Chapter 2
As Michael got to the kitchen, he took a deep breath with the hope of getting everything done thereby fulfilling his wife's wish. He quickly dipped his hand into his pocket, bringing out his cheap Android phone which had several broken glasses and was half blind. The phone was so bad that he struggled to type, ‘step-by-step tutorials on how to prepare Black Pudding' on YouTube. After several minutes of struggling, he was able to type it and multiple results came out and he selected one of them and began to watch. “What a nonsense day for me. I can't even see anything on the screen. I'm not seeing a single thing.” Michael mumbled as he struggled to watch the video but couldn't see a single thing. Not seeing anything that was on screen got him so annoyed that he angrily switched it off. And with an annoying sigh, he pocketed it and sat in the air. “I can't even afford a good phone. How then am I going to make my darling Rose the meal she demanded?” He sighed and got up on his feet. “I'm not going to let her go to work on an empty stomach. I will make her Ma Po Tofu instead. And I'll make it more delicious like never before. And I believe she'll love it." Immediately, he began gathering ingredients, his hand moving as fast as possible like a flash as he set to prepare the meal. As Michael was busy gathering and setting things in order, Maria walked into the kitchen and glared at him angrily. She was Rose's mother and Michael's mother-in-law and she despised him to the core. She had warned her daughter, Rose, to get him divorced, however, Rose had retorted because Michael was hardworking and easily controllable. Seeing Michael still living in the house with her always gets her annoyed. “Good morning, mother-in-law.” Michael greeted her as soon as he took a glimpse at her. However, Maria's expression remained grim as it was, but she shook her head angrily. “What's good about the morning when you have chosen to make my daughter's life miserable? Your mates are the breadwinners of their home and you…? What are you? A man with no job, a man who can't provide for his family. Shame! Shame on you, Michael!” She scoffed and spat at the same time. Michael was calm as he gently digested every one of his mother-in-law's words. His heart sank deeply. “I will make sure Rose gets you divorced, and get married to a well-to-do man, who can take good care of her and give her whatever she asks for.” She continued, her voice evident of her seriousness. Hearing his mother-in-law talk about divorce, a hint of panic made its way to Michael's heart. Although he was badly treated by Rose, he still loved her and wasn't ready to let her go. “Mother-in-law, I know that I'm not capable of taking good care of your daughter, Rose, my wife too well as you all expected but I'm trying my best to see to it that I'll become the best husband to her, and best son-in-law to you too.” He pleaded and paused, then continued…. “And besides it's not my fault that I'm poor. Everything is….” Before he could complete his statement, he was cut short by Maria. “Yes, you're right. You're not to blame but rather your good-for-nothing parents who didn't brush you up well.” Michael felt his heart ached in pain as he heard his parents being addressed that way. But he couldn't utter a word. “Now, get back to what you were doing because soon Rose will be leaving off to the office to fetch money for your feeding since you're not independent. And be fast with it before she leaves.” She snapped and stormed out of the kitchen. As Maria walked out, Michael let out a heavy sigh, his face twisted in frustration. “Why do they keep treating me like a nobody?” He murmured to himself. “It's because I'm not wealthy. But I promise to prove to myself that I'm capable of taking good care of their daughter. And I won't stop until it's proven.” Without further talks, he faced what was at hand. “I need to be fast before she leaves so that she can eat something.” He hurried as he saw the time on his $2 wristwatch. It was 5:30 am, thirty minutes to the exact time that Rose was to leave for work. Since it wasn't his first time making Ma Po Tofu for the entire family, it didn't take him much time and he was done. He quickly and cautiously served it to each one's bowl and carried them then walked down the stairs to the dining hall. As he entered, his eyes lingered on everyone. They were already seated waiting for him. His eyes lingered constantly on Isabella, her grandmother. Isabella was in her early seventies. She was the mother of Adams Stephen, Rose's father. Michael had wished that everyone would have been like her because of how nicely she treated him. Unlike everyone including Joseph, Rose's younger brother, who insults him on regular occasions despite that he is two years older than him. “What kept you so long in the kitchen?” Stephen asked, looking furious. “Father-in-law….” Michael didn't finish his sentence when Stephen cut in again. His blood boiled. “Just shut up and don't dare call me that next time. In short, just bring the meals and get lost.” “Stephen! Take it easy on him. You know he has been the only one doing everything. You don't expect him to be fast in everything.” Isabella defended. Stephen let out a sigh. “He doesn't do anything useful in this house so I don't see any reason why he should spend the whole day in the kitchen.” “Aren't we going to eat, huh?” Joseph snapped at Michael as he watched his in-laws argue. Quickly, Michael began to serve them, positioning each bowl in front of each of the family members. Michael was heading back to the kitchen when Grandma Isabella's calm voice caused him to halt in his steps. And he quickly turned around. “Aren't you going to dine with us?” “What?” Everyone's eyes were bewildered. “No, Grandma, I respect you so much but that fool can't eat with us on the same table. Never!” Rose ranted.Chapter 3 “Why? Rose, isn't he your husband? Why can't he dine with us?” Isabella queried, looking disappointed. “He's not my husband and can never be until he's capable of doing what other men are doing for their wives and family.” Rose retorted with a sharp tone. “Period!” Everyone supported, which made Michael bow his head in shame as he stood speechless. Not wanting to prolong the conversation which seemed unfavorable to her, Isabella sighed deeply and quietly opened her bowl to eat. The rest of the family also opened theirs. While Michael turned to go back to the kitchen. Just as he moved, Rose's angry voice caused him to halt in his steps again as he turned. “What the hell is this? Why Ma Po Tofu? Why did you prepare it? Didn't I tell you to prepare Black Pudding?” She angrily slammed her hand on the table, standing on her feet. “Yes, you did. But I don't know how to prepare Black Pudding.” Michael admitted calmly, walking closer and standing beside his father-in-law.
