Left to Die in the Jungle, My Wife Chose Her First Love

To save her first love, my wife abandoned me in a wild, brutal jungle. Her exboyfriend, Chase, had racked up millions in gambling debts.

Desperate for quick cash, he signed up for an extreme wild survival reality show—the longer you survive, the bigger the cash prize.

But my wife, Vivian, couldn't bear to see her fragile first love suffer. She flew straight to the campsite and forced me to take Chase’s place in the wilderness. "Five days, Julian.

Five days at most. I’ll call the producers and have them pull you out," she promised.

For those five days, I was tortured in a jungle crawling with venomous insects and wild beasts, praying every second that she would come get me.

Meanwhile, she was flying across the world with Chase, taking him to Norway to see the Northern Lights—a trip I had begged her to take with me for years—and skiing in the Alps.

It took her two whole weeks to finally remember she had a husband. She came back, offering empty apologies and promising to make it up to me.

But I just stared at her with pure confusion. "Husband? Since when am I married?

Lady, did you get the wrong guy?" "Vivian, we aren't flying out for a vacation, are we?" I pulled my gaze from the window and stared at the news on my phone.

Vivian, my wife, leaned against my shoulder, squeezing my hand. She looked up at me with a soft, affectionate scolding tone. "Of course we are, babe!

I wanted to take you on a trip." "We've been married for so long and never got a chance to go away.

This is the perfect opportunity." She sounded so sincere, practically begging me to believe her. But knowing her, this tone meant she was lying through her teeth.

Actually, I had noticed something was off a long time ago. My wife, who usually pinched every penny, had suddenly splurged on firstclass tickets.

Even the other passengers in first class kept glancing at me, as if I were some kind of sacrificial lamb.

The moment we boarded the plane, I knew I had walked straight into a trap Vivian had meticulously designed. My expression remained calm as I looked at her. "Cut the crap, Vivian.

Just tell me what's going on. I don't even know if I'm coming back from this. Speak now." Vivian didn't look shocked that I knew.

Instead, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and began to sob. I didn't comfort her like I used to. I just calmly turned my phone screen to her face.

The headline read: “Extreme Survival Challenge: Contestant Requests Swap—And It’s His ExGirlfriend’s Current Husband!” Chase's face was plastered right on the front page of the article.

I would have to be an idiot not to understand. This wasn't a vacation. Vivian was sending me to replace her precious first love.

After all, Chase was the one she loved but could never truly have.

Vivian glanced at the screen, still trying to make excuses. "No, Julian, listen to me..." I raised my hand, cutting her off. "Save your breath, Vivian.

I don't have much time left, and I don't even know if I'll survive. Just tell me the truth." "Chase piled up millions in gambling debts.

Desperate, he signed up for this extreme survival show to win the prize money." "You watched three episodes and realized he couldn't survive.

You couldn't bear to watch him suffer, so you decided to make me take his place, right?" Vivian didn't answer. She just held me tighter and wept. "Chase was set up by bad people!

He promised me he'd never gamble again once he got back. He’ll get a real job and pay us back every cent!" "Julian, we're husband and wife.

I would never hurt you!" I whispered coldly, "Set up? We cleared millions of his gambling debts before and found him a decent job.

He quit after a week and went straight back to the casino. You call that being set up?" Vivian clung to me even tighter, her voice cracking with desperation. "Julian, please!

I promise you, this is the absolute last time. For the sake of our five years together, please help me just this once!" She said this every single time.

Even when I was lying in the hospital injured, she took my medical fund to bail Chase out of the casino. Between Chase and me, she had never chosen me. Not once.

I looked deep into her eyes, knowing this was likely the last time we would ever be this close. When the plane landed, a group of burly, roughlooking men surrounded me.

I knew they were the production crew of the survival show. A show that flirted with death required a crew that looked the part. A disheveled figure emerged from the crowd.

He was covered in dirt and mud, looking absolutely pathetic, though he didn't actually have any real injuries. After all, it had only been two days.

Anyone could survive two days just by pushing through the hunger. "Chase!" Disregarding the mud and filth, Vivian rushed forward and threw her arms around him, her eyes filled with heartache and relief.

Why was she so happy? Was it because Chase was safe, or because I was finally leaving? I didn't know. Seeing the burning devotion in her eyes, I felt my will to live slip away.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to die in some remote rainforest I'd never been to. The woman I had given my everything to had eagerly escorted me into hell just to save her toxic ex.

As I walked toward the crew, Vivian finally snapped out of her bubble and called my name. "Julian! Five days! You only have to stay for five days at most!

I will call the producers and get you out, I swear!" One week was the minimum limit to claim the prize money.

She couldn't bear to let Chase stay for two days, but she was perfectly fine with her husband staying for five.

Some things didn't need to be said out loud. "When you come back, I'll do whatever you want!" Vivian ran up to me, standing on her tiptoes to kiss me, but I pushed her away.

I pointed to the mud on her coat where she had just hugged Chase. "Don't touch me. Go back to your precious Chase." "You disgust me."

Vivian froze. I ignored her, casting a glance at Chase, who was standing nearby. He brushed the dirt off his clothes and flashed me a wide grin.

It looked like encouragement, but his eyes were filled with smug malice. Vivian wanted to say more, but I didn't give her the chance.

I climbed straight into the production crew's truck. Under their watchful eyes, the truck drove off. I looked back at the airport one last time. I wasn't looking at them.

I was looking at civilization, wondering if I would ever make it back alive from that primal jungle. This show was brutal. Cameras were premounted all over the trees.

Before entering, contestants had to sign a waiver stating that participation was voluntary and the show wasn't liable for any deaths. My waiver had already been signed by Vivian.

