A Rise to the Throne

Chapter 3: Shattered Illusions.

Adonis maintained a tight grip on the bleeding stranger's shirt, his anger fueling his determination. Harriet's voice echoed in the room, filled with urgency and concern.

"Adonis, stop! get that smelly body of yours off him. You are going to injure him." She pleaded, her voice piercing through the chaos.

The stranger, fully aware of the impending danger, knew he had to defend himself if he wanted to leave without severe injuries. With a surge of strength, he retaliated, delivering a powerful punch to Adonis's face, attempting to free himself from his grasp. Adonis staggered back momentarily but refused to release his hold.

On the other side of the bed, Harriet watched the violent confrontation unfold, her voice filled with desperation. She realized that if she didn't intervene, the situation would escalate into a brutal fight that could cause irreparable damage.

Driven by the instinct to protect, Harriet rushed between the two men, forcefully separating them. "That's enough! Stop this madness immediately!" she shouted, her voice quivering with a mix of anger and fear. She turned to Adonis, her eyes fierce with determination. "Adonis, if you don't cease this violence right now, I swear I'll call the police. We cannot continue like this."

A tense silence filled the room as the three of them stood, their anger still simmering, but now held at bay. Adonis and the stranger glared at each other, their animosity palpable. Harriet's presence alone managed to keep them from tearing each other apart, at least for the moment. She glared at Adonis who was also bruised and injured, her anger palpable in the air, but she was more concerned about her own lover who did not even look like he sustained much injury.

"Look at what you've done, Adonis! He's bleeding from his nose," Harriet exclaimed, her voice filled with disdain.

Her lover chimed in, supporting her words. "He seems deranged. We should call the police immediately," he suggested, concern etched on his face.

“Bleeding? I do not see any blood from him, I am the one who is bleeding but you're mire concerned about him and being extra dramatic!” Adonis retorted.

With Harriet’s face flushed with hatred and anger, she approached Adonis, locking eyes with him, intensifying the tension in the room. She spoke with venomous conviction. “Really?" Her words hung heavy in the air, emphasizing the depth of her contempt.

And then suddenly, a deadly slap landed forcefully on Adonis's face, leaving a stinging pain that radiated through his cheek. Harriet's grin only served to amplify his confusion, as he clutched his aching face in disbelief.

"That's because I care about him and not you! You could die for all I care!"

Still trying to process the shocking turn of events, Adonis stared at Harriet with a mixture of astonishment and hurt, his eyes locked onto hers. His voice trembled as he questioned her, seeking some semblance of understanding. "You slapped me?" he asked, the incredulity evident in his tone.

Harriet met his gaze unflinchingly, her expression unyielding. "And I'll do it again. Don't you dare test me," she retorted, her words laced with defiance and a chilling determination.

Adonis's disbelief was overwhelming. The Harriet he had loved, showering her with affection and devotion, was now retaliating in this manner.

"So you're choosing that man over me? After everything we've been through, after all the love and support I've given you. Is this how you thank me?" he sternly asked, his voice tinged with hurt.

Harriet's response was sharp and unyielding. "Are you serious right now? I've repeatedly told you to stop making such claims, but you refuse to listen. Mister, let it sink in: you've done nothing worthy of my appreciation. Understand that."

Adonis was more pissed as he spoke, but his voice was still very much filled with sorrow. "Fine, I’ll take your claim that I've done absolutely nothing for you."

With a mixture of frustration and pain, he continued, "So here's my question: what has he done to deserve all this? Cheating on me right in front of my eyes. I bet you barely even know him, Harriet. You simply despise me, and all along, you've been using me. I keep falling for your tricks time and time again."

Harriet's face contorted into a deadly frown as she retorted, "So you want to know what he does for me? Fine, I'll tell you. See those expensive clothes hanging on the wall? The ones you've never gifted me, and ones you could never afford? He gets them for me. And remember all those times you made excuses about work and delayed my allowance, or when you didn't even bother to pay? How do you think I survive, huh? Do I feed off my own skin?"

Her words struck Adonis like a blow, leaving him speechless, his confusion deepening. He continued to gaze at Harriet, unable to find the right words to express his inner turmoil.

Adonis stood there, utterly speechless, his mind grasping for words that refused to form on his lips.

His heart sank as he watched his wife walk toward the stranger, her touch lingering on his shoulders, their lips meeting in another kiss. Adonis's hands clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white.

With a smirk adorning her face, she turned back to Adonis and delivered another blow. "And here's one more thing," she began.

"I'm not with my darling here because of his money or because of material needs alone. I'm with him because I love him very much unlike you whom I am with just because I have no other choice, due to your clingy self on my life," she coldly returned.

