My Wife Killed Me for Her Childhood Sweetheart—Now She Regrets It

“I was the one who put the stimulants in your drink. So what?” “One championship belt means nothing to you, but this is Mason’s last chance!” “Ethan, I’m warning you. If you dare stop him from winning the belt this time, I’ll divorce you!” I wanted to curl my lips into a mocking smile, but my swollen body no longer allowed me to. In the gloomy alley, I quietly closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I was standing on the podium at the boxing championship. I had already become a ghost. Countless cameras and microphones were aimed at the center of the stage. My wife, Ava Bennett, and her childhood sweetheart, Mason Reed, stood there, accepting the cheers of every reporter. The host held a microphone in one hand and raised Mason’s arm high with the other. “Since the defending champion, Ethan Carter, did not participate in the match, according to the organizing committee’s rules, the new champion’s belt goes to…” “Mason Reed!” The crowd instantly erupted into thunderous cheers, and the entire arena burst into life. Mason freed one hand and pulled Ava into his arms, his bare chest pressed tightly against her. Ava did not shove him away in disgust and step aside the way she always did with me. Instead, she grabbed Mason’s hand, her excitement and admiration impossible to hide. Mason looked into my wife’s eyes, took the microphone, and spoke with deep emotion: “Today, I won the championship belt. Aside from everyone at my club, there’s one person I have to thank.” “My coach and nutritionist, Ava Bennett.” “This belt is not only proof of all my hard work. It’s also a gift for you.” Mason took Ava’s hand and placed it on the championship belt. The fierceness he had shown during the fight was gone from his eyes, replaced by a tenderness as gentle as water. Ava’s eyes shimmered with tears, and her voice was soft. “Mason won this belt through his own hard work.” The love between them spread throughout the arena through the camera lenses. The reporters below kept taking pictures, afraid of missing even a single shot. Even the coaches nearby wore knowing, suggestive smiles. I watched everything in front of me, and my heart felt like it was being cut apart. Ava Bennett was clearly my wife, and that championship belt should have belonged to me today. Yet now, all the glory and happiness belonged to my wife’s childhood sweetheart, Mason Reed. Before this match, no one believed he could defeat me and win the new championship belt. The reason was obvious. He had already lost to me for four years in a row, and this was his fifth year. His stamina had begun to decline with age, while I was at the peak of my career. In terms of technique, physical strength, and determination, I overwhelmed him in every way. Everyone called Mason the eternal runner-up. And this year, once again, it was going to be a showdown between the two of us. Before the final match, Ava said to me: “This is Mason’s last year competing. Why don’t you let the eternal runner-up take first place for once? Give his career a perfect ending.” Her meaning was obvious. She wanted me to hold back and let Mason win. But boxing was not a sport where you could simply give your opponent a victory. No excellent boxer would intentionally hold back. Without the confidence and determination to win, no one could become a professional boxer. I told Ava clearly that I could never deliberately lose. Even if I did, Mason would not accept it. It would be disrespectful to my opponent. Ava had never cared about my matches before. No matter how important or difficult they were, she had always remained indifferent. But this time, she was unusually attentive. Early the next morning, she prepared the water I was supposed to drink before the match. When I opened the bottle, I noticed a strange smell in the water. When I asked her about it, she only said it was a new kind of electrolyte drink with a flavor I had never tried before. I never suspected a thing. How could I doubt the wife I had lived with for five years? Before I left, Ava behaved completely out of character and deliberately fussed over me, insisting that I take a sip before going. Only now did I realize that the strange smell had never come from electrolyte water. It had come from stimulants mixed into it. She had told me countless times that she hated people who used dirty tricks, but this time, she had betrayed her own principles. They were enjoying the glory onstage. No one cared about me, the loser, not even my wife. Everyone cursed me and called me a coward who was afraid to die. But no one knew that I was allergic to stimulants. Even a tiny amount would trigger a severe allergic reaction and make it impossible for me to breathe. A slightly larger dose could very likely kill me. Reporters swarmed around them, thrusting microphones toward their faces and firing off all kinds of questions. Then one reporter’s question made the entire arena fall silent. “As I understand it, Ethan Carter is your husband. Do you know where he is?”Ava frowned. Of course, she had no idea where I was. Mason answered first. “Ethan made his own decision. Ava had nothing to do with it.” “To be honest, I used to admire Ethan. I’ve always been his defeated opponent, but I considered him my greatest rival. In the ring, he was my enemy. Outside the ring, he was my idol.” “But running away without even fighting today makes it impossible for me to defend him. Naturally, Ava feels the same disgust toward his behavior.” My disappearance had originally weighed on Ava’s mind. Even though she was thrilled, there had still been a slight crease between her brows. But Mason’s words immediately turned my disappearance into an act of cowardly retreat. According to him, I had been afraid of losing and had deliberately vanished to avoid the match. When Ava heard him, the last trace of concern on her face disappeared completely. Only disdain remained. “If he had been the same person he used to be, no one would have blamed him even if he lost.” “But he ran away today. All I can think is that he’s a coward. No one will ever admire a coward like that!” Once, during the finals of the boxing championship, I was in a car accident on my way to the arena. The car I was riding in was struck in the side by a bus that had run a red light. But luck was on my side. I was not seriously injured, only suffering from a mild concussion at most. The shattered glass and twisted frame had sliced my body until I was covered in blood. The organizing committee asked whether I wanted to postpone the match. I could clearly tell that my injuries were not severe. Defeating the opponent in front of me would be no problem. After quickly treating my wounds, I walked straight into the ring. The impact had sent adrenaline