Four years ago, I put three men in the hospital and five in the ground. All to protect my wife.The court called it excessive force and threw me in prison for four years. After my release, the house felt off. Everything looked normal, but the air was wrong. Then one day, helping my son with his homework, he looked up at me. “Why didn’t you just die in prison? Now that you’re back, Daddy Blake never comes to play games with me anymore.” Daddy Blake. That was my best friend. Blake. Maybe it was just proximity. Blake had been around a lot those four years. A kid gets attached to a friendly face. I tried to convince myself, but that very night, I caught my wife and Blake making out. My wife, Seraphina, hated germs. She saved her real kisses for rare, joyful occasions. With me, it was usually just a quick touch of the lips. But the way she was devouring Blake’s mouth was nothing short of carnal. “My wife. Enjoying that kiss?” The rage was a live wire under my skin, urging me to lunge and break his face. I held myself back by a thread. I waited for the shock, the panic, the scramble to explain. It didn’t come. Instead, their faces relaxed into sheer relief. “I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Seraphina said, her voice calm. “But how do you even start a conversation like that? I suppose it’s better you found out this way.” She leaned back into Blake’s hold. Then, she ran her tongue over her bottom lip, catching a last, glistening trace of him. . A cold clarity washed over me. Every time I’d reached for her, it was a new pill, a fresh ache, a mysterious flare-up she couldn’t explain. There was no illness. There was just him. In prison, many inmates had broken down, lamenting how their wives or girlfriends had abandoned them. But I was so sure. I was certain I wouldn’t be betrayed. Because I went to prison for Seraphina. Otherwise, she would have been violated that night, maybe even lost her life. “You two should talk. I’ll go first.” Right in front of me, Blake leaned in and kissed Seraphina again, a deep, lingering kiss. As their lips parted, he gave a soft, teasing bite that drew a low, playful gasp from her. Then, with a smile playing on his lips, he glanced at me, turned, and got into a car. He was provoking me. And the car he got into was my black Maybach, the one I had before prison. He even rolled down the window, flashed me a smug grin, and though he said nothing, his eyes screamed, “See, Asher? I’m driving your car, just like I’m sleeping with your wife.” I clenched my fists, my breathing growing heavy. I was on the edge of losing it. “Are you thinking of hitting someone again?” Seraphina’s icy voice snapped me out of it. “Don’t forget, you’re a convicted felon. If you lay a hand on him, I’ll make sure you go back to prison myself!” “Why?” I asked, confused, unable to understand why I was being betrayed. “How can you even ask that?” “As a husband, as a father, you spent four years behind bars!” “Do you have any idea how hard these past four years have been for me?” “If it weren’t for Blake holding everything together, this company, this family, everything would have fallen apart long ago!” Seraphina screamed at me hysterically. “Why was I in prison?” “I never agreed to that shady deal, but you backed Blake’s plan, which got us trapped in the shipping container district!” “With all those people surrounding us, if I hadn’t fought back, what do you think would have happened to you?” “Do I really need to spell out what those thugs would’ve done?” “I went to prison to protect you all, and this is how you repay me?” I couldn’t help but roar. “If I hadn’t felt obligated, I would’ve filed for divorce while you were still rotting in there!” Seraphina left me with a chilling sentence. “You’re still the man of this house, but please don’t interfere with Blake’s and my relationship.” With that, she brushed past me. I stood frozen. The love I once had, the person I’d risked my life for… it was all gone, just like that. “Asher, don’t make a scene. This kind of arrangement is pretty common.” But Seraphina turned back, took my hand, and started walking towards the mansion. “At least Blake and I are still just at the kissing stage. I can even promise you that before we’re officially together, I’ll ‘be with’ you one more time.” I walked forward numbly, her words completely shattering my understanding of the world. “And don’t worry, I’ll still be your wife and fulfill my wifely duties.” “I’ll try to make time for you. I won’t spend all my time on Blake.” Seraphina sounded like she was scheduling work tasks.
