"That man is... my ex-boyfriend, Li Tao..." my wife said, hanging her head low and sobbing.
I knew about Li Tao. Before I married my wife, my mother-in-law used to chatter about him constantly. It was because of the emotional hurt my wife suffered from him that I had the chance to get close to her.
I heard this guy was handsome, had a smooth tongue, and was especially good at making women happy—a complete scumbag. While dating my wife, he was also involved in ambiguous relationships with several other women.
"Didn't you say you had completely broken things off with him before we got married? How did you end up getting involved with him again?" I questioned her once more.
My wife shook her head desperately, looking at me with pitiful eyes, and choked out, "No, it's not like that, husband. I have nothing to do with him anymore. Please believe me. I haven't contacted him at all since we got married."
"No contact? You slept together, you even had an abortion for him, and you call that no contact?" I flew into a rage, slamming the table hard and roaring. I could imagine how ferocious my face must have looked at that moment.
"Husband, please listen to me," my wife said, scooting closer to me and tightly wrapping her arms around mine. "I really haven't contacted him. It's just that one time... I fell for his trap."
I forced down my anger and stared at my wife, waiting for her to continue.
"That Christmas, he came to my company to find me. He said he was going back to his hometown soon to get married and just wanted to say goodbye to me before the wedding. At first, I didn't want anything to do with him, but he kept pestering me and waited at the company all day. My heart softened, and I agreed to have a meal with him."
My wife bit her lip, wiped her tears, and continued, "Who knew that scumbag had tampered with the drink? By the time I realized something was wrong, it was too late... and then I fell into his trap."
I stared into my wife's eyes for a long time. Only when I was certain she was telling the truth did I say coldly, "Why didn't you tell me at the time?"
My wife shook her head repeatedly. Tears that had almost dried up welled up in her eyes again. "I didn't dare, husband. I love you too much. I admit that when we first got married, my heart wasn't completely with you. But after we started living together, I gradually realized... I was slowly becoming unable to live without you. My heart, my whole being, had become inseparable from you. I was afraid that if you found out, you would despise me, you would divorce me."
My wife spoke with utter sincerity, her words mixed with tears. Under normal circumstances, this would have made me incredibly happy, but at this moment, I felt nothing but heartache.
"And then?" I finally managed to squeeze out those two words after a long silence.
"When I was completely sober again, he was already gone. I tidied myself up and went home. Husband, you have no idea how much I suffered during that time. I felt so guilty, and I was so afraid you would find out. Several times I woke up from nightmares in a panic, and only when I saw you still beside me could I slowly calm down."
From her words, I could tell she cared about me. My mood settled a little at that point, but I still didn't know what to say. I never could have imagined, even in my wildest dreams, that we would end up in this situation today.
My wife seemed to have thrown caution to the wind, ready to confess everything. She continued, "I swear, I never saw him again after that. But two months later, I found out I was pregnant. We had always been using contraception, so I knew the child wasn't yours. I was terrified. So at the time, I lied to you, saying my mom was sick and needed someone to take care of her. Then, behind your back, I quietly... had the abortion."
I covered my head, thinking back carefully. Last March, my wife did seem to go back to her parents' home for a while, saying her mother had caught a chill. At the time, I even tried to curry favor by asking a colleague who was leading a tour to Changbai Mountain to bring back two high-quality ginseng roots as a gift.
Suddenly, it hit me. I said angrily, "So your mother knew about this? You and your mother teamed up to deceive me?"
My wife's face flushed bright red. She buried her face in her chest and whispered, "Don't blame my mom. It's all my fault. My mom was just afraid you would overthink things."
"Afraid I'd overthink? I could raise a flock of sheep on my head, and you're afraid I'd overthink?" I was furious again, angered by my mother-in-law helping her daughter deceive her son-in-law.
My wife was overcome with shame. She buried her head and sobbed uncontrollably, saying nothing more.
"Speak! What happened next? Why did that scumbag send me the photos? What does he want?" I shouted.
My wife slowly raised her head but didn't dare meet my eyes. She said softly, "I don't know how he found my phone number. A while ago, he called me, saying he was divorced now and wanted me to divorce you to be with him. Of course, I refused. Then he threatened me with this photo. He even got a friend at the hospital to steal my medical records. I kept ignoring him. I never thought he would actually send the stuff to you... He wants to ruin me."
At this point, my wife could no longer hold back. She threw herself onto my lap and began to cry bitterly, sobbing as she spoke, "Husband, I'm the one who wronged you. Please, don't leave me."
Seeing my wife like this felt like a knife twisting in my heart. The woman I loved most was kneeling before me, crying like a child. Who could remain unmoved?
I rubbed my face hard, trying to calm myself down. I sighed and said, "Stop crying. Let's both calm down first, then we'll talk."
My wife stayed on my lap for a few more minutes before gradually stopping her tears. Then she took out her phone and sent a message to her boss asking for leave.
This was truly unprecedented. As a veritable career woman, my wife never took time off. It's no exaggeration to say that in our six years of marriage, apart from taking leave for our wedding, I had never seen her ask for time off.
After sending the message, my wife leaned on the coffee table and slowly got up. Having knelt for so long, she stumbled. Instinctively, I reached out to steady her.
The situation was slightly awkward. I intended to let go, but seeing my wife look at me with those pitiful, pleading eyes, I couldn't bring myself to be harsh. I could only sigh softly and help her to the bathroom to wash up.
We spent the entire afternoon sitting in the living room. My wife kept her head down, her two fair, delicate hands constantly fidgeting with her clothes, looking exactly like a child who had done something wrong. Seeing her like this, I really couldn't bring myself to say anything too harsh. I could only remain silent.
Time passed bit by bit. The sun had already begun to set in the west. The two of us, who hadn't even eaten lunch, didn't feel the slightest bit hungry. We just sat there foolishly the whole day.
Suddenly, my wife looked up and asked softly, "Husband... do you really want to try wife-swapping?"
I was taken aback by this sudden question and looked at her, bewildered.
My wife's face flushed crimson. Her fair skin was so red it seemed it could drip blood. In a voice barely audible, she said, "If you've really made up your mind... I'm willing to go along with you. Consider it... compensation to you."
Huh. I never expected my wife would finally agree in this manner. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
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