She Thought I Couldn't Understand Her Lies

The night before registering our marriage, Elena Sawyer's friends suggest playing a game of truth or dare. Her girlfriends win, and the punishment is that Elena must speak only Ruskian from that moment on. My close friend, Justin Butler, is the first to speak to her in Ruskian. "You and Benjamin are registering your marriage tomorrow. Come up with an excuse to spend the night at my place. I just bought a few sets of the sexy uniforms you like." Elena smiles and replies, "After what you put me through last night, where we went through four condoms, you still haven't had enough?" She then turns around and affectionately takes my hand. Her girlfriends burst into laughter, realizing what she has said. I'm the only one left sitting there in confusion, asking Elena what she means. "Justin said we're registering our marriage tomorrow," she explains gently, "so he wants to prepare a surprise for us." Justin cuts in, still speaking Ruskian. "Forget it. I'm worried Benjamin might find out." Elena replies in Ruskian without hesitation, "And what if he does? He can't live without me anyway." I freeze. All this time, I've assumed that she and Justin often speak Ruskian simply because they want to practice the language. After all, they both studied abroad in Ruskia, while I'm just an ordinary guy who grew up in the country. What they don't know is that although I grew up locally, my late mother is Ruskian, and that makes me half Ruskian. Chapter 1 Benjamin's POV I looked at the smile on Elena Sawyer's face, and I knew without a doubt that what she and Justin Butler just said was no joke. I immediately pulled my hand out of hers. Noticing my rejection, she looked over to me and spoke gently. "What's wrong, Benjamin? Are you feeling too tired?" She casually picked up the coat beside her and draped it over my shoulders. The next second, Justin swirled the wine in his glass. In Ruskian, he taunted me in a lazy, almost playful tone, "Think he'd cry on the spot if he knew we did it in every corner of your marital home last night?" Elena didn't even look at Justin. She picked up her glass and lightly clinked it against his. Looking into my eyes, she answered in Ruskian, "So what if he finds out? What's wrong with a successful woman having a few men?" The women in the private room who understood the language laughed even louder. Amid their shrill laughter, Elena turned toward me and leaned closer. She switched back to the local language and said softly, "If you are, why don't you go home and get some rest? We still have to go to the city hall tomorrow." I found the whole thing almost laughable. "What exactly were you two talking about just now?" Elena barely flinched. "We were saying that you're finally going to be my husband tomorrow. Everyone is just jealous that we get our happy ending." Justin took the opportunity to come over and throw an arm around my shoulders. "Yeah, Benjamin. I'll always be there for you, too." Looking at his pretentious smile, I wanted so badly to just respond to them in Ruskian, "Bastards. That's not what you were saying a moment ago." Before I could say anything, he suddenly clutched his stomach and doubled over. "Ouch." Elena immediately let go of my waist. She moved so quickly that she nearly left me swaying. In just a second, she reached Justin and caught him, not bothering to see if I was alright. Justin leaned against her, his back to me, and secretly winked at Elena. I caught it, and suddenly, it all clicked. I always thought Justin had a serious stomach condition. Every time we got together, and he complained about his stomach hurting, Elena drove him home herself, no matter how late it was. Now, watching the effortless way they communicated with nothing but their eyes, I felt sick to my stomach. So, they had been sleeping with each other countless times, and I had been foolishly oblivious. Elena steadied Justin, then turned to me. "His stomach is acting up again. I'm taking him to the hospital." She paused, then walked back over to me. "Just take a cab home. I'll be back soon." I stepped back and shrugged off the coat she put over my shoulders. "I don't think so. And I don't think we're still getting married tomorrow." Elena froze for a moment, assuming jealousy had gotten into my head. She walked over and, as usual, started placating me. "Oh, babe. Are you really jealous of your best friend? You know his stomach is bad." She rose onto her toes and kissed me lightly on the cheek. "I'll be back soon. Are you just nervous because we're getting married tomorrow? Come on, babe. You're the one I'm marrying." With that, she helped Justin into the car. I was just about to confront Elena when the car door was closed. Just before it closed, Justin leaned toward her and murmured in Ruskian, "So, what do you want tonight, my queen? Your little bad wolf or your sweet puppy?" She let out a soft laugh and closed the door. Chapter 2 Benjamin's POV When I got home, I immediately called Elena, planning to tell her I wanted to break up. But all I heard on the other end was the cold automated message saying her phone was turned off. Whatever. I could tell her in