Jason took the apples out of the refrigerator with a long sigh. Balancing two apples in one hand, he made his way to the slab and placed them on the fruit platter and his phone by the side.
He took the knife from the rack and proceeded to skilfully slice the apples just the way she liked it, but he had barely gone halfway when his attention was drawn by the vibrations of his phone on the slab. Looking at the name on the screen, Jason didn't hesitate to pick up the call. “Hello Grace?” he uttered, balancing the phone in between his ear and shoulder to avoid putting it on a loudspeaker. “Hello sir,” Grace retorted from the other side of the phone “I called to congratulate you on behalf of your wife,” She exclaimed with pleasure, giving Jason a hint on what the good news might be about. “From what I see, she will be awarded the best actress of the year at the Fishford Awards, it's incredible to see that she has gotten global recognition.” “Well deserved, don't you think?” Jason asked, his eyes still fixed on the apples he was slicing for his mother-in-law. It warmed his heart to hear of his wife's success, afterall, not many people get the chance to have a celebrity partner. “Yes sir,” Grace replied, “This will make her new role stand out in the upcoming production, although I fear that Amy Thomson will not give her a chance.” Placing the knife in the sink, Jason took the phone in his hand, “This is not about Jennifer Thomson,” He said, “I don't want to know how the industry will do it, but I want Amy Thomson to be removed from the cast. My wife should take on the lead role without a co-star, they should rewrite the script if they must.” His tone carried a hint of authority, and he appeared to be certain that his instructions would be obeyed, but just before Grace could respond, the voice of an angry lady was heard from the living room, putting a stop to their discussion. “I'll call you back.” Jason quickly disconnected the call and sighed in frustration. With a hint of displeasure in his facial expression, he picked up the fruit platter and made his way out of the kitchen to serve those apples to his mother-in-law. As he approached from behind, Jason stole a glance at the lady seated on the couch, with both legs balanced on the glass center table. It appeared that she had moved a few antiques to the edge of the table to make room for her legs. Ignoring this well-known behavior, Jason averted his gaze and looked up at the television. He was drawn by the voice of a popular actor on the screen and it occurred to him that his mother-in-law had turned to the Fishford Awards, the same award show that his wife was nominated for. “Your apples,” He mumbled under his breath and placed the platter on the side of the table that her legs didn't occupy. “Well, that took you several hours!” The lady snapped, casting a furious look upon the man whom her daughter was married to. “Hand it over to me,” she ordered him, without taking her eyes off the television screen. Jason sighed, picked up the apple from the table and handed it over to the lady who was totally immersed in the show. “Here you go.” He uttered, in an attempt to draw her attention, but her next reaction took Jason by surprise. In a fit of rage, the lady flung the platter off Jason's hand, letting the apple fall off and scatter across the living room. “You fool!” She snapped, “Can't you see that I'm watching something here? What will it take you to hold down the platter until I can take it from you?” “But that's not a good enough reason to throw the whole thing away… “Shut up!” She interjected before Jason could finish his statement, “Just get out of my sight, and clean up this mess you made, useless fool!” Without responding, Jason begrudgingly walked out of the living room. He had put up with the old lady’s behavior for a long time, and it didn't seem to end. He returned to the living room with a broom and dustpan, to clean up the apples that were scattered across the room, only to be insulted each time he walked past the television screen. “Are you blind!” She yelled, “Can't you see that I am watching this? Why do you poor people behave so stupid and daft!” Jason ignored her and continued with what he was doing, sweeping the apple slices into the dustpan one after another. He took his time despite his mother-in-law's rain of insults only because he didn't want to miss a moment of the award show. He wanted to see his wife walk up the stage to win the award that he had worked so hard to make sure she got. It didn't take so long before his wife's category was announced, at this time, he was headed back for the kitchen, but paused and turned back to the television, staying far away from the old woman to avoid her troubles. A smile crept upon Jason's face as the winner was announced, “Melissa Blackwood!” The announcer exclaimed with excitement and Jason watched as his wife confidently walked up to the stage to claim her prize. Once received, the microphone was handed over to her for her award speech, and now Jason was more interested to see. “Where is this fool!” His