On the day we signed our marriage license, I scrolled past a viral video on my husband’s secret TikTok account. It was titled "Six Toasts to Myself," and it had millions of likes. "Toast one: To myself, for stealing my mom's gold ring at age five to propose to her." "Toast two: To myself, for intentionally bombing the SATs so we could go to the same college." "Toast three: To myself, for buying her dream house at age thirty." "Toast four: To myself, for standing by her side through thick and thin for twenty-five years." "Toast five: To myself, for never breaking a single promise." In my heart, I chuckled at Liam’s childishness. But then, I watched him speak his sixth line. "Toast six: To myself—for sharing the twin swallows with my one true love. No regrets in this lifetime." I froze. It felt like I had been plunged into an ice bath. I turned to look at my husband. The swallow tattoo on his collarbone was faintly visible under his shirt. And the other matching swallow? I had seen it on the shoulder of his junior lab assistant. 01 The video already had hundreds of thousands of comments. The top replies were women praising his loyalty. [Wow, this guy is amazing. I believe in true love again.] [He loved one woman for 24 years. My ex cheated on me after 4 months. I’m crying!] [So jealous of his wife! Where do I find a man like this??] Little did they know, the woman they were so envious of was sitting there, her fingertips trembling against her phone screen. I opened Mia Thorne’s Instagram page again. The swallow tattoo on her shoulder was clearly visible in her latest post. The caption was dripping with romantic subtext: [Sharing the twin swallows with my true love. Isn't this what a lifetime of companionship looks like?] Tears dropped onto my screen. I finally broke down and cried. Liam Sterling had been smiling mysteriously at his phone. He turned his head, and seeing my red eyes, a flash of impatience crossed his face. "Are you reading that toxic internet relationship advice again?" "Haven't I been good enough to you? I transferred Mia to the out-of-state lab just because you were jealous." "She’s just a young girl in a new city, who knows how she’s doing..." My knuckles turned white as I gripped my phone. I had never doubted Liam’s loyalty until six months ago. My girls' night out had run late, so I asked Liam to pick me up. I watched with my own eyes as Mia stepped out of his passenger seat, holding a bag of snacks. When I got in, the passenger side was a mess of crumbs. The car reeked of Flamin' Hot Cheetos. The heavy, gross smell made my throat itch. I casually pulled a cough drop out of my purse, but the moment I unwrapped the plastic, Liam’s face turned vicious. He yelled at me: "How many times do I have to tell you? No eating in the car!" "Why can't you ever remember?" I suppressed my anger and replied, "The car smells terrible. My throat is scratchy." "If you're uncomfortable, roll down the window! If you take one bite of that, get out of my car!" In the rearview mirror, Mia watched me with a half-smile, her eyes full of undisguised triumph. Yet she spoke with a sickeningly sweet, anxious voice. "Liam, you're being so strict with Chloe, it’s scaring me~" "I won't eat either! Don't be mad, Liam, please don't yell at me! T_T" Liam’s face softened instantly. He handed her a bottle of water with a doting look. "It's different with you. You're still practically a kid, you need your snacks." "Plus, you get carsick. Eating helps your stomach. Don't choke, have some water." Sitting in that car, I felt like the outsider. Perhaps noticing my discomfort after dropping Mia off, Liam patiently coaxed me. "Chloe, don't overthink it." "Our lab director asked me to give her a ride. She was feeling carsick, so I let her sit up front and eat something." "She's just a young girl, basically like a little sister to me. There is absolutely nothing going on between us! If it bothers you that much, I'll send her to the Paris lab for her fellowship, and she won't come back. Deal?" As he spoke, he watched my expression through the rearview mirror. Seeing my face soften, he breathed a sigh of relief. Liam had never been stingy about sweet-talking me. So, I let it go. Until a few days later, when I saw Mia's Instagram post. The young girl was wearing an antique silver locket around her neck, smiling brilliantly. [Heading off to Paris in a few days. My mentor still treats me like a kid. He gave me this antique locket to keep me safe on my travels.] That locket was the last thing