person at the city hall tomorrow. The next morning, Elena texted me. She said an urgent issue had come up at work and she was swamped, so we had to postpone our trip to the city hall. She told me to go to the high-end menswear store first and pick up my altered wedding suit. As soon as she finished work, she would come. I thought, since I was breaking up with her anyway, I might as well cancel the custom suit I ordered. I took a cab to the high-end menswear store. When I arrived at the VIP fitting room, ready to find a salesperson and cancel my order, I saw Elena and Justin through the half-open glass door. They were already there. Justin was standing in front of the fitting-room mirror, wearing my custom-made suit. Elena stood behind him with both hands around his waist. I pushed the door open and stared at them coldly. Elena turned at the sound and froze for a second. Then she quickly let go and walked toward me. "Benjamin, you and Justin are about the same size, so I asked him to try it on for you. I thought he could give me some advice about the fit." The moment she turned back, she spoke to Justin in Ruskian. "This suit is too tight around the waist. Only someone with broad shoulders and a narrow waist like yours can pull it off. He's too skinny." Justin heard this and grinned smugly as he wrapped an arm around Elena's waist. My expression turned cold. I wanted to expose their lies by clapping back in Ruskian, but Justin suddenly yelped. He pretended to trip over the long trouser leg and came flying straight toward me. His body slammed into my shoulder. I had no time to dodge before the force sent me crashing hard to the floor. With my balance thrown off, both knees slammed hard into the shattered glass steps beside me. The shards immediately cut into my skin, and blood started streaming down my calves. Elena rushed forward, shielding Justin protectively in her arms. Only after making sure he was unharmed did she turn to me and ask gently, "Benjamin, are you okay?" She made no move to help me up. Instead, she turned back to Justin and quietly reassured him in Ruskian. "Thank goodness the suit didn't get dirty. Otherwise, he'd make a scene again later." Elena had clearly seen the blood pouring from my knees, yet she had no desire to help me. All she cared about was the suit another man was wearing and whether I was going to act out like some bitter, jealous husband. Frankly, at that moment, all the pain that once clung to my heart suddenly vanished. This was what it meant to feel so thoroughly disappointed with someone that all I could feel was numbness. I braced myself against the wall and got back on my feet. Seeing that I was steady, Elena finally made a half-hearted attempt to help me. I slapped her hand away and walked out without looking back. In the end, I took a cab to a nearby hospital alone. The doctor used tweezers to remove the shards of glass embedded in my wounds. The pain was so intense that I broke out in cold sweat. Suddenly, my phone vibrated inside my pocket. Grandpa had texted me. "Benji, my company will be signing a contract with Sawyer Corporation. Consider it your wedding gift." Chapter 3 Benjamin's POV The pain from my wounds left me with no energy to reply to Grandpa's message. After getting patched up, I limped back to our new home. I planned to pack my things and cut all ties with Elena once and for all. But when I opened the door, I found Justin standing in the entryway in only his shorts, his upper body exposed. Holding a glass of water, he said awkwardly, "Don't get the wrong idea, Benjamin. A pipe burst at my place, and Elena said I could stay here for a few days." Just then, Elena walked out of the kitchen carrying two glasses of warm milk. When she saw me standing at the door, she gently tried to reassure me. "Benjamin, you're back. Justin has nowhere to stay, so I'm letting him stay with us for a few days." Justin sauntered into the living room. He settled comfortably onto the couch and called out to Elena in Ruskian, whining loudly. "Your bed is way too hard. Can you get a softer one? My knees were scraped up last night." She walked over and gently ran her fingers through his hair. In a soft voice, she replied in Ruskian, "Just put up with it for now. Sooner or later, this place will be yours anyway." At that, he crossed his legs smugly. That was when I noticed the bandages covering both his knees. The thought of what they had been doing in my home, on the furniture I picked out and arranged, made my stomach churn. They even casually discussed every disgusting detail right in front of me, thinking I couldn't understand a word. My stomach twisted violently. I doubled over and retched several times, unable to hold it back. I straightened up and took a deep breath, ready to speak. "Elena, let's—" Elena saw me still retching and immediately frowned. She hurried over and cut me off. "Benjamin, are you under too much stress because we're getting married tomorrow?" She patted me gently on the back. "Don't be nervous. I'm here. I'll be by your side for the rest of our lives." With that, she went to the kitchen and returned with a steaming bowl of soup. "Have some. It'll help