My Best Brother's Girlfriend Is My WifeChapter 1
In my previous life, Sofia and I were the picture of marital bliss – a couple whose harmony and love seemed almost too perfect to be true. For five years, we played the role of an ideal union, a facade carefully constructed by my own hands. To our family and friends, we were a model couple, admired for our devotion and harmony. Yet, behind closed doors, the reality was far from the illusion we presented.
Sofia, with her delicate demeanor, had never once lifted a finger to tend to domestic chores. The kitchen remained a foreign land to her; she had never stirred a pot, nor had she ever faced the mundane task of mopping the floor. I, in turn, took on the role of the perfect husband, attending to her every whim and desire. This role earned me glowing praise from her family, who lauded me as a son-in-law beyond compare, oblivious to the cold chasm that separated us.
In those five years, Sofia never allowed me to truly touch her, emotionally or physically. Her heart remained tethered to a ghost from her past – her first love, a man who had suffered from leukemia. Our marriage was nothing more than a strategic maneuver, a means to an end. The dowry money was destined to pay for his treatment. When I perished in that devastating fire, consumed by flames, she seized the opportunity to escape with her true love. As my body turned to ash, a grotesque scene unfolded. She clung to him, her hand resting on her swollen belly and declared with chilling detachment, "We finally have a child." Her voice held a cold indifference, a stark contrast to the agony of my demise.
In this new life, I am determined to live for myself. The strings that once bound me to that cruel past have been severed. I refuse to be a pawn in anyone's game again.
***
Sofia's voice cut through the morning stillness like a shard of ice. "Rowan, I need you to cover for me with my parents today. I have to take Lewis for chemotherapy."
The request was routine but carried a commanding edge, a reminder of the unequal dynamic that had defined our five years together. Every interaction had been a choreographed dance around Lewis, her first love who remained the center of her world.
Her indifferent tone left me momentarily disoriented. The searing pain from the fire that had consumed me was now a distant memory. I realized with a jolt that I had been reborn.