my mother left me before she died. It was my only keepsake of her. I sat there stunned for a long time before dialing Liam’s number. "Who did you give my mother’s silver locket to?" He answered cleanly, without hesitation: "To Mia." "Don't read into it. She's leaving for her research in Paris in a few days. The locket has good protective meaning, so I gave it to her for safe travels." "That was the last thing my mother left me! What right do you have to give it away without my permission?!" I screamed into the phone, my heart tearing open. Liam’s cold voice came through the receiver: "It's just a beat-up old necklace. Why are you being so cheap? I'll Venmo you the money for it!" "Mia is only going to Paris because you're insanely jealous. Think of this as my apology to her on your behalf!" Through the phone, I could faintly hear Mia whining in her sickeningly sweet voice: "Liam, if Chloe really doesn't want me to have it..." "It's fine. Ignore her." Before I could say another word, Liam hung up. I sat with my mouth open, frozen. I remembered my mother on her deathbed, holding mine and Liam’s hands, telling us to support each other and stay together forever. In the end, I swallowed the pain. Mia was leaving anyway. What kind of sparks could they possibly have from across the world? So I forced myself to forget the red flags and let myself sink into the blissful bubble of our impending marriage. I just never expected that bubble to be violently popped today. I thought about his viral video and the hotel room background that perfectly matched Mia’s latest post. I looked up at Liam, asking him word by word: "You didn't come home last night. Where were you?" 02 A flash of panic crossed Liam’s eyes. Then, pretending to be outraged, he ripped off his towel, turned his back to me, and started pulling on his pajamas. "Where else would I be? Pulling an all-nighter at the lab." "Call my coworkers if you don't believe me." "Stop being so paranoid all day long! We just signed our marriage license! I'm your husband now, what more do you want?" I let out a mocking laugh. "Why are you getting so defensive? I just asked a question." Perhaps sensing his own guilt, Liam finished changing and lay down next to me, his hand roaming over my body. He said gently: "I'm sorry, babe. I've been so stressed lately, my mood is shot." "We have seven days of honeymoon leave. Let's go somewhere and relax, just the two of us. You pick the place, I'll pay." His touch, which used to ignite desire, now just made my stomach churn with nausea. "I need to use the restroom." I locked his advances outside the door, leaned over the toilet, and threw up. When I stood back up, I fought through the heartache and pulled up the screenshot of his video comments. A user named "StarCatcher" had left a comment that Liam had liked. Her IP address was in Paris. The caption read: [One wild night of indulgence. My love is finally complete.] I clicked on her profile. There was only one video pinned to her page. It was a man’s hand, offering her a makeshift ring fashioned from a soda pop-tab, proposing to her. The man’s voice was gentle and unwavering. "Even though we can only be husband and wife for one night, I hope you know my love for you will never change." The caption was a blatant flex. [With true love, even a soda-tab ring is enough. Better than wearing a massive diamond but sleeping in an empty bed.] This was his so-called "all-nighter at the lab." I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. Suddenly, I felt incredibly foolish. If Liam didn't love me, he could have just said it straight to my face. I would never have clung to him. But he chose to humiliate me in the most despicable way possible. He seemed to have forgotten that back in college, I was notoriously known as "The Viper." Because I hold grudges, and I always get payback. No mercy. I had just never shown him that side of me. Well, then. It was time to refresh his memory. I washed my face, gathered my emotions, forced a smile, and pushed open the door. Looking at Liam, I said softly: "Let's go to Paris for our honeymoon! I want to go on a shopping spree~" Liam froze for a second. I didn't miss the spark of joy in his eyes. The next second, his voice pitched up. "Paris?" I tilted my head and smiled. "Yeah. Didn't you say I could pick anywhere?" This time, Liam—who usually hated planning trips—was far more proactive than me. Terrified I would change my mind, he booked the flights and hotels overnight. He enthusiastically chatted with