The Day My Wife Married Her Best Friend

1
The gala for my father’s 70th birthday had just ended when my wife’s frantic call cut through the night.
“Adrian, it’s a disaster! The investors vanished with the money. I have to leave the country—don’t try to contact me!”
Wide awake, I told her to stay safe, then hung up and immediately froze all her bank accounts.
The only investor was my father, who lay drunk in the next room.
What “bankruptcy” was she really running from?
I took the next flight out and found her not in hiding, but glowing in a wedding gown at a five-star resort—arm in arm with her “best friend” Leo.
She rushed over in panic as I entered.
“Adrian, I can explain! Leo’s dying father just wanted to see him married. This is all an act.”
I laughed coldly and slapped her. The sound echoed in the sudden hush.
“An act? Then let me give you a wedding gift and help you keep up the show.”
Leo stood flushed and trembling in his tuxedo, as if I were the one ruining his big day.
“Mr. Cole,” he said, his voice dripping with false pity. “I know you’ve always struggled with Vivian’s unrequited love, and that it’s led to… certain delusions. I sympathize, truly. But this is my wedding day. Must you be so aggressive? You can’t force these things.”
Vivian chimed in, her tone placating. “Whatever it is, we can talk about it after the ceremony. Please, Adrian. Don’t make a scene.”
Even now, all she could think about was continuing with the wedding.
I laughed again, a raw, humorless sound. My eyes fell on the watch gleaming on Leo’s wrist. It was the million-dollar Patek Philippe I had lost months ago.
“No wonder you paid him a thirty-thousand-dollar-a-month salary. The two of you have been at this for a while, haven’t you?” My voice dripped with scorn. “And my watch… I bet you stole that for him too.”
I sized Leo up. “One of you has the gall to steal, the other has the gall to wear it. You two really are a match made in hell.”
The crowd erupted in laughter, phones held high to capture the drama.
Leo stomped his foot in a theatrical fit of rage, then pulled a document from his jacket. “Open your eyes and look!” he shouted, brandishing a marriage certificate. “Vivian and I are legally married!”
He pointed a triumphant finger at me. “He’s sick. He gets obsessed with any woman who shows him the slightest kindness. My wife is just his latest fixation.”
The mood of the crowd shifted. A few people shot me menacing looks.
“That desperate, huh? She’s a married woman. Maybe you should come up to my room instead…” one man slurred, stepping forward to grab me. I snatched a wine bottle from a nearby table and brandished it, forcing him back.
I pointed the bottle at Vivian, my voice low and dangerous. “I’ll give you one last chance. Me, or him. Who is your husband?”
Vivian’s eyes flickered, and her answer was a stake through my heart. “My only husband is Leo.”
Her voice turned to ice. “Now, apologize to him, or I’ll have you committed to a psychiatric hospital.”
Leo’s hand tightened around Vivian’s, his face a mask of smug victory. “Darling, don’t waste your breath on a lunatic. He’s not worth it.”
Seeing their vile, triumphant faces, something inside me snapped. I raised the bottle, ready to bring it crashing down on them. If I was going to hell, I was dragging them with me.
But Vivian was faster. She kicked out, her heel grinding into the back of my hand with a sickening crunch. A wave of white-hot agony shot up my arm, stealing my breath. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead.
“Leo is my life,” she snarled, her eyes filled with a terrifying hatred. “You hurt him, and I will make you pay a hundred times over!”
Leo, ever the actor, pretended to pull her back. “Darling, it’s our wedding day. It would be bad luck if something happened. Just make him get on his knees and apologize.”
Vivian nodded, her tone one of magnanimous charity. “You heard him. Get on your knees and beg for forgiveness. Otherwise, I’m making the call to the asylum right now.”
The raw disgust in her eyes was like a physical blow. My first love. Seven years of my life. All of it, meaningless.
I pulled out my phone and opened the photo gallery, displaying our own marriage certificate, our wedding photos. “This is proof of our marriage. I’m reporting you for bigamy!”
In this country, bigamy meant prison time.
Doubt flickered across the faces in the crowd.
“That man’s certificate is dated seven years ago. Were these two really lying?”
