After my wife’s first love returned, the first thing he did was sign a betting agreement with me. The agreement stated that if Olivia abandoned me nine times for him, I would have to give up my position as her husband. I agreed. The ninth time, Olivia was ready to abandon me on the freeway just because she received a phone call from Jack. “Marcus, I have an urgent matter to attend to. Can you get off here and take a cab home?” she asked, handing me an umbrella, completely disregarding the heavy rain outside and my stomach ache. She was so eager to see Jack that she didn’t even wait for my response. “Call me when you get home,” she added, already inputting Jack’s address into the GPS. My heart clenched painfully as I watched her do this. As her sports car sped away, the rain started soaking my clothes within seconds. The biting night wind made me shiver uncontrollably. I trudged through the downpour alone, my shoes rubbing my feet raw and bloody. Five hours later, I finally reached our villa in the upscale neighborhood. I collapsed on the ground, clutching my aching stomach and gasping for air. Through the rain blurring my vision, I saw Jack approach with an umbrella, a smirk on his face. “Painful, isn’t it? Do you regret making that bet with me now? Did you really think that after all these years, Olivia would have any real feelings for you? You forgot that I’m the one she loves most. Whatever little affection she might have for you is nothing compared to her love for me.” I struggled to my feet, my face pale but eerily calm. “That’s the ninth time. You win. As agreed, I’ll divorce Olivia.” I staggered towards the house, memories of the past flooding back with the rain. Jack and I were college roommates. At Jack’s freshman year birthday party, I met Olivia for the first time. One glance was all it took for me to be captivated by her elegant yet unapproachable aura. My heart raced uncontrollably. That day, Jack introduced Olivia as his childhood friend to everyone. She was well-known on campus as a rebellious figure who disregarded rules and had poor grades. I still remember the shocked, hurt, and flustered look on her face when she heard this. One look was all I needed to know that the person she liked was Jack. But Jack had always been a thrill-seeker. He preferred rebellious girls who would skip classes with him, race cars, and seek sensory stimulation on the edge of all taboos. He didn’t like well-bred, proper women like Olivia. He found her too controlling. Eventually, to get rid of her, after inadvertently learning about my feelings, he created various “coincidental” encounters and dates, doing everything he could to push her towards me. I witnessed Olivia’s entire process from resistance to feeling humiliated, then becoming numb, and finally acquiescing. In our junior year, as Jack had wished, we became a couple. Two years later, Olivia proposed to me. For three years after our marriage, we respected each other, and our life was peaceful and warm. I thought we could grow old together like this. Until a month ago, when Jack returned to the country and met with me to sign a betting agreement. “Marcus, I regret it now. I want Olivia back. You two have known each other for nine years, right? So let’s bet on nine instances. If she abandons you for me nine times, you lose. You’ll divorce her and give her back to me.” For some reason, I agreed. Because I wanted to know if Jack still held a place in her heart. Then, I witnessed firsthand how Olivia rushed to Jack’s side without hesitation. The first time was on our third wedding anniversary. Knowing her fascination with astronomy, I had prepared an outdoor picnic at a carefully chosen spot to watch a meteor shower with her. But she turned back halfway because of a text from Jack, leaving me alone on the hilltop all night. The second time, I needed surgery for appendicitis, but she disappeared for an entire week to help Jack with an insignificant project at his company, right before my operation was scheduled to begin. I signed the surgery consent form myself and endured the pain alone as I went for check-ups, changed dressings, and ate meals post-surgery. The third time, my grandmother passed away, but she left the funeral midway to have dinner with Jack… All the love I had for her was completely exhausted after being abandoned time and time again. It turns out that after all these years, not only did she still have Jack in her heart, but she had never forgotten him from the very beginning… This time, I lost completely, and I’m willing to accept the consequences of the bet. After returning home, I took a hot shower, changed into comfortable pajamas, and made myself a cup of herbal tea in the kitchen. Only after finishing the tea did I feel alive again. I took out the divorce agreement I had prepared on the day of the bet, signed it, and pushed it towards Jack. “Take this to her to sign.” Jack raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised. “Why me?” “I don’t want to waste time explaining to her why we’re divorcing. She’ll sign it without even