same time, a message popped up from Kristoff.

[Wife, the project is a bit complicated. I won't be home tonight. Rest early, love you~]

Garrett glanced at my clenched fists, the knuckles white, and spoke carefully.

"Elodie, are you okay? Just say the word—we'll settle this."

I wiped my tears away. The last flicker of warmth in my heart went out, leaving only ice.

"Of course we'll let everyone see exactly what these ‘good friends' get up to in a hotel room."

Kristoff cared most about his pride. So I would rip his face apart for everyone to see.

—

At the hotel entrance.

I opened a livestream. The title: "How Close Can a Husband and His Girl Friend Be?"

A handful of viewers trickled in.

[Another baseless rumor, I bet.]

[Ugh, just let friendships be.]

[Host must be petty as hell.]

Watching the skeptical comments scroll by, I smiled faintly and nodded.

"You're right. I probably overthought things and picked up a fight with my husband's girl best friend for nothing."

"So, I bought her favorite lava-filled cake to apologize."

With Kristoff's ID number, I had the hotel issue me a spare keycard. Then I strode down the hallway, head held high.

The moment I pushed open the door—

The bed was a mess. Kristoff was shirtless, entangled with Aileen.

I lifted my phone toward them, smiling coldly.

"Look, everyone—this is how ‘good friends' are. So close, they share a bed."