I Made My Cheating Wife and Buddy Lose Everything

I return from a business trip ahead of schedule. The moment I step into my house, a message from my best friend, Sebastian Ziegler, pops up on my phone. "Help! What do I do? The husband of the woman I'm hooking up with is at her place! I'm currently hiding naked. This is so thrilling!" Convinced he's joking, I text back. "You'd better make sure he doesn't find you. If he catches you, he's going to beat the living hell out of you!" The next moment, something brightly colored on the coffee table catches my eye. It's a flashy, diamond-studded belt. It doesn't look like anything I'd wear, but it looks exactly like the one Sebastian owns. Just then, my wife, Kiara Clark, emerges from the bedroom in a rumpled nightgown. "You must be exhausted from your trip, honey. Let's go out for a nice dinner to celebrate your return." My heart sinks. First, my best friend's belt turns up in my house. Then, my wife suddenly insists on taking me out. Am I the unlucky man who is getting cheated on? The moment the thought crosses my mind, I pull out my phone and call Sebastian. Chapter 1 The moment I hung up, I started pacing around the house, phone in hand. Ever since my best friend, Sebastian Ziegler, had married into a wealthy family, his wife, Natasha Carter, had kept him on a tight leash. He had to keep her informed of his whereabouts, and she expected him to be reachable at all times. As a result, he never dared to silence his phone. I'd returned from my business trip without any prior notice. So, if he really was hiding somewhere in my house, he probably hadn't even had the time to get dressed before scrambling for a hiding place. He might not have had the time to silence his phone, either. But to my dismay, the call rang until it went to voicemail, and I never heard his familiar ringtone. "What's wrong, honey?" Kiara asked, following me around with a puzzled look. I looked her straight in the eye. "Is Sebastian here right now?" My question seemed to have caught her by surprise. "How is that even possible?" she asked. "He knows you're away on a business trip. I'm the only one home. Why would he come over?" "Then why is his belt on our coffee table?" "Oh, that!" Kiara let out a small laugh. "I cleaned up the house after you left and found it wedged between the bed and the wall. Sebastian must've left it here some time ago." I studied Kiara's expression intently as she spoke, but she seemed perfectly relaxed. There wasn't the slightest hint of guilt on her face. Just then, my phone buzzed. Sebastian had sent me a new message. "Haha. Just messing with you! Check out how good I look today!" I opened the selfie he'd just sent. It was taken in his living room, and he was wearing a different designer belt with his trousers. Kiara leaned over to look at my screen. "See? Sebastian's at home right now. How could he possibly be at our place?" Now that I thought about it, perhaps I had been reading too much into it. "Come on, honey. I'll go change. Then we can head out for a nice dinner." Kiara went into the bedroom, but I couldn't dismiss my suspicions. If Sebastian was at home, why didn't he answer my call? I zoomed in on the photo as much as I could. Then, I finally made out the date displayed on the TV behind him. The photo was taken on March 31st—but today's date was April 6th. My grip tightened around my phone. The moment I started suspecting Sebastian, he'd sent me a photo to prove that he was at home. But that picture wasn't even taken today. Was he hiding somewhere in my house right now, watching my every move? I glanced around the room. Where could he be hiding? In the closet? On the balcony? Under the bed? My once-cozy home suddenly felt tainted. Everywhere I looked, my imagination ran wild. Kiara and I had been together since college. We went from college sweethearts to husband and wife, and everyone envied our love story. Sebastian, on the other hand, had been my best friend for over a decade. Suddenly, I remembered what happened six months ago. Kiara was up for a promotion at work. She had virtually no chance of getting it, but her company's final decision left her pleasantly surprised. Afterward, Sebastian told me he'd asked his wife to pull some strings as a favor to me. I was deeply grateful at the time. But now, I felt like an absolute fool. They'd been sleeping together since then—and they'd even used me to cover up their affair! Sebastian must've thought that I was an idiot. He'd only dared to taunt me with that message because he was certain I'd never catch on. I suddenly let out a laugh. Then, I pulled out my phone and messaged both of our families. Since Kiara and Sebastian had chosen to be shameless, I had no reason to help them preserve their dignity. I hoped they'd still find everything thrilling once they were caught red-handed. When Kiara emerged from the bedroom, dressed and eager to drag me out for dinner, I didn't budge. "Kiara, before we go anywhere, I'd like to talk about the affair." Chapter 2 "What affair?" Kiara looked at me in exasperation. "Do you still think I'm cheating on you with Sebastian? He's your best friend! How could you accuse him of something like that?" After a brief pause, she added, "I already told you that I found the belt while I was cleaning. Didn't he send you a selfie earlier too? He's at home right now!" I shoved the photo in her face. "Today's April 6, but this photo was taken on March 31. How do you explain that?" "How am I supposed to know why he sent you an old photo? Why don't you go to his house right now and ask him yourself?" she asked with a frown. As she spoke, she grabbed my hand and tried to pull me toward the door. Sebastian's villa was in the luxury neighborhood next door. It was barely a ten-minute walk from