looking if it comes from you.” Hearing this, Jack took the agreement with a smug look, pretending to console me, “Don’t be too sad. I’ll introduce you to a beautiful woman in a few days.” “Sure.” Seeing me agree so readily, Jack’s eyes flashed with surprise. “You agreed? Have you gotten over Olivia so quickly?” I laughed softly, my voice bitter, “I’ve only ever loved one person wholeheartedly in my life, and this is how it ends. I gave her nine chances, but she left me completely defeated. If I can’t let go now, I’d be too pathetic. From now on, I’ll only live for myself.” Just as I finished speaking, the door was pushed open. Olivia, who had just returned, was stunned to see Jack. “Jack? Didn’t I just drop you off at the hospital? Why are you here?” Jack didn’t explain that his sprained ankle was just a pretense. He simply smiled, took the agreement, and walked up to her. “I came to see you. Here, help me sign this.” Olivia’s gaze remained fixed on him as she signed where he pointed without even looking at the document. After signing, she finally thought to ask what it was. Jack was about to tell her directly, but something crossed his mind, and he changed his approach. “It’s an important gift that Marcus and I prepared together. You’ll know in a month. Don’t worry, you’ll definitely be surprised when you see it!”
Hearing this, Olivia was unusually curious and was about to take a closer look, but Jack quickly handed the agreement to me and stood up to leave. “Well, that’s it then. I’m heading back now. Good night.” Olivia’s curiosity was immediately extinguished, and she said she would drive him home. Jack shook his head, giving me a meaningful look. “No need. Stay with Marcus. After all, time is running out.” What time is running out? Olivia frowned, wanting to ask more, but he had already pushed open the door. She instinctively picked up her car keys and followed him, leaving behind a quick word. “Marcus, I’m going to see Jack off. I’ll be right back.” The door slammed shut. From the moment she entered until she left, Olivia hadn’t looked at me once. I was used to it by now and didn’t feel upset. I just put away the agreement and went to my room. After turning off the lights, I slowly drifted off to sleep. Half an hour later, there was a noise at the door, and soon after, the lights were turned on. I groggily opened my eyes to see Olivia opening a drawer and putting in several boxes of condoms. Then, she slipped into my arms, her warm breath tickling my ear: “Didn’t you used to wait up for me until midnight? Why did you go to bed so early today? Hm?” That was in the past. It will never happen again. I thought silently, making up an excuse, “My stomach was acting up. I wasn’t feeling well.” Remembering that she had left me on the freeway, Olivia felt a twinge of guilt. “I’m sorry, I forgot.” “Even if you had remembered, would you not have left me behind?” My question left Olivia speechless. The room was quiet for a while before she finally explained in a low voice: “I’m sorry, Marcus. Jack had sprained his ankle. He’s been afraid of pain since childhood, that’s why I was in such a hurry. I promise you, it won’t happen a second time.” But this was already the ninth time. A self-mocking smile flashed across my eyes, “You’re right, it definitely won’t happen again.” After all, we’re about to get divorced. The next morning when I woke up, I saw a glass of hot water on the bedside table. Olivia walked in carrying breakfast, “Marcus, drink the warm milk and come have breakfast.” Before Jack returned, I used to see this scene every day. Back then, I thought this was love, which is why I made that bet with Jack. In the end, I lost completely. This time, I didn’t agree as I usually would. Instead, I got up and took a piece of clothing from the wardrobe, “No need, I’m not hungry. I have to go out soon, you eat by yourself.” After washing up and grabbing my bag, just as I was about to leave, Olivia picked up her coat, saying she wanted to drive me. I couldn’t refuse, so I agreed. As soon as we got in the car, I noticed that the lucky charm I had hung up had been replaced with a luxury car pendant, and the ornaments in front had been replaced with a row of One Piece figurines. Olivia noticed my gaze and quickly explained, “Yesterday I left the car window open when I parked on the street, and the previous pendants got wet. My assistant cleaned them and replaced them with new ones.” Was it really the assistant? I remembered that Jack loved these figurines the most and had a room full of anime figurines at home. I didn’t expose her lie, just asked a question, “Then where’s my pendant? It was a special blessing I got from a famous church. Can you give it back to me?” Olivia’s expression froze for a moment, “The assistant threw it away by mistake. I’ll have them find it right away.” Hearing her continue to cover up, I just felt tired. “If it’s been thrown away, then forget it. I don’t want it anymore.” She seemed surprised, “You really don’t want it?” I nodded slightly, “I don’t want it.” The pendant, this marriage, her