My wife’s male best friend lost a finger-guessing game and was pressured into revealing the most intimate thing he’d done with the opposite sex.

He glanced at me and smirked.

“I got handsy with Cassie.”

The room froze. A beat later, gasps and laughter erupted as everyone caught his meaning.

I stared at my wife’s five-month belly. My vision went black.

Tristan Cole seemed to realize only then, but he just shrugged casually.

“Oh, when Cassie first got pregnant, you refused to touch her. She was miserable. I just did her a favor. Better me than her sneaking around, right?”

——

Before I could react, Cassandra tossed a piece of abalone into his bowl.

“Shut up. You’re fast with your fingers, but you’ll never compare to my husband.”

Tristan grinned, took a bite, and drawled,

“Juicy. Delicious.”

They laughed together, while I sat invisible. No one looked at me. No one thought the husband deserved a voice.

The game continued. This time, Cassandra lost. The card read: French kiss with the opposite sex for three minutes.

Only Tristan and I were there. Yet everyone, without hesitation, pushed her toward him.

“It’s just a game! Anyone who takes it seriously is an idiot!”

She laughed, he made noises, and their friends cheered, phones flashing.

That was it. My glass shattered against the floor. The room fell silent.

I stood, my voice low and sharp.

“Want something more exciting? I’ll give you excitement.”

I pulled out my phone and dialed.

“Hello, officer? There’s a mob here…”

Cassandra lunged, trying to snatch the phone.

“Gareth, are you insane? It’s just a game!”

Her friend’s hand was still resting on her pregnant belly. My chest felt like it was being ripped apart. I laughed bitterly.

“Tell me, Cassandra—how will you explain this to our child? That his mother couldn’t control herself, begged her male best friend for comfort, and his father was just a blind fool?”

Her expression hardened. She shoved Tristan behind her.

“You’ve gone too far! I told you—it was a game!”

A game? If that’s a game, I want no part of it.

I turned to leave. She grabbed my wrist.

“My friends threw this party to celebrate my pregnancy. As the father, why do you have to ruin it?”

My friends. My friends. Always her friends.

“Slap!”

My palm cracked against her cheek. The room went still.

Tristan rushed forward, dragging her into his arms.

“Listen to Daddy, stop being so stubborn.” He smiled like a helpless parent.

“Gareth, Cassie and I grew up together, even slept naked in the same bed. She’s never seen me as a man. Don’t make it a big deal.”

Then he shoved her back toward me as if he was magnanimous.

“Come on, just apologize to Gareth. You’re pregnant. Even if he doesn’t care, your friends do.”

One line, and suddenly every pair of eyes was filled with contempt—toward me.

Cassandra stiffened, lips trembling, but finally muttered,

“…It’s my fault, alright?”

My stomach turned. I couldn’t breathe.

Without a word, I left the room.

I hadn’t expected Cassandra to chase after me.

The woman who was usually silent now overflowed with complaints.

“Tristan is my best friend, and you’re jealous of that? What a lunatic!”

“You might as well tie me to your belt like a dog—you’d suspect anyone anyway!”

“Think! I’m pregnant. What could possibly happen between us? If there really was something, would he dare say it out loud?”

Something inside me snapped.

“Yes—you’re nothing. It’s all my fault for being such a loser!” I roared, trembling. “I’ve endured you for too long!”

Every buried grievance rose up, striking me like whips. Only I knew how much this final straw had crushed me.

“Cassandra, when I drank myself half-dead with clients, you went with him to get a haircut. When I lay in a hospital bed after a car accident, you were out playing tennis with him. Every time I needed you, you were with your ‘best friend’—even today!”

My chest heaved, tears streaming.

“He mocked me to my face with those filthy words, and you flirted with him right in front of me. And when I finally broke down and called the police, you didn’t defend me—you screamed I was crazy!”

I wiped my face with shaking hands.

“From that moment on, Cassandra… we’re finished.”

Silence.

Then, a soft voice brushed my ear:

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.”

I turned—

She wasn’t talking to me. She was wearing headphones, playing games with Tristan through a microphone.

…

Their laughter and shouts echoed from the bedroom all night.

I sat alone on the balcony, Cassandra’s pregnancy test report clenched in my fist, and called the lawyer.

“Hello. Please draft a divorce agreement.”

The next morning, a stabbing stomachache woke me. I staggered through the house until I found her lounging on the sofa, legs crossed, phone in hand.

A notification chimed, and she smiled as if nothing had ever happened.

