My Wife Knows My Secret

1
The day my wife, Evelyn, discovered I had a Rebirth System, she started killing me. Over and over, all for himher long-lost love.
The first time, it was a carbon monoxide leak while I slept.
The second, a hit-and-run she arranged.
Every death was different, but one thing never changed: we both looped back to the beginning, to the same starting point.
When I confronted her, my heart shattering with each word, her explanation was a chillingly simple blade to the gut.
Leo isn't like you, Ethan. You have endless chances to come back. He only gets to live to twenty-two.
And so, every time, in the very moment Leos last breath rattled in his chest, she would end my life to reset the clock. I tried to run, to escape her, but I wasn't from this world. No matter how far I fled, Evelyn always found me.
But after my one-hundredth death, something new happened. I unlocked an achievement.
Host, you only need to die one more time to return to your original world.
Evelyn was already plotting the next reset, completely unaware that for us, there would be no 'next time.'

My eyes snapped open. I was back in the house I shared with Evelyn. There was no joy, only a hollow numbness as I stared at the enormous wedding photo hanging on the wall. In it, we were cheek to cheek, the very picture of devotion.
Back then, the citys elite all whispered the same story: Evelyn Hale, the heiress to a fortune, was madly in love with me. She had to be. Her grand gestures were the stuff of legends. Shed bought out every luxury car dealership in the city to serve as my personal garage and sunk a billion dollars into my fledgling startup just to see if it would float.
I believed she loved me, too. Wholeheartedly.
But everything changed the day Leo returned to the country.
Just then, the front door flew open. Evelyns eyes scanned the living room before locking onto me. She strode forward, collapsing into my arms.
Ethan, youre still here. Thank God. Her arms tightened around me, a crushing force, as if trying to merge our bodies into one. Anyone else would have thought it was an embrace of relief, of affection.
But I knew the truth. She was terrified of losing her chance to complete her list of a hundred little things with Leo.
Just as quickly, she pulled back, her hand gently tracing the brow bone above my eye. Her touch was a phantom of the last death. Shed dosed me with something powerfully addictive and locked me in the bedroom. The withdrawal was agony, and my only relief was smashing my head against the wall, again and again, until my skull fractured and my brain gave out.
Of all the ways I had died, that was the most brutal, the most torturous.
Ethan, can you just wait a little longer? Please? she pleaded, her voice soft. There are only a few things left on the list. Once I finish them with Leo, I promise, it will just be you and me. We can have a good life together.
This was the promise I had once yearned for. Now, her words were just ashes in my mouth.
I subtly eased away from her touch. The housekeeper made dinner. Are you staying tonight? I asked, my voice flat. I already knew the answer. It was a token question.
Evelyn seemed to sense my new distance. She knelt, taking my hands in hers, her eyes wide with a performers sincerity. Ethan, was it too painful last time? Im so sorry.
Dont worry, she promised, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. This time, Ill make it quick. I wont let you suffer for long.
A bitter, silent laugh echoed in my soul. Did she even see me as a person anymore? Or was I just a machine, a reset button for her tragic love story?
Seeing my lack of response, she opened her mouth to say more, but the shrill ring of her phone cut her off.
It was Leo.
She shot me an apologetic glance before stepping away to take the call. It was always the same. Any moment we had alone was inevitably shattered by him. I was used to it.
Even from across the room, I could hear Leos choked sobs through the phone. Evelyns face melted with concern, her voice a low, soothing murmur as she comforted him.
After hanging up, she turned to me. I cant stay for dinner. Somethings come up with Leo. I have to go to him right now.
I knew it was coming, but my heart still gave a painful lurch.
I gave a curt, noncommittal nod. I understand.
She grabbed her cashmere coat from the sofa and headed for the door, then paused, as if just remembering I was there. She glanced back.
You just wait for me at home, okay?
Then she was gone, her departure as swift and final as all the other times shed left me behind.