Hearing this from the director, I wasn't even surprised. It seemed almost expected at this point. When I arrived at Chase's campsite, my brows furrowed.

I knew he was useless, but I hadn't realized he was this pathetic. He hadn't even built a basic shelter before leaving. I had to start completely from scratch.

Soon, it was the fifth day. There was still no word from Vivian. It was as if she had completely wiped me from her memory. I hadn't eaten in two days.

In the beginning, I could forage for wild berries, but now there was nothing left. I tried to catch fish in the river, but ran into a wild lynx that had come to drink.

It mauled my arm, leaving a deep gash that exposed the bone.

In the sweltering heat, with insects everywhere and no antiseptic or medicine, the wound quickly became infected and started to rot.

The flesh around the cut turned black, and a raging fever from the infection had plagued me for three days. Today was the fifth day.

According to the rules, I was allowed a fivehour medical extraction back to civilization, during which my emergency contact would decide whether to pull me out of the game or send me back.

The fever made my head spin. Fortunately, my makeshift shelter was right under a camera. The crew followed protocol and brought me out of the jungle.

As the medic treated my wound, the crew members' whispers drifted into my ears. "I heard his wife sent him here.

Their family doesn't look like they need the money, though?" "Ha, let me tell you. There was another guy here first.

His wife swapped him out to save the other dude!" "Holy crap, seriously?" "Oh, it gets better.

His wife promised to call today to pull him out, but it's almost 3 PM and we haven't heard a peep. “ “He only has an hour of medical leave left.

If she doesn't call, he has to go right back into the jungle." The staff member gossiped eagerly. Every word hit me like a physical blow.

The burning heat of my fever was instantly replaced by an icy chill in my chest. With a final shred of hope, I turned on my phone. There wasn't a single notification from Vivian.

Not one text over the last five days. Frowning, I opened Snapchat. My feed was flooded with photos of her and Chase. One photo showed them under the Northern Lights in Norway.

Another showed them on the snowy slopes of the Alps. Looking at their radiant smiles, a wave of profound bitterness washed over me. Those were the places I had always wanted to go.

In our five years of marriage, Vivian had never taken me once.

And yet, in just five days, they had traveled to multiple countries, visiting places I had begged to see for five years. I guess that was my true worth in Vivian's heart.

I had given her my absolute best for five years, but I still couldn't compare to Chase, who did nothing but take and take.

While I was fighting for my life against wild beasts, struggling to find a drop of clean water, Vivian was busy traveling the world with her lover without a single thought for me.

All her promises, all her vows—they were nothing but lies! The only person she ever loved was Chase. And I was just a pawn she used to buy his freedom.

There were only five minutes left before I had to be sent back into the wild. Having completely given up on Vivian, I started asking the crew for survival tips.

Just then, my phone rang. It was Vivian! The dead embers in my chest flared up once more. I rushed over, grabbed the phone, and answered with trembling hands.

I was holding my breath, my heart hammering against my ribs. But a man's voice came through the line. "Hello? Is this the production team?"

My heart soared into the sky, only to crash violently into the abyss a second later. I didn't even need to think. The man using Vivian’s phone was Chase.

Images of their cozy photos immediately flashed through my mind. It must be night in Switzerland right now.

Chase and Vivian had probably finished dinner, and since Chase had her phone, they were most likely in the same hotel room.

Before I could say a word, Chase spoke in a casual, arrogant tone. "Hey, so after discussing it as a family, we've decided to let Julian continue the challenge until the very end." Hearing those words, the last warmth in my heart completely froze over.

A surge of whitehot anger rushed up. I growled into the phone, "You are not my family.

What right do you have to decide whether I stay or go?" Chase let out a dismissive sneer. "Believe what you want. I've given the family's decision.

What you do with it is your problem." Without giving me a chance to fire back, he hung up. I was so incredibly stupid.

How could I have ever hoped that a scumbag like Chase would have a shred of decency? Of course, the moment I heard his voice, I already knew my fate. I wasn't entirely unprepared.

Yet, my chest felt like it was being crushed by a giant fist. The suffocating pain made it hard to stand. But the production crew didn't care about my feelings.

Once the time was up, several men physically lifted me and loaded me back onto the truck.

As the signs of civilization faded from view once again, the despair in my soul only deepened. I had one week left. I had to survive another week in this green hell!

On the final day, just as the countdown was about to end, I crossed paths with a Bengal tiger. The predator leaped from a tree, pinning me to the dirt.

It swiped its massive paw across my face. Right before I blacked out, I heard the sharp crack of a gunshot.

When I opened my eyes again, the suffocating green of the jungle was gone. Instead, I was staring at the sterile white ceiling of a hospital.

I inhaled deeply, welcoming the sharp scent of antiseptic. It was the sweet smell of civilization.

Beside my bed, a man and a woman were talking quietly. "Vivian, I think Julian is waking up. Do you want to go check on him?" "Really? Oh my god, Chase, look!

He's opening his eyes!" The woman’s face was stained with tears, but her lips curled into a wide, joyous smile. "Julian!

Julian, you’re finally awake!" The man stood a few paces back, a fake, plastic smile plastered on his face as he looked at me. "Glad you made it, Julian.

If we had known how dangerous it was out there, we would have pulled you out sooner.

You really went through a lot!" Despite my pounding headache, I could hear the dripping sarcasm in his voice.

And looking at the tearful, beautiful woman clutching my hand, I felt nothing but disgust. I jerked my hand away.

The woman looked at me in utter disbelief, fresh tears welling in her eyes. "Sweetheart, thank God you're okay! I was worried sick!" "I know I messed up.

Once you recover, I promise I'll do whatever you want!" I stared at the crying woman before me, my expression blank and confused. "Sweetheart? Since when am I married?

Lady, did you get the wrong guy?"