One

Twark! the beautiful young woman gave the waiter a deafening slap that shocked everyone.

“I'm sorry, ma,” Jake, the waiter apologized.

“You good for nothing fellow! How dare you spill drinks on me! Why are you so clumsy?”

“I'm sorry ma,” he apologized again. Sadly, that was all he could do. He didn't have a say even when it was crystal clear that he wasn't at fault. Rachel and her friends had ordered for more drinks which he brought. As expected of him, he poured wine in their wine glasses. Rachel raised her hands to pick a piece of meat from her plate and she hit him mistakenly. The expensive bottle of wine and the wine glass fell down as a result and shattered into several tiny pieces, spilling the contents on Rachel. 

“Goodness me! Look at our fine wine! You can't afford it even if you are given ten lives!” one girl sneered and they all laughed at him. 

“Clear this mess! And call me your manager. This is the height of it, I can't tolerate this.”

Jake knew it would only get worse of his manager came. 

“Please ma…” he began but Rachel shot him a death glare. He picked up the broken glass and made to leave only to see the manager in front of him. 

“It's good that you are here, manager Tan. Look at my expensive dress. This dress cost a fortune but your unfortunate waiter has ruined it! Including the wine I savour it's pleasant taste.”

“I apologize, Miss Rachel. I'll look into this and I can assure you it will be properly handled. I'll ask them to get you wipes. I'm sorry.”

Manager Tan turned to Jake and his tone changed.

“Hey! You scum bag! See me in my office right now!”

This was the life of Jake Frederick. He was the life in son in law of the Kent family. He got married to his wife two years ago but had never gotten approval for anything in those two years. To them, he was poor and miserable, too low to be a part of their prestigious family. His wife, Sky, loved expensive gifts and jewellery which was way above his means. To please her, he did all sorts of jobs in order to get her expensive gifts but she never appreciated him or his efforts. He was only her husband on paper. 

Jake sighed in pain as he looked down at the paper in his hands. He was fired and was also asked to pay for the wine and the wine glass he broke. As if that wasn't enough, he had only a day to pay the money. He pleaded for mercy but the manager mercilessly threw him out. 

Just then, his alarm rang, reminding him of his second part time job. He was already late. He dipped his hands into his pocket, but there was no money. So, he half walked and ran to work. Of course, he was late and his boss didn't waste time to remind him of how stupid, miserable and incompetent he was. He even threatened to fire him next time. He bore everything in silence. His only consolation was that it was finally pay day and he couldn't wait to receive his wages. His wife had admired a flower at a florist shop some weeks ago and he wanted to get it for her. Maybe he would get her approval with that!

Jake grinned as he counted his wages. He put the money inside his pocket and felt very rich. He strode casually along the streets and stopped in front of florist shop. He was glad that he finally got some money to buy his wife a gift. He entered the shop and stared at the flowers. There were so many of them and that left him confused, unsure of what to pick. It didn't matter to him that a lot of people in the shop stared at him in disdain. He finally chose a beautiful rose flower and paid with all his wages. 

Jake entered the house, grinning from ear to ear as if he had won a lottery. He held the flowers like a prized possession in his hands. He greeted his mother in law who was seated in the living room and made to continue on his way but she stopped him. 

“Where do you think you are going? Come back here, loser!” He wasn't surprised for this was a regular happening in that house. She was holding a paper which she stretched out to him. 

“Sign this and get your sorry self out of this house! We are tired of you.”

Huh? Did he hear her right? 

He moved forward and she flung the paper at him. Divorce papers?

“What? This can't be true. Sky can't divorce me. I'm sure she didn't agree with this.”

“I see that you are dumb and blind as well. Can't you see her signature beneath the page?”

“This isn't true. Sky can not do this.”

But on looking closely at the paper, he saw in a very fine handwriting, a signature he could recognise anywhere and anytime. It was Sky's! 

He turned and hurried up the stairs with his flowers. On getting to the door, a voice made him stop. It was his wife!

“Ahhh! Harder! Vincent, you are so good.”

No! This had better not be what he's thinking. He pushed the door open and his jaw dropped. It was true. Sky!