But this time, a genuine smile touched my lips.
This time, I was the one leaving her.
It wasn't long after Evelyn left that I began to plan my own exit.
I wandered aimlessly into the kitchen, my eyes landing on the long, gleaming blade of a chefs knife. It was a custom piece, commissioned by Evelyn from a master craftsman, all so her sashimi would have the perfect, clean cut.
It had also been the instrument of my tenth death. Shed been clumsy then, new to the act of killing. Each cut had been a slow, agonizing torment that lasted for what felt like an eternity.
My gaze drifted to the deep, stainless-steel sink. Shed held my head under the water in that sink once, the life bubbling out of me in a desperate, silent scream. Id experienced a grim variety of endingsId even been thrown from a skyscraper.
To avoid a public spectacle, I decided on the cleanest, quickest method I could think of: a handful of pills with a bottle of vintage red.
Id just pulled the wine from the rack when my phone began to buzz with messages from mutual friends.
What the hell is going on with Evelyn? Shes all over the gossip sites with Leo.
I thought you two were inseparable. Is something wrong?
Mixed in with the concerned texts were the sneering ones, telling me my dream of marrying into wealth was over and it was time to wake up.
I clicked the link one of them sent. News alerts exploded on my screen. The internet was flooded with paparazzi photos of Evelyn and Leo. Holding hands under a sky full of fireworks. A passionate kiss in public.
I knew what it was. Number ninety-eight on their list: flaunt their love for the world to see. It didn't matter how reckless they were. One reset, and the worlds memory would be wiped clean.
Just then, a new text came in. It was from Leo.
Ethan Foster, Im never giving Evelyn back to you.
It wasnt the first time hed sent a message like this. After a hundred loops, I had the words memorized. I could even picture the smug look on his face, could anticipate what was coming next.
Sure enough, three seconds later, an image appeared.
It was their list. A Hundred Little Things.
Scanning down, I saw that items one through ninety-eight were crossed out in bold red ink. Number ninety-nine was Experience every position, and number one hundred was Have a child together.
This was the first time I had ever seen the actual list. I stared at it, a brief shock giving way to a profound, chilling calm. In an earlier loop, after discovering the truth, I had begged her to show it to me. Shed refused, her eyes evasive, insisting they were just "silly, unimportant things."
Unimportant things. Every single one was an intimate act meant for lovers, for a husband and wife.
A dry, humorless sound escaped my lips. I didnt reply. Leos body wouldnt last long enough to see a child born, and besides, none of it mattered anymore. Soon, I would be free.
With a newfound sense of purpose, I uncorked the wine and washed down half a bottle of pills.
The effects were swift.
My vision blurred. The room began to spin. My breath hitched, each gasp a desperate struggle for air. I collapsed to the floor, my consciousness fraying, drifting away like smoke.
Through the haze, I heard frantic footsteps. The sound of the door crashing open.
Ethan!
A strong grip hauled me up, my body feeling as weightless as a kite in the wind. Evelyns fingers dug into my arms, her voice laced with a raw, unfamiliar panic.
Ethan! Ethan, wake up! Look at me!
My scattered senses slowly reassembled. I managed to force my eyes open, meeting her gaze. Her eyes were wide, red-rimmed with a fear Id never seen before.
Are you insane?! she shrieked. Trying to kill yourself in my house?
Let me tell you something, she hissed, her face close to mine. Your life belongs to me. You dont get to die without my permission!
A faint, tragic smile pulled at my lips.
Evelyn rushed me to the hospital. I was so close. So close to going home. But she mobilized the citys top medical teams, sparing no expense to drag me back from the brink.
When I woke up, she was there. She gripped my face, forcing me to meet her eyes. Was this because of Leo? she demanded, her voice cold steel. Were you jealous?
My lips were cracked, my throat raw. No, I rasped.
My reaction seemed to catch her off guard. The hard lines of her face softened slightly. I know Ive been distant, she murmured. Ill spend more time with you from now on, okay?
