On Our Wedding Night, My Wife Said She Slept with the Wrong Man

Three days after our wedding, I received a photo from an unknown woman. In the photo, my new wife, Nicole, lay in bed. And the man pressed intimately beside her was none other than my most trusted friend, Austin. When I confronted her, Nicole dropped to her knees, begging for mercy: "I had too much to drink on our wedding night. The power went out and the lights were off. I genuinely thought Austin was you." Austin backed up her story, swearing up and down that he had gotten wasted and stumbled into the wrong suite by accident. Just as I forced myself to swallow the pain and move past it, Nicole got into a car accident. I rushed to the hospital in a panic, only to pause outside her room when I heard her friends burst into laughter. "Nicole, you're a genius! Pretending to be wasted just to spend the night with Austin?" "Wait, even the car crash was fake?" Nicole's laugh carried through the door, completely devoid of guilt. "Of course it was fake." "If I didn't pull something drastic, how could Logan ever forgive me?" "Besides... I'm already pregnant with Austin's baby." Standing outside the door, I felt as if lightning had struck me. Everyone—my wife, my best friend, everyone—had conspired to help her cheat on me. Through the small window, I saw Nicole's face glowing, radiant as a blooming rose. Had all that guilt and trembling distress she put on in front of me been nothing but an act? A woman wouldn't look this flushed and energized in a hospital bed without a man's recent touch. "Didn't I already explain it to you guys?" Nicole's voice drifted out casually. "Austin is Logan's mother's nephew. When Logan's uncle passed away, his dying wish was for Austin to carry on the family bloodline." "Logan's mom loves Austin like a son, so she orchestrated the whole thing for us." "You guys know Austin was my high school crush. Even if I couldn't marry him, getting a taste of that gorgeous, muscular body was totally worth it. I can die happy now." Outside the room, my soul felt completely hollowed out. My mind went blank. On our wedding night, I hadn't just gotten drunk on my own—she had intentionally poured drink after drink down my throat. Then the breaker tripped, plunging the room into darkness. Unable to see clearly, I had fallen into an unconscious stupor, trusting that everything was fine. It was all an elaborate setup. A sharp, tearing pain ripped through my chest. Breathing became nearly impossible. I braced one hand against the wall just to keep my legs from buckling. "Hearing you say all this... I honestly don't even know what to think," one of her friends sighed. "It's insane. It's like something out of a wild reality TV show." "Wait, did Austin stop by for another round before we got here?" Nicole let out a coquettish giggle and stayed silent. Her silence was a blatant confession. No wonder her cheeks were flushed with that satisfied, post-coital glow. I felt as if someone had delivered a humiliating slap across my face, leaving me helpless and burning with disgrace. "Nicole!" her friend warned, her tone sobering up. "What?" "Your situation is a complete mess right now." "You're married to Logan, but you're sleeping with his cousin and best buddy. If word gets out..." "What about your reputation? What about your pride?" "More importantly, if you really are carrying Austin's baby, there's no way in hell Logan will accept it." "You should just divorce Logan and marry Austin legally." Her friends' words plunged Nicole into a brief silence. A moment later, she looked up, her voice ringing with stubborn certainty. "I'm not letting Logan go. Nobody loves me the way he does." "I can sign the divorce papers for now. Once I have the baby, I'll win him back.""That's impossible." "Logan won't ever agree to that." "He wouldn't agree if it came from me, but he'll obey his mother," Nicole replied smugly. "Family duty and guilt will force him to bow his head." "And once the dust settles, I'll chase after him again. He loves me so much he won't be able to resist." "Logan is such a hopeless simp. He deserves to be played." "You're wrong," Nicole said, utterly confident. "He's only like that with me. He wouldn't bend over backward for anyone else." She boasted so proudly, never imagining that I was standing right outside, taking in every filthy secret. Without a sound, I pulled off my wedding band. Passing a trash can in the corridor, I tossed it in without a second glance. Austin brushed past me, carrying a boutique mango cake. He suddenly froze in his tracks. "Logan? Are you here to see Nicole?" Hearing him call me so warmly made my stomach churn. If I hadn't overheard their sick game, I would still be pitying him. "Something urgent came up at work, so I can't stay. Just let her know for me." "Wait... does this mean you forgive us?" Austin beamed, looking genuinely relieved. "That's amazing! Nicole is going to be so thrilled!" A cold smirk touched my lips. I didn't say another word and walked away. Outside the hospital entrance, I pulled out my phone and dialed my boss. "Ms. Winters, remember that overseas assignment in London you mentioned?" "I changed my mind. I'll take it." "Are you certain?" Wendy Winters sounded