Wife's Graduation Day: She Calls Me a Stalker

On the day my wife, Rachel Carter, receives her Ph.D., I rush back from overseas. But when I approach her with a carefully chosen gift, she slaps me in front of everyone. "I'm a married woman with a family of my own. Stop trying to make me your lover!" I watch as she turns away from me and makes her way over to a family of four. "Honey, Mom, Dad, don't mind him. This man is crazy. Let's go," she says gently. Refusing to give up, I catch up to her and grab her arm. "What happened, Rach?" I ask. "Who's this scary man, Mommy?" a child asks. "Why does he keep bothering you?" Rachel yanks her hand away and pulls out her phone. "I've already called the police. Stop harassing me, you piece of trash!" As I stare at her retreating figure, a wave of exhaustion suddenly washes over me. I pull out my phone and make a call. "Notify headquarters, William. Cancel all plans to relocate our global headquarters back to Jekovia." After I hang up, I toss the gift into a nearby trash can and walk away without looking back. Chapter 1 The police in Jevokia worked fast. Just as I had stepped out of the graduation venue, an officer stopped me. I had to show them my marriage certificate and explain the situation before they finally let me go. The moment they left, I received a text message from my wife, Rachel Carter. "There's a reason I acted that way earlier, Sam. Please don't overthink it. Just head back home and wait for me there, okay? I'll explain everything when I get back." I stared at the text message on my phone. For the first time, I abruptly realized that I didn't want to wait. Shortly after Rachel and I got together, she told me she wanted to continue her education. To give her and her family a better life, I decided to work overseas with a few of my college friends. During my time abroad, I lived frugally and sent nearly all of my earnings back home to Rachel in hopes of making her life easier. Last year, I caught up with the AI boom at just the right time. I developed several hit products, and my net worth skyrocketed almost overnight. Then, I seized the opportunity and founded my own company. In just one year, my company grew at an incredible pace and quickly established itself as one of the industry's biggest rising stars. Initially, I had planned to relocate the company to Jekovia so I could finally settle down and build a life with Rachel. I'd prepared for every possible setback and come up with the best possible solution for each one. But to my dismay, the one variable I failed to account for was my own wife. I was just about to take a taxi home when my phone started to ring. It was my good friend, Liam Sawyer. "Your flight has already landed, right? Come on over to our usual spot. We're throwing you a welcome-home party," he said. After hanging up, I took a taxi straight to Alley Bar. By the time I arrived, Liam and the rest of our friends had already been waiting for some time. The moment Liam saw me, his face lit up. "There he is!" he exclaimed excitedly. "He's back at last. Come on—have a seat." As soon as I sat down, I grabbed a drink and downed it in one big gulp. "What's wrong?" Liam asked. "You just got back, and you're already in a bad mood?" Then, he added jokingly, "Are you starting to feel lonely because you've been single for too long?" His comment caught me off guard. I couldn't help but flash him a blank look as I tried to make sense of what he'd just said. "What do you mean 'single'? Don't you know that I've been married for years?" I asked, puzzled. "Didn't you get a divorce? When my wife was giving birth two years ago, Rachel was in the bed right next to hers. She's the one who told me about your divorce." Chapter 2 I jerked my head up and stared at Liam. My ears were ringing, and my mind had gone completely blank. While I'd been working myself to the bone to give Rachel a better life, she had given birth to another man's child. "What's wrong, Sam?" I fell silent. When Liam saw the look on my face, his expression changed. "We didn't get a divorce," I said shakily as I tightened my grip around my glass. Upon hearing this, Liam froze. As he tried to process his shock, he found himself at a loss for words. After a long pause, he suddenly remembered something. He fumbled for his phone and frantically tapped through the screen before handing the device to me. "Look. This is her social media feed. Are you not able to see it?" I took the phone from him and began scrolling through Rachel's posts. The more I saw, the heavier my heart became. Five years ago, Rachel began filling her social media page with photos of herself and another man. In the photos, the pair embraced each other beneath falling snow and kissed amid fireworks lighting up the night