She leaned in, her lips aiming for mine in a kiss devoid of any warmth or emotion. I turned my head, and the cold press of her mouth landed on my cheek instead.
A humorless laugh escaped her. Dont you dare refuse me, Ethan. She pinned me against the headboard, her body caging mine. The cold metal bars of the hospital bed bit into my back.
A flurry of desperate, bruising kisses followed. She fumbled with the buttons of my hospital gown, tearing it open and exposing me to the cold air. I felt a wave of shame, of utter humiliation.
Her hands explored downward, relentless. See? she whispered against my skin, her voice a hot breath. Your body doesnt lie. You still want me.
She had always been so gentle in our intimacy, so careful not to push me. Now, it was a frantic, almost violent act of possession. I wasnt a lover; I was an object, a territory to be reclaimed.
I closed my eyes, and the very last ember of affection I held for her was extinguished, washed away by a single, silent tear.
Afterward, she carelessly threw a blanket over my body, hiding the marks shed left. She dressed with a detached air, the last traces of passion fading from her face, leaving it a cold, beautiful mask.
Im posting guards outside your door, she announced, her voice flat. Youre staying here. And dont even think about trying to die again.
Her idea of guards was a dozen stone-faced bodyguards stationed outside my room around the clock. They watched my every move. I couldnt even close the bathroom door. It wasn't a hospital stay; it was a prison sentence.
My plan was delayed, but I knew my chance would come. On Leos birthday she would still kill me, just as she always had. No matter how I died, I would finally go home. The thought of waiting, however, was a gnawing frustration.
When I was finally discharged, Evelyn abandoned all pretense. She had me bound like an animal and thrown into a small, dark storage room in the basement.
A maid brought my meals, spooning them into my mouth as if I were an infant. I ate, slept, and relieved myself in that one small space. There was no escape, no visitors. After a few days, I could smell the sour stench of my own filth clinging to me. The maid would pinch her nose every time she entered, her eyes filled with disgust, as if I were a pig waiting for slaughter.
Evelyn rarely visited.
Once, in a moment of sheer desperation, I begged her. When can I die? Just tell me when. Death was no longer a terror; it was my only hope for liberation.
Her reply was a casual, devastating blow. When Im pregnant with Leos child.
Again and again, she ground my dignity into the dust. Somewhere outside my prison, they had completed number ninety-nine. Now only the final act remained. She knew better than anyone that Leo would never live to see his child born, not in this lifetime or any other. But her obsession was a fire that consumed everything, and she was determined to make everyone pay the price for it.
The room had no windows, only a single, dim bulb overhead. My days bled into one anothereat, sleep, eat, sleep. I lost all track of time, of day and night.
One day, the maid was forcing food into my mouth when a wave of nausea hit me. I retched, spitting the food onto the floor. She cursed, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and shoved the spoon back in my mouth, forcing it down my throat. The nausea intensified, and I could only curl into a ball, vomiting until nothing but yellow bile came up.
Seeing me heave until I was empty, she finally panicked and called the family doctor.
Suddenly, the tiny room was filled with people. But Evelyn was not among them.
With me too weak to struggle, the maid finally untied my ropes. My body was limp, and I slumped against the wall, letting them prod and examine me.
After a series of tests, the doctor spoke in a low, somber voice. Mr. Foster has late-stage liver cancer.
Liver cancer?
The words struck me like a physical blow. A tremor ran through me, all other emotions replaced by pure, unadulterated shock. This had never happened in any of the previous hundred loops. This time, I had a terminal illness.
The shock quickly curdled into a deep, crushing despair. It seemed fate itself was conspiring to keep me here.
I closed my eyes, a tear tracing a path through the grime on my cheek. A wild thought flickered through my mind.
If Evelyn knew I was sick, truly dying would this time be different?