“If they broke the law, they should be punished!”
Leo leaned in close, his voice a triumphant whisper. “You still don’t get it, do you? Your marriage certificate with Vivian is a fake. She promised me she would only ever love me. You were never worthy of marrying her.”
The world tilted on its axis. The last seven years of my life, my devotion, my love—it was all a joke. A bitter, hollow laugh escaped me, my eyes burning with unshed tears. I raised a trembling hand towards him, but before I could touch him, he collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest.
“Vivian!” he gasped. “My heart… I think I’m dying…”
Before I could process his words, a sharp sting exploded across my face. Vivian had slapped me so hard my ears rang, the coppery taste of blood filling my mouth.
She knelt beside Leo, cradling him, her eyes spitting venom at me. “You’ve given him a heart attack with your rage! If anything happens to him, I’ll make you pay with your life!”
I tried to speak, but my tongue was thick with bitterness.
“Get me to a hospital!” Leo wailed. “I can feel my heart giving out!”
Vivian forgot about me entirely, shouting for someone to help carry Leo to a car.
My vision swam, and the world went black.
I woke up in a hospital bed. An IV was in my arm, but it wasn’t dripping fluid in; it was drawing blood out. I tried to struggle, but I was completely drained of strength.
Vivian stood over me, her expression a mask of cold contempt. “Leo is in surgery. He needs a transfusion, and you happen to be a match. Consider this your apology.”
“I didn’t push him!” I roared, a fresh wave of adrenaline cutting through the haze.
She grabbed my wrist, her fingers digging into my flesh. “He waited seven years for me. I won’t let anything happen to him. If it does, I swear, I will burn your body to ash.”
She squeezed until I was gasping for air before finally letting go, leaving me in a sea of helpless despair.
The blood loss pulled me back under.
I drifted back to consciousness to the sound of Leo’s voice. He was on the phone.
“The arrangements with the asylum are made. The second Adrian Cole wakes up, have him transferred… I want him to spend the rest of his life in there.”
He saw my eyes were open, hung up, and walked over to my bed. He poured a glass of hot water and deliberately spilled it onto my arm.
“This is what you get for crossing me,” he hissed.
Pain seared my skin. I trembled, biting my lip to keep from screaming. “You were faking it,” I rasped.
He laughed, not even bothering to deny it. “So what if I was? Vivian only believes me.” He placed a hand over his heart. “This heart of mine could have been perfectly healthy. But I had an unfortunate little fall, you see. Made a pre-existing condition much worse. Vivian feels so guilty about it. And you, my friend, are the perfect scapegoat.”
“You’re pathetic!” I choked out, shaking with rage.
His smile turned predatory. “And once you’re out of the picture, all your assets will be mine.”
A cold sweat broke out across my back. He wasn’t going to let me leave this hospital alive.
With a surge of desperation, I threw myself out of bed, shoving him aside and stumbling for the door. But my body betrayed me. After only a few steps, my legs gave out, and I collapsed.
Leo followed at a leisurely pace and kicked me hard in the ribs. “Run,” he taunted, seeing I couldn’t even get up. “I thought you were so tough.”
“Just getting rid of you would be too easy. Let’s play a game. I hear there’s a local mercenary outfit that’s always looking for able-bodied labor. Why don’t we drop you off there?”
I scrambled backward in horror. “You can’t. My father is—”
He grabbed a handful of my hair, yanking my head back, and slapped me twice across the face. “Your family is a bunch of ungrateful snobs! Every time Vivian brought them gifts, they looked down on her. If she hadn’t been propping up your family all these years, do you think you could have lived the life of a rich kid?”
My heart sank. Vivian had been a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks when we met. I used my own savings to help her start her business. My family never approved of our marriage, so Vivian rarely interacted with them. The few times she did visit, she brought nothing more than a fruit basket. The idea that she "propped us up" was a laughable fantasy. Without my father secretly investing in her company, she never would have gone public in seven years.
His bodyguards dragged me out and threw me into a waiting van. We drove to a desolate, run-down compound, where he shoved me out in front of a group of hulking, leering men.
