Chapter 6

This wasn’t the first time Zach saw his wife getting cozy with another man. From the beginning, she never took their marital status seriously. Perhaps, she never wanted this marriage in the first place.

Zach didn't think much of it because he, too, lacked genuine commitment in this marriage. Marrying out of necessity to survive and escape debt sounded quite pitiful. However, sometimes life’s solutions come from unexpected directions.

“But still, I feel my life is too miserable,” Zach said, wiping his face before turning away from his wife’s figure.

Hannah, silently observing, asked, “Do you know that woman?”

Zach nodded. “Who doesn’t know her? She’s the daughter of the richest family in this town.” His voice was slurred and unclear.

“Is that so? I thought she was your lover.”

The remark elicited a loud laugh from Zach. He pointed to himself. “Me? Impossible. She never acknowledged my existence.” Though Zach spoke enthusiastically, his eyes told a different story. A deep sadness was evident, accompanied by a heavy sigh.

Zach squinted, looking directly at the bartender's left chest. “Hannah,” he called. “Since you’re a woman, may I ask you something about women?” He took her silence as consent. “Are all women like that? I mean, do they easily play with the feelings of men who love them? Do they easily turn away for wealth and background?”

Hannah didn’t answer, knowing her customer might be trying to mess with her and disrupt her work.

Zach raised his index and middle fingers. “Twice! These women seem terrifying!” He spoke as if his two fingers represented the people he was referring to.

“Bastard!” The shout came from the crowd at the dance table. Sarah was seen cursing the man in front of her, even though she had been kissing him earlier.

“Get away, you piece of trash!” Sarah continued to curse. “Your breath stinks!”

Zach took a deep breath. “Her temper is awful.” Despite this, he got up and staggered toward the commotion.

Hannah watched silently, waiting to see what the man would do.

Zach’s head was still spinning, but his vision remained clear enough to see his target. Standing directly in front of Sarah, blocking her view of the other man, Zach smiled. “Go home. Mrs. Grace must be waiting for you.”

Sarah wasn’t surprised by Zach’s sudden appearance. However, the beautiful woman in a sleeveless dress sneered with displeasure. “You loser! Keep your distance and get out of my sight!”

“No. You’ll get into trouble if you keep causing a scene here.” Zach shook his head, trying to regain full consciousness.

“Who do you think you are, daring to control me? Stop talking nonsense and get out of my sight, you trash!”

Zach restrained Sarah when she tried to lunge at the man behind him. He was only following his instinctive duty as a husband, even though he was never acknowledged as such.

“Get your filthy hands off me, you fool!” She kept shouting, lunging, and even pulling Zach’s hair repeatedly.

What Zach did was to prevent the bad things his wife might do. She could cause trouble and end up being scolded by Mrs. Grace. Zach was only performing his duty as a husband, which was to protect Sarah from bad comments and punishments from Mrs. Grace.

One slap landed on Zach’s face, causing everyone there to fall silent. Only the sound of music remained until it stopped. Now, only an uncomfortable silence filled the place.

Sarah, filled with rage, grabbed a glass of wine and splashed it on Zach’s face. “I told you not to interfere, bastard!”

Zach, who had been half-drunk, slowly realized what was happening. The stares from everyone around made him feel nauseous. Those looks reminded him of a few months ago when he was a homeless man doing odd jobs.

“Don’t act like you have the right to control me! You’re just someone Mama randomly chose out of pity! You’re a poor homeless man!”

Zach wiped his face and spoke with a stuttering, hoarse voice. “Sarah, I just don’t want you to get into trouble here.” He still tried to speak gently.

“I don’t need you!”

“Still, I--”

“Who do you think you are?”

“I’m your husband, Sarah!” Zach replied, raising his voice slightly.

“To hell with that! You’re just a poor and disgusting man!” Sarah grabbed her bag from the table and ran away. Before that, she pointed angrily at the man she had been dancing with. “We’re not done yet, bastard!”

Zach watched Sarah leave in silence until someone handed him a handkerchief. It was Hannah, the bartender he had been talking to earlier.

The man took the handkerchief awkwardly. “Thank you.”

Hannah just shrugged. “You can go to the toilet if you want. There are also spare clothes—oh, don’t get me wrong. It’s just one of the services at this bar,” she said casually.

Zach raised his eyebrows. He admitted the service at this bar was much better than when he was in charge. “No, thank you.”

“So, that woman earlier is your wife?”

The question made Zach fall silent. He shouldn’t have declared his identity so easily in public. Some people might already know who Sarah was, but because of the Bennett family’s influential and untouchable reputation, they dared not do anything but gossip.

Zach refused to answer. He returned the handkerchief. “Again, thank you, and sorry for causing trouble here.” He took out his wallet and handed over his credit card. “For the wine and any damage we might have caused.”

Hannah chuckled softly. “This isn’t the first time I’ve received a credit card from a rich person who caused trouble.”

“I already apologized, didn’t I?” Zach clarified.

“Why you? Why didn’t your wife apologize?”

Zach took a deep breath. “It’s the same. Besides, she’s already left--”

“This is how she’s been molded.” Hannah cut in. “It’s none of my business, but it’s still annoying.”

After saying that, Hannah took the credit card and processed it. Meanwhile, Zach was stunned by Hannah’s somewhat rude attitude toward a bartender.

“What’s wrong with these women?” Zach shook his head, unable to understand this madness.

Moments later, Zach received his card back and was about to leave. However, Hannah’s words disturbed him.

“You let your wife trample your dignity in public. I don’t know if that’s love or foolishness.”

Indeed, Zach allowed it. He kept trying to stop Sarah even though he didn’t know what his wife’s problem was with the other man. Besides, Sarah kissed another man right in front of Zach. So, is this the maximum foolishness Zach possesses as a man without self-respect?

“This isn’t the first time,” Zach said as he left the bar.