our house, but I wrenched my hand free and refused to take another step. "Once I leave, Sebastian will finally be able to come out of his hiding spot, right?" "What do you want from me?" Kiara demanded impatiently. "You refuse to believe me, but you won't even head over to Sebastian's to check if he's at home. Instead, you insist on being unreasonable. When did you become so paranoid, Henry Smith?" Kiara flashed me a disapproving look. She was the one who had cheated on me, yet she was making me out to be the unreasonable one. "Paranoid? Me?" I asked incredulously. "Fine. Let's see if Sebastian is hiding somewhere in this house, shall we?" I stormed onto the balcony and yanked the curtains open. But unfortunately for me, the balcony was empty. Then, I immediately opened every compartment in the TV console, but all I managed to find were ordinary household items. Just as I was about to check the bathroom, Kiara grabbed me. "Enough! What's gotten into you, Henry? You've been gone for five days, and the moment you get home, you start hurling all sorts of accusations at me. When are you going to stop? "If anything, I'm the one who should be suspicious of you! You went on another trip with that female executive of yours again. The two of you were out of town together. Who knows what you were up to? Maybe you've been cheating on me this whole time!" I stared at her in disbelief. "What the hell are you talking about? Ms. Walter is a friend of my mom's! Besides, we weren't alone. The rest of the team was on the trip as well!" "You're the one who started making accusations first." Kiara sneered. "You've been on countless business trips with women from work. When have I ever questioned your loyalty?" She continued, "You come home from a business trip and suddenly accuse me of cheating out of nowhere! I bet you've been sleeping with some random woman, and now you are trying to make me look guilty to cover your own tracks!" I was trembling with rage, but I forced myself to keep my temper in check. I knew she was deliberately provoking me to muddy the waters. The harder she tried to shift the blame, the more convinced I became that she had something to hide. "I'm not going to argue with you. This house isn't that big. If you have nothing to hide, let me search it." "Absolutely not!" Kiara snapped. "This is my house. What gives you the right to search it?" "I'm the one who's been paying the mortgage! How can you be the sole owner of this house?" "Because my name is the only one on the deed! You have no claim to this house. In fact, I can throw you out right now!" With that, Kiara grabbed me and forcibly dragged me toward the front door, clearly desperate to get rid of me. I stared at her frantic demeanor and let out a mocking laugh. "What's the point of throwing me out? Are you planning to ask Sebastian to hide in here for the rest of his life? What do you think will happen if I take a picture of him leaving your house and send it to the Carters?" Her face contorted with rage. "Then I'll just make sure you're nowhere near this place!" She yanked the front door open. But the moment she saw who was standing outside, her expression shifted. "Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?" Chapter 3 "Henry said something important came up and asked us to come over," said Susan Lowe, Kiara's mother. "So this is what it was about? Did the two of you get into a fight?" She stepped forward and hastily tried to convince us to make up. "How could you get physical with your own husband, Kiara? Let go of him!" Kiara glared at me. She clearly hadn't expected me to call her parents over. "John, Susan," I said, taking a deep breath. "Kiara's been cheating on me. I want a divorce." "Don't listen to him! He's lost his mind!" Kiara scoffed. "Oh, really?" I sneered. "Your lover is hiding in this very house, and you still have the nerve to deny it? You were so desperate to kick me out because you were afraid I'd find him!" After a pause, I added, "Since you insist that you haven't cheated, why don't we search the house together while your parents are here?" Kiara's expression gradually stiffened. A few seconds later, she dropped the act altogether. "Fine! I cheated. So what?" she said mockingly, without a trace of remorse. "You're so dull and boring. Sleeping with you is pure torture. I'd be better off buying a vibrator!" "Did you really think you could convince my parents to take your side by dragging them over here? Let me make one thing clear. You can either live with the fact that I cheated or get the hell out of my house!" she barked. "What the hell are you talking about, Kiara?" Susan snapped, raising a hand to smack her daughter. Then, she turned toward me and said, "Let's not make any rash decisions, Henry. You can't just decide to get a divorce on a whim! Kiara made a foolish mistake in the heat of the moment. "Women need love and attention! If you hadn't neglected her because of work, she wouldn't have gone looking for someone else. In my opinion, you should just quit your job and get a new one. That way, you'll be able to work while still making sure you can spend more time with her." I let out a mocking laugh. "Quit my job? Who's going to pay the ten-thousand-dollar mortgage every month then? Should I tell Kiara to ask her lover to cover it?" Kiara's parents immediately looked displeased. They were pretending to criticize their daughter, but in reality, they were blaming me for what happened. I wasn't surprised. Kiara was their child, after all. "John, Susan, I didn't ask you to come here to help us make up," I said firmly. "I want a divorce. Kiara will leave the marriage with nothing. The house we're living in and all the money we've saved up during the marriage will go to me." My voice was perfectly calm. The moment