After the doctor left, the maid sneered at me. Still think youre the high and mighty Mr. Foster? Dont think getting sick will earn you any pity from Miss Hale. Let me tell you, she and Mr. Leo are inseparable these days. She hasnt thought about you once.
She punctuated her words with a vicious kick to my side. I instinctively curled tighter, protecting my abdomen from the searing pain.
When she was finished, she leaned down, her voice a venomous hiss. You keep your mouth shut about this, and I might just make your last days here bearable.
I nodded weakly, and I saw the relief on her face. The staff, terrified I would use my illness to regain Evelyns favor and expose their abuse, conspired to keep my diagnosis a secret.
From that day on, the food they brought me was barely edible. But I forced it down, choking back the nausea, determined to stay alive long enough for Evelyn to finish her gruesome task.
She never came.
An eternity seemed to pass. I started to believe I would rot in that basement forever. Then, one day, the heavy door creaked open.
The sharp, rhythmic click of high heels on concrete grew closer.
It was Evelyn.
I lifted my head, a flicker of desperate hope igniting in my chest.
She took in my filthy, emaciated state, but her expression didn't so much as flicker. She walked over and, without a hint of disgust, helped me to my feet. What have you done to yourself?
The maids standing by stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.
Before I could answer, she took my hand and led me out of the darkness. As we passed through the grand foyer, I saw a calendar. I had been in that room for a month.
She led me to our bedroom and sat me down in front of a mirror, where she began to gently wash my face with a warm cloth.
How about I give you a bath? she murmured, her voice unnervingly tender. And when youre clean, well have dinner together.
Her gentleness was a ghost of a happier time, a cruel reminder of what we once had.
I forced myself to remain cold, detached. Why are you doing this? Why are you suddenly being so nice to me? It was too much, too kind. She had to have a motive.
Evelyn didnt seem bothered by my suspicion. Her voice remained a soft caress. Its our anniversary, Ethan. Did you forget?
Our anniversary.
For a moment, I was stunned. I had forgotten. Completely. In a hundred lifetimes, we had never once celebrated it.
She finished combing my tangled hair, her eyes meeting mine in the mirror, a look of deep affection on her face. Its okay. I remembered for both of us.
After the bath, she dressed me in soft, silk pajamas. We sat across from each other at the dining table, the scene so deceptively normal it felt like a dream. She even carefully cut my steak into small, manageable pieces for me.
I looked at her beautiful face, and despite everything, my resolve wavered. I was about to tell herabout the cancer, about everything.
Then, her eyes still lowered to her plate, she spoke, her voice calm and even.
Im pregnant.
The words were a lightning strike, sending an icy chill down my spine.
She continued, her tone conversational. When Leo found out, he was so happy he had a heart attack. Hes in the ICU now. She looked up, her eyes meeting mine. His body is failing. He wont even make it to his birthday this time. So
Her sentence hung in the air. With a slow, deliberate motion, she slid the steak knife shed been using across the table until it rested in front of me. She picked up her napkin, dabbing delicately at her lips, and pronounced my death sentence.
This time, I wont do it myself. You can do the honors.
My vision blurred, my eyes stinging with tears. It was happening again. I couldn't remember which death it was, but I had died at this very table before. She had strangled the life out of me with her bare hands.
To think, after all my waiting, I was expected to end it myself.
The last fragile thread of hope inside me snapped.
Arent you afraid? I asked, my voice a ragged whisper. What if this is the last time? What if, after I die, theres no more rebirth?
A flicker of annoyance crossed her face. She reached across the table, grabbing my hand and forcing the knife into my grip. She guided the point until it rested directly over my heart.
Dont be dramatic. Well see each other again in the next life.
I let out a shaky laugh. No, we wont.
And with that, I closed my hand over hers, driving the blade deep into my chest.
Blood bubbled up, spilling from the corner of my mouth. With my last, fleeting breath, I looked into her shocked eyes and offered one final, taunting truth.
Congratulations, Evelyn. Your child is now fatherless.

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