Emma, my wife of ten years, suddenly posted on Instagram during her business trip abroad. In the photo, she was sporting a visible baby bump, coyly nestling in the arms of a blonde man. Beside them stood two identical boys. The caption read: “For you, I’d give up the whole world.” Shocked, I called Emma. As soon as she picked up, her impatient voice came through, “Don’t call me unless it’s urgent. How many times do I have to tell you I’m busy? Can’t you understand that?” She hung up a second later. I stared at the photo of the two children, my hand unconsciously moving to my abdomen, where a deep scar remained. So this was why she insisted on us being child-free and wouldn’t let me treat my injury. Looking at the woman I had loved for over twenty years, I broke down in tears. After ninety-nine unanswered calls, Ms. Wilson, my assistant, came to see me. I promptly asked her to call Emma, telling her I was hospitalized. Ms. Wilson looked at me quizzically, but a second later, the call connected. “Hello, Wilson. What’s up?” Emma’s cheerful voice came through the phone. I could imagine her smiling, lazily draping her legs over that Frenchman. “Mrs. Hamilton, Mr. James has been hospitalized. When do you think you can return? The company needs you,” Ms. Wilson said. Emma paused, her tone changing, “He’s sick again? What can he do right? He’s utterly useless.” “I know. Arlo and Cyril are turning ten. I’ll be back in two days after spending some time with them.” After hanging up, Ms. Wilson looked at me awkwardly, stammering, “Mr. James, about this…” I waved her off, “You can go back to the office now.” Three days later, Emma returned. I sat haggard on the sofa, the coffee table littered with empty bottles. She bounced over excitedly, hugging my neck and planting a kiss, “Darling, Wilson said you were sick. Are you better now? Did you miss me?” “I’m not leaving for a while this time. You can take a few days off from work to rest and recover.” She took out a watch, “Look, I bought this gift especially for you. I had our names engraved on it. The moving hands represent my never-ending love for you.” If it weren’t for the pungent cologne on her, I might have believed her. After all, she constantly professed her love and affection for me. So much so that she was tightly embracing that French man right before boarding the plane, leaving her drenched in his cologne. I gazed at Emma desolately, my eyes finally resting on her slightly protruding belly. With a hoarse voice, I asked, “Are you pregnant?” Emma froze, blurting out, “No!” I smiled bitterly, “I saw your Instagram post. Does the ‘whole world’ you’re willing to give up include me?” Emma paused, immediately took out her phone, and opened Instagram. Her expression changed several times. After a moment, she slowly took off her clothes, undoing the belly band, “James, since Hamilton has already posted about me on Instagram, I won’t hide it from you anymore.” “They are my husband and children abroad. They are also my family.” I looked at her in astonishment. Her face was calm and natural, without a trace of shame or remorse. I sat up straight, glaring at Emma, “Do you know what you’re saying? Husband and children? What am I then?” Emma took my hand, carefully putting the watch on my wrist. She spoke casually, “They are my family abroad, it has nothing to do with you. Hamilton’s home is in France, he won’t come to China. It doesn’t affect your position at all.” “He runs his trading company, you do your tech research and production. You two don’t conflict.” “Besides, I’m doing this for our family. Look at you, your health isn’t good, you can’t have children. The Hamilton Group is such a big company, it needs an heir, right? Hamilton is tall, handsome, and a graduate from a prestigious university. There’s nothing wrong with me giving the Hamilton family an excellent heir.” I stared at Emma in shock. If she wasn’t standing right in front of me, I would have thought someone had replaced her personality. In the twenty years I’ve known her, I never knew her values were so warped. Had she been poisoned by some ‘advanced culture’? My chest heaved violently. The scar on my abdomen, where I had taken a bullet for her, still ached on rainy days. And now she was so casually dismissing me. On our wedding night, her vow to remain child-free to spare me from surgery still echoed in my ears. How could she now speak so righteously about an heir?