Anger burned within Adonis, an uncontrollable fire that surged through his veins. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't contain his rising fury. As he continued to stare at them, Adonis realized that if he lingered there any longer, he would do something drastic, something that would land him in jail for years. His inner voice screamed at him, "Adonis, leave this place immediately!"

Dragging his legs across the floor, his hands still tightly clenched, Adonis stormed out of the room. However, Harriet refused to let him go quietly, her voice piercing through the air as she yelled at him from behind, interspersed with bursts of laughter.

"That no-good half man," she jeered, her words echoing in his ears as she laughed once again.

With a broken heart, Adonis climbed into his car and sped off towards his home. The disbelief still lingered within him, finding it difficult to accept that his own Harriet could betray him in such a way.

"How could you, Harriet? How could you do this to me?" he silently cried, the weight of his pain crushing his spirit.

Tears welled up in his eyes, refusing to be contained any longer as they streamed down his face.

The echoes of voices from the office reverberated in his mind—the taunts, the mocking, the relentless belittling.

"You're a fool, aren't you? You'll never amount to anything. You useless man. You're the epitome of failure," his inner voice shouted, replaying the hurtful words he had endured.

It reached a breaking point as he clasped his head tightly, his voice erupting in a desperate yell.

"No... Get out of my head, all of you!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, desperately trying to silence the haunting voices.

Throughout his life, no one had spoken a kind word to him. He was regarded as a fool from the very beginning.

"Perhaps this is why they abandoned me," he thought, his mind spiraling into the depths of self-doubt.

Abandoned by his parents at a tender age, he was handed over to a childless couple who, too, passed away within a few years. Adonis saw himself as nothing but refuse, fighting to survive with no purpose beyond mere existence.

Maybe they were right. Maybe he shouldn't be alive right now, he pondered, his frustration boiling over as he forcefully struck the table with his hands as soon as he walked into his home.

He let out a heavy sigh, a profound sense of desolation washing over him. "It would have been better for me to be dead than to live like this," he whispered to himself, the weight of his anguish pushing him further into despair.

Exhausted from the emotional turmoil, Adonis collapsed onto the sofa and drifted into a troubled sleep.

A few hours passed, and Adonis heard the sound of the door cracking open. Confusion washed over him as he hadn't expected anyone to visit him that night.

"Who could that be?" he wondered, his mind clouded with uncertainty, sending a chill down his spine.

Perhaps this was it. Maybe Harriet's lover had already alerted the police, and they were coming to apprehend him in his own home.

"What should I do now?" Adonis questioned himself, his thoughts a jumble of confusion.

With hesitant steps, he made his way towards the door, attempting to suppress his fears, at least momentarily.

"I need to find out who it is first," he resolved.

"Who's there?" he called out, his voice trembling with apprehension.

"It's me, Harriet," came the voice from the other side of the door.

Despite everything she had put him through, Adonis's love for her remained intact. Anger had not yet taken hold of him, as his affection for her ran deep.

"Perhaps she's here to apologize," he mused, clinging to a glimmer of hope in his heart.

With cautious steps, Adonis approached the door and swung it open. As soon as he did, Harriet stormed into the house, swiftly making her way to the sofa. Adonis stood there, shocked, his gaze fixed upon her, uncertain of what she would do next.

"Adonis, have you prepared any food? I'm famished," she casually remarked, her nonchalant request sending a pang through his heart.

He stared at her, a mixture of confusion and disbelief consuming his thoughts. After everything she had put him through, she had the audacity to utter those words. Frustration began to build within him, an overwhelming desire to tear into her with his bare hands.

"Are you serious right now?" he retorted, his voice laced with anger.

"I don't understand. What are you trying to say?" she responded, maintaining eye contact without a hint of remorse.

His anger surged, coursing through him like a raging river. "After everything you've done, you dare to speak like that? in such nonchalant manner like nothing has happened?" he shot back, leaving her momentarily gasping for words before retreating to her previous demeanor.

"I thought it was not something so important," she mumbled under her breath.

Adonis seethed with rage, making an attempt to approach her, but she quickly scrambled off the bed and fled to the other side of the room. Undeterred, he continued to advance toward her.

"Stop, Adonis! What have I done to deserve this?" she screamed, her voice echoing through the room. Yet, he refused to halt his pursuit.

"I just want to speak to you, why are you moving away from me so dramatically? one would think I'm. trying to hurt you, you know I'll never do that." He said, steadily closing the distance between them.

But Harriet was still being dramatic and suspicious to her guilty conscience so she reached into her pocket for her phone, hoping to find someone who could come into the house with her. Fumbling with the device, her attempts to make contact proved futile. "Hello? Hello..." she called out, her voice filled with desperation.