Chapter 1: Transfer

“Plop!”

The moment Desmond stepped into an ice cream shop, the brown envelope in his hands slipped to the ground. He nearly stumbled as his eyes fixed on the man and woman seated nearby, ice cream in front of them.

"It's my birthday today, Abigail, and I have something to say..." The man paused.

"Will you marry me?"

A collective gasp filled the room, followed by excited cheers. In unison, everyone began chanting, "It's a yes, it's a yes, it's a yes."

They all eagerly wanted the lady to accept his proposal, their voices growing louder with each chant.

Desmond, an ordinary laundry business owner, had come to the ice cream shop to satisfy his wife's craving. No matter how hard he had to work, he always made sure to provide for her.

But now, here she was… the same wife he worked tirelessly for… being proposed to by another man.

As if things couldn't get any worse, he heard her response.

She nodded almost immediately. "I'll marry you, Jackie." The man pulled her in for a deep kiss the moment she accepted.

"Abigail Garcia!" Desmond's voice cut through the jubilant screams, drawing confused stares from the crowd. None of them recognized him, but Abigail couldn't mistake that voice. When she turned around, she was met with the sadness and disappointment in Desmond's eyes.

Did he see me?

Shock washed over Abigail as she quickly pushed the man away, nervously smoothing her wrinkled clothes.

"Desmond—"

Before she could plead, Desmond had already turned to leave, not forgetting to retrieve the brown envelope he had dropped earlier.

When Desmond arrived home, he found his mother-in-law on the phone, unaware of his presence. He intended to slip away quietly, but her conversation made him pause.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely invite you to my daughter's wedding. And as for her poor husband, she'll leave him soon. He's too poor for my beautiful daughter."

Wedding? Isn't her daughter already married to me? What wedding?

Desmond swallowed hard, unable to believe what he was hearing. He had wanted to believe his mother-in-law was unaware of Abigail's affair, but now he realized he was wrong. It was clear he had been the only fool.

He had been working tirelessly to provide for them, yet here he was, called poor by the very person he fed and sheltered. What could be more heartbreaking?

His heart ached, and his mind throbbed with pain. Had he just been a tool to them? He had provided out of love for Abigail, his wife, but now she was about to become someone else's…

“You? You’re back?” Felicia, his mother-in-law, had just hung up the phone when she noticed Desmond standing there, blank and lifeless.

Desmond didn’t respond, remaining frozen in a state of shock.

Felicia briefly looked at him with disdain, a look that Desmond caught despite how quickly it passed. In the past, he might not have noticed, but now everything was clear—he had been used all along.

“Didn’t you hear me?” Felicia’s irritation grew as Desmond continued to stand in silence.

Still, Desmond didn’t respond, too stunned to react.

Just as Felicia was about to lose her temper and yell at him, Abigail walked in, looking nervous.

“Abigail,” Felicia approached her, intending to hug her, but Abigail stepped back, her eyes locked on Desmond.

Guilt and regret flashed across her face, though it was more regret that Desmond had caught her rather than genuine remorse.

“What’s wrong, Abigail?” Felicia wasn’t naive; she could sense the tense atmosphere.

“Mom, Desmond already knows about Jackie,” Abigail confessed.

Felicia’s expression changed instantly. She almost started to plead but stopped herself, realizing there was no point now that everything was exposed.

“So what if he knows?” Felicia sneered arrogantly.

“Mom, don’t say that,” Abigail frowned, still holding on to the hope that if she pleaded, Desmond might forgive her.

Desmond stood silently, watching the mother-daughter duo.

Abigail turned to Desmond. “I can explain—”

“Explain? Explain what? How he proposed to you or how you’ve been cheating on me? I can’t believe I’ve been made a fool by you and your mother,” Desmond shouted.

“Calm down, Desmond. I really can explain—”

“Don’t tell me to calm down! Is it because I’m not shouting loud enough that you can’t see how betrayed I feel? I did everything I could for you and your mother, and this is how I’m repaid?”

Desmond struggled to keep his composure, unable to believe that Abigail could remain so calm after what she’d done. How could she even think of marrying someone else while still married to him?

“Fine, I admit I betrayed you, and I’m sorry.”

“To hell with your stupid apology! Can an apology undo what you’ve done? Can it change the fact that I’ve been used by you and your mother?”

“I'm sorry,” Abigail repeated again.

"I don’t want your apology.” Desmond shouted in frustration. “If you truly cared about me and understood the lengths I go to provide for you, you’d never have done something that required an apology like this in the first place.”

"Will you shut that filthy mouth of yours? You’ve been blabbering on, and I’ve tried to reason with you, but you keep barking like a dog. You’re worthless—how could we even use you?" she yelled.

"My friends all get spoiled with luxury—trips abroad, expensive jewelry, designer bags—but what do I get from you? Even the other day when I asked for $400 to go shopping with my friends, did you give it to me? No, so why are you complaining now?”

Desmond stared, dumbfounded, at this side of his wife. Had she been pretending all along? He had never seen this side of her before but now, here she was showing it.

Only now did he realize how badly he had messed up.

Still in shock, Desmond barely registered Felicia approaching until she slapped him, causing him to stumble and drop the brown envelope he was holding.

He never expected her to slap him.

Abigail noticed the envelope and quickly snatched it up. Desmond's heart raced as he heard her read aloud.

"TRANSFER OF BUSINESS OWNERSHIP TO ABIGAIL GARCIA!" she gasped.

Desmond's legs nearly gave out be

neath him. Before discovering Abigail’s affair, he had already transferred all his life's work to her.