A Wedding Car Mix-Up

On our wedding day, my lawyer wife, Victoria, got into the wrong limousine and spent our wedding night with my assistant, Alex.

The next morning, she knelt before me, covered in marks, begging for forgiveness. She swore shed fire him.

A year later, I found her in a hospital maternity ward during a supposed business trip. She held a newborn, and beside her stood Alex, back after a year away.

Blinded by rage, I threw them out. But that night, the baby disappeared.

Victoria was convinced I did it. To force my hand, she suspended my parents over an active volcano.

I denied it, my voice desperate. I sacrificed so much for you, Noah! she screamed. Return my child, or I drop them.

She lowered themtheir shoe soles melted instantly.

When I couldnt produce the baby, she prepared to release the cableuntil a call came: the child was found.

Without looking back, she walked away. My parents fell into the molten rock.

While she and Alex celebrated their sons first month, I sifted through cooled ash for my parents charred bones.

In that moment, I regretted ever loving her.

I knelt in the volcanic dust, cradling the blackened, incomplete remains of my parents, my heart a shard of glass in my chest. They had always treated Victoria like their own daughter. They had sponsored her through high school; without them, she never would have even made it to college.

But just because I had thrown her out of the hospital, she assumed I had stolen her and Alex's child. And for that, she had murdered my parents.

One more week. In one more week, I could leave her forever, taking my parents' ashes with me.

I secured the small pouch containing their remains inside my shirt and went home.

As I walked through the villa's front gate, I saw Victoria, holding the baby, happily mingling with friends and family. She saw my swollen, red-rimmed eyes and shot me a single, cold glance.

"Noah, you still have the nerve to show your face? You watched your own parents hang over a volcano, all for a petty act of revenge, and you still wouldn't tell the truth. You almost made my son miss his own celebration. You're truly toxic."

Her child was celebrating his new life, while my parents didn't even have a complete skeleton left.

My mouth opened, but my throat felt as if it were filled with hot ash. No sound came out.

"Whatever," she said, waving a dismissive hand. "Thankfully, the baby was found. I forgive you. Mom and Dad must have been uncomfortable hanging over that crater for so long. I'll arrange for them to have a check-up at the hospital later."

She handed the baby to a nanny and walked towards me, reaching for my hand as she always did. I yanked it away.

"Don't bother," I said, my head bowed.

Victoria's brow furrowed, and she was about to question me when Alex rushed over and began to beat me with his fists and feet.

"I'm not competing with you for Victoria anymore! Why do you still have to go after our child? Are you even human?"

A grunt of pain escaped my lips. The image of my parents' final moments flashed before my eyes, and I summoned all my strength to fight back.

But at a sharp command from Victoria, two bodyguards seized me, pinning me to the floor. I couldn't move, forced to endure Alex's punches raining down on my stomach.

After the ninety-ninth blow, when I was coughing up blood and barely conscious, Victoria finally gestured for them to release me.

She looked at me, her expression complicated. "The baby developed a high fever right after we found him. You went too far. It's only right that you let Alex blow off some steam."

I forced my lips into a smile, but a tear hit the floor before I could manage it.

Victoria froze, and for a second, she looked like she might help me up. But then Alex clutched his chest and collapsed, groaning theatrically.

Her face changed instantly. "Quick! Get him to the hospital!"

She half-dragged, half-pulled me into the car. With every bump in the road, the searing pain in my abdomen felt like I was being flayed alive.

At the hospital, Alex whispered weakly, "Victoria, I have severe anemia. The stress Noah put me under I might need a transfusion."

Victorias eyes immediately fell on me.

"Doctor, draw his blood," she commanded, not even looking in my direction.

The doctor tried to intervene. "The patient has just been assaulted and may have internal injuries. We can't draw his blood!"

But Victoria's attention was fixed on the whimpering Alex. She turned back to me, her face set with grim determination. "Noah, this was your fault. Alex only acted out because he was sick with worry over the baby. You need to compensate him. We'll do the transfusion, and when it's over, I'll make you soup myself. I'll make sure you get your strength back."

