Marcel wiped his lips with the water flowing from the kitchen sink. Instead of being full, he was nauseous.
It wasn't the first time Marcel had been forced to eat his wife's family's leftovers, but he was still getting sick of it.If it wasn't for the burden left behind by his parents who chose to leave without responsibility, he wouldn't be willing to live like this."May I help you, Sir?" A soft female voice reached Marcel's ears and made him turn his head.The head waitress named Nana immediately ordered several people to remove the dirty dishes from the table and put them into the laundry. Another one was told to throw away the leftover rice and bones that were scattered on the floor."No need, Nana. You'll get caught by the law ..." said Marcel, no less weakly."Some of the family members have returned to their rooms, while others have left by car." Nana's son said. "You want to eat again, I'll prepare it ....""No, Eli. Thank you," Marcel nodded as he sat in the corner with his back leaning back while the servants worked together to clean the kitchen.Indeed, they were the only ones who respected Marcel as a son-in-law in the Delvino family home, although during the suppression, no one dared to approach him because of the risk of being fired.As soon as he felt a little better, Marcel got up and headed for the warehouse located outside the Delvino family's main house. He climbed the circular stairs to the basement, where there was a laboratory that had ceased to operate since his parents left without a trace.Marcel's memories swirled back to the time when he was forcibly picked up from his university on the grounds that his parents had left behind an agreement that stating that Marcel must be responsible for the debts left by his parents.Since then, he has been trapped in a vicious cycle of having to marry Shirley, who doesn't consider him at all.The memory flashback ended when Marcel stepped on the floor that was covered in at least a centimeter of thick dust. He was already tired of cleaning the lab because his brothers-in-law often stomped their feet on purpose, causing dust to fall underneath."I want to end it," Marcel muttered as he stepped closer to one of the glass cabinets that contained many abandoned test tubes.In Marcel's mind, all the liquids in those tubes were at least expired and could take the life of anyone who drank them.Without thinking, Marcel opened the glass cabinet and took out a small, long tube containing an electric blue liquid."To my parents," Marcel said as his final greeting. "Wherever they are."In one fell swoop, Marcel downed the liquid as he closed his eyes.A second passed without any reaction.Marcel wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, after which he placed the tube he had just taken on the table.A few seconds later, Marcel felt an unusual sensation in his stomach. His stomach felt like a wave had broken and hit his internal organs, making Marcel clutch his stomach tightly, after which he collapsed on the dirty floor with something that seemed to bite every inch of his skin.Marcel made strange noises from his throat, he still thought that it was the sound of his life when he was forced to leave his unstable body.Dad, mum, goodbye. You will never see me again, Marcel said silently before closing his eyes as his body lay on the floor.***"Is that fool still alive?""Shut up, Ciko!""All this is because of you, I told you not to play gangsters!""You shut up, boy... didn't the doctor say he was just poisoned?"Marcel heard the faint sound of a very familiar voice in his ears, the voice sounded so soft as if it came from a distant place."Will he survive?""What do you expect?""If he doesn't survive, it's our loss ....""Ronnie should be responsible for this!""You're noisy ...."Marcel blinked his eyes, and an all-white color instantly entered his vision once he was fully awake.I'm still alive? Marcel thought in disbelief.Impossible! Hadn't he was drunk the expired liquid in the lab?How could he still be alive?"Marcel wake up!" Suddenly, someone screamed and made the whole room noisy."Quickly call father and the doctor!""It's a good thing he's alive, it's a nuisance!"Marcel was still lying because he didn't understand what was happening to him.All he remembered was the last incident in the lab, where Marcel tried to end his own life.Not long after, a man in a white coat appeared and urged people to leave the room where Marcel was."Will he recover, Doctor?" came the voice of Herman, Marcel's father-in-law."I have to check the patient's condition carefully," replied the doctor handling Marcel. "What is certain is that the patient made it through his critical period very impressively, so I will conduct a series of examinations...."Marcel was no longer listening to what the doctor was saying, he was still too confused by the situation that was now unfolding around him."What do you feel, Marcel?" asked Herman after the doctor's explanation was finished.Marcel opened his mouth, but not a word came out."Is there a problem with his esophagus?" Herman asked the doctor standing next to him. "Is that why he can't