My wife went on a 3-year business trip abroad. When she returned, I went to pick her up at the airport. To my shock, she wasn’t alone – there was also a 6-month-old baby. My coworkers joked: “The kid may not be yours, but at least your wife still is!” But then my wife handed me divorce papers. This time, I was the one who didn’t want her anymore. Amber was my wife. She was a stunning beauty, a real knockout. Soon after joining the company, she quickly climbed the corporate ladder. Three years ago, she left for an overseas assignment. “Three years for a million dollars,” she said. “When I come back, we’ll be set for life.” Today was the day of her return. I took the day off specially to pick her up. At the airport, I spotted her from afar. After three years apart, my wife’s figure had filled out a bit, which suited her well. I waved to her, then noticed a woman in her 50s next to her, holding a baby. As they got closer, Amber took the baby in her arms. I was stunned, then assumed she must be helping out. How kind of her. “Honey!” I called out excitedly. Amber walked over and handed the baby to the older woman. “You two go wait in the car first.” The baby started crying. The woman comforted him: “Don’t cry, sweetie. Mommy will be back soon!” I froze. Mommy? I stared at Amber. “What did she mean by ‘mommy’?” Amber said grimly: “Jack, we need to talk.” She walked to the side and I hurried after her. Up close, I noticed she smelled of baby powder. Her body also had the shape of a new mother. “Amber, what’s going on with that baby?” “Don’t tell me you were gone for 3 years and had a kid!” Amber’s face was cold. “You’ve seen it all. I won’t lie to you. The baby is mine, but I’ll explain everything.” “Go home first. I’ll contact you after I wrap up some work stuff. That’s all for now!” Without another word, she turned and left. I was dumbfounded. It took me a while to react and chase after her. But I saw her being embraced by Eric as they got into a Mercedes. Eric! My heart sank. Three years ago, Eric had also gone abroad on business. When he left, I’d given him some expensive gifts and asked him to look after Amber. Looks like he took “looking after her” way too far! I clenched my fists and drove back to the office. With the baby, Amber would surely go home first. I didn’t care which home – it certainly wasn’t mine anymore! Red-eyed with anger, I stormed into the office. I overheard some people gossiping in the break room. “Amber got promoted as soon as she came back. Goes to show how being pretty helps your career!” “More like she used her son to get ahead. Eric can’t marry her officially, so he had to give her something!” “Jack’s pretty chill about it though. Doesn’t seem to mind his wife being a surrogate!” Hearing their words felt like a knife to the gut. They all knew Amber had hooked up with Eric abroad, and kept it from me! I’d been played for a fool, left in the dark while joking with them about missing my wife. I’d told Amber I wanted to visit her abroad, but she made excuses about it being inconvenient and a waste of time and money. She’d pleaded: “Jack, I’m doing this for our future. Can’t you just be patient?” Patient? I’d waited faithfully for 3 years, only to get this result. I cleared my throat. The group turned and saw me, their faces turning awkward. “Jack, uh… came for some coffee?” “Yeah, and to hear you guys gossip,” I replied coldly. One of them boldly said: “Hey Jack, it’s really not a big deal. Most guys would kill for this chance!” “You got your full salary these 3 years while your wife was making bank abroad. Now she’s back as a director!” “How’s it feel? Got any tips to share?”