Cold sweat beaded on my forehead. "I'm telling you again," I said, my voice faint, "I didn't take your child. Let me go."

She just frowned, her eyes full of disappointment. "You still won't admit your mistake?"

She had her men hold me down as the nurse drew tube after tube of my blood. As I was about to pass out, I saw a flash of pity in her eyes. But then Alex moaned from his bed, and she was instantly by his side, cooing and comforting him.

Alex shot me a triumphant look and mouthed two words: "Pathetic loser."

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open and Victoria's parents stormed in, making a beeline for Alex.

"Oh, my sweet boy! Why are you so pale? Did that good-for-nothing piece of trash upset you?" her mother cried, stroking Alex's forehead. Then she saw me on the floor, and her face turned to stone. She marched over and spat directly in my face.

"My daughter must have been blind to marry a worthless animal like you! Can't have your own children, so you steal someone else's!"

I used to consistently outperform Victoria in school, but I willingly stepped back to manage our lives so she could focus on her law career. Her parents saw this as me being lazy and unambitious. They had always disliked me, always using Alex to humiliate me.

Before I could respond, her father was standing over me, his face a dark mask. He lifted his polished leather shoe and brought it down with all his force onto my already bruised abdomen.

There was a sickening thud. The feeling of bone and organ shattering sent a final, blinding wave of pain through me, and I blacked out.

I woke to the tearing agony in my midsection. Alex's whining voice drifted over from the next bed. "Victoria, if Noah knew one of his kidneys was removed and transplanted into me, do you think he'd go crazy?"

Victoria's soothing reply came immediately. "Dad's kick ruptured one of them anyway, and he was bleeding internally. They couldn't save it. It was useless to him, so it was only right to give it to you as compensation for the scare he gave you." She added, "He's still unstable. Let's not tell him for now."

I stared blankly at the ceiling. Alex had beaten me half to death, but he was the one who had gotten a scare. A scare that was compensated with my kidney.

Victoria, I thought, did you ever love me at all?

Just then, the curtain between our beds was pulled back. Alex's triumphant face appeared. "You're tough, Noah. I'm surprised you're not dead. You know, I was never sick. The blood you gave me? I poured it out for the stray dogs. And your kidney? Fed it to them, too."

He pulled out his phone, played a video, and held it in front of my face. On the screen, my kidney lay on the pavement outside the hospital while a pack of wild dogs tore it to pieces.

"Your parts are only good enough for the dogs," he sneered, then burst out laughing.

With my last ounce of strength, I slapped him across the face.

The next second, I vomited a mouthful of blood, spraying it all over his expensive shirt. He didn't care. His grin was victorious.

At that exact moment, the door opened.

"Noah!" Victoria rushed to my bedside and slapped me twice, hard.

Alex put on a show. "Victoria, don't hit him. It's okay. If he's willing to steal our child, what's a little slap? I was just trying to check on him. I guess he doesn't want to see me." He started to fake-sob.

"Noah! Are you even human?!" Victoria's voice was laced with fury and disappointment. "You've put Alex through so much, and he still defends you! I told you to reflect on what you've done, and this is the result? I truly regret ever marrying you!"

Her words washed over me, and my heart turned to ash. I simply stared at her, then slowly lifted the bedsheet, revealing the fresh, angry scar on my abdomen.

Victoria flinched and looked away, helping Alex to his feet. As they left, he turned back and mouthed silently: Loser. You were with her for five years. So what? She still prefers her assistant!

I managed a bitter smile and closed my eyes. When your heart is dead, you can't feel pain anymore.

But Victoria, as for marrying you? I regret it more than you ever will.

I left the hospital alone. When I got home, Victoria was on the sofa, her arms around Alex, the baby in her lap. They were watching TV, a picture of domestic bliss that burned my eyes.

She saw me and quickly pulled away from him.

I said nothing, just walked calmly to our room to pack my things.

She followed me in, trying to hug me from behind. "Noah, let me explain," she said, her voice artificially soft. "Alex hasn't recovered yet, and there's no one to take care of him, so I let them stay here temporarily. I promise, as soon as he's better, they'll leave."