as a person. I don’t want any of it anymore. After arriving at the club, I went directly to room 908. The room was already full of people. When my college classmates saw me, they all greeted me. “Marcus, why did you come alone? Didn’t you bring your wife? Is Olivia very busy with work?” Before I could speak, Jack, sitting in the middle, casually chimed in. “She has a meeting this morning that won’t end until eleven. In the afternoon, she has to negotiate a partnership. She definitely won’t have time.” Seeing how well-informed Jack was about Olivia’s schedule, everyone started joking. “Childhood friends really do understand each other better. He knows her schedule so clearly.” Jack raised his glass and swirled it, smiling faintly, “Not really. Olivia told me herself when she drove me home last night.” “You two are still in such frequent contact? No wonder you’re childhood friends. It’s good that Marcus is so open-minded and doesn’t mind Olivia and Jack’s relationship at all. If it were someone else, knowing that Olivia used to follow Jack around all the time, who knows how jealous they’d be!” “Marcus is now the husband of a CEO, with a happy family and a beautiful marriage. He and Olivia were brought together by Jack himself, so why would he be jealous? Besides, if Jack wanted to be with Olivia, they would have been together long ago. After all, everyone knows that Olivia only listens to Jack and is completely loyal to him!” Hearing this, Jack became even more smug. “Yeah, it’s quite interesting when you think about it. Back then, when I told her to pursue Marcus, she did. Even the proposal was my idea. I suggested she should clarify her relationship with Marcus. To those who knew, it looked like she was dating Marcus, but to those who didn’t, it might have seemed like I forced her into it.” My heart jolted violently when I heard this. I had originally thought that Olivia had proposed because she was moved by my devotion and willingly wanted to marry me. It turns out that even this marriage was the result of Jack’s orchestration? For a moment, I felt like something was lodged in my chest, making it hard to breathe. The room was still buzzing with conversation about these matters. I couldn’t bear it any longer and got up to go to the bathroom. After composing myself, I returned to find everyone playing the King’s Game. Jack had just lost and was being instructed by the “King” to answer a question. “Please tell us about the most devoted pursuer in your life, and give an example.” As soon as this question was asked, my eyelashes trembled slightly, and I averted my gaze. Jack smiled as he reminisced about the past and began to speak. “That girl has been pursuing me since she was seven years old, so it’s been almost twenty years now. When she was in her early teens, she gave me her family’s heirloom, which was only meant for spouses, saying she would only love me in this lifetime. Every time she found out I was dating someone, she would drink herself sick for days on end, even developing stomach problems. Oh, and in recent years when I was studying abroad, she would fly over every week, bringing me my favorite pastries and snacks, sparing no expense to be with me…” As I listened to each incident, a storm raged in my heart. I remembered when Olivia and I got married, her mother asked her to give me the family heirloom, but she said she had lost it. Every so often, she would come home drunk, claiming it was from social events, and I would naively make her hangover soup. On important holidays, she always had to go on business trips. I would help her pack her suitcase, filling it with lots of pastries and snacks. While I was wholeheartedly invested in this relationship, she was still chasing after that unattainable person, unwilling to let go. And I knew nothing about it! My heart ached so much I could barely breathe, while the group in the room listened and kept exclaiming, asking for more details. “Jack, who is this person? Do we know her? She’s so devoted to you, you must have been moved by her, right? If you two really get together, you must introduce her to us!” Jack glanced at me with a meaningful smile and agreed. “Sure, I’ll bring her to introduce to everyone next month.” Just as he finished speaking, Olivia pushed open the door of the private room, smiling. “Introduce what? Why wait until next month? Jack, are you done with your meeting? Didn’t we agree to go to the concert…” Her voice trailed off as her gaze fell on me, surprise and panic flashing in her eyes. “Marcus, why are you here?” I remembered Olivia telling me this morning when she dropped me off at the mall that she had to work overtime until midnight today and told me not to wait up for her. So overtime work meant going to a concert with Jack? I smiled silently, meeting her gaze, “As you can see, attending a college reunion.” She nodded several times, immediately changing the subject. “That’s good timing. I’ll drive you home.” I took out my phone and called for a car, my tone calm. “No need, I’ll take a cab. You two go enjoy the concert.”
