Freedom Met with Betrayal

Four years ago, in order to protect my wife, I badly injured three people and killed five in self-defense. The court said I used “excessive defense,” so I was sent to prison.

After I got out, everything at home looked normal on the surface, but something always felt wrong.

Until one day, while I was helping my son with his homework, he suddenly said, “Why didn’t you die in prison? Now that you’re back, Arden doesn’t come play Delta Force with me anymore.”

The man he mentioned was my childhood friend. He was my best buddy for almost thirty years.

Maybe during the four years I was in prison, Arden often came to keep them company and the kid just grew attached to him.

Even though I tried to comfort myself like that, I still felt suffocated, so I went out for a walk alone.

But I had barely reached the gate of the villa when I saw my wife and Arden hugging and kissing.

——

Seren had a bit of a cleanliness obsession. She only kissed me passionately when she was in a really good mood. Most of the time, her kisses were just light and quick.

But the way she was kissing Arden now… the only word I could think of was devouring.

I said, “Seren, does kissing him feel good?”

I was on the edge of exploding, wanting to rush over and hit him, but in the end, I held myself back.

I thought my voice would scare them.

But what I saw instead was relief on their faces.

“We’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, but we didn’t know how to say it. It’s better that you saw it yourself,” Seren said.

She leaned against Arden’s chest and lightly licked her lips which were still wet with his saliva.

No wonder every time I tried to touch her, she said she was taking herbal medicine and needed to “take care of her body,” so she kept refusing me.

So this was what it was. She already had someone else.

In prison, many men cried and told me how their wives or girlfriends had betrayed them after they were locked up. But I was sure my wife would never do that.

After all, I went to prison because of Seren. If I hadn’t acted that night, she would’ve been hurt, maybe even killed.

“You two talk. I’ll go first,” I said.

Right in front of me, Arden kissed Seren again with a deep, lingering kiss.

When their lips finally parted, he even gave her a small bite, making her let out a soft, shy sound.

Then he looked at me with a smile at the corner of his mouth and got into his car.

He was provoking me.

And the car he drove away in was my black Maybach, the one I bought before going to prison.

He lowered the window and gave me a smile. He didn’t say a word, but it felt like he was saying: “See, Lucian? I’m driving your car just like I’m sleeping with your wife.”

My fists tightened, my breathing got heavier and I was already on the edge of losing control.

“Are you still thinking about hitting someone?”

Seren’s cold voice pulled me back. “Don’t forget, you’re an ex-convict with a criminal record. If you dare touch anyone, I’ll personally send you back to prison.”

“Why?” I asked in confusion, not understanding why she would betray me.

“You still dare ask? As a husband, as a father, you spent four years in prison! Do you know how hard those four years were for me? If Arden hadn’t held everything together, the company and this family would’ve fallen apart!” Seren screamed at me, completely losing control.

“I went to prison because of what happened that night!” I yelled back. “I was against that private deal, but you supported Arden’s idea. That’s why we got trapped in the container yard!”

“We were surrounded by so many people. If I hadn’t fought back, do you know what would’ve happened to you? Do I need to explain what those men would’ve done to you?”

“I went to prison to protect you. And this… this is how you treat me?”