Cheated and Restarted Prologue

Prologue : How My Wife's Affair Ended

My wife cheated on me.

At first, I couldn't believe it. My wife was always smiling, always kind. So when I found out, I thought it had to be some kind of mistake. But it was true.

"I am so, so sorry..."

If she was going to apologize, I wished she just hadn't done it in the first place. Her lover was a handsome, high-spec ex-boyfriend from her university days. Compared to her loser husband, she had remembered the passionate romance of her past. It was the kind of cliché, mundane story you could find anywhere.

"But I don't want to break up... Please... let me stay with you... I want to be with you forever..."

My wife didn't make a single excuse. And despite cheating on me, she said she still wanted to be with me. I couldn't understand it at all. Are all women like this? I'm not popular, so I’d never dated anyone other than my wife. I had no idea what was going through her head.

"I'll do anything. If you want money, I'll give you everything I have. I don't care how you treat me. I don't even care if you sleep with other women. Just let me stay... let me stay by your side..."

It made no sense. Cheating means she likes the other guy more. On top of that, the guy was fully intent on stealing her away from me. He didn't care if the affair destroyed his reputation. He even offered me a settlement payment worth several times the market rate. He went as far as saying he’d pull strings for my future promotions. Frankly speaking, it was an insanely good deal. Anyone in their right mind would have divorced the wife, taken the money, and started a fresh life. It goes without saying my wife would be better off with a lover who was cooler and richer than me. In fact, anyone would say my beautiful wife looked like a perfect match standing next to that handsome guy. No one would lose out. If anything, it seemed like the right thing to do. And yet.

"I love you! I want to be by your side! I don't want him, it has to be you! I'm better off with you! Forever! I want to be together forever!"

I thought this woman was crazy. I assumed she was just panicking because she got caught. But even after some time passed, her answer didn't change. My wife refused to break up with me. Of course, the law was on my side. If I demanded a divorce, it would happen eventually, even if it took time. But we got nowhere. Even when I chose to separate, my wife tagged along wherever I went. Even when I moved without telling her, she tracked me down immediately. She would come into my room without asking and sleep right next to me. What a joke of a life. I didn't say a word to her. I kept ignoring her. But she just kept repeating trivial stories about her day. A stupid life. That guy kept coming to my place, getting up in my face and demanding I hand her over. My wife kept ignoring him. A suffocating, hostile life.

"Hey, say something. Please. I want to hear your voice."

I didn't have the energy for that.

"Please. I'll do anything. So... please forgive me. No. I'm sorry. I'm not really in a position to ask for forgiveness, am I? I'm sorry. But, listen. I want to stay by your side. Because the only place I belong is next to you."

I think I was reaching my limit. I didn't know if I still loved her or not. I liked her, but I hated her. Being stalked by her, yet needed by her... it made me happy, but I despised it. My head was a mess. I was supposed to be happy after getting married. Yet my wife's past had destroyed my happiness. I don't have an impressive past. I don't have any wonderful ex-girlfriends to make her jealous; I don't even have female friends. She, on the other hand, had plenty of exes. She was popular. Out of my league. I knew that if she dumped me, I would surely never be loved by a woman better than her. But she could be happy if she just went to her lover. I thought it was so irrational. That's why I said something I shouldn't have.

"I just don't see a happy future for me anymore."

"...I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do, tell me. I'll do anything."

"Then. Give up on your happiness, too."

"Do you mean... you want me to break up with you? ...I know it's selfish, but I don't want that. Please, I want to stay with you. Meeting you allowed me to regain myself. So I want us to be together from now on, too..."

"Hey, if your happiness means staying by my side... Then prove it. If you do, I think I might actually be able to forgive you."

What the hell did I just say? I didn't even understand what I was saying myself. I just hated her and despised her, yet I was full of lingering feelings and couldn't be happy anymore.

"Okay. I understand. How much I like you. How much I love you. I'll prove it to you right now."

I thought it wouldn't be anything decent anyway. At most, a hug, a kiss, or sex. If she used her body, she could manage anything, right? That's what she's thinking, isn't it? That's what I thought. I was wrong.

"Watch. I can prove my love. If you won't be by my side, I don't need this life anymore. So watch me. Look at me. Don't ever, ever forget me. I love you so much. I love you, darling."

My wife plunged a knife into her own chest right in front of my eyes. She didn't hesitate for a second. With a gentle smile on her face, staring straight at me, she died simply. It was a death with no warning signs, leaving nothing behind. I was just left stunned. The only woman who ever loved me was lost forever. I don't remember much of what happened after that. Her lover beat the shit out of me while crying. Her parents screamed at me while weeping. I lost all my friends. I kept my job, at least, but I had no motivation left. Only dull days of drowning in alcohol remained. And then, while I was wandering the streets in a daze...

"If only a piece of trash like you didn't exist, she could have been happy."

That was the only thing I heard. Before I knew it, someone was standing in front of me. Then I felt a sharp pain in my chest. It was turning bright red.

"Was it all my fault...? That's absurd..."

Then I collapsed just like that, and I died.

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