The Power Outage

The power suddenly went out on our wedding night. My wife, claiming she was drunk and disoriented, accidentally wandered into my cousin's bedroom. When we woke up the next morning, we heard a scream coming from his room. Still half-asleep, we rushed over. What we saw was my wife and my cousin, completely naked, hiding under his duvet. Everyone was shocked. It was painfully obvious what had happened between them. My mother, terrified of a public scandal, pulled me aside and begged me to swallow my pride and endure it. "Liam, since the damage is already done, the only thing you can do now is accept it and face reality." I couldn't forget it. I couldn't accept it. I started avoiding both of them, hiding from the situation. Chloe tried everything she could to make it up to me, but I rejected her every time. It wasn't until she got into a car accident that I finally panicked and rushed to the hospital. But as I stood outside her hospital room door, I heard voices. "Chloe, you're a genius," a female voice said. "You intentionally got Liam drunk that night, then flipped the breaker box so you'd have an excuse to play with David until sunrise." "Even this car accident is completely fake." "If I didn't do this, Liam would never forgive me," Chloe's voice replied smoothly. "Besides, Liam's mother was the one who actually flipped the breaker." "She wanted to help her older brother's bloodline continue, and I wanted a taste of David's six-pack, so we came to a mutual agreement." ... "Holy shit! I almost feel bad for Liam." "It's bad enough that his best friend and his wife betrayed him, but his own mother was in on it?!" "But what I really want to know is... why?" Chloe's friends looked at her, their eyes burning with morbid curiosity. Sitting in her hospital bed, Chloe's cheeks were flushed, her skin glowing like a perfectly ripe rose. Was the guilt-ridden, anxious expression she constantly wore in front of me entirely an act? If she hadn't been thoroughly 'satisfied' by another man, she wouldn't be glowing like that right now. "Didn't I already tell you guys?" Chloe laughed lightly. "David is the son of Liam's mother's oldest brother. Her brother passed away recently, and his dying wish was for David to carry on the family bloodline." "Liam's mother loves her brother more than anything, so she was more than happy to help David and me out." "You guys know I used to have a massive crush on David. Even though things didn't work out between us before, getting to experience his incredible body... I can die with zero regrets." Standing outside the door, it felt like someone had violently hollowed out my soul. My mind went completely blank. So that night... she intentionally got me drunk. And because the power was out and I couldn't see clearly, I had just safely passed out in our bed. I never imagined the entire thing was a meticulously choreographed setup. A sharp, stabbing pain ripped through my chest. Breathing became incredibly difficult. I reached out and grabbed the doorframe just to keep myself from collapsing. "Hearing you say all that... I honestly don't even know what to say." "This is insane. It's like something out of a soap opera." "Before we got here... did your precious David come for round two?" Chloe let out a coquettish giggle, choosing not to answer. Her silence was an admission. No wonder her face was glowing so beautifully. I felt like I had just been slapped across the face, yet I had no idea how to hit back. "Chloe!" One of her friends finally felt compelled to give her a reality check. "What?" "Your situation right now is a complete mess." "You are Liam's legal wife, but you're doing this with his cousin. If this gets out..." "Do you care about your reputation at all?" "Furthermore, if you are actually pregnant with David's child, there is no way Liam is going to accept that." "So your best option right now is to divorce Liam, and go marry David so everything is legal and above board." Her friend's words made Chloe pause and think. Then, she looked up, her tone more resolute than I had ever heard it. "I am not giving up Liam. Because the only person who will ever love me that unconditionally is him." "I can divorce him temporarily. And then, once I have the baby, I'll just win him back and we can reconcile." Chapter 2 "That's impossible." "There's no way Liam is going to agree to that." "He won't agree to me, but he will absolutely agree to his mother." Chloe said confidently. "Because blood is thicker than water. She'll force him to bow his head." "As for me, when the time comes to win him back, I'll be so persistent he'll be moved to tears and accept me again." "Liam really is blinded by love. He deserves to wear the crown of the ultimate cuckold." "Wrong." Chloe corrected them. "He is only like that with me. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't tolerate it." Chloe swore up and down, incredibly confident, having absolutely no idea that I had just heard every single filthy secret. I silently pulled my wedding ring off my finger. As I walked past a trash can in the hallway, I threw it directly inside. David was walking toward me carrying a mango cake. As we crossed paths, he abruptly stopped. "Liam, are you here to see Chloe?" Hearing that intimate nickname... if I hadn't just uncovered their disgusting secret, it would have made my skin crawl even more. "Something came up at work. I can't stay. Just tell her I stopped by." "Does this mean you finally forgive us?!" David's face lit up. "This is amazing. Chloe is going to be so happy when I tell her." A cold, sarcastic smile pulled at the corners of my mouth. I didn't stay a second longer. Once I stepped out of the hospital doors, I pulled out my phone and dialed my boss's number. "Sarah? You mentioned the company had an overseas project opening up?" "I changed my mind. I want to take