Chapter 1 Betrayal

The air in Midtown was really hot that afternoon. I kept wiping my face and neck with the small towel I had slung over my shoulder. Sweat was pouring down my body because my job had required me to fight the sun since the morning.

"Leon! Take the cement to the east side!" Without asking many questions, I went straight to where Jack's foreman was standing. He was standing with both hands on his hips. His bulging belly was visible through the tight shirt he was wearing. His breathing sounded heavy, even though Jack was sitting in a chair with a fan in front of him.

I crouched down with my back to the pile of cement. With a tug, the cement was on my back. I rested my strength on my knees before getting up and walking to the east side.

I did this every day as a construction worker. But even though I'm just a construction worker, I'm grateful for my life. I also have a very understanding wife. She never insults my work and always greets me with a happy face when I come home.

"Leon. We're going to a bar after work. Do you want to come?" Roman approached me while Jack was nowhere to be seen. I ignored him and continued with the work Jack had given me. But he didn't seem to give up on asking me. It was the weekend, and we were about to be paid. Some of my colleagues went to bars to get drunk and play with women.

Many times, Roman has asked me to go to the bar after payday, but I have always refused. I never drink alcohol, and I don't want to betray Sofia, my wife. I loved her very much, and I didn't want her to be hurt if she found out I was sleeping with another woman.

"Leon! A man shouldn't be so rigid. You should enjoy life and have fun once in a while." Roman was still following me. Irritated by his attitude, I turned to Roman after putting the cement on the pile.

"I don't want to. After all, today is our first anniversary. I want to go home and buy a present for Sofia." I wish Roman would stop bothering me and let me work in peace. I'm afraid Jack will come back and find us talking. I went back to work, ignoring Roman as he muttered incoherently.

Finally, it was time to leave work. I asked Roman for permission not to work overtime and asked for my pay in advance. He didn't give me permission at first, but after I promised that I would work overtime tomorrow without getting paid, he finally gave me permission.

I left immediately after receiving my pay. I rode my motorbike into town to buy a present. A while ago, Sofia said she wanted a pair of high heels that were on display in a shop window. I saw that the price was so high. I started to save and put aside my wages so that I could buy them.

When I arrived at the shop, I parked my bike and walked confidently into the shop. But just inside the door, two big men blocked my way.

"You can't go in," said one of them, who had long hair pulled back in a ponytail. The other guard, who had short hair, just nodded in agreement.

"I want to buy shoes in this shop." I saw them look me up and down, then smile mockingly.

"The things here are expensive. You can't afford them."

The short-haired guard insulted me just by looking at me. My messy hair and shabby clothes clearly showed that I didn't have much money. I wasn't rich, but that didn't mean I couldn't buy one of the items on sale.

"I brought some money with me. I want to buy those shoes in front. I took out all the money in my pocket and pointed to the shoes in the display case. I hope they will let me in. I want to see Sofia's face, smiling from ear to ear because she got the shoes she wanted.

The two men looked at the dirty money in my hand and smiled wryly. "You'd better go before you disturb the other customers."

I don't care if I have to beg them, I really want to buy those shoes for Sofia. I was about to kneel down, but before I could, a voice behind me stopped me.

"What's going on?" I turned to see a rich woman with expensive clothes and bags staring at the two guards behind me. They immediately looked down in fear at the sight of the woman, which was quite different when they saw me.

"Look, miss. This beggar wants to come in. We didn't allow it because it would have disturbed the other guests. But this beggar won't go," said the long-haired guard, his head still bowed.

I'm used to being insulted, so such insults are meaningless to me. My emotions are immune to such remarks. But their behaviour was really rude. If it hadn't been for the shoes Sofia wanted to buy in this shop, I would probably have decided to leave.

"I am not a beggar. I have money, and I want to buy shoes for my wife. I showed the woman the money in my hand. The woman let out a short breath and then looked back at the two guards.

"Let him in! You can't treat customers like that. Everyone who comes into this shop is a customer."

Having said that, the woman simply walked away from us. As her body passed us by, I could smell a very fragrant scent. I wanted to thank her, but she had gone too far. I could only hope that we would meet again, and I would thank her sincerely.

The two guards were out of the way when I walked in. I immediately asked the waitress to get the shoes for me. After paying, I left quickly. I wanted to go home right away and give Sofia a surprise. She'll be so happy when she sees what I've brought her.

I get off the bike and feel strange when I see a luxury car parked in front of it. What kind of rich person would come to my house? I didn't have any rich friends in town.

