My Wife Got Me Killed for Her First Love’s Victory—So I Put Her on Trial Before the Entire Internet

During the paragliding competition, my wife, Emma Carter, secretly altered my tow device so that the man she had never gotten over could win. By the time I discovered it in midair, it was already too late. All I could do was watch helplessly as the enormous paraglider carried me down into the old-growth forest below. As I died, Emma’s unconcerned voice seemed to echo in my ears. “Aren’t you supposed to be so capable? Even if I altered your tow device, why don’t you still go win first place?” After a burst of excruciating pain, I slowly opened my eyes. Only then did I realize that my entire body was translucent and floating in midair. A roaring crowd filled the space beneath my feet, and it was the awards ceremony for the paragliding competition. My wife, who was hosting the event, excitedly placed the gold medal around Adrian Blake’s neck. When she rose onto her toes to hug him, she even kissed his cheek with a sweet, loving look in her eyes. When asked to give his victory speech, Adrian smiled at Emma and spoke with conviction. “I’m thrilled to be standing on this podium, and I also want to take this opportunity to thank Emma, because without you standing by me day after day, I never could’ve returned to competition, much less won this medal!” Emma covered her mouth in delighted surprise, her face glowing with a charming smile. “You’re talented and you worked hard, and I simply didn’t want to see you lose your chance to achieve your dream.” Even the media began marveling over what a beautiful love story they had. As I watched the two of them entwine their fingers and lean sweetly against each other onstage, my heart felt as if it were being pierced by needles. Why? Emma was my lawfully wedded wife. And that gold medal, the symbol of honor and achievement, should have belonged to me! Yet in reality, I was the one who had lost my dream, and I was also the one who had died with unfinished business. I suddenly remembered how Emma had held my hand before I left that morning and told me that paragliding competitions were too dangerous, saying she wanted me to withdraw. I had merely smiled, affectionately ruffled her hair, and promised to bring home a gold medal for her. At the time, I thought she was genuinely concerned about my safety. Only now did I realize that all she cared about was helping Adrian win the championship. Adrian and I had been rivals ever since I entered the sport. Whenever both of us competed in the same event, the battle for the gold medal was always a hot topic. Many people online even gambled and placed bets during the annual competitions. Adrian had simply never beaten me. That remained true until three years ago, when he was caught using performance-enhancing drugs before a competition and was subsequently suspended and sent overseas. Only then did interest in our rivalry gradually fade. During those three years, I swept championships at paragliding competitions across the country, became one of the sport’s hottest athletes, and earned the online nickname “Peter Pan.” Even for today’s competition, almost everyone online had bet on me to win. But now I hadn’t even appeared. The gamblers below the stage instantly erupted and began demanding that I show myself and explain. After all, how could a competitor in excellent condition with extraordinary talent possibly finish at the bottom? “Where is Lucas Reed right now? Bring him out here to explain! What the hell happened?” “He must’ve been paid to deliberately throw the competition, because how else could a perpetual loser like Adrian possibly beat Lucas? Does he think the audience is blind?” As the host, Emma forced herself to step forward and smooth things over. “Please rest assured that this competition was entirely fair and impartial, and I promise that the organizers will release the competition footage afterward and conduct rigorous physical examinations of the competitors to ensure that no violations occurred!” But instead of calming everyone down, her words only made the venue even more chaotic. At that moment, a staff member rushed out from backstage and said anxiously: “One competitor’s paraglider malfunctioned during the event, and he may have fallen into the old-growth forest, so we’re currently unable to contact him!” As soon as he said that, the microphone fell from Emma’s hand and struck the floor with a thud.I watched Emma stare nervously at the staff member. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she remained where she was without moving. As I studied the subtle changes in her expression, I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or amused. After hearing that a competitor had been in an accident, the media immediately smelled a headline, because Adrian’s shocking upset was already a rare occurrence, and an accident would draw even more attention. Under persistent questioning from the reporters, the staff member reluctantly revealed: “The matter is still under investigation, but based on the drone footage, the paraglider was purple, and the competitor involved should have launched from Lane Six.” Emma visibly breathed a huge sigh of relief. After all, everyone knew that I had always competed with a black paraglider. What they didn’t know was that ten minutes before the competition, I discovered damage to my black canopy, so worried that it might affect my performance, I switched to my spare purple one. Adrian had personally seen me put on that equipment. Yet at that moment, he remained silent onstage, slowly rubbing the gold medal on his chest with his right hand as if lost in thought. Because of the accident, the awards ceremony was interrupted, and Emma hurriedly left the venue with Adrian. Once she got into the car, she took out her phone and called me. But my phone remained switched off. As I watched her brows slowly draw together, an indescribable feeling rose inside me. I always turned off my phone while competing, but the moment each competition ended, I would switch it back on and let her know I was safe. This was the only time nearly two hours had passed since the end of a competition without a single word from me. Emma hesitated for a moment before opening SnapChat to send me a message. [Where are you right now? I already explained that I had a reason, so stop taking this too far.] Before she could send the message, however, Adrian leaned toward her. He took her phone directly from her hand and gently coaxed her. “All right, stop looking at your phone, because I booked a restaurant to celebrate, and we need to have a proper drink together later.” Emma’s tightly knitted brows still did not relax. “Where do you think Lucas went?” “All I did was alter his tow device, and with his skill, he shouldn’t have ended up in last place, right?” Adrian reached out and pinched Emma’s cheek, and nothing about his expression seemed unusual. “Lucas might be angry, and since he couldn’t win first place, maybe he simply withdrew halfway through, so let’s give him some time alone.” As he spoke, Adrian sighed and put on a pitiful expression. “This is all my fault, because if I weren’t sick, you wouldn’t have tampered with Lucas’s tow device for my sake, so why don’t I go explain it to him later?” After hearing him say that, Emma’s concern vanished completely. “Don’t say that, because none of this is your fault, and I know that with your talent and hard work, winning a gold medal was only a matter of time!” “Emma, you’re the only person in this world who treats me so well.” Adrian wrapped his arm around Emma and drew her into his embrace while murmuring sickeningly sweet words of affection. When I saw them cuddled together through the car window, all I felt was disgust. Emma always said she had a low sex drive, and she rarely said anything romantic to me. She said we weren’t hormonal teenagers and told me to stop being so clingy. Yet with Adrian, she was behaving in a way I had never seen before. All at once, I finally understood. The problem had always been me, because she simply didn’t love me. In the quiet car, Adrian suddenly asked, “Emma, if I hadn’t gone abroad back then, would you still have married Lucas?”