it." "Are you sure?" "The contract requires you to be abroad for three years. Didn't you specifically say you couldn't take assignments that took you too far from home?" In the past, I really did think being too far from home was a bad idea. I was afraid there would be no one to take care of my mother, and I was terrified Chloe would be angry. But now, knowing that the two women I prioritized most had conspired to absolutely destroy me, my mind was fractured. I had to make a decision. From this moment on, my career was my only objective. Everything else was dead to me. "My home is suffocating me." When I said that, my voice cracked, heavy with emotion. Sarah definitely heard it. She was a smart, empathetic woman. She knew exactly what to ask and what to leave alone. "Submit my name for the project. I absolutely have to go." "Alright," Sarah replied softly. "Take care of yourself, Liam." After I hung up the phone, I finally noticed a string of transaction alerts lighting up my lock screen. My entire life savings totaled three hundred thousand dollars. In a single instant, two hundred and fifty thousand had been withdrawn. I immediately dialed my mother's number. She was the only other person who had access to that card. "What exactly did you just buy to instantly wipe two hundred and fifty thousand dollars from my account?!" Knowing the truth about what she had done, my tone was completely devoid of respect. My mother definitely sensed my anger, but she clearly felt she had done absolutely nothing wrong. "I had my reasons for spending it." "Do you really need to be this furious? When you were a little boy, you promised me." "You promised you would make lots of money for me to spend." "I only spent two hundred and fifty thousand, and you're already throwing a fit?" Her tone was so incredibly casual. Only two hundred and fifty thousand? For normal, working-class people like us, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is a lifetime of savings. "I used it to buy a condo. David said he wanted to buy a place to rent out for passive income." "Isn't that exactly what you want for him too?" "The condo was bought, but he still needed money for furniture, so I helped him pick some things out." Before I could even respond, she angrily hung up the phone. I rushed to the nearest bank branch, formally reported the card as stolen to freeze the account, and then immediately withdrew the remaining fifty thousand dollars in cash, rendering the account permanently dead. I am a good son. But I am not an idiot. Why the hell should David use my debit card to buy a condo? My money didn't fall from the sky. He stole Chloe from me, and now he wants my money too? Less than an hour later, my phone rang. It was my mother. "Liam, you really have some nerve." "Why the hell did you freeze my card?! David and I just ate at a restaurant and now we have no money to pay the bill!" Chapter 3 "Hurry up and transfer the money to me." "I am under absolutely zero obligation to transfer you another dime. You two ate the food, not me." "Furthermore, isn't David right there? He's a thirty-year-old grown man. Surely he isn't so pathetic that he can't afford a single meal!" "You... you ungrateful little bastard..." There was absolutely no reason to continue this toxic, miserable conversation. I hung up the phone directly. A bitter ache bloomed in my chest. Despite my best efforts, my mood was heavily impacted. And the ugly, traumatic memories of the past flooded back into my mind. My mother, desperately trying to help her beloved older brother, had recklessly drained the savings my father had worked himself to the bone to accumulate. When they eventually had a massive fight about it, my mother ran away from home. Her family showed up at our house, cornering my father, screaming at him and accusing him of abuse, leaving him completely unable to defend himself. Later, my father, working ungodly amounts of overtime to recover the lost money, died of a sudden heart attack on his way home from work. I was still young then. I didn't understand how a healthy man with no illnesses could just suddenly drop dead. It wasn't until I became an adult that I finally understood. Years later, my uncle passed away, and my mother brought David to live with us. She forced me to constantly yield to David. During the holidays, David got brand-new clothes, while I was forced to wear faded, hand-me-down shirts. When it was time for college, she only paid for David's tuition, forcing me to drop out and get a job. Fortunately, my grades were excellent, and I managed to secure enough scholarships and grants to finish my degree. Looking back on it now, I should have cut ties with my mother a very long time ago. When I got home, there were three people waiting for me in the living room. Not because they were worried about me, but because they were ready to interrogate me. My mother picked up a heavy ceramic teacup from the coffee table and hurled it directly at my head. "So you finally decided to come back?!" "Do you have any idea how completely humiliated I was today?!" "My friends from my book club were sitting at the very next table! You suddenly freezing my card and leaving me unable to pay the bill made me a laughingstock in front of all of them!" I was done playing the role of the patient, understanding son. I raised my hand and pointed directly at David. "Let me ask you something. Is he a legal adult?" David instantly jumped up from the sofa. "Liam, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" I turned and glared at him. "You are a fully grown adult man, and you sat there while an elderly woman paid for your meal? And you have the audacity to act like you're the victim here?" "I don't care to waste any more words on you people. I'm only going to say this one last time." "From this moment forward, I will not give you another dime, and