My Brother Stole My Life

That was the kind of life I lived during those years in the village.

When Lex and Gina were in a good mood, they'd let me eat real food. When they weren't, I could only eat pig feed in the pigsty alongside the pigs.

That was how I ended up with severe gastritis.

When Lenora learned about how my gastritis came about, she was heartbroken for me. She even signed up for a nutrition course just for me and came up with new ways every day to make balanced and nutritious meals for me.

The thing I ate most was the nutrient-dense oatmeal she'd make for me daily, which was sometimes sweet and sometimes savory.

When I worked late, she'd even bring a thermos with that oatmeal to my office building sometimes. My friends all said I was lucky to have found such a caring girlfriend.

But if I had known that Lenora had once been in a relationship with Gideon, I would've never gotten together with her. Gideon had already taken my parents and my sister from me. I didn't want anything to do with him again.

Yet it seemed like fate had decided to play a cruel joke on me.

On the day Lenora and I got engaged, Gideon returned. He showed up at the engagement party and greeted Lenora casually. "It's been a long time."

I saw the tears welling up in her eyes, and I could tell that they were tears of joy. Maybe I should've understood then that no matter what it was, I could never compete with Gideon.

…

The next day, when I arrived at work, Lenora showed up carrying that familiar thermos. She handed it to me and looked at me eagerly.

"Ivan, your stomach isn't in good shape, so make sure you eat breakfast. I got up early this morning to make this very nutritious oatmeal for you. Have some."

I looked at the thermos in Lenora's hand and felt myself softening a little. But just as I was about to open it, I noticed she was holding an identical thermos in her other hand.

Sensing that I had noticed the second thermos, she instinctively hid it behind her back.

"Babe, please don't misunderstand. Gwen said Gideon hasn't been able to eat anything, so she asked me to make some oatmeal for him."

My expression darkened as understanding dawned on me. But I still couldn't help but ask, "Lenora, when you were making the oatmeal, were you thinking about your husband with gastritis, or that first love of yours who's sick?"

When I opened the thermos and saw the savory oatmeal inside, my body started to tremble uncontrollably.

"I guess you were thinking about your first love then," I said. "You forgot that I'm allergic to seafood, especially shrimp."

I noticed the shrimp topping the oatmeal right away. I had a severe—even life-threatening—allergy to shrimp. But because Gideon loved eating shrimp, every meal we had together as a family had shrimp on the table.

The fishy smell of the shrimp filled my senses, making me nauseous. I fought down the urge to vomit and looked at Lenora, who was still trying to explain herself.

"Lenora, I'm begging you," I said coldly. "Let's get a divorce. It's better than torturing each other like this."

She refused without hesitation. "I won't agree to it."

I didn't understand. Lenora clearly didn't love me, so why wouldn't she just agree to a divorce?

I wanted to argue further, but her phone started ringing right then and cut me off. She answered the call, and that anxious look returned to her face.

After hanging up, she looked at me. "Babe, if you can't have the oatmeal, then go buy something else for breakfast. I'll explain everything later."

With that, she rushed out holding the second thermos in her hand.

I stared at the oatmeal for a long while, then dumped it out expressionlessly.