With that, I went downstairs. Just as I reached the roadside, Jack caught up and grabbed my hand. “Are you angry? How about I give you the concert tickets? After all, you only have one month left together. Take the opportunity to make some memories, otherwise when you’re old and reminiscing about the past, you might have regrets.” I pulled my hand away, taking two steps back, my expression cold. “No need. After the divorce, I’ll forget the past. There’s nothing worth remembering between her and me.” “You say that, but even though Olivia only got together with you because I forced her to, you did take some burdens off my shoulders. It’s bad enough that you couldn’t get Olivia’s love, but if you can’t even have some good memories of your marriage, wouldn’t that make me too cruel?” While Jack was pretending to console me, he kept pulling at me, refusing to let me leave. As we struggled, neither of us noticed the car speeding towards us. By the time the driver started honking frantically and we turned to look, it was too late to dodge. In that critical moment, Olivia rushed over and pulled Jack into her arms, moving him to safety. I was hit by the car and thrown twenty meters away, landing heavily on the ground. With a loud thud, bright red blood gushed from my lips and nose, pooling on the ground. My entire body felt like it was falling apart, and I convulsed in pain. It hurt. It hurt so much. As my consciousness began to fade, I saw Olivia comforting the shocked Jack. I don’t know how much time passed before the pain jolted me awake. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a hospital, with Olivia’s worried face being the first thing I saw. “Marcus, how are you feeling? You’ve been unconscious for two days. Do you know how worried I’ve been?” Looking at her anxious expression, I remembered the scene I saw before losing consciousness and found it laughable. On the brink of life and death, the person she chose to save wasn’t me; as I lay in a pool of blood, she didn’t even notice I was seriously injured. I, as a person, had never been in her heart. How could she possibly be worried about me? I took a shallow breath and spoke in a hoarse voice, “I’m fine. Go take care of Jack.” Olivia was taken aback, thinking I was upset that she hadn’t saved me, and hurriedly explained. “Jack is fine. You’re the one who’s seriously injured, of course I have to stay and take care of you.” I shook my head, saying I was tired and closed my eyes to rest. Olivia didn’t disturb me further. She tucked me in, got some hot water, and ordered a light lunch. Then, she received a phone call saying there was an issue at the company and left, saying she’d come back tomorrow. When the nurse came to check on me and saw how well-prepared everything was, she envied me for having such a good wife. I didn’t say a word. Just as I opened the vegetable soup, my phone rang. I opened it to see a message from Jack. “Sorry about that, I developed a psychological trauma from that car incident, so I sent Olivia a message. She’s having dinner with me now, and later she’s going to take me to an amusement park to help me destress. We also have a movie later. You rest well in the hospital, okay?” The attached photo showed a famous health food restaurant in the city, with a table full of light, nutritious dishes. Olivia’s hands were visible in the frame, peeling a large bowl of Jack’s favorite boiled shrimp. I looked at these photos silently, only replying with four words. “Have a good time.” Over the next week, Olivia would come to the hospital once a day, staying for about ten minutes before leaving. Jack would also send messages regularly, updating me on their activities. She would accompany him to watch the sunset by the sea, collecting seashells and spelling out their names on the beach. She would drive him to the countryside, buying flowers and balloons to cheer him up like she was comforting a child. She would take him to flower fields to ride hot air balloons, taking thousands of photos of him with her camera. Everything she did wasn’t as intimate as lovers, yet it was far more attentive than what normal friends would do. Stuck in an ambiguous zone that surpassed friendship but wasn’t quite a romantic relationship. And these things, Olivia had never done when she was dating me. The difference between love and indifference was so obvious. Once again, I was grateful that I had agreed to that bet back then. After the doctor’s final check-up, he handed me the prescription. “You’re all good now. Call your wife to handle the discharge procedures and pick up the medicine.” I took it, my tone as bland as plain water. “She’s not my wife. We’re divorced.” The next second, the door to the ward was pushed open. Olivia walked in, her face shocked, “Divorced? What do you mean divorced?”
