My Wife Says I'll Kill Her Boyfriend

Renee Fuller, my wife, suddenly stops talking about divorce after her 18th failed attempt. She has failed every attempt before this, after all. I catch them at a hotel and cover the company lobby with photos of her in bed with Edward Chester, her male assistant. I beat Edward up so badly at the press conference that he suffers a concussion and develops PTSD. Renee has every reason to hate me, but even so, she drops the subject of divorce completely. She is home every day right on schedule and hands over her phone. She updates me on her whereabouts every hour and even keeps a 24-hour video call running when she travels for work. I still can't put my mind at ease, though. I keep pestering her day after day, demanding to know why she no longer wants to divorce me. Renee asks me, "Haven't I done enough?" It is enough—almost too good to be true. Renee finally tells me the truth after catching me following her again, her eyes filled with exhaustion. "I received a call from myself ten years in the future, and she says I'd regret getting a divorce." I am stunned. "You actually believed that?" Renee says, "She said you burned Edward alive." Chapter 1 Timothy's POV Renee Fuller, my wife, looked up at me, her eyes filled with despair. "You're too unpredictable. I'm done gambling because I can't afford the stakes. You and I should just leave things as they are for the rest of our lives, Timothy." Those words alone—"just leave things as they are"—left me rooted to the spot, looking like a fool. Renee never said the word "divorce", but every single thing she uttered dripped with resentment. Those lifeless eyes cut right through me like a knife. She hadn't changed her mind, nor had she seen the light; she was just scared out of her wits and caving in. I suddenly realized I was done living this miserable, hopeless life. Upon seeing that I was still frozen, Renee didn't bother coddling me the way she usually did. She calmly picked up her purse, masking any trace of her earlier lapse, and spelled out her schedule with clinical precision. "I'll be at the office by 2:00 pm. I'll have a meeting at 3:00 pm that will last two hours." She made it halfway before spinning back around. "Oh, and I won't be able to pick up my phone or hop on a video call while I'm busy. If you don't believe me, just come wait outside the entrance." Every single word was measured and detached. I hadn't even had time to react before she closed the car door. I watched the car disappear into the distance, as if the gap between us were growing with every passing second. I finally broke down in tears. I lost my mind on the day I caught Renee and Edward Chester, her assistant, sleeping together at a hotel. I forced her to wash with disinfectant every day and went over her entire body with a UV light. I'd lose control and drag everyone in the office down to get DNA tests whenever I found a single strand of hair. She begged me to believe that they'd been set up and slipped drugs, pulling up the surveillance footage and lab reports, but I couldn't stomach her betrayal. That was until the day Renee slid the divorce agreement across the table to me for the first time. "I'll give you 80% of everything we have, so let's get a divorce. I can't keep living like this anymore; I'm completely worn out, Timothy." That night, I climbed up to the rooftop, something I'd never done before. Renee lost her mind. She lunged forward to pull me back from the edge as she broke down, sobbing and screaming. "I'm sorry! I was wrong! You can punish me however you want; just don't hurt yourself! I won't survive without you!" Renee was the one who said she couldn't live without me, but later on, she kept pleading with me over and over to let her go for Edward's sake. It started raining again. I had an umbrella with me, but I'd forgotten to use it. I guess I'd become too dependent on Renee. I'd spent the past ten years getting used to her looking after me and checking on me. Renee would get me something warm whenever I was cold and massage me whenever I was tired. She worried I'd be disappointed if I caught nothing when I went fishing with friends, so she paid a fortune to reserve the entire lake for me. In the blink of an eye, everything was gone. It felt like my entire chest had been hollowed out, leaving an empty space for the freezing wind to howl right through. I couldn't even tell whether my face was wet from the rain or from crying. I developed a fever after getting home. In my half-conscious state, I knew Renee was right beside me the entire time. She repeatedly wiped me down with warm water to lower my fever and took my temperature every 15 minutes. She would snap at the assistant, who would call and remind her that she had a meeting to attend, and tell them to get lost. She always got this anxious whenever I was