He held up his phone. “Whoever puts on the best show gets fifty grand,” he announced to the thugs, who began cracking their knuckles and advancing on me.
They surrounded me, their fists flying. I grabbed a rock, hurled it at one of them, and screamed at Leo, “You will regret this!”
He was unfazed. He started a video call with Vivian. My battered, helpless form on his screen sent her into peals of delighted laughter.
“Leo, you’re too kind,” she chirped. “He hurt you. He should be in prison.”
“He was with you for a while, Vivian,” Leo sighed dramatically. “I’m trying to be merciful. If he would just get on his knees and admit he was wrong, I wouldn’t have to do this.”
“He’s a monster,” Vivian spat. “I’ve had enough of him. Leo, we’ll have to redo our wedding, of course.”
They chattered on, completely ignoring my existence. My last sliver of hope died.
Leo ended the call. “What are you waiting for?” he barked at the men. “Get to it, or you won’t see a dime!”
I surged forward with my remaining strength, tackling Leo to the ground and closing my hands around his throat. “If I die, I’m taking you with me!”
He panicked, choking and screaming for help.
Suddenly, Vivian’s furious voice cut through the air. “Adrian Cole, you’re dead!”
She had followed us. She scooped up a heavy stone and brought it down on the back of my head. The world exploded in a flash of pain. She kicked me off Leo, her eyes blazing with hatred.
“First you hurt him, now you try to kill him? This time, I’m not holding back!”
She barked orders at her bodyguards. “Get more men! And call the local media! Today, Adrian Cole’s reputation dies with him!”
Ignoring the blinding pain in my head, I tried to crawl away, but I was no match for them. They dragged me back and forced me to my knees in front of Vivian and Leo.
She fussed over Leo, carefully wiping dust from his suit with a sanitized cloth, refusing to even look at me. “Don’t worry, darling,” she cooed. “I’ll make him pay.”
Leo clutched her hand. “I don’t blame him. As long as I’m with you, I can endure anything.”
I spat at him in disgust. “How many women have you pulled that routine on? How many other fiancées does Vivian have to compete with?”
I’d seen him at her office before, getting cozy with other women. I never thought he and Vivian were actually involved.
My words hit their mark. Leo’s face turned red with fury. “Vivian, he’s humiliating me! I can’t live like this!” He made a show of running towards a wall, only to be "saved" by Vivian at the last second.
Her eyes were burning. “It seems I’ve been too lenient with you. You’ll spend the rest of your life in this hellhole. Men! Break his arms and legs.”
I thrashed in their grip, roaring, “You’ll pay for this, Vivian! As long as I’m breathing, I will never let you get away with this!”
She just laughed. “Oh, I’m waiting. I remember you have that old college friend, the one who’s been single all these years, waiting for you. I wonder how she’ll react when she sees you as a crippled, broken mess. The handsome, popular boy from campus will be nothing but a pathetic joke.”
I couldn’t believe it. She was going to destroy me, all for him.
I felt the bones in my limbs snap. The physical agony was nothing compared to the pain in my heart. Seven years of memories, once so sweet, now tasted like ash.
I lay on the ground, a useless heap, my eyes locked on hers, burning with a hatred I never knew I possessed. She stood over me, her arm linked through Leo’s, looking down at my broken form with cold satisfaction.
The thugs closed in, their stench and their cruel, hungry eyes making me want to vomit. I trembled with fear, which only seemed to excite them more.
Leo leaned close to Vivian. “Don’t look, my love. I don’t want you to be frightened.”
“I’ll watch,” she said, her voice soft. “I’ll watch him get everything he deserves. He could never compare to your kindness and purity.”
I had nothing left. I was completely and utterly alone.
With my last ounce of will, I writhed on the ground like an insect, trying to escape their blows. They backed me into a corner. There was nowhere left to run.
As they moved in for the kill, I closed my eyes. I’d rather die than suffer this humiliation.
I was about to bite down on my own tongue when the piercing wail of sirens cut through the air. A convoy of police cars screeched to a halt, surrounding the compound. In the middle was a gleaming black Rolls-Royce with the license plate 8888—a symbol of unimaginable wealth and power.
The door opened, and the man who stepped out was my father.

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