Chapter 1

Miguel hurriedly paid the cab driver, eager to move away from the cab and walk into his house.

He always tried to avoid coming home early to prove to his in-laws that he was capable of handling the job they gave him at their company.

But today was different. He had forgotten his file, so he had to come back at 5:00 PM instead of the usual 8:00 PM.

Turning the doorknob and walking into the house, Miguel was surprised at what he saw and froze at the doorstep.

"What's going on here?" he asked aloud, seeing his in-laws gathered around with some highly honored guests in a circle and his wife taking a ring from a man dressed expensively in a suit.

No one answered him, not even to explain why his wife was taking another man's ring.

He repeated his question, more loudly this time, "What is going on here?"

Shocked, he rushed towards the man on his knees, who was about to place a ring on Annabelle's finger, and pushed him to the floor.

At that moment, Annabelle turned to him furiously and slapped him in the face.

Slap!

Her face was filled with anger due to the interruption from Miguel.

Miguel's hand crept to his face in shock.

"Did you just slap me?" he asked Annabelle. Shock was written all over his face. Nothing like this had ever happened.

Annabelle folded her arms across her chest and stared back at him without any sign of remorse.

"I would do it again if you don't learn to accept your place," she told him coldly.

"My... place?" Miguel said. He would be angry that she hit him in the face, but at that point he hadn't fully understood what was happening.

Just then, Mrs. Adolfo stepped forward to stand in front of him, just beside her daughter, Annabelle.

"Enough of your ranting," she said to  Miguel.

"Ranting is all you can do. While your mates are out there making money, you are ignorant of everything else."

Miguel turned to her with reddened eyes. His eyes showed the anger that was swelling in him.

He was used to being insulted by Annabelle's parents but it still hurt everytime, even as they had never accepted him before.

Mrs. Adolfo continued, "Yes, we never wanted our daughter to marry such a poor man, but Annabelle loved you and got married to you anyway. But now she has finally come back to her senses after realizing what a loser you are."

Miguel raised his head, his heart aching.

He turned to Annabelle and quickly tried to touch her to try and hear what she had to say about what her mother just said, but Annabelle shifted back.

"Don't you dare touch me with your poverty-stricken hands anymore," she spoke to him harshly.

The guests were all staring at Miguel like he had peed on his body just because they realized now that he was that poor.

Anabelle smirked as she glanced down at Miguel.

"I never realized what my parents were trying to say all this time. You've only brought shame to me among my peers."

"I mean, you embarrass me everywhere we go to as a couple. I can't even show you off because you actually worth nothing on your own apart from my parent's money," Anabelle spouted in anger, her heart pumping in rage.

Just the sight of Miguel standing in front of her now irritated her.

She felt embarassed even by accepting in front of all those people that she had accepted him as her husband in the first place.

She continued, "Look at your peers and name any 27-year-old man who got married and still lives with his in-laws, unable to afford a house for himself and his wife."

"Can't you see that you are a complete loser who is incapable of doing anything for himself?" She yelled at his face and Miguel closed his eyes tightly, trying to contain the humiliation just because of his love for her.

Miguel pleaded, "But I'm trying, Annabelle. Please understand that I've been trying all this time. I'm working on something."

Annabelle scoffed, looking at him from head to toe in disgust.

"You're a pitiful excuse for a man. How can you claim to be raising money? Any money you have now is from working for my parents. If they hadn't decided to pick you up from the slums and clothe you, you would still be that hungry man I found in the street. Maybe the streets are where you belong," Anabelle said.

"You should remember that these were your parents' words about me, but you always disagreed. You didn't care if I was a nobody before we got married because you loved me, right?" Miguel asked her.

He thought to hear a quicker response, but there was nothing.

Anabelle gritted her teeth. "That was then, Miguel. That was when I was foolish enough not to know the shame you were going to bring on me," she replied to his question.

"Yesterday morning, when my friends from college visited, it was so embarrassing. They asked me, 'Hey Annabelle, is that your husband? Do you two still live with your parents?'"

Miguel was humiliated by her narration in front of all the guests.

He rubbed his forehead, thinking of how he would react to this.

Mr. Adolfo walked up to him. "Take a look around, Miguel, and see how much embarrassment you're causing yourself. Why don't you just let this be and accept that you have lost your wife to a more competent man?"

Miguel tightened his jaw. "I'm not speaking to any of these people, not even to you, Mr. Adolfo. I'm talking to my wife, and you should respect that."

Just as Miguel turned back to Anabelle, his face was met with another slap, this time from Mrs. Adolfo.

Slap!

"Who gave you the audacity to speak to my husband like that? The man who picked you out of the gutter where our daughter found you, not knowing you were a gold digger, only here to gather money from our family and probably run away when you'd stolen enough," Mrs. Adolfo said.

Miguel's face fell in humiliation. Raising his face back up, his eyes turned red in anger.

"I am not a gold digger," he said, his jaw tightening.

Mr. Adolfo stepped forward again. "There's no need to defend yourself, Miguel. From this evening, there will be no more gold for you to dig."

"Our daughter will be marrying her college mate, Leonard Green, who graduated with her from the same university. Unlike you, Leonard is a man. He's been making money for himself instead of latching on to someone's daughter like a pest just to get money from her family."

"No, this... This shouldn't be happening. She can't get married to another man while she's still married to me," Miguel explained furiously.

He turned to Anabelle. "You can't do this. I understand the pressure your parents are putting on you, but they shouldn't force you into marrying someone you don't love just for money."

Anabelle chuckled, shocking Miguel. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miguel, but my parents just met Leonard. I introduced him to them two weeks ago, stating my interest in marrying an actual man. Besides, I love Leonard so much and have realized I never loved you," she said.

Miguel's eyes blurred in shock. She didn't love him, just because she was now after money?

Miguel's heart shattered. He had no idea what to say or do to keep his wife.

"You need to leave the house tonight," she told him.

"My fiancé will be sleeping over, and I'm sure you know on which bed. Tomorrow morning by 10:00 AM, you should be here to sign your part of the divorce papers," Annabelle declared.

Miguel's eyes widened.