Curious, I entered my house. But just as I opened the door, I heard a sound that made my blood boil. My hands clenched involuntarily. I walked towards my room with quick steps. The damned voice was getting louder and louder, and I was losing my mind.

I kicked the door in front of me, causing the two people having sex to jump and look at me. My blood boils as I see Sofia naked under the other man.

I can't imagine how red my face is right now as my anger continues to rise to the surface. Especially when I see the face of the man who crushed my wife's body.

"Leon!" Sofia looked surprised to see me. I saw her pale face, but she still didn't move from her position. How could the woman I trusted betray me like this? I threw away the paper bag containing the shoes that had been a gift for Sofia.

With my hands clenched in anger, I walked over to them and pushed the man's body hard on top of Sofia's until she fell to the floor. I was disgusted to see their naked bodies. I took a blanket and covered Sofia's naked body.

Then I walked over to the man, and a slap landed on his face. "You bastard!" I hit the man blindly. My brain couldn't stop imagining the man's body continuing to beat on Sofia's body until my wife made a sigh.

"Leon! Stop!" I felt Sofia's arms embrace me from behind, pulling my body away from the man.

"Let me go! I'll kill the bastard!" I wasn't satisfied, even though the man's face was bruised from my punch. My anger was still so great that I wanted to kill the man.

"I said stop!" I immediately froze when I heard the snapping sound coming from my wife's mouth. Sofia pushed my body with all her might, but she couldn't make me fall. "What are you doing? Why did you hit him?" Sofia's high-pitched question left me speechless.

"Sofia..." I tried to walk towards her, but she kept avoiding me. "Tell me that bastard made you do it. I'll beat him up for you." I think if Sofia was a faithful wife, she wouldn't have betrayed me.

Sofia shook her head. "I'm tired of being your wife, Leon!" Her sweaty face showed her disappointment in me.

I felt like a bolt of lightning when I heard Sofia say that. I must have misunderstood. There's no way Sofia would say something so hurtful.

"No! It must be that man who influenced you." I pointed at the man who was wearing his trousers. Remembering the moment he had walked into my wife's room, I felt like punching him again.

The man rubbed the corner of his lip that had been split by my punch and smiled mischievously.

"I'm tired of being poor, Leon!"

My heart felt like it was being squeezed when the woman I loved said that. "Sofia, I..."

"I want a divorce, Leon! I'm marrying Ian."

My world seemed to collapse when I heard Sofia's words. I was still hoping that what she had just said wasn't true. "You're joking, right?"

But what Sofia said next made me realise that I really had lost my wife.

Sofia shook her head. "I'm not joking, Leon. I want us to divorce."

"You've made the right decision, dear. As soon as you're divorced, I'll marry you." The man moved closer to Sofia. He hugged my wife's waist and kissed Sofia on the forehead.

"You're just a loser with nothing. A woman as beautiful as Sofia doesn't deserve a poor man like you."

"Just so you know, Leon. Ian is the manager of Quinion Corp. You're nothing compared to him!"

I clenched my fists, trying to hold back the anger that I really wanted to vent. I looked at the two people in turn, the glow of anger clearly visible in my eyes.

"I will not forget your treachery today, Sofia. I swear, from this moment on, you are no longer my wife. And mark my words, I will not return to you even if you beg and plead before me." I pointed my index finger at Sofia's face. "Scratch that!"

"Don't dream, Leon! Even if you work hard all your life, you'll never be Ian. You're just a construction worker with no future."

I saw Sofia walk over to the bedside table. She pulled out a drawer and took out a folder. He walked over to me and handed me the folder.

"Sign this! After this, we're not really husband-wife anymore."

I took the folder and opened it. I hadn't expected the gift Sofia had given me for our anniversary to be more surprising than mine. I signed the divorce papers without a second thought.

Sofia immediately took the paper from my hand. I could see the satisfied smile on her face when she saw my signature on the paper. He had even prepared all this when our relationship was still good.

"Good! I'm no longer the wife of a poor man like you. Now leave this house. This is the house my parents gave me. Take your things out of this house, or I'll throw them away.

It was only today that I discovered Sofia's true nature. She, who I thought was a perfect woman, turned out to be nothing more than a woman obsessed with wealth.

I chose to ignore Sofia's words and turned to leave her. I don't care about my things anymore. I just wanted to leave this place immediately. I'm really disgusted with them. I promise to make them regret it later. I will repay this pain with the same.