surging through my body, making me impervious to pain. My attacks were even more aggressive than when I was in perfect condition. In the end, I defeated a veteran who had been famous for years and won the first championship belt of my life. That match drew the attention of the entire internet, and countless people became my fans because of my determination. My fans gave me a nickname: the Iron-Boned Champion. Everyone said that even if I lost, they would not be afraid to keep supporting me. With that kind of resilience, they would remain my fans. But because I had not shown up for this match, combined with Mason’s manipulation, I had gone from an unbreakable champion to a coward who was too afraid to fight just to protect his reputation. As I listened to my wife’s words, pain spread from my chest through my entire body. Even if I had not been allergic, what difference would it have made? I still would have been accused of using stimulants and drowned in public outrage all over again. And now that I had missed the match, the same thing had happened anyway. Ava was worthy of being the club manager I had personally recruited. She had made a brilliant move. As long as I drank that water, I would never have a chance to clear my name. I watched my wife condemn me in front of the media for being unable to accept defeat. It felt as though a giant hand had clamped around my heart, leaving me unable to breathe or beat. The wife I trusted most had pushed me into an abyss with her own hands so that my opponent could win. Bitterness and despair filled my soul. The interview ended soon after. Mason held Ava’s hand as they walked down the street. Ava only blushed and did not pull away. I remembered that blush. When she had agreed to be with me, she had held my hand, and the same happy flush had spread across her face. As Mason walked, he suddenly turned to Ava. His eyes were full of tenderness and happiness. Ava seemed too shy to look up, but the distance between them grew even smaller. Mason’s voice was filled with affection. “For all these years, I’ve only achieved what I have today because you’ve always been by my side, helping me.” “You helped me with everything today, too.” “You’re the real champion!” When Ava heard him, she raised her head and looked at him. Love overflowed from her eyes. So Mason had known about everything from the beginning. They moved closer and closer, and the pain in my heart grew with every step. So this had all been planned. The atmosphere between them grew increasingly intimate, but that intimacy had been bought with my death. They drew even closer. Ava even closed her eyes shyly, but she still did not push Mason away. Suddenly, a phone began to ring. It was Ava’s phone. Only then did she break free from the intimate atmosphere. Her face bright red, she answered the call. But her body was still in Mason’s arms. The caller was the club owner, who told her: “Ava, something seems to have happened to Ethan!”But when Ava heard this, she did not feel sad. Instead, she began to laugh. She turned to Mason and said: “See? I knew this was what he would do. He’s trying to trick me again!” Then Ava said to the owner: “Boss, I know Ethan is the most famous and capable boxer under your management, but after what he did today, there’s no need for you to help him deceive me.” The comfort that had been about to leave the owner’s mouth was forced back by Ava’s words. “We contacted the police and found Ethan’s body. Do you want to come and see him?” The owner’s voice remained sorrowful and earnest. He wanted Ava to understand that I was truly dead. But Ava still gave a disdainful laugh. “Well, that’s impressive. You even brought the police into it.” “Boss, please give Ethan a message for me. Tell him to stop playing these childish guilt trips.” She hung up directly and opened her chat with me. In the conversation, I had constantly asked about her. I had asked whether she was tired, bought her clothes, and asked whether she had eaten… My constant care and concern were obvious in every message. But her replies had been painfully empty: “Okay.” “Yeah.” “Sure.” Sometimes, when I talked about myself, she could not even be bothered to give me a perfunctory response. She did not think there was anything wrong. She simply frowned and put on an expression of anger and sorrow. Then she said to me, “You coward. I wouldn’t have blamed you even if you lost, but you were not even willing to show up for the match. I really look down on you!” “When you come back, we’re getting divorced. I, Ava Bennett, will never stay married to a cowardly bastard who is too afraid to fight!” As I stared at the word “coward,” a chill spread through my heart. Three deep scars ran across almost the entire length of my back. They were horrifying to look at. They were proof that I had once saved Ava from a group of criminals. One night, when she was walking alone, several men with bad intentions had cornered her against a wall. I happened to be on my way to pick her up. Blood rushed to my head, and without caring whether they had weapons, I charged straight at them. There were four of them. I could barely defend myself against all sides, but I felt none of the pain from their fists and kicks. For her, I was willing to give up everything. After knocking them all down, I pulled Ava tightly into my arms and comforted her. But one of the attackers still had some awareness left. He struggled to his feet, grabbed a machete from the side, and swung it three times in a row. With my reaction speed, I could have dodged perfectly the moment he raised the blade and escaped without a scratch. But I was holding Ava in my arms, my wife. I would rather die than let my wife get hurt. After knocking out the last attacker, the adrenaline gradually faded. The weakness from losing too much blood and the pain throughout my body overwhelmed me. I fell to my knees and passed out. When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed. Ava was clutching my bruised arm and crying uncontrollably. I asked her, “Was I brave?” Through her tears, she told me: “Ethan, you idiot. You’re the bravest, most courageous man in the world!” From that day on, I never hid the scars on my body. I never avoided telling the story behind them, either. They were my medals, and my wife’s love was the greatest reward I could have received. But today, Ava held another man’s hand and looked at me with contempt as she called me a coward. Even as a ghost, I felt the scars on my body begin to ache. It was as if blood were about to burst from every inch of me. Anger and grief tore my heart apart. My tears disappeared the moment they hit the ground. I wanted to stand in front of her and ask her: Why did you call me a coward when you were the one who killed me? The pain nearly consumed me completely.