He looked at me smugly. I knew he’d never respected being on my team and slacked off constantly. He was good at kissing ass though. Team 2 had asked for him, and I’d planned to transfer him at the end of the month. Now I realized I couldn’t fire him anymore – might as well let him go early. But before that, I had to put him in his place! I smiled at the guy who spoke. “For a grown man, you sure love to gossip. You’d make a great busybody.” “You know, I do have some advice. Want to hear it?” to hear it?” I beckoned him closer. He leaned in and I growled in his ear: “How about you strip naked and sell yourself, asshole!” “What did you say?!” I shrugged. “Isn’t this the advice you wanted? Can’t handle the truth?” “Jack, you’ve got some nerve! Yeah, you’re fine with being a kept man. The kid’s not yours, but at least you’ve still got your wife! When Eric moves to HQ, you can have her pop out another one. Two for one deal!” The group burst out laughing. I snapped and punched him, pinning him to the ground. This chicken-legged punk was no match for my fists. He wailed and begged for mercy. The others watched and laughed at first, but when they saw I was really going to town on him, they rushed to pull us apart. I shook out my hand. “Who’s the kept man now, loser?” “Jack, I’m calling the cops!” “Go ahead!” Just then, Eric showed up. “What’s all this commotion about? Who’s calling the cops?” “Mr. Cui, Jack beat me up! Look what he did to me!” Eric glared at me. “Jack, what’s wrong with you? This is a workplace, not a boxing ring!” “Your performance bonus is getting docked this month!” Mike sneered. “Jack, I won’t press charges. Just pay me $5000 and we’re good.” I laughed. “Sure, go ahead and call the cops. I recorded your trash talk earlier. If this gets out, none of us will look good!” Mike was about to explode but Eric held him back. “Enough! Everyone get back to work. Adults need to take responsibility for their actions. Mike, come with me.” Mike stormed off angrily with Eric. I looked around coldly at the group. “Anyone else want to gossip behind my back? This is what you’ll get!” “Jack, aren’t you afraid of getting fired?” “Yeah, you’re being pretty cocky!” I shrugged. “What’s there to be afraid of? Worst case, I find a new job. I’m not worried – can you guys say the same in this economy?” That shut them up. I may not brag, but my skills speak for themselves. To be honest, I would never have joined this company if Amber hadn’t insisted. In 5 years, my performance was outstanding. We all knew how Amber got her management position. At first she was grateful, but over time she started believing it was all her own merit. No rush. I wanted to see what they were really thinking. When Mike came out half an hour later, HR was with him, watching him pack up his desk. I was surprised. “Listen up everyone. From now on, anyone who harasses or provokes others at work will be fired immediately!” “Mike is the example!” Everyone turned to look at me. My heart sank. They were doing this on purpose! As Mike passed me, he sneered: “Jack, you sold out your wife to get ahead. You disgust me!”
I laughed but said nothing, just watched him leave. Then I turned to look at Eric’s office. The bastard was clearly trying to provoke me. I was about to storm into his office when HR stopped me. “Hold on, Mr. Cui is in a video call. You can’t go in.” I glared at him. “I just beat up Mike and got away with it. What do you think will happen if I punch you? Will Eric fire me or you?” The HR guy froze, not daring to stop me. I was about to go in when Eric came out. Seeing me at the door, he frowned. “What do you want?” “Mr. Cui, you seem to have forgotten. Didn’t you say you’d give me an explanation?” “Or would you rather discuss this here?” Eric thought for a moment. “Let’s talk outside. Follow me.” He gestured for me to come along. I followed him, watching his furrowed brow. In the parking garage, Eric handed me an envelope. I felt it – about $1000. “What’s this supposed to mean?” “Jack, take the money and you can keep working here normally. Don’t make a fuss about this.” “Keep working normally? You slept with my wife and you want me to act like nothing happened?!” I grabbed his collar. “Tell me the truth. When did it start?!” Eric’s face darkened. “I don’t need to give you details. Besides this, there’s also a bank card with $3 million. That’s $1 million for each year – not a bad deal.” “You have 3 days, Jack. This is my final offer. For each day you delay, I’ll deduct $1 million!” I was about to say more but he cut me off. “Think it through before you speak to me again.” “After all, I call the shots at the company now. If you don’t agree, once word gets out, I can crush you easily!” He was threatening me! I scoffed and slapped him hard across the face! I dragged him out of the car and started beating him! Eric was 7-8 years older and half a head taller, but he was all talk. He was no match for me at all! Soon I had him pinned on the hood. He yelled furiously: “Jack, you dare hit me?! I’ll fucking kill you!” I kneed him hard. His face went white with pain. I grabbed his throat and roared: “Eric, you bastard! How dare you touch my wife!” Suddenly a strong force knocked me over. Security had arrived and pinned me to the ground. Eric got up, livid. “Call the police! Call the police!” “Don’t call the police!” It was Amber. She came through the emergency exit. I realized she’d been there the whole time! “Let him go. I need to talk to him.” Eric waved the guards off and got in his car. The guards released me but stood nearby, ready to jump in. I glared at her with bloodshot eyes. “You told me you were forced into it. Just say the word and I’ll help you get justice!” Amber sighed impatiently. “Don’t be stupid! Jack, let’s end this peacefully!” I stared at her, suddenly filled with rage. “Amber, we’ve only been married 4 years! You’ve been cheating for 3!” “How could you do this to me?!” But Amber was eerily calm. “Should I call you naive or just plain dumb? When has a newbie like me ever gotten an overseas assignment?” The company had a policy of only sending men on foreign projects. I was shocked when Amber was chosen. But she said she was talented enough to be the exception. Even with the policy, they’d make an exception for her. Now she was using this to mock my naivety. She glanced at her phone. It showed a family photo of the three of them. How ironic! “Jack, you can’t give me what I want. Let’s get divorced!”
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