Rise Of Rejected Husband

Chapter 7

"I have your clothes ready, master." Smith, who was serving him, stood not far from Richard, who had just finished bathing.

Richard dried his hair without answering Smith's remark. Everything he was currently wearing had been prepared by Smith, from the type of lotion, hair care, and cologne Richard wore to his clothes. Smith had customized it according to Richard's preferences. Smith was observant enough that the items he prepared rarely went unused by Richard except for a few things he thought were inappropriate.

Richard turned to look at the light brown suit hanging neatly in front of him that Smith had been discussing. "This is what you prepared?" Richard touched it to see the suit model more clearly, then he sighed softly and moved away from the suit towards his wardrobe. He did not intend to go to a formal event, just a small leisure agenda, so the outfit was inappropriate for him.

"Right, master." Smith watched Richard, who, instead of putting it on, turned in another direction.

Richard pulled out light blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt. He then returned to the suit Smith had prepared earlier to take his watch alone and put it on.

"What's wrong with the clothes I prepared, master?" He was confused as to why Richard was ignoring him. "Why aren't you wearing them?" He felt guilty that Richard did not use his choice.

"I am not comfortable wearing it." Richard's reply gave him an excuse. Richard adjusted the watch that was not fully on his wrist. "I just wanted to take a short walk." And the outfit certainly didn't look casual.

"Good master."  Smith was about to step out and let Richard take his place, but his steps were held back.

Richard raised his hand low enough to signal Smith to listen to him. "There's a place I want to visit today. Take me there." Richard resumed his steps after he said that.

"Yes, master." Smith immediately went out, as instructed by Richard. He was preparing the car for Richard, and soon he saw Richard coming out of the house wearing the clothes that Richard had chosen. Smith immediately opened the car door for him.

Behind Richard sat casually staring out the window, enjoying his time taking what he could see. He seemed to think for a moment when Smith asked. "Shopping center." He called it.

The Roll Royce they were traveling in arrived at one of the shopping centers and a relaxing place where rich people spent their time. Richard got out of his car, and so did Smith, who followed behind. Richard, who knew it, stopped his steps. "I want to take a walk by myself. You can go." He glanced at Smith. "I'll call you when I get home."

But Smith seemed reluctant to move from there. He looked around the place, then looked back at Richard. "So I should go now, master?" He felt the need to stay there to keep an eye on Richard, because last time the clerk at the mas shop didn't recognize him so he treated him rudely.

"You have work to do, don't you?" He looked at Smith sharply, and his tone turned into a command.

Smith was stunned. He then bowed. "Fine then, master." He moved from there for fear that Richard would get even angrier at hi . And he was being disrespectful.

Richard then entered the place with many cafes. He remembered that people in the market always told him that their children always spent time in such areas with various things there, enjoying multiple games and various other activities. Richard walked around observing the surroundings, and then his eyes fell on a café frequented by many young people.

Because his steps had paused for a while, Richard, unaware of other people around him, did not have time to dodge when the man bumped into his shoulder. Richard looked at the man who bumped into him, and the man seemed to look at him even more fiercely. "What?" He called out to Richard.

"Hurry up, I want to order something there." The woman holding the man pulled him without caring about what happened. So the man turned his attention to Richard and turned to his girl. They then just left without apologizing to Richard.

Richard looked at those who entered the cafe first, then at his shoulder that had collided with the man earlier and shook it off.

He decided to enter the cafe as well. Richard chose a seat in the corner of the room. He intended to observe and look around at what the atmosphere of the restaurant was like. He sat comfortably in his place, and his eyes watched the scenery outside through the glass wall. "It's quite cozy here," He muttered, watching him while leaning on his shoulder.

"Hey!" Jhonas, Richard's friend at the market when selling fish, was there. The man smiled at Richard with a happy face and then sat in front of Richard. "What are you doing here?" He didn't expect them to meet there, as Richard didn't like hanging out.

Richard smiled slightly at that. "I want to relax." He answered casually.

Jhonas nodded. "Right, I also told you that this place is cozy." He was indeed the one who suggested to Richard to relax occasionally, not just work to make money but not enjoy it. "Now and then, I come to this place because I feel comfortable sitting while enjoying the scenery. Sometimes watching the evening turn into night from this place is also pleasant. I feel comforted." 

Richard looked away from him and followed the man's gaze. The two of them both enjoyed the scenery in front of them.

For a while, they were silent in their thoughts, and then the man turned to him. An innocent face with a friendly smile and simple clothes, wearing only a shirt already looking a little worn with jeans whose color was also faded. It made him look different from the young people who mostly came to that place with a cool appearance. But he didn't seem bothered by other people's judgments and just enjoyed his life. Richard realized that he felt happy for him. "How are you? I came here after closing my shop. I haven't seen your shop open for a while. Did something happen?" He looked worried.

"I closed my shop." Richard gave the most sensible answer since he didn't need to sell anymore.

Jhonas looked confused. For all he knew, Richard's shop was his only source of livelihood, and if it were closed, then he would lose his income. "Why did you close it? Are you sick?"

"I only meet with my family," Richard told him.

The man's face seemed to change. He looked confused. "Your family? You mean Jasmine?" He confirmed as he remembered Richard only had Jasmine as his family because Richard's mother was no longer around.

Richard's face turned flat. "Not Jasmine." He sounded reluctant to mention the name. "I have no more business with her," Richard spoke coldly, making Jhonas realize something had happened.

Jhonas sighed heavily. "It seems like you're going through something serious. You guys split up?" He concluded.

"Yes," Richard answered plainly. He had no intention of hiding that he was indeed divorced from Jasmine.

"Are you okay?" He who knew how Richard felt about Jasmine, tried to confirm his friend's situation. The frowning look on Richard's face made him believe that Richard was indeed fine. "I'm glad you're okay. That woman made you do so much for her. You fought so hard, and yet she still doesn't appreciate you. He doesn't deserve you."

Richard knew that, but now he realized Jasmine did not deserve his former love. "Let's not talk about it." Jonas complied and nodded his head.

Then he remembered the family Richard had mentioned earlier. "Ah, then you mean you met your family. Who was it?"

"Family..." Richard spontaneously stood up from his seat, as well as Jonas, who looked down at Richard's wet clothes, not much different from his own.

"Pardon... me, sir." The waiter who came with their order cleaned up the spill on his behalf in a hurry. His face looked panicked and anxious.

"Hey, what are you doing? Clean this up!" The large man who had bumped into the waiter offered his foot, which was dirty with splashes from the spilled drink the waiter had brought.

"My apologies, sir." The waiter looked panicked at the mess she had caused. He in a state of panic, seemed unfocused on the situation, so he ignored the man's words and focused on Richard and Jhonas, whose clothes were getting dirty. 

"I'll clean it up." He took out a tissue to clean Richard's clothes, but because he felt ignored, the man who had shouted at him pulled the waiter strongly.

Because of his strong pull on his shoulder, the waiter turned towards him and was pushed down. "You didn't hear what I said, huh?" He glared at him. "Clean it, I said!"

Richard who saw the man's arbitrary action was annoyed. He got up from his seat and looked at the big man. "You hit him, so you should apologize to him and us." The big man was wide-eyed at Richard. He was shocked, and so was Jhonas, who did not expect Richard to speak so boldly.