Just as I was about to question her, the phone suddenly rang. Emma glanced at it and immediately stood up, “I’m tired from the flight. I’ll sleep in the other room tonight. You should rest early too.” She patted my shoulder, “Honey, I know it’s hard for you to accept right now, but we’ve known each other for twenty years, been married for ten. We’ve been through so much together. I do love you, please try to understand me.” I desperately grabbed Emma’s hand, “Let’s have our own child. We can terminate this pregnancy, okay?” Emma froze for a moment, then angrily shook off my hand, “James, I never knew you could be so cruel. He’s already six months along, moving in my belly. How can you bear to terminate him? He’s a living being too.” Emma finished speaking, and the phone rang again. Emma glared at me as she answered the call. A childish voice came through, “Mommy, Arlo took Cyril’s ice cream again. Daddy said to call you.” Emma’s face visibly brightened, her voice softening, “Cyril, be good. When Mommy comes, I’ll buy you more ice cream, okay?” A man’s deep voice sounded nearby, “Darling, it’s fine. They just miss you so much, and so do I. What should we do? We’ve only been apart for a day.” The man’s voice was light-hearted yet helpless. Emma glanced at me and walked towards the bedroom. Although she lowered her voice, I could still hear her, “Alright, alright, big baby. Didn’t I say I’d come to be with you all in a week at most?” “Ham, don’t post on my Instagram next time… Okay, okay, I’m not blaming you. Just remember to block certain people next time. Mmhmm, love you too.” I collapsed onto the sofa, my heart feeling as if it was being pricked by countless fine needles. It wasn’t intensely painful, but it spread an unbearable, suffocating feeling throughout my body. Emma and I had grown up as childhood sweethearts, recognized by everyone as the perfect couple. When I was twenty-two, just back from abroad, Emma’s parents suddenly died in a car accident. The company was left leaderless, and Emma’s uncles and cousins began eyeing the Hamilton Group greedily. Within a month, the company faced a cash flow crisis, and half the clients had left. At that time, Emma hugged me fearfully, “James, what should I do? What can I do?” At that critical moment, I got down on one knee and proposed to Emma in front of the entire company. I promised never to take a single share of the Hamilton Group, and that our children would take the Hamilton surname. My father was furious, threatening to disown me. He didn’t even attend our wedding. Within six months of our marriage, I stabilized the company, suppressed several ambitious relatives, and fired her uncle. Little did we know that her uncle, harboring resentment, colluded with her eldest uncle to hire an assassin to kill Emma. When the gun went off, I shielded Emma. The bullet passed through my abdomen, damaging my pancreas and leaving me infertile. That day, Emma held me, crying uncontrollably, swearing she would love only me for the rest of her life, never to leave or betray me. Later, her uncle was sent to prison, and her eldest uncle resigned voluntarily. From then on, we had full control of Hamilton Group. Emma, your vows still echo. How could you do this to me? What does your love mean? Sympathy? Exploitation?
I fell asleep in the living room without realizing it. When I opened my eyes again, it was already bright outside. I suddenly felt dizzy and congested, probably from the cold night air. Emma suddenly opened the door, happily talking on the phone, “Yes, yes, follow the location I sent. Four people for cleaning, as soon as possible. Yes, I have relatives arriving this morning. I can pay extra.” I looked at Emma confused. Relatives? Most of her relatives were estranged, and my side of the family had cut ties. A bad feeling rose in my heart. I shook my head. It couldn’t be. She said yesterday that the blonde man wouldn’t come to China. She promised me it wouldn’t disturb our life. Seeing Emma bustling about happily, I couldn’t help but ask, “Emma, who’s coming?” Emma seemed to just remember my presence. She smiled awkwardly, came over, and said softly, “James, I’m sorry. Hamilton suddenly decided to bring the kids overnight. He only told me after they were already on the plane. I couldn’t stop them.” “Hamilton is impulsive and emotional. Please don’t be angry.” She hugged me briefly, patting my back, “Don’t worry, they’ll only stay for two days at most. I’ll send them back right away, okay?” “Don’t be upset. Look, I still need to prepare the room and get things ready for the kids. There’s so much to do…” “Oh, right, Hamilton mentioned wanting to try some Chinese specialty liquors. Could you go to the supermarket and buy a few kinds? He also wants to try some local specialties. Please buy those too. I’m too busy to go myself. For pajamas and toiletries, just choose the best ones.” As Emma spoke, she started directing the cleaners to tidy our bedroom, changing the sheets and carpet. Watching her instruct the cleaners to move my things to the downstairs guest room, I couldn’t hold back my anger anymore and shouted, “Emma, what do you mean? Letting him stay in our bedroom?” Emma didn’t even pause, “You can sleep anywhere. The master bedroom is spacious, and Hamilton is bringing two children. They’ll be more comfortable there.” I asked coldly, “You mean I should sleep downstairs while my wife accompanies her lover and illegitimate children right above me?” Emma froze for a moment, then angrily retorted, “James, how can a grown man be so petty? What do you mean by lover and illegitimate children? I’ve told you, they are my family too. Hamilton flew all the way here overnight. He’s accepted you.” “He’s not even jealous about you being here. Why are you fussing over a room? When did you become so narrow-minded and small?” I was stunned for a moment. So this is how she saw me. Two men, and she couldn’t distinguish between us. So when her lover comes, I should be considerate and buy food and drinks for him, otherwise I’m narrow-minded and small? Anger erupted. I smashed the vase on the coffee table, “Emma, you’re cheating on me and calling me narrow-minded? Then tell me, what’s not narrow-minded?” “A threesome? He takes the first half of the night, I take the second? Or I get odd days, he gets even days, and you flip a coin on Sundays?” Seeing me red-faced and furiously pointing at her, Emma threw down the towel in her hand, equally enraged, “James, you’re despicable. How did you become so filthy and dirty-minded? I work hard for this family, and all you can think about is that kind of thing? Are you even human?” We erupted into our first fierce argument since marriage, arguing as if the sky was falling.