me about where we should take photos. Which cafes he wanted to check out. Even at two or three in the morning, his phone screen kept lighting up. He was messaging someone constantly. He couldn't even hide his smile. I watched him coldly. He was probably planning everything he wanted to do with Mia. Since that was the case, I decided to give these two star-crossed lovers a chance to fulfill their dreams. After all, hell was about to descend upon them. 03 The morning of our flight. I suddenly "came down with food poisoning." I ran to the bathroom seven or eight times, my face pale as a sheet. While I lay in bed resting, Liam slammed a mug of hot water onto the nightstand. Water splashed onto my arm, leaving a red burn mark. I gasped, clutching my arm in pain. Liam just looked impatient. "You always get sick right when we're supposed to travel. I only get seven days off, and you're just dragging me down." "Stop faking it. The water wasn't even that hot! Drink it and let's go to the airport!" Suddenly, his phone dinged. He checked the screen and let out a goofy, lovesick smile. When he noticed me staring at him, he guiltily averted his gaze, then shoved the phone near my face, trying to mask his panic with anger. "Are you trying to save money by faking sick again, just like last time?" "Can you stop being so cheap all the time? Can you just live like a normal person for once?" "Being with you is suffocating! We can't eat anywhere nice, we can't do anything fun!" I sneered. "Have you ever seen someone faking sick with a face as ghostly pale as mine?" When Liam first started his research lab, it required massive funding but brought in zero profit. To support his career, I hadn't bought new clothes in nearly seven years. In the winter, I washed our clothes by hand in freezing water just to save a few bucks on the electric bill. Back then, he used to cry over my red, swollen fingers, swearing he would give me the best life possible. Now, he found me embarrassing. My heart was completely dead. I didn't even want to speak to him. I grabbed my purse to leave. "Where are you going?" "The hospital." Liam grabbed my arm forcefully. "Why are you going to the hospital?! Just take some Pepto! We still have to make our flight!" "If I take you to the ER, we'll miss the plane!" I gave him a freezing glare. "You can go by yourself! But I am going to the hospital." "Or," I paused, "do you want me to die on that plane so you can find a new wife?" Liam’s face changed. He spoke quickly. "What nonsense are you talking about?" "I just didn't want the money to go to waste. The flights and hotels are non-refundable. It's thousands of dollars." He gave me a flattering, fake smile and said hesitantly: "Babe, how about this? I'll go ahead and scout things out. I'll find all the best food and fun spots early." "You just focus on getting better." "I promise, by the time you fly out to Paris, I'll have everything perfectly arranged for you." Looking at the man I had been with for 25 years, who had witnessed my lowest lows and my growth, I asked him with a final, desperate shred of hope: "Liam, I feel really sick. Can you please stay and take me to the hospital?" "Paris," I closed my eyes and said slowly, "We just won't go." The silence in the room was suffocating. Liam was quiet for a long time before he finally spoke. "But this is our honeymoon. How can we not go?" "I'll go to Paris and prepare a huge surprise for you, okay? My Uber is downstairs, I'm heading to the airport! Get better soon, Chloe, I'll be waiting for you!" He grabbed his suitcase and practically fled the apartment. As if he was terrified I would call him back. I forced a bitter smile, stumbled to my feet, and ordered a cab. "To the airport." 04 I was indeed faking sick. But it wasn't to save money. It was to give Liam and Mia the perfect opportunity to meet up. I had booked a flight that left exactly ten minutes after his. Sitting on the plane, resting my eyes, I thought back to last night. While Liam was sleeping, I had gone through his phone. That TikTok burner account with the millions of views had thousands of DMs. But he only had a "streak" and a little fire emoji with "StarCatcher." They had been messaging for 145 straight days. Their chat history was sickeningly flirtatious. It was their secret digital diary of infidelity. "I'm coming to Paris for my honeymoon, but I just want to see you one more time." "Mia, tell me, do I really have to choose between my responsibilities and true love?" Mia’s reply was quick. "But