“There’s ten million dollars on this card. Do whatever you want with it.” “But remember, if you’re going to fool around, keep it clean. Don’t bring back any diseases.” Seraphina led me to the study and handed me a card. I looked at the card, then at the woman who had become a complete stranger. I said nothing, just took the card. “Where are you going?” As I turned to leave, Seraphina suddenly grabbed my arm. “To sleep.” I replied numbly. “No, you’re not!” “Tonight, you can ‘have’ me in the study. Didn’t you always want to try something… different? Tonight, anything you want.” Seraphina actually initiated it. But I felt utterly disgusted. Psychologically sick to my stomach, physically wanting to gag. Yet I suppressed the revulsion and didn’t refuse. That night, I barely slept. It was like she was trying to physically exhaust me to death, using sex as a weapon. It wasn’t until dawn, when she finally fell asleep in a chair, that I managed to shower. I thought of those movie scenes where someone feels violated and scrubs themselves endlessly, desperate to wash away the filth but never feeling clean. That was exactly how I felt right then. I even wanted to find sandpaper and scrub off my own skin. After my shower, all that was left was sorrow and exhaustion. I fell asleep in that haze, waking up sometime in the afternoon. When I went to the living room, I saw Seraphina’s parents sitting on the sofa, their faces grim. “What time is it already? Still sleeping?” “Did you sleep like this when you were in prison?” “What rotten luck to have married our daughter to a man like you” My mother-in-law, Mrs. Thorne, hadn’t changed. She remained a walking jewelry display, every possible surface glittering with stones. But I remembered the truth. She had once sobbed on my doorstep, threatening to kill herself if I didn’t marry Seraphina. And now, it was rotten luck? “We heard you saw everything yesterday?” “Well,” she sighed, as if relieved of a burden. “Now let’s skip to business. We’re here for two things.” “First, we’re taking Leo to Blake’s place. We all live there now.” “Second, we’re here to warn you. Don’t you dare ruin Seraphina and Blake’s relationship, or we’ll send you straight back to prison!” “A morally bankrupt ex-con like you doesn’t deserve my daughter!” Mr. Thorne finished, his face stern, then stood to leave. Morally bankrupt? Did his memory fail him? Forgot that I bailed him out after his prostitute scandal. Now he stands there in the suit I paid for, calling me corrupt. “Leo, are you sure you want to go?” I asked my son. He was seven or eight years old, and I decided to give him a chance. Leo glared back, his face twisted in disgust. “Mom said I can change my name to Sterling, like Daddy Blake! I’m not keeping your name, you pathetic ex-con!” With that, he tugged on Mr. Thorne’s hand and walked off, asking, “Did Daddy Blake buy me that computer? The one with the RTX 5090? I want to play Warzone and dominate every lobby!” “He did, he did,” Mr. Thorne replied. “And you don’t have to call him ‘Daddy Blake’ for long. Soon enough, Blake will be your real dad.” Mr. Thorne looked at me as he said this, as if trying to provoke me. I clenched my fists, saying nothing. The spacious room was now empty, leaving just me. The irony hit me hard: our wedding photo, Seraphina’s and mine, still hung in the living room. Near the liquor cabinet, another photo showed Seraphina and me kissing under a tree, with Blake’s goofy face photobombing from the corner. The woman I loved most, the brother I trusted most. I would have died for them. And they, without hesitation, gave me a cuckold’s cap. The true nature of people in this world. Just as I sat on the sofa, smoking, my phone rang. It was an unknown number. “Asher, I’m out too! Called you the second I got out. This is my new number!” The voice on the line was Julian’s. He looked like an angel and had been framed as a demon by his own brother for a DUI crash. In prison, his beauty made him prey. I made him my responsibility. He repaid me with a loyalty deeper than blood. “Let’s find a time to meet up. I’ve got some things going on right now, so I can’t hang out just yet.” I had barely finished speaking when another call came in, from my dad. I quickly told Julian, “Gotta go, my dad’s calling.” My biggest worry was my parents finding out. They were getting old, and the news might make them sick. “Asher, listen to me.” “Feelings are tricky. If Seraphina’s fallen for someone else, you shouldn’t cling on.” “Besides, Blake is a good kid. In the four years you were in prison, he took better care of us than you, our own son.” “So, if you keep bothering her, don’t blame your mom and me if we cut you off!” My dad’s angry voice boomed through the receiver.
