A Soldier’s Fall, A Husband’s Rise From Ruin

I broke everything I could reach in the room. But I still did not dare step toward them.

They were the two people I had cared for most in my life.

Fear tightened in my chest and my teeth shook. “Alexander, look at me.”

He, with red eyes, tried to kneel toward me from under the blanket.

“Archie, I was wrong.”

“Charlotte and I should not have done this, but we truly love each other.”

“Please, please, grant us your blessing.”

His small, pressured look was almost the same as back then, when he was surrounded by thugs on the training ground.

Back then, to help him, I, as an outstanding trainee, had taken my first punishment.

Charlotte and I had given him our wedding bouquet in person, wishing him happiness.

Now he was in my wife’s bed, asking me to give them my blessing.

Tears dropped down my face and my voice shook. “When did it start?”

His lips trembled, unable to say a word.

She answered instead. “Does it matter? Haven’t you made enough trouble? This was a military camp, not your home.”

“Isn’t it important?! Charlotte! Isn’t it important?!”

I shouted until my throat hurt, my eyes burning red.

She quickly pulled on her coat, her eyes calm. “Fine! I’ll tell you!”

“Last March, when you pushed to go to the border post, that was when we started.”

“I didn’t hide it on purpose, but you had just lost your mother and I didn’t want to hurt you again, so I kept quiet and let this marriage stay as it was.”

“Alexander had already given too much; I couldn’t watch him break again. I planned to divorce you after your mother’s death anniversary.”

“Since you know now, we might as well say everything.”

“Let’s get a divorce. Say what you want. I only wanted Alexander.”

At that moment, I finally understood.

Back then, when I chose Charlotte’s side and pushed my mother away, how painful had it been for her?

Before I divorced Charlotte, I made a huge mess.

I took photos of them looking messy, printed them into flyers and dropped them into every company’s mailbox.

Banners showing their affair were hung all over the headquarters building.

I reported Alexander to the Political Department for wrongdoing.

The forum at the National Military Command University, where he studied, was packed with criticism.

At his graduation ceremony, I had paid someone to show our old photos on a big screen.

The memories I valued ended up turning into weapons, but Charlotte had protected him.

He finished his studies smoothly at the top National Military Command University.

He was even about to open a solo art exhibition.

To clear a path for Alexander, Charlotte finally came to face me.

“Alexander’s dream was about to happen; don’t trouble him.”

I was already out of control with anger.

“How was it trouble? I was ready to let everyone at the show enjoy your amazing pieces.”

A document was tossed at my face.

“If you wanted to keep your mother’s resting place safe, sign the divorce papers and stay away from me and Alexander from now on.”

When my mother was buried, I was crushed. Charlotte handled the whole funeral, including picking and buying the burial plot.

Now she was even moving things in that space in the martyrs’ cemetery.

I got angry and splashed the coffee on her face.

That night, I cried myself to sleep beside my mother’s grave.

The next day, I still went to the Political Department to finish the official paperwork.

The outcome was not what I expected; Charlotte only handed me an old family apartment that was already worn down.

“You reported me for breaking rules and now most of my assets have been frozen. This is all I could give you.”

“If Alexander had not spoken up for you, you would not have gotten a single coin.”

I had never been able to win against Charlotte, not even when I was young.

She was calm and careful, never acting on impulse and she knew how to use plans and status to get what she wanted.

Since I was the kind of person who rushed in without thinking, I often attacked in a way that hurt them a lot but hurt me even more.