that night we had together was perfect, wasn't it?" "I miss you too, I love you, but you're someone else's husband now, Liam." ... The final message was from Mia. "Okay. Let's see each other one last time." Such a deeply moving, tragic love story. I absolutely had to make sure the entire internet witnessed their profound romance! The second my plane landed, I started a TikTok Live. The title: "The '6 Toasts' Guy and His Mistress Exposed: Catching Them Live." Then, I routed the feed from the micro-camera I had hidden in Liam's collar button directly to the stream. Unsurprisingly, Liam and Mia couldn't even control themselves. They were making out aggressively in the back of a Parisian taxi. "I missed you so much, Mia baby. Chloe got sick and couldn't come. God gave us this opportunity." "Liam, I love you. Let's be husband and wife for one more night." The passionate, explicit audio broadcasted clearly. Within minutes, the viewer count skyrocketed into the millions. [What the hell? That's definitely the guy's voice! Are they flexing their cheating live?!] [Bruh, this sounds so wrong. This is exactly how my cheating ex talked to his side piece.] [I don't believe it. This has to be the guy and his wife doing some weird cosplay!] The live chat was a chaotic mess. I covered my mouth tightly, my fingernails digging into my palms. Following the GPS tracker I'd installed on Liam's phone, I walked all the way to the door of the honeymoon suite that was supposed to be for me. Fighting back my adrenaline, I knocked. "Who is it? We don't need room service, ah~" Mia's breathy moan echoed from inside. "It's Chloe." The moment I said my name, the room went dead silent. After a long, agonizing wait, Liam finally opened the door, his face flushed red. "Babe? Weren't you going to the hospital? How did you get here so fast?" He asked awkwardly. Behind him, Mia stood wrapped in a bath towel, giving me a smug, curved smile. "Chloe, I'm so sorry. I spilled coffee on my clothes when I picked Liam up from the airport, so I just came up to take a quick shower. We didn't do anything, please don't misunderstand! Liam really loves you." "It's fine. Since we're all here, let's shoot a video together." I calmly cut her off. Right in front of them, I pulled up the "Six Toasts to Myself" challenge filter. Both of their faces drained of color. "N-No, let's not. I have somewhere to be, I should go." Mia tried to bolt, but I grabbed her arm in a death grip. "Don't be in such a rush! We're all family here, let's just play along for fun~" "Unless you two did something guilty and are too scared to play?" Perhaps my calm demeanor was too terrifying, because Mia and Liam ultimately sat back down in the room. Turning the camera toward us, I poured a glass of water and made 6 toasts to myself. "Toast one: To myself, for staying loyal for 25 years, loving him, and marrying him." "Toast two: To myself, for giving up my career for love, becoming a housewife right out of grad school!" "Toast three: To myself, for finding a soda-tab ring hidden in my own house." As I spoke, I pulled out the pop-tab ring Liam had tried to hide. Liam shot up from his chair, completely ignoring the camera as he lunged to snatch the object from my hand. "Where did you find that?! Give it back!" I stood up and shoved the inside of the ring right up to the camera lens. Engraved on the metal were tiny, neat words: "Liam & Mia, Love Forever." My sudden movement caught Liam off guard. By the time he snatched the ring back... He glanced at my phone screen and saw the little red "LIVE" icon. His face went chalk white. 05 Because my livestream had been running non-stop since I got off the plane, the viewer count was now breaking 3 million. It was the #1 trending live on the app, and the chat was moving at lightspeed. [MAJOR PLOT TWIST. The 6 Toasts guy is a massive cheater!] [Did anyone else see the swallow tattoo on the towel girl's shoulder? Disgusting. He’s playing two women at once and acting like a romantic saint online?] [Eating popcorn! The guy is the director of our research lab! The mistress is his junior assistant. They always locked the lab doors together...] Within moments, the internet sleuths in the chat had doxxed Liam and Mia’s identities completely. Liam stared at the scrolling chat, his face flashing between green and pale white. Finally realizing what was happening, he snapped his head up and glared at me viciously. "Chloe, did you set me up?!" I glanced at the chaotic livestream and laughed out loud. "Set you up? I