sick, her hand holding mine undeniably warm. Yet, despite everything, I couldn't stop my body from trembling. That phone kept ringing, and for some reason, Renee wouldn't answer it. That ringing was so obnoxious that it finally forced me to open my eyes. I rolled over, only to find the room empty. It was my own phone buzzing away. Renee was never by my side to begin with. I forced down the taste of blood rising in my throat and picked up the phone. "Ms. Fuller never made it into the office today, Mr. Gunther." I was stunned. The private investigator went on with his report. "Ms. Fuller went to Greenmount Sanatorium shortly after returning to the office. She has been there for over two hours and still hasn't come out." I instantly felt my stomach churn with a violent wave of nausea. Greenmount Sanatorium was the private sanatorium where Edward was staying. Renee's words from before she left kept echoing in my mind. "If you don't believe me, just come wait outside the entrance." How was she so certain I wouldn't be there? She said those same words every time she informed me of her whereabouts. I'd never taken her word for it and had always gone to wait outside. I had finally believed her this time, but I'd made the wrong choice. I glanced at the time—it was already 6:00 pm. Renee was always home by 5:30 pm on the dot. If she wasn't going to show up, I'd go to her myself. In the past, whenever I tracked her down, she'd immediately pull out the divorce agreements right in front of me, but this time, I had taken the initiative and signed them ahead of time Chapter 2 I hadn't even reached Edward's room when dozens of bodyguards closed in around me. They immediately went on guard the moment they recognized me. "Mr. Gunther, Ms. Fuller explicitly ordered us not to let you get close to Mr. Chester." I could still see the couple photo booth stickers of Renee and Edward on the door, even with dozens of bodyguards standing between us. They were framed by a blue heart, and below them, the words "Team Renward" were messily written. I forced a mocking smile onto my face. "How childish." I had dragged Renee to take those kinds of photo booth pictures with me once, too, but she always brushed it off, claiming that as the CEO of a public corporation, she had no time for such childish nonsense. It turned out she wasn't above doing things like that after all—she just wouldn't do them with me. I pressed a hand to my chest, which still hurt a little, and took a deep breath. "Get out of my way. You all know what I'm capable of when I snap." I took out the utility knife that I had carried around with me after saying that. I hadn't planned on doing anything except giving them a scare. Yet, in the next instant, a bodyguard sprang forward and tackled me to the floor, while the others held me down with all their strength, leaving me completely immobilized. "I'm sorry! Ms. Fuller made it clear that we had to restrain you immediately if you showed any signs of an episode, Mr. Gunther!" In the meantime, another bodyguard immediately whipped out his walkie-talkie and exclaimed, "Mr. Gunther is here, Ms. Fuller! He's got a knife on him—" Renee's voice cut through the walkie-talkie before the bodyguard could even finish, pitching high and sharp. "Hurry up and subdue him! What if he ends up hurting Edward?" I'd been thrashing around and fighting back like crazy, but then I just went completely limp and quiet. "Mr. Gunther is being restrained now. Do you want us to bring him back to the villa or keep him locked up somewhere?" There was nothing but silence from the other end of the walkie-talkie for two seconds before a faint sigh sounded. "Forget about it. Just bring him in." They managed to rip the knife from my hand, but I'd cut my wrist while struggling against them. They still dragged me into the room as blood continued to trickle down from my wrist. I bit down hard on my lower lip, fighting back the tears burning in my eyes, but the second I crossed the threshold, I froze in my tracks. I could see the late afternoon sun filtered through the sheer curtains, casting light over the rocking chair on the balcony. There was a mug of hot coffee and an open book resting on the small table beside it. In the corner, a vintage record player spun the jazz tunes Renee loved. It wasn't a room for the sick at all. It was a real home, one I'd personally designed. I had spent hours sketching out the blueprints by hand before we got married, tailoring every single detail to fit both of our tastes. Renee had told me she didn't want me straining myself, though—she hired a professional design firm instead and had the entire place redone in a different aesthetic. I was standing before the home I'd always imagined, but it was no longer meant for me. It was a home for her and another man. "You're here," Renee said, her voice coming