FROM CHIEF TO THE EMPEROR

It was deep into the night, almost 1 am at the moment. The whole surrounding community of houses was covered in darkness other than the usual noises of a few animals. Edward carefully held a bunch of grocery bags with both his arms. Other than the occasional sporadic barks of some neighborhood dogs, the night was mostly silent. His heart was peaceful just like his surroundings.

With slow meaningful steps, Edward walked his street until eventually, he stood in front of his house. He carefully placed the bags of groceries he was carrying on the pavement in front of his home and raised his head towards the first floor. His eyes moved towards his bedroom window on the first floor which had their pink curtain closed together, covering the window, and yet a few rays of light escaped outside.

Edward's face twitched and he ground his teeth. A cold smile appeared on his face

Even after he was this late, Edward had spent some time to get some groceries that only went to show his care and worry regardless of how tired he was.

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Edward clearly remembered last night. While he was packing his backpack and his tent, he had carelessly told his wife that he was going out camping in the wilderness with a few of his friends. When his wife had heard it, she had flashed a small smile for the briefest moment. It was only due to luck that he noticed a slight change in her demeanor.

Their marriage wasn't that long and it was ages since she barely smiled at him and now Edward saw a flash of a smile on her face.

The next day, Edward took his bag and took a ride to the forest out of the suburbs. He spent his day wandering amongst the trees and bushes, occasionally he would find some herbs or mushroom to gather and eat. He used his old machete to cut his way clear in the forest.

By midday. Edward had ventured quite deep into the forest at a fast pace only because he was used to spending time in the wilderness. He was a bit breathless but nonetheless he was at peace. He found a dirt ground to sit and silently started to chew on whatever he had gathered by that time, just enjoying his surroundings and being one with nature.

'The forest is so lonely, one can easily get lost in here. I wonder if there are any dead bodies buried here?' The thought flashed through his mind sending a shiver down his spine and yet he sneered at the thought.

During this time, Edward accidentally discovered a mountain stream. In this late autumn season, the colorful trees in the mountains and valleys were at full bloom. A stream was a very good place for camping.

If Edward didn't have work to do, he really would have stayed in the forest for a few days.

Backpack hiking was Edward's greatest hobby besides women. His mind wandered towards the days of his single life, 2 years ago. Those moments were the happiest time of his life where he had no restrictions and could go into the wild for as long as he wanted.

After a leisurely tempering until the afternoon, he gathered up his supplies and tent while preparing to head back home. He had to return to civilization, unfortunately.

By the time it was 10 pm in the night, he had returned back to the city. Instead of heading straight home, he bought some groceries he knew would be enjoyed and ate dinner at a small roadside stall. Two bottles of beer and some meat on his plate, Edward spent his sweat time enjoying his dinner. The barbecue tasted average and not as good as when he was camping and making his own food.

He kept sipping his beer slowly while keeping his eyes half-open.

'Who am I even kidding? I canceled the plan with my friends and went alone in the wilderness to be alone with myself and gather my thoughts. In the end, it was nothing but a sorry excuse to distract me.'

Judging by the signs he had observed recently and the rumors he had heard, Edward knew something wrong was happening, and most likely it would happen again tonight.

Edward returned to his home after the clock hit 1:30 am. After the grocery bags were laid, he tucked the machete made of 35 cm long sharp steel saw blade in his back pocket and entered his home. His steps silent thief as he slowly opened his front door and made his way upstairs. He held his breath moved as silently as he could, afraid others might hear even his rapidly beating heart.

Soon he was in front of the door that leads to his bedroom. He could light from under the door. His hand gingerly reached for the doorknob but stopped before he could twist it

'What if the door is locked? What do I do then?'

Edward steeled his resolved and twisted his wrist. The door was fortunately unlocked.

He could clearly hear the sounds of something slapping and someone moaning. His hand that held the doorknob trembled slightly as he recognized who was moaning. He practically forced himself and slowly opened the door just enough to peek inside. The sight that greeted him made his blood boil.

For a man, nothing was more shameful than what he was watching!

For a man, nothing was more embarrassing than getting cucked.

Edward's heart was filled with an indescribable rage and anger! Murderous intent rose in his heart, although he repeatedly told himself to calm down at the night market, still, at the moment, he could not hold himself back.

Edward threw open the bedroom door and rushed inside.

Before he realized it, he had drawn out his old machete as he roared in pure rage towards the two people inside his bedroom. His roar guttural that held a myriad of emotions.

"F*cking woman, I see that you've made this place very lively in my absence. I come home to see you being a slut!"

Almost at the same time, a man screamed in surprise while the other naked body looked at him with horror.

Seeing that Edward was hand holding a machete, his wife rushed over towards him. In half fear and half panic, she held his arm. Meanwhile the unknown naked man without even caring about what was going on quickly picked up his thrown clothes from the ground.

At this time, his wife screamed: "Edward! Don't make a mistake just because I made a mistake; it is my fault! You must never take life!" Then she turned her head and shouted to the adulterer: "Don't hurry to jump off the window, we are on the first floor!"

Seeing no signs from Edward that might indicate him to stop, both of them felt terrified and the fear made the naked man's mouth garnish with ambiguity: "You....you.....you don't want to mess around with me!" And then holding his clothes with his left hand, his right hand yanked open the window and he jumped down without thinking ahead.

A screaming pig-like scream broke through the night sky. Hearing the scream, a few dozen neighboring lights lit up in the dark night. Edward squinted downward, looking at the screaming adulterer, while his heart was filled with an inexplicable pleasure.

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