speak?""We'll keep checking, Sir." The doctor nodded. "It's a miracle that the patient has survived his critical period because the chemical he swallowed was dangerous...."Marcel closed his eyes, hoping that what was unfolding in front of him was just a dream.And he fell back asleep ....Waking up, Marcel was already in the servant's room in the Delvino family residence.Marcel's eyes swept across the room and saw Nana folding clean clothes."Nana ..." called Marcel with a very dry throat.Nana turned her head with a look of shock and disbelief."Thank goodness, Mr Marcel is awake!" she said as she approached Marcel. "I'll get you some hot tea first, Sir ....""Nana, why haven't I ... been buried yet?" asked Marcel, stammering."Buried?" Nana suddenly frowned when she heard Marcel's question. "You're still alive! You're safe, Sir!"Marcel lay still, and Nana left the servant's room almost running."I'm ... alive?" muttered Marcel as he blinked his eyes repeatedly. "How come?"He clearly remembered that he had drank the chemical until it was gone, so there was no way he could have survived.Marcel pinched his arm, and it hurt, not long after he slapped himself repeatedly on the face.And it turned out that he was indeed alive, this wasn't a dream!To Be Continued-Marcel heard the full story from Eli. It turned out that Marcel had been found unconscious that morning by the caretaker, and was immediately taken to hospital because there were no signs of life in his veins."Everyone is already thinking the worst," Eli said with a tense face, as if the incident had just happened yesterday. "Mr Marcel was completely motionless, pale, with his eyes tightly closed ...."Marcel shuddered, why did his story look more gruesome through other people's eyes?"But thankfully Mr Marcel recovered very quickly," Eli continued with an extremely relieved face. "He can even do his usual activities."Marcel, who had just helped the gardener cut down the reeds, nodded vaguely as he rested for a moment. Eli poured two cups of hot tea for him and the gardener, who was still working."Is Mr Marcel still going strong?" asked Mail, the gardener who had been working with Marcel all morning."Still, Sir!" nodded Marcel with a smile."Don't push it, you've been sick." Mail
Marcel walked through the yard in the cold night air. He opened the cellar door and climbed down the stairs to enter the lab.The lights were dimly lit when Marcel entered, the stale air piercing his nose and making him hold back the feeling of sneezing.Marcel wasn't surprised that the air in the lab wasn't very good, since no one had cleaned it since it had been abandoned for a while.The first thing Marcel did was to tidy up the lab, as there were a lot of abandoned tables and equipment, even some of the tubes of various sizes were broken due to not being used for a long time."I'm not sure if I can do it," Marcel grunted with a heavy sigh, he cast his eyes around and his mental state dropped even further as he found the deadlock attacking him in all directions.Who was he going to rebuild this lab with? He was a business graduate who had nothing to do with science.Marcel was pensive for a long time after disposing of the broken tubes. The night was so quiet that even the slightes
Marcel frowned as he watched Venya guide Meru towards a glass cabinet filled with small tubes."What have you been doing here?" Venya asked in a soft tone as she looked at Meru. "Do you know what those tubes are for?"Marcel was silent as he observed Meru's sudden silence and inactivity."I ... my daughter used to accompany me!" said Meru while nodding."I am your daughter," Venya said patiently and compassionately. "We used to do research here together, there was Mr Fabi too ....""No! My daughter is still young, she doesn't understand anything yet!" Meru argued.Marcel continued to observe the interaction between Venya and Meru, after all, the two of them were his only hope of extricating himself from his current situation."My father has been like this since Mr Fabi and Mrs Lana left," Venya said slowly. "Maybe with us resuming this research, who knows, my father could recover?"Marcel was silent for a moment."The problem is that we also need a lot of money to continue the researc
That morning, Marcel helped Nana prepare breakfast for the entire Delvino family. Sweat streamed down his forehead and down the back of his neck while Shirley and the others chatted and ate."Mr Marcel, eat in our room first." Nana whispered when she saw Marcel sitting miserably by the operating washing machine."Later, Nana." Marcel replied in a low voice, he glanced at Shirley who was busy eating the crispy chicken thighs that were served. Not to mention the greedy voice of Ciko, who was busy grinding black pepper beef, which made Herman admonish him to be more polite at the dinner table.Marcel held his stomach, which was sore because he had not been filled with anything, but had been forced to work hard to help with the household chores."I'm so full!" exclaimed Ciko as she reached for a tissue to wipe her lips."Eat more politely next time," Herman said flatly. "After this, mum and dad will attend a meeting with a client from the company that produces the drill ....""I remember