sky. They also traveled and wandered through unfamiliar cities together. Two years later, her feed transformed into an online diary of her newborn child. From the day their daughter was born, she began to document every moment of her life on social media. I continued scrolling with trembling fingers, but she had posted an overwhelming number of photos. It was nearly impossible for me to go through everything. A bitter smile tugged at my lips. I felt sick to my stomach. The feeling was unbearable. I wanted to let it all out, but I couldn't. In the end, all that remained was a lingering feeling of bitterness that refused to fade. After piecing everything together, Liam's face darkened with fury. "So you never got a divorce?" he snapped, looking outraged. "You were working your ass off overseas to give Rachel the best life possible. Meanwhile, she was using your money to support another man? She even gave birth to his child!" I let out a self-mocking laugh. I was quite possibly the stupidest man on the entire planet. She had me fooled for seven years. She'd played me for an absolute fool. "What are you going to do now?" Liam asked. I clenched my fists and forced myself to calm down. In a bitter voice, I declared, "I'll file for divorce and take back everything that's rightfully mine." I was determined to take everything back. There was no way I'd let her get away with this unscathed. … After several rounds of drinks, I dragged my exhausted body home. It had been a year since I last returned home. Back then, my company had just started to gain its footing. I had only managed to meet up with Rachel for a short while before I rushed back overseas. So, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. I repeatedly entered the passcode to the electronic lock, but each attempt was met with the same cold, mechanical voice. "Incorrect passcode. Please try again." After multiple failed attempts, the system automatically alerted the neighborhood security guard. I was escorted away once again. I showed the guard my marriage certificate and insisted that this was my home. But after he asked me a simple question, I found myself at a loss for words. "If this is your home, why don't you know the passcode?" he asked. I tried to come up with a suitable response, but I didn't know what I could possibly say. Was I supposed to tell him that my wife had cheated on me? I let out a wry laugh. In the end, I didn't say anything and got up to leave. Just as I reached the entrance, I bumped into Rachel, who had hastily rushed over. "Why didn't you just call me and ask for the passcode?" she asked. "What's gotten into you, Sam? You've been acting so distant ever since you came back." Chapter 3 "You didn't answer any of my calls or my texts. And now, you won't even call to ask me for the new passcode?" Rachel asked. She continued, "Tell me the truth, Sam. Have you fallen out of love with me? Is there someone else?" I stared at the wounded expression on Rachel's face and realized I'd never noticed how shameless she could be. In the past, I would've argued with her. Then, I'd pull out screenshots of her social media posts and demand an explanation. But now, I didn't think any of that was necessary anymore. I followed Rachel inside. The moment I took off my coat, she grabbed my sleeve and leaned in close to me. She was still wearing the same perfume. I used to love that scent. Now, it only made me feel sick. I shoved Rachel away and rushed into the bathroom to throw up. She leaned against the doorframe and flashed me a look of disdain. "I haven't even gotten the chance to ask you about this. What's gotten into you today? Why did you drink so much? "I told you, Sam Jensen. I can't stand men who drink. Do my words mean nothing now that you've been away for so many years? Is this how little I mean to you?" I wiped my mouth and lifted my head to meet her gaze. With a stone-cold expression, I replied, "What about you? Did you respect my wishes and keep your distance from other men?" Upon hearing this, Rachel stiffened. An awkward look flashed across her face before she turned away from me. "I knew you'd be too petty to let that go," she said exasperatedly. "You just want to know who those people are, right? Fine—I'll tell you everything." "The man you saw is my Ph.D. classmate. He helped me tremendously during my research and gave me a lot of valuable advice. If it weren't for him, I would never have been able to graduate. Earning my doctorate has always been my dream, and he did me a huge favor," she explained. She continued, "His father is really ill, and his ultimate wish is to watch his son get married before he passes away. So, he asked me to pretend to be his wife. It's the least I could do after everything he has done for me." As she