Suddenly, Emma stopped. Following her gaze, I saw a tall, handsome blonde man standing at the door with two identical little boys. This was my first time seeing Hamilton in person. Just as I had seen in the Instagram post, he was handsome and sunny, exuding an aura of overwhelming masculinity. And me… Red-eyed, disheveled hair, a thin frame wrapped in wrinkled clothes after a night of drinking. I was truly outclassed. Hamilton stood at the door, shrugging helplessly with his hands spread, “Emma, I really didn’t know I would cause you trouble. I’m so sorry.” He turned to leave, pulling the two children with him. Emma panicked and ran over, hugging him from behind, “Hamilton, I won’t let you leave!” Hamilton turned around, embracing her in his broad chest, gently kissing her forehead, “Emma, have I put you in a difficult position?” “But the kids really missed you. They insisted on coming to find you. Arlo hurt his head, and I couldn’t console him.” Only then did Emma notice that one of the little boys had a bandage on his head, looking at her pitifully, “Mommy, my brother hit me.” Emma immediately hugged him lovingly, “Baby, I’m sorry. Mommy wasn’t there to take care of you.” Emma picked up the child and enthusiastically welcomed them in. Hamilton saw me, his blue eyes filled with nonchalant amusement, “James, I’m sorry for the intrusion. This is a gift I brought you from France.” He took out a rolled-up painting and slowly opened it. It revealed a lush green meadow with a towering tree casting a dense shade. A thin, weak donkey lay under the green canopy. My pupils dilated suddenly. I didn’t expect a foreigner to be so insidious. This was blatant provocation and mockery. Emma put down the child and said happily, “Hamilton, you’re so thoughtful to bring a gift.” She rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek. “You Chinese value human relationships. Your family is naturally my family,” Hamilton said with a light laugh, wrapping his arm around her waist and quickly kissing Emma. Right in front of me, they showed me what a real French kiss looked like. A full five minutes later, Emma, red-faced, finally stood up straight from Hamilton’s embrace. She impatiently criticized me, “Look at Hamilton. Why can’t you learn from him? He’s so attentive and considerate in everything.” I laughed coldly, raising the painting in my hand and slowly tearing it from the middle, then tearing it again. Emma’s pupils suddenly dilated, her face gradually turning ugly. An unclear meaning also appeared on Hamilton’s face. Emma suddenly rushed over and slapped me across the face, “James, how dare you insult Hamilton like this? What position are you putting me in?” “Hamilton generously brought you a gift, and you tear it up in front of him? Do you have any manners left as a man? You’ve disappointed me so much!” I looked straight at Emma, pointing at Hamilton, “Emma, since everyone’s here today, let’s settle this. Do you want him or me?” “If you want me, send your lover and illegitimate children back to France right now, and never see them again.” Emma coldly looked at me, “What if I choose Hamilton?” I was stunned for a moment. After a long while, I said, “Then let’s get divorced. I’ll let you two be together.” Emma stared at me, her head held high, “James, do you have to make a scene? Do you have to force Hamilton and the children away?” I stared at her coldly, not wanting to explain or accuse anymore. The air was silent. Emma took a deep breath, turned and pulled out a blue marriage certificate from her bag, placing it in front of my eyes, “Hamilton isn’t a third party. He’s my legal husband abroad. If anyone should leave, it’s you.”
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