Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

Soren took a few minutes to process everything and rest his mind. It also allowed him to rein in his overflowing confidence and steady himself. Getting stronger was good, but he couldn’t let it go to his head. Overconfidence had killed more Awakened than weakness ever had.

Once he felt calm and centered, he opened his laptop and got to work.

”Let’s see...” He whispered as he typed into the search bar. The results popped up almost instantly, and he clicked on the first article.

[How to Plan the Perfect Date: A Complete Guide]

He read through the tips, nodding occasionally.

’Locations matter... Consider her interests... Make sure the atmosphere is comfortable... Have a backup plan in case something goes wrong... Don’t overthink it, but don’t be careless either...’

He noted down the useful parts, then opened another article, then another. He furrowed his brows at some while smiling at others. Still, he could say one thing with confidence.

’...This is more complicated than I thought.’

And he knew the reason why. While he had some knowledge of romance and dating, it all came from the movies, TV shows, cartoons, and stories he read and watched. The problem was that almost all of them were fictional. They were designed to be dramatic rather than practical and mostly showed the process rather than the planning. So he couldn’t rely on them. However, he could always take inspiration from them.

He just needed to filter out the ridiculous or impractical parts and focus on what would actually work for them.

With that in mind, he kept going.

There were useful ones like ’10 First Date Ideas That Actually Work’, ’Signs She’s Interested: A Practical Guide’, ’Quiet and Romantic Date Ideas for Introverts’, ’What to Talk About on Your First Date’, and ’Why a Simple Walk Can Be the Best Date?’. He learned a few useful things from them.

However, there were also ridiculous ones like ’Confess with a Flash Mob’, ’Grand Gestures That Always Work’, ’How to Win Her Heart in 24 Hours’, and ’The Alpha’s Guide to Dominating a Date’. He dismissed each one without a second thought.

And then there were the... unethical ones. ’How to Manipulate Her Into Saying Yes’, ’Tricks to Make Her Fall for You’, ’Playing Hard to Get’, and ’The Art of Guilt-Tripping’. He dismissed them without hesitation as well, his jaw tightening each time. ’Who would even see this?’

But seeing the high number of views and comments, he realized a lot of people actually did. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. If this was the kind of advice people were getting, no wonder so many relationships were a mess.

In his opinion, even those strange titles he saw were better than these. At least they were honest about being ridiculous and somewhat useful too.

’Confess During a Monster Attack: A Love Story’ was absurd, but it wasn’t manipulative. ’Why Fighting a Dragon Together Is the Best First Date’ was impractical, but it made him wonder if the author was an emperor, since he could fight dragons on a date. Right, speaking of an emperor, there was a weird title called ’Love Tips from the Emperor of Darkness’.

He stared at that one for a moment, then clicked on it out of sheer curiosity.

The first lines read: ”Step one: Conquer her kingdom. Step two: Claim her as your bride. Step three: Rule together in eternal darkness.”

Soren closed the tab immediately.

’...Some things are better left unread.’

He ignored the absurd amount of views but took a peek at the comments. And... regretted it.

’Urgh, I won’t do it again.’ He shook his head and continued researching.

Once he was sure he learned enough about how to plan a date and what to do, he started researching how to confess.

The first one that came up was called ’How to Confess Your Feelings: 10 Tips for a Successful Confession,’ and it had some useful tips. He noted down these four: Pick the right moment, be honest and sincere, don’t pressure her for an answer, and respect her feelings no matter what.

He read a few more articles, but most repeated the same advice. Pick a good location, keep it simple, don’t overthink it, and be confident but not arrogant. They were all reasonable, but none of them really stuck with him.

There was one video that he really liked called ’Bring Your Story to Life: Confessions Inspired by What You Love’. The host was an older woman with a warm voice, and she talked about using inspiration from things you already love. Books, games, movies, stories, or even poems. She said that while most of those might seem impossible in real life, you could always adjust them to fit your situation. The key was to make it personal and meaningful, something that reflected who you were and what you felt.

As she spoke, Soren’s mind drifted. Without meaning to, he recalled his favorite animated movie: Last Dragon Rider. Near the end, the main character confessed his love to the heroine, his fiancée, while riding on his dragon’s back, soaring through the clouds at sunset. The sky was painted in shades of gold and pink, and the wind carried their laughter as they flew higher and higher. It was one of his favorite scenes.

’...Something like that.’

He didn’t have a dragon or know how to fly, but the feeling of that scene, the intimacy, the sense of freedom and connection, was what he wanted.

He finished the video, watched a few more videos from her channel, and found out she also wrote articles. He read some of them, and one caught his eye with just the title.

’Be Yourself and Listen to Your Heart.’

He clicked on it and started reading. The article itself was short. It just said the best confessions come from honesty and from genuinely knowing the other person. Trying to be someone else or following a step-by-step plan would only make things feel forced. It said the most important thing was to speak from the heart and trust that the other person would understand.

’Be myself, huh...’

He closed his eyes and leaned back.

’...I think I know what to do.’