surprised. "It's a three-year contract. Didn't you say you couldn't be that far from your family?" Before, I genuinely believed I had to stay close to care for my mother and keep Nicole happy. Now? Knowing both of them had teamed up to deceive and betray me, my world had completely shattered. I had to walk away. From now on, my career was my only focus. Everything else was dead to me. "My home... is suffocating me." My voice cracked slightly at the end, and Wendy picked up on it. She was sharp and professional, knowing when to push and when to grant privacy. "Submit the transfer paperwork, Logan. I need to get out." "Understood. Take care of yourself." Right after I hung up, my phone started buzzing with a barrage of bank alert notifications. I had three hundred thousand dollars in my personal account. In the span of minutes, two hundred and fifty thousand had been wiped out. I immediately dialed my mother. She was the only one who could have taken my card. "What on earth did you buy to spend two hundred and fifty thousand dollars?" My tone was icy, devoid of the gentle warmth I used to have. My mother picked up on my irritation, but she felt entirely entitled. "I have my reasons." "Do you really need to get this hysterical? Didn't you promise me when you were a kid that you'd make a lot of money and give it all to me?" "I only spent a small portion of your savings, and you're already throwing a tantrum?" She made it sound so casual. Only two hundred and fifty thousand? For a regular working guy like me, that was years of blood, sweat, and grueling overtime. "I used it for a down payment on a condo. Austin wants to buy property to rent out." "Isn't that a great investment?" "We still need furniture, so I'm helping him pick out pieces right now." Before I could get another word in, she hung up angrily. I immediately sprinted to the nearest branch, filed an unauthorized transaction report, froze the account, and withdrew the remaining fifty thousand dollars in cash before shutting it down completely. I was a filial son, but I was no fool. Why should Austin buy real estate on my dime? My money didn't fall from the sky. He had taken my wife, and now he wanted my hard-earned cash, too? Less than an hour later, my phone rang again. It was my mother, screeching into the receiver. "Logan! How dare you!" "Why did you cancel the card? Austin and I are at an upscale restaurant, and we can't pay the bill!""Wire the money right now!" she commanded. "I don't owe you a single cent. You ordered the food, not me." "Besides, isn't Austin sitting right there? A thirty-year-old grown man can't even pay for his own lunch?" "You... you ungrateful little—" There was no point in continuing this farce. I ended the call. A bitter tightness gripped my chest. As much as I tried to stay numb, the pain still cut deep. Memories of the past surged into my mind like toxic sludge. Years ago, my mother constantly squandered my father's hard-earned savings to help her older brother. Whenever they argued, she would pack her bags and run back to her family, who would then gang up on my father, hurling accusations until he broke down in silence. Eventually, exhausted from working three jobs to cover her debts, my father collapsed and died on his walk home. I was too young back then to understand how a healthy man could simply drop dead. It wasn't until I grew up that the horrifying truth sank in. After my uncle died, my mother took Austin into our house. She forced me to yield to Austin in everything. Every Christmas, Austin got tailored new clothes, while I wore faded, threadbare hand-me-downs. When college came, she paid Austin's tuition in full and demanded I drop out to work construction. Thankfully, my high GPA earned me an academic scholarship, allowing me to finish my degree on my own. Looking back, I should have cut ties with her the moment I became an adult. When I stepped into the house, three people were waiting in the living room. Not out of concern, but for an ambush. My mother grabbed a ceramic mug off the coffee table and hurled it directly at my head. It grazed my cheek and shattered against the doorframe. "You finally decided to crawl back?" "Do you have any idea how humiliated I was today?" "My friends from the country club were sitting at the next table! When your card declined, they laughed in my face!" My patience completely snapped. I pointed a trembling finger at Austin. "Let me ask you something. Is he an adult or an infant?" Austin shot up from the couch immediately. "Logan, what's that supposed to mean?" I glared straight into his eyes. "You're a thirty-year-old man having lunch with an elderly woman, expecting her to pick up the check. And you stand there looking righteous?" "I'll say this once and never again." "Starting right now, I won't give either of you a single penny. Don't ever ask me for help." I turned my cold gaze back to my mother, whose face was purple with rage. "If you have a problem with that, we can sever our relationship right here and now." Both Nicole and Austin froze. Neither expected me to bring up going completely no-contact. "Logan, it was just a lunch bill!" Nicole hurried forward, trying to play peacemaker. "Do you really have to threaten your own mother like this?" "Hurry