So, even my parents betrayed me? A sharp pain lanced through my chest. I said nothing, just hung up the phone. If everyone was going to betray me, then I’d just pretend these people didn’t exist. Beyond emotions, there was also my career. I got up, cleaned myself up, put on a suit, and went to the company. Vance Enterprises. I built that empire from scratch. I started it in college, accumulating wealth through small mobile games. Then our mobile MOBA games blew up overseas, and I practically owned half the global market for games developed in our country. Before I went to prison, a major AAA title was just about to drop on Steam. My incarceration delayed it. Now, I was out of prison. Love and family were gone. This game was my only chance to return to my peak. But when I arrived at the group’s entrance, the security guard stopped me. “I’m Asher. Vance Enterprises is mine.” I explained. The security guard, a guy named Mark, sneered. “So what if your name’s Vance? I’m Mark. Can I say I’m your dad then?” Just then, footsteps approached from behind. I turned to see Seraphina and Blake, surrounded by a small entourage. Upon seeing them, Mark immediately stepped forward with a fawning smile. “Mr. Sterling, Mrs. Sterling, there’s some idiot here claiming Vance Enterprises is his!” Mr. Sterling? Mrs. Sterling? It seemed Seraphina and Blake weren’t hiding their relationship from the outside world at all. Blake just smiled, telling his distant cousin, “He’s not wrong. Vance Enterprises used to be his, but it isn’t anymore.” “How is it not mine?” I frowned. Blake chuckled. “When you went to prison, for the company’s development, all your shares were transferred to Seraphina. How could it still be yours?” Seraphina merely gave me a dismissive glance. “Alright, Asher, you shouldn’t come to the company anymore.” I remembered transferring my shares to Seraphina. At the time, the company was at a critical juncture and desperately needed funding. To attract investment, it was indeed unsuitable for me, being in prison, to hold shares, as competitors could use it against us. “Then why can’t I even come to the company?” I asked, suppressing my anger. “You’re a convicted felon. This company can’t have a felon as an employee, let alone in leadership.” Seraphina’s tone was ice-cold. “And you need to understand, I’m the CEO now. Don’t you dare question my decisions ever again!” Everything was gone? Even my career? I turned and left, saying nothing. I didn’t even know what to say. Seraphina’s voice echoed behind me. “As long as you behave, I’ll still ensure you maintain your dignity. At least you won’t be short on money.” They were taking the wealth I’d built, and now they wanted to dole it out to me, to insult me? I walked for who knows how long until I found myself in front of my old high school. I caught a whiff of familiar fried chicken, that greasy, salty, spicy smell-an indelible scent of youth. So many memories were made here with Seraphina and Blake. “Hey, can I get a fried chicken?” I said numbly to the vendor. “Don’t make him one.” Blake’s voice sounded behind me. He sneered. “Seraphina and I bought this fried chicken stand. With your money.” I stared at him deeply, then sighed, “Blake, nearly thirty years of friendship, and this is how you treat me?” “Asher, you know what?” “You went to prison, and every day, I slept in your bed, kissed your wife, and spent your money.” “Your son calls me Daddy Blake every day. Your parents treat me like their own son.” “Now you’re out. You think you can just waltz back and take everything from me?” Blake’s smile was cold. “Asher, you have nothing left. In four years, I’ve made everything of yours my own, and all you can do is watch me take it all!” I gasped, clenching my fists, just like I used to when I was ready to fight for my life. “What, you’re upset?” “You want to hit me? Come on then.” Blake pushed his face closer. “Go on, Asher. If you’re still a man, hit me!” I raised my hand.