have no idea what you're talking about. Isn't this our honeymoon suite? Am I not allowed to come on my own honeymoon?" "But," I cast a mocking look at Mia, whose eyes were now red with panic, "what do those words on the soda-tab ring mean?" "I had no idea you and Mia had a thing! Oh my god, if you had just told me your love was so deep, I never would have signed the marriage license with you~" I had found the pop-tab ring right before I left for the airport. It was hidden in Liam’s nightstand. I had never snooped through his drawers before, but today, some gut instinct told me to look. There it was, glaringly obvious. An engraving claiming her territory over my husband. At that moment, Liam still didn't grasp the severity of the situation. He was still trying to interrogate me. "Are you done yet?! I told you, absolutely nothing is going on between me and Mia!" "This is all a massive misunderstanding!" Mia started crying on cue. "Chloe, can you please just let me go? You already bullied me into moving to Paris, why are you doing this..." I raised an eyebrow. "If it's a misunderstanding, then clear it up." "I've got nothing but time. Go ahead, explain." Liam was momentarily speechless. He cursed under his breath, finally breaking his composure. He reached out to grab my phone and end the stream. But I guarded it closely. "Don't be so hasty. I haven't finished my toasts yet." I looked directly into the camera and "drank" three more times. "Toast four: To myself, for discovering my husband's affair on the exact day we got our marriage license, giving me the ultimate rollercoaster of a marriage." "Toast five: To myself, for catching my husband and his mistress in a hotel room on the first day of our honeymoon." "Toast six: To myself, for finding the courage to sever 25 years of history, file for divorce, and restart my life!" The chat exploded like a powder keg. [Holy shit, is this real? Is this a scripted drama account?] [Queen behavior! I support you!] [Is there really no misunderstanding? The 6 Toasts guy made me cry, his eyes looked so genuinely in love. You can't fake that.] Seeing the waves of support in the chat, a warm feeling washed over my heart. Liam looked at me in absolute shock. "What did you just say?" My eyes were slightly red, but as I looked at Liam, I felt absolutely nothing. "I said, I want a divorce." "I'm setting you free to chase your true love." Liam’s voice trembled. "But we just signed the papers! Chloe, why are you trying to hurt me like this?" "Yeah, Chloe! This is all a misunderstanding! Sob Liam really loves you!" Watching them put on this pathetic performance, I laughed out of pure anger. "A misunderstanding?" "Did I forge the engraving on that ring? Was it a misunderstanding that you didn't come home the night before we got our license?" Looking at the tattoos on their bodies, I couldn't hold back anymore. "Or did I hold a gun to your heads and force you to get matching swallow tattoos?!" My rapid-fire questions left them completely speechless. Their eyes darted around guiltily. But after a moment, Liam suddenly forced himself to calm down. He glanced at the screen, then turned back to me, wearing his mask of deep affection. "Chloe, this really is a misunderstanding. I never thought your jealousy would drive you to do something like this." "Since it’s come to this, I have no choice but to tell you the truth." "Nothing happened between me and Mia. The only reason we're meeting up... is because we were planning a surprise for you." 06 Liam's expression was so earnest when he said this, I almost believed him myself for a second. But three seconds later, I understood his play. Seeing the public opinion turning against him, Liam was terrified his career would be destroyed. He was lying through his teeth to manipulate the audience. He truly was a top-tier manipulator. With just one sentence, the tide in the live chat started to shift. [I knew it! The 6 Toasts guy definitely loves his wife. See, the surprise is coming!] [This woman is so insecure. A guy can't even talk to his female coworker? She probably just wants his money.] [6 Toasts guy is a saint. If I had a wife this controlling, I would've snapped ages ago.] Watching the comments scroll by, I furrowed my brow. Mia exchanged a quick glance with Liam. Then, she suddenly dropped to her knees, looking up at me with wide, red, doe-like eyes. "Chloe, we really didn't do anything." "Liam said it was your honeymoon, and he asked me to help plan the itinerary and pick out gifts for