settle your stomach." I didn't think twice. I took the bowl and swallowed several mouthfuls, forcing down the cramps twisting in my stomach. About ten minutes later, my neck and arms started itching. Red welts broke out all over my body, and I struggled to breathe. Immediately, I turned to look at the bowl on the table. That was seafood soup. I was in too much agony to realize it earlier, but Elena, who had been with me for three years, totally forgot about the fact that I had a severe seafood allergy. Justin sat on the couch, watching me scratch at my neck. In Ruskian, he told Elena, "He was born to live a poor man's life. Look at him. He can't even handle good food." Elena frowned and shot Justin an annoyed glance before turning to me. My face was already turning bluish-purple, and the panic in her expression finally set in. She hurriedly lifted me onto her back and prepared to rush me to the hospital, but Justin suddenly stood up. "I think my blood sugar is low." As he said that, his body went limp, and he pretended to faint onto the couch. Elena froze. In the end, she lowered me back down and called 911. About ten minutes later, the ambulance arrived downstairs. Elena helped place me onto the stretcher and said a few words to the paramedics. Then she stood outside the ambulance doors and looked at me. "It's just a normal allergic reaction, Benjamin. Go to the hospital first. I'm going upstairs to check on Justin. If his blood sugar gets really low, I can't imagine leaving him unconscious there by himself." I gripped the metal rails of the stretcher with both hands until my knuckles turned white. I didn't answer her because I was barely getting enough oxygen to breathe, let alone make a sound. My phone, lying beside me, vibrated again. It was another message from Grandpa. "Benji, the signing with Sawyer Corporation will be in a couple of days. Are you and Elena coming to see me together? I miss you." Chapter 4 Benjamin's POV On the way to the hospital, the ambulance got into an accident. The doctors fought to save my life for a long time. When I finally woke up, a nurse was already wheeling me into a hospital room. A doctor walked over to my bed with my test results, his expression complicated. "Mr. Meyer, we managed to save your life this time, but the accident caused severe nerve damage to your lower body. "After a series of tests, we've determined that you've lost your sexual function. Even with further treatment, the chances of recovery are very low. However, your reproductive function is still intact. "If you want to have children in the future, we can freeze your sperm and consider assisted reproduction." Every word felt like a sledgehammer crashing down on my head. I stared blankly at the white ceiling. Strangely, I couldn't shed a single tear. Elena deliberately delayed getting me to the hospital because she was more concerned about Justin, who was pretending to have low blood sugar. If it weren't for her, I never would've ended up in that accident and lost the last shred of dignity I had left. She destroyed the last bit of hope I had with her own hands, and along with the life she had ruined, my heart finally died for good. After the doctor left, I ripped the IV needle from the back of my hand. Despite my weakened condition, I dragged myself out of the hospital and took a cab home. I planned to pack up the rest of my belongings and leave this woman for good, but the moment I unlocked the door, I heard Justin's muffled groans and Elena's breathless voice from the living room. They were both tangled together on the couch, their clothes disheveled. His shorts were removed, leaving him completely naked. Two wineglasses and a bottle of red wine sat on the coffee table. "Congratulations, Justin. We finally landed that huge deal in Ruskia!" she said, her voice somewhat slurred with intoxication. I grabbed the vase from the cabinet and hurled it at them with all the strength I had. With a loud crash, it shattered against the edge of the coffee table. Elena and Justin jolted upright in fright. The moment she realized it was me, she showed zero trace of panic. Instead, she calmly helped Justin pull his clothes back on and then frowned at me. "Relax, Benjamin. We were just celebrating and had a little too much to drink. Don't overthink this." I pointed toward the door, my voice ice-cold. "Take him and get the hell out of my place now!" The warmth finally disappeared from Elena's face. She scrunched up her brow, clearly irritated. "You're being unreasonable, Benjamin. Do you have to make such a big deal out of nothing?" She coldly picked up her car keys, grabbed Justin, and headed for the door. Just before leaving, she looked back at me. "Tomorrow night, I'm taking Justin to the signing ceremony for our Ruskian client. Stay home and cool off. Once you've come to your senses, I'll come back for you." The door slammed shut with a heavy thud. The apartment fell deathly silent. I didn't scream or break down. I swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat and stared at the shards of glass scattered across the floor. Then, I calmly called Grandpa. "Let me handle tomorrow's signing ceremony myself."