I raised my hand, then let it drop. If I hit him, and Blake pressed charges, I’d definitely go back to prison. Especially now that he had money-my money! “What, no guts?” Blake sneered, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes. That disappointment told me he was deliberately trying to provoke me into hitting him. I said nothing, just turned and walked away. From that day on, Seraphina rarely came home. But every day, my SnapChat inbox was flooded with photos of Seraphina and Blake. Photos of them kissing. Were they really that addicted to making out? I blocked them, out of sight, out of mind. But after I blocked them, packages started arriving every day. They were printouts of those same photos. They seemed intent on driving me insane. My mental state worsened. I was often deeply depressed, even suicidal, but then I’d suddenly become extremely agitated, filled with destructive urges. Julian noticed this when he came to visit. He took me to the hospital. His sister, Dr. Julia Hayes, was a psychiatrist there. Julian was strikingly handsome. His sister Julia was breathtaking. Hers was an artistic, formidable beauty that made you stare-a reflex, not a desire. After a brief evaluation, Dr. Hayes’s gaze found mine in the ensuing silence, then moved to Julian. “Go on, Asher can handle it.” Julian trusted me completely. I knew my situation was grim. “Asher, you might have bipolar disorder.” “You need to start medication immediately, and keep yourself busy. Otherwise, it could be very dangerous.” Dr. Julia said sympathetically. “My brother told me you’re a man of great perspective and a very open-minded person. How did you end up like this?” “I went to prison for my wife and my best friend, and they ended up together.” “Now my son disowns me, my in-laws curse me, and even my own parents threaten to cut me off if I don’t leave my wife alone.” “And I’ve lost all my company shares.” “Love, career-everything’s gone.” “If I could still be ‘open-minded’ after all that, I’d be a god.” I laughed sardonically. Julia hadn’t expected my story to be so tragic. Besides sympathy, she seemed to feel empathy, almost on the verge of tears herself. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll get through this.” I even ended up comforting her. She wiped her eyes, then gave me a diagnosis certificate and a stack of prescriptions. I didn’t let the siblings take me home. I left alone. Instead of taking the elevator, I wandered floor by floor, trying to waste time. But when I reached the sixth floor, I froze. I saw Blake helping Seraphina out of a consultation room. Blake’s face didn’t look good. “Asher, are you stalking me?” Seraphina saw Blake’s unhappiness, and her temper flared. Seeing me, I became her immediate outlet. “No, I’m not.” I shook my head. “Easy, Seraphina. You’re pregnant.” Blake said. Pregnant? I looked at her stomach, and my heart ached. Was she carrying Blake’s child? “Congratulations, Asher. You’re going to be a father again.” Blake said, gritting his teeth. “Mine?” I scoffed. “She sleeps at your place every night. How do you know the child is mine?” “Shut up!” Seraphina angrily walked up to me and slapped me across the face. “I told you, I haven’t slept with Blake! So the child is yours!” “Then abort it.” I dropped the bombshell, turned, and left. This time, I took the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, I saw Seraphina’s face, a mask of shock at my words. “I was going to break things off with Blake for this child!” “But Asher, you disappoint me too much!” Seraphina said, gritting her teeth. “You just wait, I won’t let you spend another dime of my money!” Blake’s eyes were blazing with fury. He had been so happy, thinking Seraphina would demand a divorce, but she was only threatening to cut off my funds. I ignored them completely. After leaving the hospital, I wandered aimlessly. Unconsciously, I found myself in a small alley. “Don’t go any further. This is it.” Blake’s voice suddenly came from behind me. I turned to see him, flanked by a dozen men. “What do you want?” I asked, frowning. “Alright, you guys, go.” “Don’t hit him too hard. Don’t actually injure me seriously, but make sure to cut me with your knives.” “Don’t touch my face, got it?” “Then I’ll call the police. You know what to say, right?” Blake’s voice was unnervingly calm, giving orders as if I weren’t even there. “Oh, and take his phone. Add yourselves as contacts. Transfer a few grand from his account to yours. Then type a message saying he hired you to beat me up.” “So determined to send me back, Blake?” I smiled bitterly. Blake gave a chilling smile. “Not just back, Asher. I’ve already made arrangements. Someone inside is expecting you. You’ll never disrupt my life again!” “Now. Get to work.” Blake roared.
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