you." "Back home, you slandered me until I was exiled abroad. Now you're livestreaming to millions, accusing me of being a homewrecker! How am I supposed to live with this?!" As soon as she finished speaking, Mia scrambled up and made a theatrical dash toward the wall, acting like she was going to bash her head in. Liam quickly "caught" her. She collapsed onto the floor, wailing pitifully. "I haven't even had a boyfriend yet! How am I ever going to show my face in public again? Liam, what am I going to do?!" Liam pulled her gently into his arms. He glared at me, full of righteous indignation. "Are you done yet?!" "Slander me all you want, but Mia is just an innocent young woman! You're ruining her reputation! How is she ever going to get married now?!" "Turn off the damn stream!" I stared at him with a complex expression. I mean... I might have been a stay-at-home wife, but I didn't lose my brain cells. Did they really think I was that stupid? I narrowed my eyes, flipped my phone around, and played the footage from the micro-camera right into the livestream. "Turning the honeymoon suite into your personal hookup room—is that the surprise you prepared for me?" "Were you and Mia just going to huddle under the covers and have a pure, innocent chat?" The internet immediately remembered. At the very beginning of the stream. The footage of Liam and Mia making out passionately in the back of the taxi. "You tracked me?!" Seeing the video, Liam’s face twisted in horror. I smirked. "If I didn't track you, how would I have gotten a front-row seat to this R-rated movie?" Liam’s eyes darkened ominously. His voice went dead cold. "Chloe, I am genuinely angry now." "Why couldn't we discuss this in private? Why did you have to start a livestream and humiliate us?" I almost wanted to clap for his sheer hypocrisy. "Wow, double standards much, bro?" "You're allowed to post viral videos professing your deep love, but I'm not allowed to livestream catching you cheating?" Glancing at the viewer count, which was still skyrocketing, I smiled brightly. "Besides, the people love a good show." Liam panted heavily, glaring at me. "Chloe, you..." But constrained by the millions of eyes watching him, he couldn't get physical. He stared at me fixedly for a few seconds, then nodded heavily. "Since you want to push it to this point, then I'm not holding back either." He pulled out his phone, scrolled furiously for a moment, and shoved his screen into the camera's view. "Take a good look, everyone! This video was taken three months ago. You went into a hotel room with a man, and you didn't come out until the next morning!" "If we're keeping score, you were the one who cheated first!" "Because I loved you, and for the sake of our marriage, I endured it in silence! But you just got worse and worse! Chloe, you have disappointed me profoundly!" In the video, I was indeed seen entering a hotel room with a "man," arms wrapped around each other, looking undeniably intimate. The chat saw the video and immediately turned their guns on me. [Holy shit, so the wife cheated first?! The guy took a green hat for love? That’s true dedication!] [Just divorce her man, this guy is too tragic.] [This woman is disgusting, playing the victim and gaslighting him. Poor 6 Toasts guy.] Those words felt like daggers stabbing into my heart. My eyes instantly stung with tears. On the other side of the room, Liam looked triumphant. "You cheated first. I was heartbroken and devastated. It was only through Mia's comfort that I slowly managed to heal." "Chloe, you're too greedy." "From the moment I met you at age 5, I gave you everything you wanted. A house, a marriage, companionship. Why did you have to betray me?" "I don't have to divorce you, but you need to pay Mia for emotional damages." I looked at the man in front of me with utter disappointment. His eyes were entirely consumed by the desperate desire to clear his own name. I finally lost the last shred of hope I had for his humanity. At this point, I felt entirely liberated. I walked over to the door, opened it, and spoke slowly. "Come on in." The "man" from the video, wearing a sharp, tailored suit, walked in and pulled me into a fierce hug. She glared venomously at Liam. "You absolute piece of trash!" "Chloe has had the worst luck in the world being tied to you. You make me sick." In an instant... The entire livestream went dead silent. Because her voice was distinctly feminine, lively, and cute. Obviously, a woman.
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