Falsely Accused

For the next few days, my soul was tethered to Samantha.

I watched her live with another man in our home, sharing meals and sleeping together, completely immersed in love and affection.

I had decorated every detail in the bedroom, from the furniture to the candle holder in the corner.

Isaac stepped out of the bathroom and kicked the candle holder in the corner to the ground.

"What's going on?" Upon hearing the noise, Samantha entered the room.

Isaac pointed to the broken candle holder. He sounded innocent as he said, "This was something Joziah set up, right? Kind of romantic, actually. Sorry, I didn't mean to knock it over."

Samantha glanced at the broken holder. She paused for a moment, then casually replied, "Joziah always does such things. He's always wasting his time on flashy, useless things, making it seem like he's put in so much effort. He's just trying to impress me. He never thinks about what I actually need."

I felt a dull pain spread through me.

Was I really just trying to impress her?

Samantha must've forgotten that she had allergic rhinitis. Whenever the seasons changed, it would flare up, and when work got too stressful, she could barely breathe.

I hated seeing her suffer, so I found an old remedy for her condition. After a lot of effort, I tracked down an ointment from an old traditional medicine doctor. Every night, I'd place it in the candle holder to steam it.

Once, after she came back from a business trip, her allergies were so bad that she fainted from high fever.

I lit the candle with the medicinal ointment and tended to her with utmost care. But she twisted and turned, cursing at me and refusing to stay still.

Worried I might hurt her, I applied the ointment to my own arm and used a candle flame to heat it. I stayed up the whole night.

The candle might burn her, but I would never hurt the woman I loved.

The next day, she woke up, but my arm was covered in blisters. It was burning with pain.

I thought a man should care for his wife without complaining about his sacrifices.

But when Samantha truly dismissed me, my heart couldn't help but ache.

At this moment, Samantha kicked the broken candle holder and tossed it into the trash. Then, she curled up in Isaac's arms, smiling sweetly.

"Joziah's trash, and so is everything he used. It should've been thrown away a long time ago. He's too scared to even face me. He even went as far as to stage a fake death to try and fool everyone!

"He went to all that trouble because he's too scared to see me. He knows that if I laid eyes on him, I'd force him to divorce me."

"Mr. and Mrs. Henderson are both disgusted with him, and he knows it. His position as the Henderson family's heir depends entirely on our marriage.

"If I leave him, he'll lose everything, and he won't be able to stand in high society anymore. But does he think I'll just let him hide away forever? No chance. No matter where he hides, I'll drag him out and divorce him right away!"

Hearing Samantha speak with such confidence, I could only smile bitterly.

I'd given so much to her. But to her, I was just a coward and a man whose standing in my family relied on her. Not to mention, I was just a hurdle between her and her true love.

At this point, Isaac's eyes flickered briefly. In a strange tone, he asked, "Have the people you sent out returned with any news? Is there a chance that Joziah really is dead?"

"No way!" Samantha suddenly stood up, agitated.

"If it weren't for him, I never would've gone through that horrible experience. Even if he died, it wouldn't be enough to atone for his sins!

"The body I saw in the morgue that day was just a lame trick he pulled. Joziah is probably somewhere, laughing at my misery.

"It would be great if he died somewhere far off. At least I wouldn't have had to pick up the phone to identify his body. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me sick!"

As she spoke, she suddenly stood on tiptoe and kissed Isaac passionately. "Make it up to me, Isaac. I'm about to lose it from disgust!"

Isaac laughed loudly, swept Samantha up, and tossed her onto the bed. He quickly made up for her with his body.

The two of them tumbled together.

Samantha wrapped her legs around him tightly, screaming and moaning in ecstasy.

I felt like knives were stabbing into me.

I couldn't cry anymore, but why did it still hurt so much?