In the fifth year of my husband’s affair, t…
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On the fifth Christmas of my husband Liam Lopez’s affair, the system that had been unreachable finally appeared again, telling me I could go home. In those final seven days, I stopped fighting and arguing with Liam, stopped caring about him going out with his mistress and not coming home at night, and stopped caring about him giving my precious belongings to other women.
The day I left was our fifth wedding anniversary. Liam burst into the house with Emma White, knocked over the meal I had prepared, then grabbed me by the throat and pressed broken glass against me, demanding to know why I had hurt Emma and his child. Liam also said, “How did you become so vicious? You even make me sick.”
I smiled and didn’t defend myself at all, only saying, “I did all these things. I am that vicious. Are you only realizing this now? So, I wish you two will be together forever.”
Then, under his gaze, I viciously slashed the artery in my neck, ending everything I had in this world.
*****
The first time the system appeared, Liam and I had just finished fighting. The bedroom floor was in complete chaos, covered with paper scraps and glass shards. Liam had just returned home from a trip with his kept mistress, and the first thing he wanted to do was have sex with me. He held me tightly, kissing me all
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over my body, his hands wandering everywhere. My eyes were filled with disgust as I pushed him away, but he became like an enraged beast, his eyes turning red.
Liam glared at me viciously and said, “Do you know how those women outside please me? What are you pretending? Didn’t you used to say you’d do anything just to be with me? Now you’re playing the pure woman?”
I looked at him in disbelief. I never thought he would compare me to those women. Moreover, he was the one cheating, yet he still had the audacity to blame me for not cooperating with him. I couldn’t bring myself to please Liam while feeling disgusted. When he was out playing with other women, did he ever think of me? I said, “I just find you disgusting. Don’t touch me.”
I was extremely emotional, resisting his advances, even wanting him to disappear from my sight immediately. Liam sneered coldly, forcefully grabbed my hands, and pressed me against the mirror on the vanity. He also reached out and squeezed my face hard, his eyes full of contemptuous mockery: “Look at yourself now, completely different from before. Do you still think you’re that most beautiful girl in school that everyone chased after? Scarlett, face reality. You’re just an old woman now, with nothing to keep me interested. Besides your body, what else is worth a second glance?”
Scarlett Stewart is my name. I looked at myself in the mirror— clothes disheveled, fine lines appearing on my once–beautiful face, eyes full of sorrow. I really couldn’t compare to his young
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kept woman. After all, she was young and obedient, knowing how to make Liam happy. While I was like a thorny rose, unable to say sweet words, unable to please him, always making him uncomfortable. But I had always been this way from the beginning. Back then, he said he loved me just like this.
Liam’s voice was like a demon’s whisper: “You’re now just a bad–tempered woman who loves to make a scene, exactly like your mother.”
This last sentence Liam said shattered all my self–respect, humiliating me thoroughly before trampling me underfoot. I broke free from his restraints like a madwoman and slapped him with all my strength. Then my tears kept falling to the ground. Liam was stunned by my sudden action. He gritted his teeth wanting to hit me, but seeing me cry so heartbrokenly, he froze. I was a very strong–willed person who had never cried in front of Liam before.
This was the first time he’d ever seen me cry so heartbroken. Liam and I had been together for five years, and though I’d endured countless grievances, never had there been a moment that made me feel he was this cruel. Through my sobs, I asked him, “Liam, do you dare repeat what you just said?”
But Liam remained silent. I pressed him again: “Say something!”
I was consumed with hatred. I hated how he ignored all the wrongs I’d suffered, hated that he’d fallen for someone else, and
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most of all, I hated that he said I was just like my mother. He knew perfectly well this was the one thing I never wanted to discuss, my only boundary. Yet to mock me, he’d casually thrown it in my face. Perhaps he’d been wanting to say these things all along, and now, in his emotional state, he’d finally let
it all out.
Liam let out a cold laugh, completely dismissing my breakdown. He thought I was just throwing a tantrum. He said, “There’s nothing left to say between us. Scarlett, what I said today wasn’t because I was emotional. Is there any difference between how you look right now and what I described?”
w and what I described?”
My throat felt blocked, unable to swallow or breathe, the pressure making my chest ache. My vision began to blur, my nails digging into my palms, yet I felt no pain. The suffocating sensation threatened to drown me like a rising tide. I could no longer make out what he was saying after that.
I asked him, “So what? Liam, is this your excuse for cheating? Why? Why are you treating me like this?”
As I spoke, I couldn’t help but picture Emma’s youthfully vibrant face. Her eyes sparkled with life and barely concealed ambition. She truly was beautiful, radiating vitality and an irresistible charm that couldn’t be ignored. It was only a matter of time before Liam would be drawn to her.
Then Liam said, “Isn’t this enough? Scarlett, if you just behave yourself, I can continue maintaining this marriage with you.
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After all, besides me, you have no one else to depend on. Emma may be better than you in every way, but I’m just having fun with her. She won’t affect your position. What are you worried about?”
Liam moved closer, whispering gently in my ear while patiently wiping the tears from my face. He continued, “So don’t do anything excessive.”
My heart felt like it was being crushed in a giant fist. Liam was such a bastard! He’d been playing with people’s emotions all along!
Liam added, “Besides, being seen with her makes me look better.”
After saying this, he looked me up and down, then suddenly burst into laughter. He said, “As for you? You’re not young anymore. You only embarrass me:
I kept my head down, saying nothing. Finally, just as Liam was losing patience and preparing to leave, I found my voice, hoarse and ugly. I asked, “Liam, do you really love me?”
Liam paused for a moment, then without hesitation, slammed the door shut. The room fell silent. After a long while, I let out a short, mocking laugh. Even I found myself ridiculous.
Finally, the emotions I’d been suppressing for so long completely erupted. I lost control, screaming and smashing
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many things in the house. I collapsed alone on the floor, staring at the chaos around me, letting my heart be consumed by grief and pain.
Just then, the System that had been absent for so long appeared. Its voice sounded like both beautiful music that could save me and a devil tempting me to sin. It said, “Host, it’s time to go home. Your mission is complete.”
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