I will not lift a finger to help you." I turned back to my mother, her face dark with fury. "If you have a problem with that, we can legally sever our relationship right now." Chloe and David were stunned. They never imagined I would actually threaten something as severe as severing ties with my own mother. "Liam, it was just asking you to pay for a meal! Do you really need to threaten your own mother with cutting ties?" "Hurry up and apologize to her..." "Do you honestly think I'm this angry over the price of one meal?" It was the decades of blatant, suffocating favoritism. And the fact that she nearly maxed out my entire life savings today to buy David a condo. David quickly stepped between me and my mother, his face a mask of perfectly crafted guilt. "Auntie, Liam, please stop fighting." "I think Liam is right. I'll be more mindful in the future." My mother looked at David with absolute admiration. It was always like this in the past. Whether he was right or wrong, as long as he lowered his head and offered a fake apology, my mother would praise him for being so mature and understanding. Meanwhile, my "maturity" was entirely predicated on how much money I provided. I finally understood. No matter how perfect I tried to be, it would never compare to a single, manipulative sentence from David. "Liam, because of David's intercession today, I will forgive you this one time." "Get the hell back to your room." "I can go back to my room right now. But first, I want the two hundred and fifty thousand dollars you stole from me returned immediately." "If you do not return the money, I will call the police." After saying that, I didn't speak another word. Holding the black duffel bag containing my remaining fifty thousand dollars, I walked silently back to my bedroom. Chapter 4 My mother completely exploded. She rushed to my bedroom door, kicking and screaming at the wood. "Liam, I am your biological mother!" "If you call the cops on me, you're going to burn in hell!" I felt absolutely zero emotion. My only focus was taking the stacks of cash from my duffel bag and locking them securely inside my personal safe. Unexpectedly, Chloe suddenly pushed the door open and walked in. "Liam, what is going on with you today?" "You used to be so filial, and you always cared about me so much." "Look at me. I was in a car accident and injured my leg, and you didn't even come to the hospital to check on me." Her tone was overflowing with manufactured grievance. "Were you actually injured in a car accident?" I stared at her with a freezing, dead smile. When she saw the absolute lack of emotion in my eyes, she visibly panicked. "Why... why are you asking me that? Of course I was genuinely injured." "Chloe." I raised my voice, shattering her composure. "I did go to the hospital to see you that day. But I never walked into the room. Do you want to know why?" She didn't answer. She just started trembling slightly, realizing that my eyes had already seen straight through her lies. Seeing her silence, I spoke coldly. "Because I stood outside your hospital room door and heard your dirty little secret." "On our wedding night, you intentionally got me drunk. My mother flipped the breaker box so you and David would have the perfect excuse to hook up." "And I bet you're already pregnant with his child." "Am I right?" Chloe was instantly paralyzed with shock. My mother and David, who were standing in the hallway, also froze in absolute panic. Chloe's eyes widened in horror, staring at me, completely unable to form a defense. David was the first to speak. "Liam, we... it's not what you think..." But he couldn't even figure out what kind of lie to spin to finish the sentence. My mother, on the other hand, suddenly went dead quiet and turned around to walk away. This triggered a deep, unsettling premonition in my gut. Chloe reached out to grab my arm, but I violently shoved her away. "Don't touch me!" "Liam, please, just listen to me..." Just as I was about to speak, the sound of shattering glass echoed from the living room. "Auntie, don't smash that! That's Uncle's memorial portrait... Oh my god, don't burn it!" "David, get out of my way! That old bastard died the easy way, leaving me to raise this ungrateful little shit all by myself!" "And now he won't even listen to me!" I sprinted out of the bedroom. When I saw my mother standing on the balcony, actively burning my father's final belongings in a metal fire pit, pure panic finally hit me. "What the hell are you doing?!" "Stop right now!" She was holding my father's only remaining photograph. If she opened her fingers even a fraction of an inch, the photo would drop straight into the flames. "Seeing you panic like this just proves that a dead man is always more useful than a living one." My face flushed dark red with rage, but I couldn't risk lunging forward to grab it, terrified the photo would fall into the fire in the struggle. "Tell me. Why are you burning my father's things?" "Because you're disobedient. Because you refuse to be a dutiful son to your mother." What exactly did I have to do to be considered 'obedient' and 'dutiful'? Did I have to become a soulless, emotionless robot, blindly following her every command? Suddenly, I remembered the conversation Chloe had in her hospital room. The look in my eyes instantly turned to ice. "Just say it. What do you want me to do?" "I want you to go to the courthouse with Chloe immediately and file for divorce. That way, the child in her stomach won't be considered illegitimate." "I don't want people whispering behind my back." She was using my father's final, sacred belongings to blackmail me into this? I turned and looked at Chloe, who was standing in silence. "And you? Is this what you want too?" "Liam, if you just follow these arrangements for now, once I have the baby, we can..." "Save it." "I accept your terms."