I Was Told to Be Generous, so I Gave Her Up

At the farewell banquet hosted for my wife, Lorraine Ford, who will be getting assigned into a military unit soon, Lieutenant Chester Johnson speaks up in a sarcastic manner.

"You really are generous, Hunter. Commander Ford has already given away your transfer slot in the military to her stepbrother, and yet you're still throwing this banquet for her."

I find his words ridiculous, to say the least.

"That's impossible! My wife hates pulling strings to make things easier! In the past, she didn't even give me the youth transfer slot even though she had one!"

Chester sounds more enthusiastic now.

"I've personally read the approval report. Commander Ford has already listed Rowan Langley under the family column! Don't you know that she has already taken him in as her younger stepbrother?"

I feel as though lightning has struck me on the spot. Then, I turn to look at my parents and Lorraine, who look quite guilty.

My parents quickly grab me by the hand.

"Rowan comes from a poor background, not to mention he's a widower, too. If he continues staying in this village, he'll be the subject of everyone's gossip for the rest of his life.

"Hunter, you're Lorraine's actual husband, so you must be more gracious toward him."

At that moment, I feel sharp pain coming from my heart.

Fine. I'll be gracious, as per their request. This time, I'll personally give Lorraine away to her beloved Rowan.

The people around the table exchanged looks. Then, one after another, they started speaking up for my wife, Lorraine Ford.

Everyone in the base housing knew she had given the transfer slot into the unit to Rowan Langley, except me. The husband who should've been told first didn't hear a word of it.

I endured the disappointment and walked up to Lorraine. "How long were you planning to keep this from me? Were you going to wait until you took off with him before telling me I didn't qualify for the unit?"

She shifted her gaze just a little. That one dodging look told me everything I needed to know.

"You're tough," she said quietly. "No one can push you around. But Rowan's different. He needs me watching his back. Be reasonable, Hunter."

Be reasonable? Did she even remember we had been married for three years?

For all those years, she had been tied up with training. If I counted the nights we actually shared a bed, it wouldn't even add up to a year.

Now, she was saying Rowan needed her protection. That was her excuse for handing him my clerical post in the unit so he could take my place and stay by her side every day.

For three years, he had stolen the time with my wife that should've been mine. Now, she was telling me he would take the rest of her life, too. On what grounds?

Rowan's eyes reddened slightly. He sighed. "Hunter, I tried talking to Lorraine about it more than once, but she