Beneath the Wedding Toast Chapter 1

It was my birthday. I'd booked a table at a fancy restaurant, but my wife and father-in-law both claimed they had to work late. Though disappointed, I understood. I enjoyed the meal alone.

Then my phone buzzed with a wedding livestream. There, in a suit, toasting the guests, was my father-in-law.

“This first toast is to myself. I’ve endured every hardship building this business and raising my daughter. Today, I finally live for myself.”

“The second toast is to surviving. For my child, I endured a stifling marriage. Now, I’ve found someone who truly cherishes me.”

“The third toast is to my family. Look at this table—my daughter, my wife, and my devoted Wilson. This is our family, complete. I just pray my daughter doesn’t follow in her father’s footsteps.”

Watching my wife nestled in the man’s arms, gazing at my father-in-law with emotion, cold dread spread through me. I picked up my phone and revoked their unlimited signing privileges at the hotel.

I wanted to see how this “happy” family would manage to leave today.

* * *

The company just closed a huge deal. To celebrate, I gave all my employees the

day off. Finally, I had some time free from my busy schedule. Coincidentally, it

was my birthday, so I booked a table at a high-end restaurant, planning a nice

weekend with my wife and her family.

But my father-in-law claimed he had important matters to attend to, and my wife,

looking apologetic, explained she had to work overtime at her company and

couldn’t make it. I understood, regretfully heading off to enjoy the lavish

meal by myself.

While scrolling through my phone, however, I was pushed a live stream of a

wedding. It was, unmistakably, taking place at a hotel under my company’s

ownership. And my father-in-law was there, in a groom’s suit, smugly toasting

the guests, with my wife smiling and sitting beside him.

In the live stream, the woman clinging to my father-in-law looked familiar. She

was the nurse we’d hired when my mother-in-law was gravely ill. My father-in-law

had, at some point, gotten involved with her. What angered me even more was that

the wine my father-in-law was toasting with was the very jar of “daughter’s red”

that my mother-in-law, in her final moments, had painstakingly prepared and

sealed for our future child. My mother-in-law’s blessings were still faintly

visible on it.

Yet, his relatives acted as if they were blind, echoing my father-in-law’s

words, saying he had finally overcome his hardships. This wedding, it seemed,

was being held at the expense of my mother-in-law’s and my dignity!

My rage boiled. My hand trembled slightly as I picked up my phone. I quickly

dialed my wife’s number. In the live stream, the moment she saw my name on her

phone, her expression subtly changed. But the next second, she chose to hang up,

then flipped her phone face down.

Not giving up, I bombarded her with calls. After several rings, I saw my

father-in-law frown, pick up my wife’s phone, and tap it a few times. When I

called again, the line just kept showing “in use,” and her phone didn’t react at

all. Not only that, but whether it was WhasApp or other contact methods, all

showed I’d been blocked. My father-in-law’s phone was the same.

I took a few deep breaths, then called my wife’s aunt. This time, it was

answered quickly. But the voice on the phone was no longer as amiable as before;

instead, it held a sharp, disdainful edge.

“Well, well, isn’t this Ethan Gummer? What, not going to your dead-end job today?

You actually have time to call me?”