I'd confirmed Kiara's infidelity, I'd already decided how to cut her out of my life while securing the best possible outcome for myself. Kiara scoffed. "You're asking for the moon, Henry! That won't be possible. Dream on!" She was right—I was indeed asking for a lot. But I'd only dared to make such a demand because I was certain I could get what I wanted. "Listen, Kiara. If you refuse to sign a divorce agreement, I'll take you to court. Once everyone finds out about your affair, the scandal will spread everywhere. If your school and the school's district office hear about this, do you think you'll still have a job?" "Why, you—" Kiara finally began to panic. I looked her straight in the eye and smiled. "What do you think Natasha Carter will do when she finds out you've been sleeping with her husband?" The Carters were a powerful family with connections all across town, and anyone who dared to covet Natasha's husband risked paying a terrible price. Kiara had no idea what she had gotten herself into. Her face gradually paled, and fear crept into her eyes. She knew perfectly well that if I exposed her affair, the consequences would be disastrous. "We're husband and wife, Henry. Do you really have to be so heartless?" Kiara finally faltered. "You were the one who betrayed me first," I replied without the slightest hesitation. "Sign the divorce agreement and walk away with nothing. Then, none of the things you're afraid of will happen." Looking visibly torn, Kiara fell silent. Meanwhile, I waited patiently for her to make her choice. A moment later, she suddenly looked up. "Do you have any proof, Henry?" she asked, her lips curving into a triumphant smile. "Without evidence, no one will believe you. Do you expect my own parents to testify against me?" I remained unfazed, patiently watching the elevator climb toward our floor. The doors slid open, and a middle-aged woman stepped out. "Hello, Henry. Sebastian is at your place, isn't he? I've come to pick him up." Chapter 4 Kiara whipped her head around. The instant she spotted the woman standing at the door, her expression darkened instantly. "What do we have here? What's going on with you two?" Sebastian's mother, Karen Sanders, exclaimed, staring at the crowd gathered in the doorway. "Sorry you have to see this, Karen. Kiara's been cheating on me, and we're in the middle of getting a divorce," I said bluntly. "Cheating, huh?" Karen's face lit up with undisguised glee. "See, Henry? I told you to learn a thing or two from Sebastian, but you wouldn't listen. You couldn't even keep your own wife in line!" She continued, "You work yourself to the bone every day and never spend any time with your wife. On top of that, whatever you make in a whole year can't even cover the cost of Sebastian's car! "You'd be better off learning how to charm women and find yourself a good wife. Now that's what I call a real man!" Ever since Sebastian had married into a wealthy family, Karen had become insufferably arrogant. She even made a habit of putting others down whenever she could. I smiled. "You're right. I'm no match for Sebastian when it comes to charming women. In fact, he's so good at it, he even managed to steal my wife!" The smile on Karen's face stiffened. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she demanded. I stepped aside to clear the doorway. "Sebastian's inside my house, Karen. Why don't you go in and find him yourself? Just a heads-up, though—he's not wearing any clothes, so you might not like what you see. "Can't blame him, though. I came home earlier than expected and caught your son fooling around with my wife. He was so startled that he didn't even have time to get dressed. Now he's hiding in my house stark naked." The entire living room fell silent. A moment later, Karen's face twisted with rage, and she let out a shriek before lunging at me. "You little bastard! How dare you slander my son?" she snarled. I stepped aside and dodged her attack. "Listen here, Henry. You might be too incompetent to keep your own wife in line, but that doesn't give you the right to accuse Sebastian of something he didn't do! Shame on you!" she screamed, jabbing a finger at my face. Then, she went on, "You're just jealous! You're jealous that my daughter-in-law is richer than you. That's why you're making up these disgusting lies about my son! A loser like you deserves to be cheated on!" "Please calm down, Karen!" Kiara exclaimed as she rushed over to hold her back. "Henry's gone mad. Don't listen to his nonsense. None of it is true!" "Of course it isn't!" Karen snapped, waving her hand dismissively. "My daughter-in-law is rich and powerful. Why on earth would Sebastian be interested in a hand-me-down like you? My son is clearly out of your league!" She shoved Kiara aside and stormed straight into the bedroom. Then, she searched every inch of the closet and under the bed. When she didn't find Sebastian anywhere, her confidence surged. "You said my son was hiding in your house! So? Where is he? I don't see him anywhere!" she sneered as she kicked open the bathroom door. "I'm warning you, Henry!" she added. "If you're actually slandering my son, you'd better get on your knees and apologize to him. Otherwise, I'll ask my daughter-in-law to ruin your life!" I looked toward Kiara. She had a nervous expression and kept her eyes fixed on Karen while stealing cautious glances toward the storage room. She clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white. I laughed. "There's still the storage room, Karen." Karen glared at me. Her eyes were practically bloodshot as she spat, "What the hell are you trying to do, Henry? If my son isn't in there either, I'll rip your tongue out!" Before Kiara could stop her, Karen opened the door to the storage room in one quick motion.