After Ciko was satisfied with humiliating him in front of Nana, Marcel went to the lab on an empty stomach because he didn't want to eat anything the Delvino family gave him anymore.Venya had just finished cleaning Meru's body when Marcel appeared."How did you and your father eat?" Marcel asked curiously. "Do you feel comfortable living here? Do you need to clean the place first ....?""No, it's better like this so that none of the Delvino family members will be interested in entering this lab." Venya shook his head disapprovingly. "The important thing is that there is a place for me and my father to sleep ...."Marcel shrugged and did not insist."Speaking of eating, how was it?" Marcel repeated curiously."Don't worry, we have a formula that if taken can cause a sensation of fullness for the next two-three days." Venya explained."Are you serious?" Marcel was wide-eyed. "How is that possible?"Venya took a breath and replied, "It can't be helped ... we had to live frugally after t
Marcel looked flatly at his brothers-in-law."I don't think this is a good time to torture our brother-in-law," Ronnie commented. "Mum and Dad said that if Marcel doesn't want to eat, we shouldn't force him."Ciko snorted."Gosh, that's what mum used to say to us." She commented. "We don't need to tell mum ....""Huft, boring!" Alvon chided, he was Marcel's brother-in-law who was neutral - never defending Marcel, but also never trying to prevent the abuse from happening in front of his eyes."Ron, today, I'll just tell Marcel to clean up all the leftovers." Shirley intervened. "No more fuss, remember, he almost killed himself yesterday because of you."Marcel wondered why Shirley was defending him this time, though of course that only sparked laughter from the mouths of Ronnie and Ciko."That's just because your husband is mentally weak!" scoffed Ciko. "A real man wouldn't be as weak as him!"Marcel resisted the urge to answer his brother-in-law's insults."Even his life refuses to le
Alvon glanced at one of his brothers."I'm not interested, except for their research on astronomy." He emphasized."Who invited you?" said Ciko, reaching for a tissue to wipe his lips. "How is it, brother?"He turned to Ronnie, who was still enjoying his cup of warm milk."This late at night?" responded Ronnie thoughtfully."It's not night yet, after all, Marcel only has free time right now." Ciko explained. "During the day, he has to be a maid."Ronnie chuckled, while Shirley remained silent. She still held a grudge because Marcel had asked her to eat her siblings' leftovers.In the lab, Marcel watched Venya work."We have to clean up first," Venya said as she checked the supply of vials in the cupboard. "We have to sort out which ones can still be used."Marcel nodded and said, "Which part should I clean? There are still tubes that contain chemicals, and one of them I drank once ....""What?" Venya looked at Marcel with a furrowed brow. "Which one did you drink?"Marcel was silent a
"Here's to that sassy mouth of yours!" exclaimed Ronnie as he smashed Marcel's jaw with his fist. "Argh, bastard!"He cursed as his hand hit something hard."What's wrong, brother?""What's wrong?"Coki and Alvon turned their attention towards Ronnie who was rubbing his knuckles.Marcel himself was confused when suddenly his brother-in-law shouted while he gave no resistance."What did Marcel do to you?" asked Coki in a probing tone. "Why are you in so much pain?"Ronnie didn't answer immediately, especially since he still didn't know exactly what had caused his hand to hit a piece of iron.He was sure that he had hit Marcel's jaw, but why was his brother-in-law standing still?"Answer me, brother! What did you do to Marcel?" asked Ciko urgently."Never mind, let's not talk about it!" replied Ronnie firmly. "Let's leave this place, let them continue their failed research ... and we should prepare to celebrate their failure."Ciko and Alvon looked at each other briefly at their eldest
Breakfast went smoothly that morning, although it was a little late because it was colored by a conversation that they thought was important about Marcel.“You two are sure that the blood test showed the real data, right?” asked Naya, the person who seemed most doubtful about the truth of whether Marcel was a real pharmacist or not.“Of course, Auntie ...”“Sorry, I personally still have doubts about the test.” Marcel interrupted, making Stefi and Lista turn to look at him.“What do you mean by that?” Lista snapped in a low whisper.“What’s going on?” Naya snapped. “How can a pharmacist doubt that he is a pharmacist?”Stefi smiled before responding to her mother’s words.“What’s strange? We have to understand for the time being, it’s natural that Marcelino doesn’t know much, he was raised without knowing anything about medicine.”“It’s okay,” Damian interrupted. “No child is able to remember his entire life journey, so we shouldn’t force Marcel to be able to remember everything in a s