I sidestepped her touch, continuing to pack. "You don't need to explain anything to me. Let's get a divorce."

She stared at me, shocked. "Divorce? Impossible! Noah, you know I love you!"

Before she could finish, Alex was leaning against the doorframe, looking pale. "Victoria, don't fight with Noah because of me and the baby. If he really can't stand having us here, we can leave right now."

I ignored him and folded my last shirt.

Victoria looked at my unresponsive back, her frown deepening. "Noah! I already apologized to you! Have you no compassion? Don't forget, this villa is in my name! If anyone's getting out, it's you, with your cold heart! Alex and the baby deserve to stay!"

She crossed her arms, expecting me to back down and beg as I always did.

But this time, I slowly raised my head and looked at her with eyes like stagnant water.

"Victoria, I'm serious about the divorce. Think it over. Let me know when you're ready to finalize it. As for you and Alex, I wish you a long and happy life together."

Her eyes filled with disbelief, then she snapped, "Fine! Let's do it! Whoever backs out is a coward! You don't even have a kidney left! You'll be on dialysis for the rest of your life! Let's see how you survive without me!"

I silently zipped up my suitcase, walked past her, and went to the living room to grab the jacket I had been wearing the day I was hospitalized. Tucked inside was the small pouch with my parents' remains.

As I reached for it, a maid brought out a bowl of soup. "Sir, Mr. Alex had us make this especially for you. He said it would warm you up."

I glanced suspiciously at Alex, who was standing in the bedroom doorway. He gave me a sadistic grin and gestured towards my jacket.

I sprinted to the kitchen. In the soup pot were the fragmented remains of my parents.

A pain so sharp it felt like a thousand needles pierced my heart. Numbly, I grabbed a kitchen knife and lunged at Alex.

"Noah! Are you insane!"

Victoria's shriek cut through the air. She had rushed between us, and with all her strength, she twisted the knife from my hand and plunged it into my abdomen. The surgical wound tore open again.

I collapsed, laughing through tears of blood.

"Am I insane? My parents are..."

"Your parents are fine, Noah!" she cut me off, a flicker of pain in her eyes as she looked at me. "But you keep trying to hurt Alex and the baby! I can't... I can't just stand by and watch you make these mistakes..."

She was rambling, her eyes darting everywhere but at me, everywhere but at the blood pouring from my stomach.

"Don't move. I'll have the maids take you to the hospital. I'll come see you as soon as I've calmed Alex down."

She left me bleeding on the floor and carefully escorted Alex back to the bedroom.

I pushed myself up against a wall and retrieved my parents' remains from the pot. With a cold smile, I tossed a file onto the floor. Then, as everyone stared in shock, I staggered out of the villa.

Inside that file was the prenuptial agreement my parents had insisted Victoria sign. If the wife was found to be at major fault during the marriage, she had to agree to an unconditional divorce, and the agreement would automatically take effect.

The effective date was tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I would be free.

At the hospital, the doctor silently stitched up the new wound on my abdomen. After the anesthetic wore off, I didn't stay. I took the last of my parents' ashes and boarded the first train back to my hometown.

Meanwhile, back at the villa, Victoria's unease grew. My dead eyes as I left haunted her. She was struck by the realization that she had been far too cruel to me.

She grabbed her car keys and raced to the hospital.

The nurse at the emergency desk checked the records. "Noah? He came in this evening. We treated his wound, and he left."

"Left? Where did he go?" Victoria's heart leaped into her throat.

"How would we know where patients go after they're discharged?" the nurse replied impatiently.

Victoria sped back home and tore through every room, the garage, the garden. He was gone. It was as if he had evaporated. She collapsed, clutching her head and sobbing, a terrible feeling washing over her that she had lost me forever.

The old maid timidly approached and handed her the file I had left on the floor. "Ma'am, I think your husband left this for you."

With trembling hands, Victoria took the file and pulled out the papers. Tucked inside the prenuptial agreement was another document. A single sheet of paper fluttered to the floor.

It was a death certificate.