from behind. I turned around, momentarily bewildered. I hadn't even recovered from my surprise when Renee spoke. "Edward always said he liked this design, so I let him have it. You don't have a problem with that, do you?" I stared at her in disbelief. "What do you think?" Renee nodded and said, "I'll go ahead and destroy everything then—whatever makes you happy, Timothy." She then glanced down at my bleeding wrist, a flicker of disgust passing across her face. "I'm used to it, and Edward has as well." She looked away toward the window, her expression entirely serene, as though she were casually pointing out, "Isn't the sunset gorgeous today, Timothy?" I looked in the direction of her gaze and saw a rainbow stretching across the sky after the rain, but the rain in my heart felt like it would never let up. "Come play 'It Takes Two' with me—" Edward's voice abruptly stopped when he caught sight of me, his game console slipping right out of his grip and hitting the floor. He suddenly grabbed his head in both hands and let out a frantic, piercing scream. "Stop! Please don't beat me! I'm a bastard! I'm just a homewrecker! I screwed up! I'm begging you! I won't ever do it again!" Renee hurried over in a few quick strides and wrapped her arms completely around him, her eyes bloodshot with pain at the sight of him. "It's alright—there's nothing to be afraid of. I'm right here. I won't let anyone lay a hand on you." She looked me straight in the eye as she said it, openly revealing the hatred she felt for me. I broke into a sudden, unhinged laugh, tears blurring my vision. I suddenly wanted to run over, wrap my arms around Edward, and jump off the balcony with him, but the little sanity I had left reminded me that he wasn't worth it. I struggled to suppress the urge to die with him, then sneered. "Quit pretending, Edward." Chapter 3 Edward flinched, lowering his head until he was barely looking up. "I-I have no idea what you mean…" I offered a bitter, humorless scoff. "Your behavior isn't consistent with PTSD." Renee suddenly rose to her feet and stood firmly between us, shielding him behind her. "That's enough! If you're angry about something, come at me instead! Stop acting like you know everything! I won't let you drag him down again!" I knew that better than anyone. I'd had this illness for over a decade, ever since I watched Mom die right in front of me. I couldn't stop throwing up, crying, or self-harming whenever the memory of blood pooling beneath her came back to me. I had never told anyone that Mom had taken her own life by jumping off a building because Dad had fallen for another woman. I'd once vowed never to let myself get trapped in marriage, but Renee had promised never to betray me, staking the future of the entire Fuller Group and the rest of her life on that promise. I'd thought I'd never repeat Mom's mistakes, but in the end, I'd walked the same road she had. There was a time for screaming accusations and tearing everything down in a rage, but I was done living like this. I slipped my hand into my bag, reaching for the signed divorce agreement. Renee's expression changed drastically. "What are you doing? Hold him down!" However, a bunch of bodyguards slammed me hard onto the floor before I could even pull my hand back out. Renee came over and kicked my bag aside, the impact leaving my palm tingling. "You'll never hurt him again as long as I'm alive!" I stared blankly into those eyes, where fear and anger bled together. It brought back a night from a while ago when she had slipped out of bed while I was asleep. I followed her quietly as I thought she was heading off to see Edward again, only to hear her whispering on the phone—asking if Timothy would still lose his mind even ten years later and if keeping herself alive was the only way she could shield Edward. I hadn't understood what she meant back then, but now, I finally get it. That was the phone call she'd said came from ten years in the future. She was genuinely scared of me. She would always assume I intended to hurt Edward, no matter what I did. Inwardly, I felt as cold as the floor beneath me, with my face still pressed firmly against the freezing marble. I managed a bitter smile and said, "I have the divorce agreement in my bag. I have already signed it." Renee searched my bag with a skeptical look. She took one look at the papers and immediately ripped them to shreds. "I've already told you before! I'm never getting a divorce!" I looked at her calmly and asked, "Is this because of that phone call?" Edward tugged nervously at her sleeve. "What phone call?" "It's nothing." "You promised me we'd build a home together." Renee clenched her hands into tight fists, her face turning bright red. "That's enough questions. I'm doing this for your own good. Do you understand, Edward?" Edward lowered his gaze. Renee pulled