mother-in-law snapped, leaving Jason to wonder what he had done this time. “Didn't you see the stains it left behind on the floor?” She yelled, thinking that Jason had gone into the kitchen. Jason on the other hand, walked into the kitchen swiftly and returned to the living room with a mop, he truly didn't want to miss a moment of his wife's speech. “Uhm… wow this was unexpected,” she began, wiping off the tears of joy from the corner of her eyes. “I sincerely want to thank my mom, for her support and love, she encouraged me throughout the process. She's not here right now, but I know she's watching me, I love you Mom.” she added and blew kisses to the camera. “That's my girl, I love you too.” Jason rolled back his eyes in disdain, the lady seated on the couch had done nothing but dish out orders and make his life a living hell. Her contributions to Melissa's success were merely words of encouragement, whereas he had worked in the shadows to make sure his wife became the star she is. He watched her thank the director, fellow actors and others, and Jason believed that she was saving the best for last. He was certain that she wouldn't forget to appreciate him, and couldn't wait to hear how she would portray him to the audience. “Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank someone very special to me,” she began, and Jason's lips curved into a smile, certain that he was the one. “He had been by my side throughout the production, a very loving person. I can not describe how grateful I am to him, because I don't know how far I would have gone without him. Someone I love, and someone who has shown me so much love and care throughout all of this. Thank you so much.” Without calling names, her eyes were fixed on a certain man in the audience, and although the camera did not show his face, most people knew who she was talking about. But Jason, whose attention was constantly divided by the mopping he was doing, did not notice any of this, rather with what he had heard alone, he believed that no one else mattered to Melissa's but him. Even though she hadn't mentioned his name, Jason was convinced, because who else could she have portrayed in such manner and kind words? Little did he know that none of Melissa's words were directed at him.With his heart full of joy, Jason walked out of the living room, this made him think less of his mother-in-law's harsh words. To date, he has yet to understand why the old lady was so cold toward him. Constantly making references to a poor wretched status, whereas the house they lived in, was under his name. She had never purchased a single appliance or contributed to maintenance, everything concerning this exotic mansion came out of Jason's bank account yet he was compared to a street beggar. He was also turned into an errand boy, and without a single maid in the mansion, Jason had diligently done everything that a maid could have done, yet neither his wife nor mother in law seemed to be satisfied with his efforts. He has chosen to take his mind off how they treated him, it was a prize he had to pay for keeping his identity concealed, but their pride and arrogance grew with each passing day and became unbearable. Each time Melissa's success got to a higher level, they made thems
Early the next morning, Melissa walked into the living room, her face beaming with gladness. Every second spent with Alex played back in her head like a movie on replay, and they never ceased to put a smile on her face. It was only a matter of seconds before she noticed the decorations that had partially been taken down, the dish, candles that had been put out, and food that had stayed over the night. The roses and petals were in really bad shape. Thus, the romantic setup appeared more like a mess. But with how every single item was to her taste, from the color to the dishes, even the lingering scent of the candles made Melissa realize how much effort he had put into making this a memorable date, yet she was unimpressed. “Good morning,” Jason's voice drew her attention. It was surprising how she had been in the living room for a few seconds without noticing his presence. Her smile faded instantly, and as she stared at her husband from head to toe, Melissa couldn't help but squint
“What is wrong with you?” He asked, pushing Jason on the chest, if the young man hadn't maintained his balance, he would have fallen with his head to the ground. Shocked to see this familiar-looking stranger in his house, Jason stared at him for a moment, then to Melissa and back. “Who are you?” He asked, “Who is this?” He turned to Melissa who seemed rather excited than surprised by Alex's sudden intervention. Without responding to Jason's question, Alex walked away from him and lifted Melissa off the floor, and just there, their proximity reminded Jason of where he had seen this man, the photograph. “You should be happy that I haven't called the cops on you!” Alex yelled, staring Jason in the eye. “You dare to hit a woman? How shameless of you.” Jason stared at Alex from head to toe and could not believe that this was the man Melissa was cheating on him with. His physical attributes were not appealing and the same could be said for his net worth. His name was barely known i