I hadn’t expected her to suddenly appear and was also taken aback. “It’s nothing. I just meant you’ve been away from the hospital these past few days.” Seeing my calm expression, Olivia didn’t think much of it. “I’ve been working on a new project recently, so I’ve been busy with overtime work. That’s why I couldn’t come to take care of you.” Watching her lie so smoothly, my eyes narrowed slightly. “If you’re that busy, there’s no need to come. I can take care of myself.” I meant every word, but Olivia thought I was angry. “It’s my fault. I’ve almost finished dealing with work. I’ll spend more time with you in the coming days.” Saying this, she was about to take me home and had her assistant send over many figurines for me to choose from. Looking at these limited edition, exquisite figurines, I calmly refused. I never liked these things; someone else did. I didn’t expect Olivia to be so perfunctory even when trying to comfort me. Hearing me say I didn’t like them, Olivia quickly had someone prepare something new. “Then shall I get you other gifts? What do you like? Watches? Luxury cars? Let’s buy them all, there must be something you like?” I felt no ripple in my heart for any of these things she mentioned. For three years, she would give a pile of gifts on every anniversary and holiday. These gifts with similar logos and styles filled the dressing room, making it look like the warehouse of some luxury brand store. In the past, I thought this meant she cared, so even if I wasn’t interested, I would happily accept them. But until today, hearing that she didn’t even know what I liked, I realized she was just too lazy to put in any effort, so she chose such gifts. After all, with the price tag, no one could fault her choices. So this time, I stated my position directly. “None of that is necessary. You don’t need to send me these things anymore in the future. Don’t trouble yourself.” This was the first time Olivia had heard me say such things, and she suddenly felt a bit panicked. “You’re my husband. It’s only right that I prepare gifts for you. How could it be trouble?” Then, what if I’m not anymore? Olivia, how ridiculous. You still don’t know that you’ve already signed our divorce papers. Over the next few days, Olivia stayed at home and didn’t go out. I also slowly started packing my things. Accessories and clothes I no longer needed, the bracelet I bought for her, the curtains in the house, our couple’s mugs, photos together… Seeing me suddenly clearing out so many things, Olivia was astonished. Just as she was about to ask, Jack called. Olivia immediately forgot about this matter and left to answer the call. I also saw the number on the screen and knew she was going to accompany Jack. After watching her leave, I threw all these things into the trash can. Just as I finished tidying up, I received a call from Olivia’s assistant. “Mr. Cheng, please come to the Night Feast Club quickly! Something’s happened to Mrs. Cheng!” Hearing the usually calm assistant suddenly become so anxious and flustered, I frowned. I hailed a cab and on the way, I looked up this club and found out it was for car racing. Wasn’t Olivia going to see Jack? Why did she suddenly go to a club? When I arrived at the scene and saw the woman opposite Olivia, I understood immediately. Jenna, Jack’s girlfriend from college who loved drinking, smoking, fighting, and racing cars. I had heard that after they broke up, Jenna would still pester Jack from time to time. Now it seemed she had fallen on hard times and came back to bother her ex-boyfriend again. The reality wasn’t far from what I had imagined. Jenna threw a racing suit in front of Olivia. “Jack doesn’t like good girls like you at all. He likes a life of adventure and thrills! Since you keep saying you want to protect him, then race me. The loser can never bother Jack again!”
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