spoke, she began to tear up. It was as though she felt touched by her own story. "What about the child?" I asked. "How do you explain that?" My question caught Rachel by surprise. A moment later, a flicker of guilt flashed across her eyes, and she replied, "What do you think? To make the act believable, we hired a child actress to play our child. Didn't she do a pretty convincing job?" After a brief pause, she added, "There. I've explained everything, so stop digging for answers and just move on from this conversation. You started interrogating me the minute you got home. Have you ever stopped to think about how that would make me feel?" I scoffed in disbelief. My chest tightened, and before I knew it, I had thrown up again. Covering her mouth, Rachel shot me a disgusted glance and said, "I'm going to get changed. Clean this up yourself, and don't go drinking ever again!" After I finished throwing up, I walked over to the refrigerator to fetch myself a bottle of ice-cold water. I was hoping that it would soothe the discomfort in my stomach. As I reached the refrigerator, my eyes immediately fell on the magnets covering its door. The magnets were rather unusual. Every single one was made from pictures of Rachel and the man she was with. When I pulled one off the refrigerator to take a closer look, I was surprised to find words written on the back. Chapter 4 I checked the magnets one by one. "In honor of my third wedding anniversary with Jasper." "In honor of Jasper's birthday." "In honor of my fifth wedding anniversary with Jasper." "In honor of my first kiss with Jasper." I stared at the magnets that were scattered all over the refrigerator door. All of a sudden, I let out a bitter laugh. Rachel and I had been together for seven years, but she could never remember my birthday. On several occasions, I waited until the very end of the day to post a subtle reminder on social media. Then, she'd send me a small gift card as a token gesture. Somehow, that tiny gesture was enough to convince me I was the luckiest man in the world. Our anniversaries were even worse. Every year, I'd prepare a gift weeks in advance before mailing it overseas to her. Looking back now, I finally realized our relationship had always been one-sided. I was always the one making an effort, while she never even bothered to even meet me halfway. But why would she? After all, she was already cheating on me with another man. After changing into a fresh set of clothes, Rachel emerged from the bedroom and overheard me laughing. Frowning, she walked over to me and spat, "What's so funny? How do you still have the nerve to laugh when you've gotten yourself drunk out of your mind?" When I didn't answer, she followed my gaze. Once she caught sight of the refrigerator magnets, she instinctively started to defend herself. "Don't read too much into it, Sam. These magnets are just part of a game of Truth or Dare. I lost, so they made me put them up. They're all fake. It's nothing serious." I didn't respond. Instead, I grabbed a bottle of ice-cold water from the refrigerator and finished it in one go. Then, I turned away from her and walked toward the study. Rachel followed me into the study. Casting me a suspicious glance, she said hesitantly, "Ever since you came back, you've been acting a little—" Before she could finish, her phone rang in the living room. She hurried over and answered the call. "Hello? What's wrong?" "She's running a high fever? She was perfectly fine when I left. What happened?" "You're at the hospital? Okay, I'm on my way. Don't panic." After she hung up, she rushed back to me and said, "Um… the child actress is sick. She got sick while she was helping us put on that act today, so we feel obligated to take care of her. Just stay home and wait for me, okay? I'll go and check on her." Without waiting for my response, she hastily changed into a new set of clothes before rushing out the front door. After Rachel left, I sat alone in the dark without uttering a single word. I was devastated and heartbroken. Pretending like I wasn't upset would've been a complete lie. For the past seven years, I did everything in my power to give my wife a better life. That goal had been the driving force behind everything I had ever worked for. Now that it was gone, I wasn't sure if I could keep going. Once I had finally decided to call my lawyer, I picked up my phone. "Miles, I want a divorce." I gave my lawyer, Miles Decker, a summary of everything that had happened between Rachel and me. Then, I asked him to draft the divorce papers as soon as possible. After hanging up, I got to my feet and turned on the lights in the study. It wasn't until then that I noticed our wedding portrait was gone. In its place hung a wedding photo of Rachel and another man.