him into a hug, looking at him with heartache. "You can have anything from me, except the status of being my husband." Those words were directed at me as well. Renee wasn't going to give me anything at all, except for the status of being her husband. I couldn't see the point of fighting anymore. "You should just sign the agreement, Renee. I won't burn him to death. I hired someone to make that call with a voice changer." Chapter 4 "You're telling the truth?" Renee flinched, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief. "Of course it is," I replied calmly, looking away indifferently. "I only lied to you because I was scared you'd divorce me." Renee paused, a lingering doubt still clouding her face. "How come he knows everything about me, from the time I was little until now?" I let out a soft, mocking scoff. "I know you well enough to know exactly what kind of threat would be most effective." Renee fell silent. She just knitted her brows together and stared down at me, her mind racing. I pressed my forehead to the cold floor, keeping her from seeing how hard I was fighting to stay together; after all, I'd never lied to her before, not once since we'd first met. Maybe it was because that phone call from the future was real, or because she would regret it all someday, but right now, I was just too tired. I composed myself and lifted my head, wearing a casual, dismissive look. "Have you made up your mind yet? Do you want to sign the papers or not? You won't get another opportunity like this.” Renee slapped me hard across the face, leaving it stinging instantly. "You can behave like a madman all you want, but this is where I draw the line. You're completely crazy, Timothy!" She gestured for her assistant to come over and said, "Get the divorce agreement ready now! We're signing it right this instant!" I thought I was past the point of hurting, but the empty space in my chest still felt cold and painful. It wasn't long before the divorce agreement was delivered. Renee signed her name and then flung the papers at my face. "You'll get half of everything. I won't shortchange you by even a penny. You'd better remember this, though—I never want to see you again for as long as I live!" No sooner had Renee spoken than the bodyguards finally released their hold on me. I dragged myself up from the floor, picked up the papers, and turned to walk away. It started raining again on the way back. I was left drenched by the downpour, but I realized that I'd never been more clear-headed than I was then. Just then, my phone suddenly buzzed with an unknown number. "I'm you from ten years in the future, Timothy! You need to get a divorce from Renee, right now! You shouldn't do anything reckless, though—don't hurt yourself or start a fire! Otherwise, Renee will make you pay for the rest of your life!" I stayed silent for two seconds before replying, "I've already divorced her, and I won't do anything reckless again." In the end, the "me" on the other end of the line finally seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear that, then. You should take care of yourself and go live your own life from now on, Timothy." I disconnected the phone and nodded firmly to myself. Two phone calls from ten years in the future had described different endings for Renee and me. I didn't care which was real and which was fake, though. I was simply done living in perpetual fear and dread. I started packing when I reached the villa. I had only a few old clothes and a handful of personal documents—that was all I had to show for the past few years. I noticed the only thing that still looked painfully out of place was the portrait of us on the bedside table. Renee had always said she hated having her picture taken. In ten years of marriage, we hadn't taken a single wedding photo, but the room I'd just been in was filled with photos of Renee and Edward, from surfing by the sea to watching the snow fall at sunset. It was as if they had left their mark in every corner of the world. Renee and I had been nothing more than ghosts in that portrait—sharing the same space day in and day out, yet forever out of touch. I shattered the frame and tore the portrait down the middle, taking my half of our shared life and memories and leaving the rest behind. I had just reached the airport when my phone rang again. I glanced at the screen—it was Renee. I hit decline instantly. She called again, and I rejected the call again. Renee had no choice but to send me one message after another. "I never told you how I got the scar on the bottom of my foot! "Is that phone call real? "You actually lied to me! You've never lied to me before! "Where are you, Timothy?" I turned off my phone and buckled my seatbelt. I had called Dad an hour ago, and now his private plane was already flying me out to some city where it wasn't pouring rain.