“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.
Abigail, who had just read it aloud, was initially confused, then shocked, but her emotions quickly changed to joy and happiness."What did you just say? Let me see." Felicia snatched the paper from Abigail's hands. She checked it and saw that Abigail hadn't misread it.A sly smile crept across her face as she looked at the shaken Desmond. "Heh, what were you saying before? That we used you? Yes, we used you, and this is our reward." She waved the paper at him.Desmond remained silent, but inside, he was burning with anger. He was now completely ruined.Earlier this morning, Desmond had considered going to his lawyer to transfer everything he owned to Abigail. She had always doubted his love, constantly asking him to prove it.He happily went ahead with the transfer, never expecting that within hours, he would be filled with regret.But what was the point of regret now? The deed was done, and it couldn't be undone.When Desmond was in the process of transferring everything to Abigail'
"Yes, it's me," replied the man Desmond had called Luis Alberto.Desmond's face immediately furrowed. How could he not recognize one of his greatest bullies? From their school days, Luis had disliked him simply because Desmond's family was wealthier than his.It wasn’t until Desmond’s family business collapsed, his father passed away, and his mother disappeared that Luis’s hatred became more obvious.He constantly made things difficult for him, leaving no stone unturned in his efforts to humiliate him.Luis had wanted Desmond to kneel and apologize to him in front of everyone.Even though Desmond's life had taken a turn for the worse back then, he never did as Luis demanded. He would never bow or apologize to him."Why are you calling?" Desmond asked directly."Nothing much, just wanted to hear the sound of your defeated voice. Isn't it satisfying to see the little nonsense business you had snatched away by the very ones you cherished?"Luis's mocking tone rang through the phone. If D
Desmond was stunned and bewildered. He glanced at them again, becoming even more certain he'd never seen them before.But since they claimed to know him, what choice did he have? Maybe they were telling the truth.He remained silent, waiting to hear the man's response. Even though he waited, it didn’t mean he wasn’t ready to ran if something felt off.He already had enough on his plate; he couldn't afford to let this become another burden.“You are?” he repeated, seeing him silent.“You'll find out when you come with us,” the man replied, offering the same response. Desmond could tell from his attitude that he wasn't going to say anything more."How frustrating!" Desmond groaned in irritation.Since they insisted on keeping their lips sealed, he decided to do the same. He stood firmly, clearly indicating he wasn’t about to follow them anywhere.He’d rather stay put than go with them.What if they were kidnappers? They looked wealthy, but that didn’t ease his suspicion."Can I get your
Desmond eyes flashes on seeing the branch manager looking so calm and indifference.Didn't he hear what was happening here? Desmond chose to follow the reasoning that the branch manager didn't hear otherwise why was he so indifferent at such a situation.“Branch manager, that man Desmond, here's he.” She shouted at Desmond.The branch manager glanced at Desmond before speaking. “Hello, Mr. Desmond Ice,” he greeted, his tone indifferent.“Hello,” Desmond replied. “I received a call asking me to come here.”Despite his frustration, Desmond kept his tone calm.The branch manager nodded. “Yes, Mr. Ice, I did request your presence. It’s nothing major, just a matter concerning your outstanding debt balance.”“What?”“It’s regarding a loan.”“A loan balance? I don’t understand. I’ve never taken a loan from this bank.”He had already checked the sign outside and was certain he’d never had any dealings with this company.“You must be mistaken.”“No, Mr. Ice. Our records show you as one of our
After an hour-long drive, the car finally pulled to a stop outside an estate. Desmond, feeling confused, turned to the driver.“Why did you stop?” he asked, wondering if the car had run out of fuel or broken down.“We’re at the address. I can’t go any further, sorry,” the driver replied.“But–” Desmond glanced around, wanting to ask more questions but decided against it. He stepped out of the car.The estate was eerily quiet, the air thick with an unsettling stillness. Desmond could only admire the surroundings before remaining rooted to the spot.After standing there for a while, he began to walk towards the large green gate, but his steps faltered as security guards—or were they soldiers?—stood at the gate. Desmond blinked in confusion.He started to wonder if he had come to the wrong address. If this was the right place, why were soldiers guarding it?“Excuse me, is there a way to get inside?” he asked cautiously.The soldiers immediately turned their attention to him. Though calm,
“What?” Desmond gasped.He tapped his ears, unsure if he'd heard correctly.“You’re taking over from me. Everything I own is yours from now on,” the old man repeated, thinking Desmond hadn't understood.“I know, but... why are you saying this?” Desmond was still in shock, his breath unsteady.Perhaps he had misunderstood. His excitement started to fade, unsure if he'd heard right.The old man chuckled, reading Desmond's thoughts. "Don't worry, Desmond. I'm not joking. I'm completely serious. Sit down."Desmond, who had risen in surprise, quickly sank back into his chair, his heart racing.“You know, when I went to Biol Mountain, it was just for a vacation. I’m a military man. And now, all my military fortune will be yours.”“Military?” Desmond’s eyes widened. “So, those soldiers outside... and the photos... they’re because of your status?”The old man nodded.Desmond’s mind raced. The first shock hadn’t worn off, and now this... His head felt like it was going to explode!“You’re stil
The next morning, Desmond woke up with a sore body. After returning to bed the second time, he had struggled to sleep again, leaving dark circles under his eyes.He headed to the bathroom, which was just as luxurious as the room itself, and took a quick shower. The old man had mentioned they would speak today, and Desmond didn’t want to be late. Afterward, he went to the wardrobe, already stocked with clothes tailored for him, and chose a black top and white trousers before heading out.As he descended the stairs, he saw the same people from the living room the previous day, now gathered around the dining table for breakfast. He hesitated, unsure whether to join them or not.“Desmond, you're awake! Come over!” Rebecca called out, waving him over.He sighed and, feeling a bit awkward, made his way to the table. The old man was seated there as well, so Desmond greeted everyone before quietly joining them for the meal. He was surprised by the silence that hung over the table—was it becau