Closing the door behind him, Jason shut his eyes for a second as he sighed in frustration. With the car key dangling from his hand, he walked up to his car, opened the door and sat down, placing his head on the steering wheel. Jason had never felt this hurt in such a long time, it felt as though the people he loved so much were just in his life to make it a living hell. Melissa was the last of the few people he still trusted. Though their relationship was a bit toxic, he knew that once he told her about his true identity, she would respect him, but it was too late now. Also, it suddenly occurred to Jason that it was wrong for him to leave the house. The property was all in his name, and those who ought to leave were Alex and his ex-wife. After all, they were wealthy enough to acquire other property. It'll also give him some space alone, his mother-in-law or rather ex-mother-in-law will no longer be there to bother him. While these thoughts lingered, Jason received a call from Grace
Jason walked up to the tree from behind, approaching them as slowly as possible, he did not want to be noticed by the culprits or else they might run before he got to them. But while he got closer, one of them saw and signaled the others and at this time, Jason did not know that they saw him approaching them from behind and had come to stop him from ruining their fun. As soon as he noticed two men walking up to him, Jason scoffed, “Idiots.” Feeling like they would overpower him so easily, both men walked up to Jason so confidently and attacked him without hesitation. But it was amazing how Jason dodged each blow so effortlessly, it appeared that a few years of boxing had paid off in the most unexpected way possible. Taking on two men at a time was quite a hassle, but Jason did not relent in his fight, if anything motivated him to keep going then it was the voice of the lady in danger, he just couldn't relax until he had saved her from these promiscuous fools. When he had had en
“Hello, sir?” This was the first time in a long while since Jason had received a call from the director, and he couldn't help but wonder what the young man wanted to discuss. Hoping that it had nothing to do with his wife, Jason asked, “Yes Harry, is there a problem?” “Oh not at all sir,” The director replied, his tone carrying a hint of excitement rather than his usual compliance about a certain production cost. “I didn't get a chance to meet you in person to talk to you about it, but I wish to invite you to the industry's gala night to celebrate the success of our last movie. At the same time, we would love you to select the new actress for the next movie.” Jason was indifferent, at the moment, he hated anything that was related to the movie industry considering that Melissa worked in it. He had the power to take her out but that was the least of his problems. “I'm not interested,” He replied briskly, without giving any reasons for his refusal. “Also, you are yet to get bac
Melissa stood shocked for a moment as she walked out of the elevator, neither Jason nor Jennifer said a word to them. Jennifer on the other hand did not expect to meet her competitors in the industry here, and she knew quite well that Melissa was a married woman, so seeing her holding hands with Alex sparked a lot of questions in her mind. “Well take a look at the man who accused me of cheating,” she scoffed, sizing Jason up with her eyes. “And you weren't just shameless enough you went one to take this… this lady? My rivals.” “Get out of the way, I don't have time for this,” Jason uttered, looking for a way to avoid this conversation, because knowing his ex-wife, her tendency to escalate the dialogue and draw attention to themselves was very high and it would happen in no time if he failed to leave. “I don't have anything to say to you,” She scoffed, and averted her gaze, staring intently at the woman whose role was taken away just so she could shine Like the star she thought sh
Just outside a luxurious mansion, cars lined up in rows at the entrance, and security guards were seen almost every six feet away from each other, each one holding a gun and preparing to do their job. People walked into the mansion, each one looking elegant and well dressed as if attending a met gala, their unique outfits stood out and the same could be said for their rides. There were a few banners at the entrance to the mansion indicating that it was the director's party aimed at celebrating the success of a previous movie. The majority of the guests were the cast from the movies, some were recognizable members of the crew while others were fellow celebrity guests. A certain car pulled up at the parking lot, nothing exotic but not bad looking either, seeing a driver in front and a passenger behind, the security guards immediately assumed that it was a taxi, and so far from what they had seen, none of the guests at this events arrived with a taxi, so they were alerted, ready to