But Stella began to escalate.She started going shopping and to the movies with Brandon, leaving me out. Her excuse was that she needed to “bond” with her best friend, and I wouldn’t fit in.She started rushing to Brandon’s house to take care of him when he caught a cold, while completely ignoring me, even after I’d worked all day, my back aching, and nearly fainted from low blood sugar.She started accompanying Brandon to bars and clubs, claiming she just “liked the atmosphere.”
It wasn’t until I saw pictures on her phone of her and Brandon posing face-to-face that I finally reached my breaking point and exploded.I confronted Stella: “Why are you so close to a man who isn’t me? Why is it that every time you come back from a business trip, you don’t call me first to say you’re safe, but Brandon? Why, every time something fun happens, do you not share it with me first, but instead grab your phone and smile like an idiot while texting Brandon? Why, every time you’re sad or upset, do you not come to me first, but Brandon for comfort? Do you even consider me your husband?!”Stella just stared at me coldly and said, “Because you don’t understand me.”Her answer crushed me.If she said she was hungry, I’d drive thirty miles to get her favorite spicy ramen. If she said she was tired, I’d massage her back and shoulders until two or three in the morning.
If she said she was feeling stressed, I’d cancel all my engagements, get in the car, and drive her all the way to a cozy cabin getaway in the mountains.But she said I didn’t understand her.Everything I did couldn’t compare to a simple word of concern from her best guy friend.I told Stella how I felt and begged her, for the sake of our happiness, to keep her distance from her best guy friend, or at least not let him affect our relationship.But my humble plea was met only with her cold reply: “If that’s how you want to think, there’s nothing I can do.”
It was because of Brandon’s presence that our once happy life became a chaotic mess, and my hopes for the future vanished without a trace.It was in this situation that Stella told me Brandon invited her to an overnight party. I refused her and told her if she dared to go, we would divorce. That’s what finally stopped her.However, I never imagined that this incident would eventually lead to my family’s ruin and my tragic end.Reborn, I finally understood how foolish I had been.From the very beginning, I shouldn’t have had any expectations for Stella.She didn’t deserve the happiness I offered.