Chapter 4 “Rose, you know that I don't have money for now but I assure you that I'll fix everything right soon.” He said, concentrating on his driving. “Then dare not ask me a single thing about my family life ever again when you're not capable of helping.” Rose shunned and remained silent. Michael noticed how angry she looked so he also kept silent and gently drove not wanting to cause any more ire. “Why is my life so miserable like this? I can't even help when they need me the most. Dear God, please help me.” He muttered to himself as he drove. After driving for half an hour, the car abruptly stopped in front of an open building painted white and red. It was the small company that Rose had inherited from her parents as a result of their trust in her. Most of the staff were already carrying out some necessary work and they were all on black and white shirts as it was mandatory for all of them. Most of them who noticed their presence didn't fail to murmur as they saw Michael
Chapter 5 Michael drove on the street and finally stopped beside the roadside, parked the car, and sat under a giant tree that gave him a shield from the hotness of the sun. Onlookers didn't fail to throw at him mocking words. However, he ignored them and was left alone to his thoughts. Who didn't know him as the popular broke man in the whole town of Maple? He slumped down onto the ground, having his head buried between his legs as he sobbed. “I am such a useless man. I can't even provide for my wife and in-laws. Soon, we'll be kicked out of the house and I don't even know what to do.” His heart sank deeply as tears welled down from his eyes. “Father-in-law was right. I'm just living off their earnings instead of providing. What a worthless man I am.” He couldn't hold back his tears. Immediately, he wiped off his tears and raised his eyebrows, he spotted a car driving towards where he was and he quickly wiped off his tears and stood on his feet as he watched the car appr
Chapter 6 John took Michael around the entire building and after everything was concluded, soon Michael signed all the crucial documents making him the new CEO. He was filled with joy because his Uncle whom he had once looked down on was the same person making him move from a nobody to somebody. “Thank you, Uncle, I'll have to go back home now. I know they might have been waiting for me.” “Alright, but don't forget to resume your office tomorrow.” Michael nodded and left and headed for home. “Rose, how is everything going? What are your plans to settle the loans we borrowed? You know we can't afford to lose everything because we have nowhere to go.” Stephen and Maria were curious to ask as soon as Rose returned. “Mom, I don't know what to do right now. I received a letter from Yonggi Cho's family today back in my office and they're threatening to throw us out of the house and even take our properties including the company if we fail to refund their money.” “We're in a
Chapter 7 The next morning, Michael was the first to wake up. He woke up twenty minutes after 5, he glanced over Rose who was fast asleep. “Thank goodness, she's still asleep.” He muttered to himself taking a deep breath. He stood up, folded his mat, and dropped it at its usual place. He also put a $20 note into Rose's office bag before leaving for the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the day. Not up to five minutes after he left, Rose woke up and glanced down to Michael's sleeping spot but she didn't see him. “This is what he should have been doing and not waiting for me to wake him up to prepare breakfast.” She mumbled to herself. “If he had been doing this, I wouldn't have been waking him up with bottles of water.” Still mumbling, she got from the bed and walked straight into the bathroom to take her bath. Before everyone else in the family woke up, Michael had finished every one of the house chores and went out. When they finally woke up, they dined together an
Chapter 8 The news of Golden Group of Companies accepting the collaboration proposal from Best Fashion Company circulated the whole town. Everyone was fully aware that a new CEO had finally stepped on board. And the entire family of Miller White was set at the edge of extreme happiness. The White family had been in enmity with the Stephen family over the years now unbeknownst to Michael. It all started when White chose to betray Stephen and went ahead to establish his own company after stealing from the company they both had together. That was how Stephen's family fell into the huge loan they were owing because Stephen, Rose's father, was the one who borrowed the money, and the signature was signed under his name. As Michael was cleaning the furniture which was his regular work, the entire family was busy watching TV shows together. It was weekend so everyone was present at home and no one went to work. “Rose! Have you heard about the news?” Maria was the first to talk,
Chapter 9 The following day, the news of Golden Group of Companies terminating collaboration with Best Fashion Company overnight went again throughout the whole town leaving everyone wondering. Rose couldn't hold back her happiness as she heard the news. It was all she had prayed for. So she quickly picked up her phone to call Cordelia. Although she had blacklisted her contact before, she now felt the urge to unban her and called her. After she dialed her number, it rang but there was no answer, however, she didn't stop calling. And finally, Cordelia picked up. “Hey, you fool! What do you want?” “You silly girl, what do you think I'll stoop so low to ever need something from people like you and your family? You know that can never happen.” Cordelia remained silent while Rose continued. “Oh, my darling friend. I heard what happened. They approved your proposal and not even up to a day they terminated it because it seemed they had gotten to know your true identity. Ha ha
Chapter 10 “Cordelia, please stop, stop,” Paul called, lifting his hand as soon as he got outside. Cordelia had already entered the car in anger and was about to drive leaving him. She finally stopped and Paul hurried to it. “What were you trying to do? Leave me here and go?” He asked, his voice was sharp and a hint of disbelief flashed through his face. However, Cordelia didn't answer him a word. She shifted and took her seat near the driver's seat allowing Paul to take his place at the driver's side. He glanced at her then shifted his attention back to the steering and then sped off. “Cordelia! You need to learn how to control your anger. That was too bad of you trying to cause a scene in such a big company. Do you not know what damages it will cause to our company?” Paul asked, a hint of worry in his voice as he drove through the town. “I don't care to know what it will cause. Do you expect me to stay calm and absorb such a manner from that so-called new CEO? Huh?”