In Her Name, I Fell into Eternal Slumber

“Two days without seeing me, did you miss me?” “Of course I did,” Li Rongrong responded teasingly, her voice playful and sweet. It was almost unrecognizable compared to the tone she used with me before. Her eyes gleamed mischievously, flashing with an almost seductive energy that made me feel uneasy. This wasn’t the Li Rongrong I knew; something about her had changed, and I felt a creeping discomfort in my chest. “You too,” I replied flatly, trying to keep my emotions in check. “But where have you been? You haven’t come to see me in a few days.” My words were colder than I intended, but somehow she didn’t seem to notice, still smiling sweetly as if everything was perfectly normal. But then, the next words that came from Zhang Wenliang’s mouth struck like a thunderclap, shattering what little composure I had left. “I just overheard the nurses talking,” he said with a mocking grin, clearly enjoying this moment. “They said Mrs. Wang is such a good wife, taking such good care of her husband during this time.” His tone dripped with sarcasm. “If they knew that the ‘good wife’ was doing such things with me right now, what do you think they’d say?” That was it. The words sent a jolt of fury through me, and I could barely keep myself from lashing out. Zhang Wenliang’s smug expression made me feel like a fool, as if everything I had believed in was nothing but a lie. The anger inside me burned, an inferno of betrayal. I thought of all the years I had spent with Li Rongrong, all the sacrifices I made for her, and suddenly, it all seemed worthless. Li Rongrong didn’t even blink at the accusation; instead, she laughed softly, her gaze still locked on Zhang Wenliang. “You’re such a tease,” she cooed. “How could I not be sweet to you with everything you do for me?” The moment was surreal. My heart ached as I realized just how far gone we were. The woman I had loved and trusted was casually having an affair with this man, and worse, she was mocking me for my loyalty. I had always thought we were happy, that our marriage was built on trust and mutual love. Seven years of what I believed to be a harmonious relationship, and now I was nothing more than an invisible spectator to her betrayal. I had always believed that Li Rongrong and I were a perfect match. We had built a life together. I worked hard to provide for her and our daughter, even taking time off from my busy schedule to travel with them. Just recently, we had gone on a family vacation, but she insisted on bringing Zhang Wenliang along, saying he was the one driving and could look after our daughter while we had time alone. Little did I know, this was just a cover for their illicit affair. During that trip, she abandoned our daughter with me and sneaked off to meet Zhang Wenliang. And then, when the accident happened, it was me who ended up in the hospital, severely injured and unable to move, just to protect her. I had thought of nothing but her safety. But what I didn’t expect was the depth of her betrayal, nor that Zhang Wenliang would be the one she was truly devoted to. The moment I regained consciousness, I discovered the full extent of their deceit. I could barely believe my eyes when I saw them kissing at my bedside. The sight crushed me. I wanted to scream at her, to ask why she had done this to me, why she had chosen to betray me after everything we had been through. Years of love, devotion, and sacrifice, all thrown away in an instant. It felt unbearable to hear the doctors and nurses praise Li Rongrong, to listen to them speak of how wonderful she was as a wife. They didn’t know what she had done to me. I wanted to scream, to make them see the truth, but I couldn’t move. I was a prisoner in my own body, forced to listen to their lies and endure the mockery of a woman who no longer cared about me. Then, just when I thought I couldn’t bear it any longer, my daughter Wang Jiajia walked into the room. I couldn’t help but hope that she had seen the truth, that she would call her mother out for her actions. Perhaps, I thought, she would stand up for me, reveal to everyone what Li Rongrong had done, and expose her for the hypocrite she truly was. It was my only hope. Once I recovered, I promised myself I would divorce her. I could never let someone like her deceive me again. But what happened next shattered my expectations. Wang Jiajia didn’t seem surprised or upset at all. She simply walked in, said a calm, emotionless “Mom,” and spoke as though she were commenting on something trivial. “Mom, be careful. He could wake up at any moment. Don’t let him find out.” He. Was she referring to me? I was her father, yet she didn’t even call me “Dad.” She referred to me as “he,” as if I were some stranger, a distant and irrelevant figure. Did she already know about her mother’s affair? Had she known all along, and no one had bothered to tell me? It was as if everyone had been hiding the truth from me, as if I were the last to know. I felt like a fool, standing there, paralyzed and impotent. Li Rongrong didn’t seem surprised by Wang Jiajia’s words. She laughed coldly, as if she had been expecting this moment. “What does it matter if he knows?” she sneered. “He’s never been loved by his parents. Do you think he’ll actually leave me?” Her voice was casual, as though the very idea of my betrayal meant nothing. “He’s not going anywhere. Besides, he’ll never leave me for you. You’re his only daughter, and he’s too weak to ever stand up to me.” That was when I understood. I had been a fool, chasing after love for so long, that I never saw the truth. Li Rongrong didn’t care about me. She had always known that I would be so desperate for her love that I would never leave her, no matter what she did. She had figured me out long ago. I was just the man who would cling to any affection, no matter how small, and she had taken full advantage of it. I had been blind, hoping for love, desperate for affection, but she had never loved me. And I finally understood why she had treated me so coldly at times, why she had been so distant and indifferent. She had always known that I would accept anything she gave me, no matter how little. All the sweetness, all the tenderness, were simply acts to keep me in line. She had no need to be truly kind to me because, for someone like me—someone who had never known love—I would be grateful for anything. And now, I saw her for what she truly was: a woman who had never cared for me, only used me to fulfill her own desires. Her betrayal didn’t hurt just because she was with another man; it hurt because it confirmed that I was nothing to her, nothing more than a tool. All my life, I had been starved of love, and now I realized that the one person I had trusted most had never loved me at all.