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The Betrayal
"Happy anniversary," I greeted my wife while holding her favorite flavored cake. The cake, a symbol of our anniversary, sat heavy in my hands. A stark contrast to the lightness of my heart just moments ago. I had been so excited, picturing the joy on Jennie's face as I presented her with the sweet treat. Now, the only thing sweet about it was the frosting, a cruel reminder of the sugar-coated lies that had been swirling around us for the past two years.
The sight of them, tangled together in our bed, was a punch to the gut. Taehyung, my cousin, his arm draped possessively around my wife, his face slack with sleep. Jennie, her face flushed, a smile playing on her lips. It was a scene ripped straight from a nightmare, an impossible betrayal that shattered my world.
"B-babe?" Jennie mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.
"Lisa..." Taehyung echoed, his eyes fluttering open to meet mine.
I sat there, frozen, the cake a weighty symbol of the shattered trust. The words, "Babe," and "Lisa," felt like daggers twisting in my heart. The betrayal was as raw and as sharp as the knife they had used to cut the cake.
"Since when?" I managed to croak out, my voice trembling.
"Babe, let me explain..." Jennie began, but I cut her off.
"I said, since when?!" I roared, the sound echoing through the room. Jennie flinched, her eyes wide with fear.
"Two years," He replied, his voice a monotone.
Two years. Two years of deceit, of stolen glances, of whispered secrets. Two years of my life that had been a lie.
"Is that true?" I asked Jennie, my voice a mere whisper.
"Babe, please listen..."
"I just need the truth, Jennie!" I yelled, the first time I had ever raised my voice in anger at her.
"Bab..."
"Tell me---YES!"
The confirmation ripped through me like a bullet. My world, our world, crumbled around me.
"Why?" I asked, my voice hoarse.
"I-I'm sorry, babe..."
"Why did you do that? What have I done to deserve this, Jennie?"
"Two years..." I repeated, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.
"Please listen to me, babe," she pleaded, reaching out to take my hand.
"Do you still love me?" I asked, turning to face her. The question hung in the air, heavy with unspoken pain.
"O-of course, Lisa..." she began, but I cut her off.
"Then why?!" I roared.
"Why did you fool me? Why Jennie? Why?!"
"Please, Lisa..."
"Fucking answer me----cause I don't feel you anymore!" She cut me off.
"What?"
"You're always busy when I need you."
"That's why you cheated? That's why you fooled me?!" Jennie was speechless.
"I'm sorry..."
"That's bullshit, Jennie. What kind of excuse is that? I was busy because I was working. I was working for us! For our future! I was always at the hospital. Didn't I tell you about my dream in the first place? Since we were in college, you know what I want. We even made a promise that we would understand one another, which includes me being a doctor!"
"I got tired! I'm tired of understanding you, okay? I feel like we're drifting apart little by little, and I got scared, I got sad. Taehyung...he's the one who's there with me when you're not with me. He became my comfort, my safe space until I... I fell for him."
The words tumbled out of me, raw and ragged, a desperate plea against the tide of betrayal. "You fell for him? You can't love two people at the same time, Jennie! You can't love someone who isn't your other half!"
Each syllable was a sharp, stinging barb, aimed at the heart of the woman I had sworn to love forever. The realization that she had fallen for another, that she had found solace in the arms of my own cousin, was a wound that refused to heal. It was a betrayal that went beyond the physical act, a violation of the very soul of our commitment.
My voice, hoarse with pain, echoed through the room, a testament to the shattered trust that lay between us. The words, "other half," felt heavy on my tongue, a reminder of the sacred bond we had once shared, now torn asunder by her infidelity. It was a bond I had believed was unbreakable, a love I had thought was impervious to the storms of life. But now, standing before her, I saw the fragility of it all, the ease with which it could be shattered.
Her words were like a physical blow. The five years of our marriage, the shared dreams, the promises we had made, all felt like a cruel joke.
I saw Taehyung behind Jennie, his eyes filled with a mixture of guilt and regret.
"I asked you every time, Jen. I always asked you if we are okay. If you need anything, if you want anything, but you keep your mouth shut..."
"Let me ask you again. Are you still in love with me? Am I still the one?" My voice quivered at my own question. Jennie glanced at me, tears still streaming down her face.
Five minutes... The silence stretched, thick and suffocating.
"I felt abandoned loving you," she said, breaking the silence.
The words hung in the air, a chilling epitaph to our love. Loving me wasn't enough. My dedication, my ambition, my dreams, they were all meaningless in the face of her loneliness, her fear.
"Doctor, Manoban, you only have six months to live."
The doctor's words echoed in my mind, a cruel twist of fate. The news of my impending death was a stark contrast to the pain that was tearing me apart. My life, my dreams, my love, all fading away, replaced by a void that would never be filled.
