I Became My Brother's Substitute1
My wife, Linda, didn't come back until one a.m. She started crying as soon as she hugged me.
I couldn't help but ask her, "Did you fight with him?"
She paused for a moment and nodded.
I comforted her gently, saying, "Stop crying. Couples will argue often and make up quickly. You two will be fine tomorrow."
I used to think that she would never fall for someone else. After all, she almost severed ties with her family to marry me back then.
But I didn't know the truth until my childhood friend returned from abroad.
"What bullshit love. She did all this for my face."
At one a.m., Linda finally came back.
She started crying as soon as she hugged me.
After a long time, I woke up from my dream.
Seeing her crying so painfully, I couldn't help but ask, "Did you fight with him?"
She stopped crying for a moment. Sniffing, she nodded heavily.
She held me tighter.
Seeing her crying so painfully, I couldn't help but say, "It's okay. Stop crying. Couples fight and make up soon. You two will be fine tomorrow."
With my comfort, she finally fell asleep.
Standing beside her, I let out a sigh of relief.
I was devoid of sleepiness.
I walked into the bathroom and washed my face repeatedly.
The first year of my marriage with Linda Dunlap was not like this. We had been married for three years.
She used to be sincere to me. Unknowingly, she started to be indecisive and disregarded my feelings.
Every time we attended a party, her friends around her made fun of me, but I didn't mind.
After all, she was my wife.
I didn't expect her to get tired of me so soon.
Now the boy by Linda's side was a fresh college graduate.
He, who was emotionally unstable, liked to throw tantrums, but it seemed that Linda was tolerant of him. She often did something outrageous for him.
Standing in front of the Dunlap family's mansion, I was mentally tense. I had been standing for a long time.
I hated coming here the most. I would never forget how Edward Dunlap had humiliated me three years ago.
When my family went bankrupt, Linda insisted on marrying me despite her family's opposition.
She ran away from home and attempted to commit suicide.
I felt sorry for her. I couldn't bear to see her suffer with me.
Seeing that she was determined, Edward had someone invite me here.