The Fatal Test

For the success of my wife’s old lover, she drugged me unconscious to help him advance his career, offering me up as a subject for his human experimentation. I begged her to spare me, but she only responded with disgust. "Can you stop being so selfish? You just can't bear to see someone else succeed, right?" In the end, I was tortured to death by her old lover. ***** When I opened my eyes again, I found myself floating beside Charlotte. I watched her anxiously pacing outside the laboratory, her face etched with a concern I had never seen in all our years together. Whenever she looked at me, all I saw was sarcasm and disdain. For years, I had grown accustomed to her looking down on me. This sudden tenderness felt strangely unfamiliar. The door opened. Charlotte immediately rushed forward, grabbing the hand of Noah, who had just stepped out. "Noah," she asked anxiously, "how did it go? Was the experiment successful?" Noah's face was pale. He forced a smile. "I'm sorry, Charlotte. The experiment failed again. The subject's rejection was too strong. We've tried numerous reagents, but nothing worked." The subject he spoke of was me. I became his human guinea pig because my infatuated wife, desperate to support her beloved old lover's career, drugged my coffee and handed me over to the operating table. As she left, I used the last of my consciousness to plead with her. "Charlotte! Take me away! Noah's surgery isn't legitimate! I'll die here!" But all I received was her cold reply. "You should be grateful he's even willing to perform the experiment on you. You should thank me. How dare you be so ungrateful? You're full of lies, constantly talking about death to scare me. I'm telling you, it's useless! Even if you really die, I won't spare you a second glance!" With that, she turned and left, her high heels clicking heartlessly against the floor. I could only watch helplessly as Noah's scalpel sliced into my skin. That was the last image I saw before I died. Now, Charlotte had completely forgotten my safety. No, to be precise, she never cared. She tenderly stroked Noah's face, comforting him. "Noah, the experiment will succeed eventually." Noah sighed. "Charlotte, you even brought William here, but I still failed. I'm sorry. I've disappointed you..." He slumped dejectedly into a nearby chair, feigning remorse. But I knew this was his usual tactic to garner Charlotte's sympathy. I had seen it all before. Sure enough, Charlotte immediately frowned and sat beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's okay, Noah. Someone as selfish and deceitful as William should consider it an honor to contribute to your research." "If it failed, it only means his body is weak. It has nothing to do with you!" Hearing her dismissive words, a sharp pain pierced my heart, even though I thought I was beyond feeling. After so many years of marriage, I didn't expect her to love me as I loved her, but I also didn't expect such callous cruelty. She seemed to have forgotten that I was still lying on a cold dissecting table. She began to speak ill of me, just as she had countless times before to defend Noah. I sighed deeply, looking at the harmonious scene between them, and lowered my head in despair. After removing his lab coat, Noah naturally took Charlotte's hand and led her out. Charlotte's face was radiant with a sweet, girlish smile. Watching this scene, I felt deeply distressed. I had always deluded myself that they were just close friends, and that nothing inappropriate was happening. But now, seeing their hands clasped tightly together, I could no longer deceive myself. As they walked, Noah sighed. Charlotte immediately noticed and asked with concern, "Noah, what's wrong?" A cunning glint flashed in Noah's eyes. "Charlotte, you tricked William into coming here. Won't he argue with you? It's all my fault for always making him unhappy..." He "accidentally" revealed a scratch on his arm. As expected, Charlotte immediately grasped his hand, her voice filled with anxiety. "What happened? You were fine before we went in!" Noah quickly feigned panic, withdrawing his arm and shaking his head with a wry smile. "It's nothing. You know he's always disliked me. So, while I was concentrating on the surgery, he found an opportunity to scratch me. But it's fine now, see?" Charlotte's face darkened. Through gritted teeth, she spat, "He's mad! There are so many bacteria in the lab. What if you get infected? He's trying to kill you! How could he be so vile? I knew he would resort to such underhanded tactics. He even accused you of performing unethical surgery! He's full of lies!" The more she spoke, the angrier she became, her face flushing crimson. Standing there, I grew colder with each word. Everyone knew how I had treated Charlotte over the years. Even disregarding our relationship, my character was impeccable. Besides, Charlotte didn't seem to consider that, in my unconscious state, how could I possibly have scratched Noah with a knife? That scratch was clearly self-inflicted by Noah before he left the lab. But I was already dead. How could a dead man get up and hurt someone? Perhaps this whole scenario was so absurd that even I couldn’t help but laugh. Yet, Charlotte fell for it, cursing me incessantly along the way. Each insult pierced my heart. Noah, on the other hand, basked in her anger, his smug grin flashing across his face several times. The sight of his expression made me want to float down and tear him apart. Just as they reached the car, a tall figure suddenly rushed out and punched Noah, sending him stumbling to the ground. Charlotte glared furiously at the man. "Benjamin! Are you crazy?" Benjamin was my mentor at work and a good buddy in life. Loyal and righteous, he knew how Charlotte treated me and about Noah's existence. The two of them argued constantly. His eyes were bloodshot, as if flames would erupt from them. He stared at Charlotte. "Charlotte, you scumbag! You actually brought William to a place like this! Don't you know how much Noah hates him? Now he's dead. Are you satisfied?" Charlotte helped Noah up, retaliating fiercely, "Are you out of your mind? Noah is a future genius scientist! It's William's blessing to contribute! Besides, it was just a research project. How could he die? You're just like him, full of lies and resorting to violence! You two are the scumbags!"