up and apologize to her..." "Do you really think I'm furious over a lunch bill?" I sneered. It was over twenty years of favoritism, and her audacity to blow through two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of my savings to buy Austin a luxury pad. Austin quickly stepped between my mother and me, putting on a penitent facade. "Auntie, Logan, please don't fight." "Logan is right. I'll be more considerate next time." My mother's expression instantly softened as she looked at Austin with adoration. It had always been this way. No matter what he did wrong, the moment he bowed his head and murmured an apology, she praised him for being sensible and mature. Meanwhile, my worth was measured solely by how much cash I handed over. I finally saw the cruel truth: no matter how hard I tried, I would never measure up to Austin's sweet-talking manipulation. "Logan, for Austin's sake, I'll overlook your insolence today," my mother barked, crossing her arms. "Now get out of my sight and go to your room." "I'll go to my room," I said coldly. "But I want my two hundred and fifty thousand dollars back. If that money isn't returned immediately, I'm calling the police." Without waiting for their reaction, I carried my duffel bag filled with the remaining cash straight into my bedroom and locked the door.Outside, my mother completely lost her mind. She ran up to my bedroom door, kicking it hard and screaming profanities. "Logan, I brought you into this world! I'm your mother!" "If you dare call the cops on me, God will strike you down!" I didn't utter a word. Numbly, I emptied the fifty thousand dollars from the duffel into my personal safe. Suddenly, the door clicked open. Nicole slipped inside. "Logan, what's gotten into you today?" "You used to be so caring, so devoted to family." "Look at me... I got into a car accident and hurt my leg, yet you didn't even visit me in the hospital." Her voice dripped with wounded grievance. "Were you really hurt in a car accident?" I turned to face her, wearing a chilling smile. When she caught the absolute absence of warmth in my eyes, panic flickered across her face. "Why... why are you asking me that? Of course I was hurt!" "Nicole." I raised my voice, sharp and cutting. "I went to the hospital that afternoon. I stood right outside your door. Do you want to know why I didn't come in?" She didn't answer. A visible tremor ran through her body as she realized I knew everything. Seeing her pale, I laid it out bare. "Because I heard every filthy word you and your friends said." "You intentionally got me wasted on our wedding night. My mother tripped the breaker so you and Austin had an excuse to hop into bed together." "And now, you're carrying his baby." "Did I get a single detail wrong?" Nicole froze in sheer terror. Austin and my mother, who had been lingering near the hallway, went pale as ghosts. Nicole's eyes widened, her mouth opening and closing without a sound. Austin tried to stammer out an excuse. "Logan... it's not what you think..." He couldn't even finish the sentence; no lie could cover the truth. My mother, strangely, went quiet. She turned and walked away toward the living room. A dreadful feeling knotted in my stomach. Nicole reached out to grab my arm, but I shoved her away violently. "Don't touch me!" "Logan, please, just listen to me—" Before she could finish, the sound of shattering glass echoed from the balcony. "Auntie, stop! That's Uncle's framed portrait... wait, don't burn it!" "Get out of the way, Austin!" my mother shouted venomously. "That useless man had it easy dying early, leaving this rebellious brat for me to raise! And the boy dares to disobey me!" I charged out toward the balcony, horror seizing me as I saw what she was doing. She was standing over a small metal brazier, holding the last portrait of my father over an open flame. "What the hell are you doing?!" "Put that down right now!" That photograph was the only memory of my father I had left. If her fingers slipped, it would drop into the fire and turn to ash. "Look at you, shaking like a leaf," my mother sneered, holding the photo inches above the flames. "A dead man is always more useful than a living mother to you, isn't he?" My face burned with rage, but I dared not lunge forward, terrified the motion would make her drop it. "Why are you burning my dad's things?" "Because you're defying me! You're refusing to honor your mother!" What on earth did she want from me? Did she expect me to become an emotionless puppet, letting them drain every drop of my blood? Suddenly, Nicole's words from the hospital room flashed through my mind. My gaze turned dead and cold. "What do you want?" "I want you to sign the divorce papers with Nicole tomorrow," my mother demanded without missing a beat. "That way, her baby can have a legitimate father. I won't have the neighbors whispering behind our backs." She was using my dead father's final keepsake just to force me into a sham divorce for Austin's bastard. I turned my eyes toward Nicole, who stood silent with her head down. "And you? Is this what you want?" "Logan... just go along with this for now," Nicole pleaded softly, not daring to meet my eyes. "Once the baby is born, we can—" "Save it." "I agree to the divorce."