I called her name again and again before she finally looked up. My pale face seemed to startle her for a moment, but she quickly plastered on a smile, setting her phone aside to press my shoulders lightly.

“You’re not well. Don’t come with me for the prenatal checkup today. Just rest at home.”

Her voice was calm, as if yesterday’s storm had been erased. She always did this—let me drown alone at night, then acted like nothing happened in the morning.

The pain made me clutch her hand, desperate, but her other hand kept typing.

From outside, Tristan’s arrogant voice rang:

“Cassie! Your father’s here—what are you waiting for?”

She immediately pulled free, tossed her phone down, and ran to the door.

I collapsed, knocking the phone over with my elbow.

The screen lit up. A pinned group chat stared back at me: Tristan and His Harem.

I tapped it—and froze.

“Gareth Locke is so pathetic. I told you two weren’t a good match.”

“He drags every party down. Cassie, you should’ve just married Tristan!”

Tristan: ‘It’s my birthday. Don’t bring up that loser. Cassie promised me a cruise ship. I’ll be the man who becomes One Piece!’

“The Knight family’s cruise ship? Cassie, you’re incredible!”

Cassandra: ‘Kneel to your father. This life belongs to you.’

The phone slipped from my hand. My world caved in.

Tristan immediately sent a kneeling emoji.

“Your life belongs to me now. My order: don’t bring your family today!” “Cassie, Tristan feels sorry for your pregnancy. He even prepared essential oils for a back massage~ [smirk][smirk]”

It was like a bucket of ice water dumped over me, chilling me to the bone.

As expected—people can fake kindness, but not reality. When I first tried to fit in, everyone was as sweet as angels. But I was the fool who mistook politeness for sincerity. They were an unbreakable fortress. I was, and would always be, the unwanted outsider.

The cramps tore through me. Shaking, I grabbed my phone, taking screenshots one by one, saving every page.

By the time Cassandra came in to snatch it back, I was curled on the sofa, drenched in sweat. She didn’t even look at me, eager to leave.

“Honey, my best friends are taking me for the prenatal checkup today. You can’t get along with them anyway, so don’t come and ruin the mood.”

I clutched her shirt with trembling hands.

“Can we go another day? My stomach hurts. Can you stay with me… just today?”

It was my last attempt to give her a way out. If she still insisted on leaving, then I didn’t want her anymore.

From outside, Tristan smacked his lips impatiently.

“Hurry up, it’s boiling hot out here!”

Cassandra shoved my hand away, her face full of disgust.

“Why are you pretending? You were fine just now! A grown man pulling such a pathetic trick.”

She pushed me back onto the sofa. My heart sank.

Tristan strolled in, pinching Cassandra’s cheek playfully.

“Don’t be so fierce. Some men are just like that—sensitive, suspicious, always wanting the world to revolve around them. It’s normal, not even a flaw.”

Cassandra snorted, contempt dripping from her voice.

“If he were even a tenth as good as you, I wouldn’t care.”

Her eyes suddenly fell on Tristan’s open zipper. She reached out casually and tugged it up.

“Idiot. Didn’t you notice?”

Tristan let her fuss with it, grinning.

“Gentle! That hurts.”

She pressed it down harder, smirking.

“Where’s it hiding then?”

Their laughter faded as they disappeared down the hall.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Ella Knight.

“I’ll meet you at your cruise ship later.”

“Okay,” she answered. She didn’t know Cassandra at all—but she and I had been childhood sweethearts. Twenty years of friendship, six years of love. I knew better than anyone what true, pure companionship was.

And now, I wanted to see with my own eyes just how rotten this so-called marriage had become.

The sea breeze was heavy with salt. On the deck of the luxury cruise ship, laughter and shrieks echoed.

Behind sunglasses and a mask, I leaned against the railing, watching.

Cassandra wore a bikini, belly already starting to show, seated close beside Tristan in nothing but swim trunks. They played a vulgar game of passing tissues.

Tristan clamped down on the tissue with his teeth, leaving only a corner. Cassandra leaned in again and again, failing to catch it.

“Cassie lost! Time for punishment!” someone howled.

“Confess to someone in public! How about Tristan?” another jeered.

Tristan pulled Cassandra into his arms, grinning.

“Oh, how embarrassing!”

The crowd roared.

“What’s the point of confessing now?” someone shouted. “Tristan, what happened last time? Tell us in detail!”

Tristan puffed up with pride.

“Watch me—straight to the dragon!”

Cassandra blocked him with a playful scolding.

“You’re too rebellious!”