“What’s the matter, Sir?” Ivan asked with his face turning serious again.“Supervise this lab so that Mrs. Venya feels safe while conducting research,” Aldi answered firmly. “We never know when the competition between us and the Delvino family will erupt, especially if Marcel is already there.”Diko narrowed his eyes.“Does that mean Mr. Marcel is on their side?” He confirmed.“It depends,” said Aldi. “But it’s okay, I believe Marcel inherited the talents of both his parents.”“How can you be so sure, Sir?” Ivan asked with a frown.“Because I know Marcel’s father and mother well,” answered Aldi as he continued his steps. “As simple as that.”Diko and Ivan looked at each other than both shrugged not understanding.The first day of living with Lista’s family, Marcel was treated very well. From there he began to worry about Aldi’s stories about the gloom that had occurred in the family.“How did you sleep, Marcel?” said Stefi when she came to visit Marcel’s room with Lista. “I see the se
“Is this valid?” Marcel asked, looking at Lista doubtfully.“What do you mean?” Lista replied offended. “You doubt the ability of our people who checked your blood sample?”Marcel shrugged.“I’m never sure, even if you believe me, that I’m a real pharmacist,” he said slowly. “What I know is that I have lived with my parents since I was little. And they never said that I had talent in the medical field.”Stefi immediately filled the empty seat next to Marcel.“But with the proof of this letter, you must be sure that you are a drug expert.” Stefi intervened. “The person we have been looking for a long time.”“Why should I be that sure?” Marcel asked as he turned to look at Stefi. “I personally don’t really know you guys apart from the news about the Delvino family that is widely circulating.”“Wow, we’re happy that you’ve had the chance to hear about our big family.” Stefi commented. “But from now on you must be sure that the talent for dispensing medicine flows in your veins.”Marcel s
“Don’t talk carelessly,” Herman warned Alvon. “What is clear is that our extended family is not just any family.”It was Shirley’s turn to look at her father with a clueless look.“What kind of family are we, Dad? Nobleman?” Shirley asked, both curious and confused.“A kind of family with high social status,” nodded Herman in a deep voice. “Father had no idea that Marcel was the drug expert we had been looking for... what do you think about this?”Shirley shrugged.“Why don’t we track down Marcel’s parents now?” Reina suggested quickly. “If they’re not surprised, that means Marcel’s true talent has been covered up all this time.”Alvon exchanged glances with Shirley.“If all this isn’t a dream and Marcel is a pharmacist, that means we’ve thrown away the jewel we had all this time.”Shirley sighed.“But he’s stingy with me,” he said curtly. “How come I was only given three million, how can a pharmacist count on giving money to his own wife?”“Watch your words,” Reina reprimanded her fi
Herman looked at Marcel who did not immediately answer his question.“I—they were looking for me, Dad.” Marcel explained because the facts were like that.He never knew about the pharmacist or the Delvino family’s relatives before they appeared after Aldi managed to find them first.“Did you know about this beforehand?” Herman asked again.Marcel shook his head and answered, “The problem is that they recognized me as the medicine expert they were looking for, so I didn’t dare to take any further interest in my past.”Herman then looked at Reina.“But Marcel is our son-in-law,” said Reina, pretending to be understanding. “It’s impossible for you to just take her away, what about our daughter?”Stefi glanced at Marcel and said, “It’s up to Marcel, our business is just coming to take him home.”Marcel knew what Stefi’s gaze meant, he was implicitly telling her to choose.“Is it true that these two are relatives of our family, Dad?” whispered Shirley in a voice they could still hear.“A p
“What’s wrong, Bro?” Marcel asked as he walked down the stairs. He turned his gaze straight towards the sounds he heard.“Mr Marcelino! Sir ...!” call Nana again, she’s not usually like that when she calls members of the Delvino family.“What’s going on, screaming?”“Auntie Nana just made my virtual meeting a mess!”Shirley and Alvon’s voices shouted at each other, making the atmosphere at the Delvino family’s house even more lively.“Why is that Nana?” Reina asked in surprise at Herman who was turning off the laptop.“You just go down and check whether the food is ready.” Herman ordered. “We have to treat Marcel well, so that he can use his energy again.”Reina nodded and quickly came down from the room. He passed Marcel who had already reached the bottom of the stairs.“Marcel!” call Reina.“Yes ma’am?” Marcel stopped in his tracks and turned to his mother-in-law.“What’s all the fuss about like that?” Reina asked as she continued her steps until she arrived in front of Marcel. “Are
Dito could no longer refuse, he still had to be aware of his position in front of Shirley’s father.“Excuse me, Sir.” Dito said goodbye, Shirley immediately held his hand.Marcel looked away, disgusted.“But, yeah. “Don’t believe what Marcel said earlier,” asked Shirley pitifully.“How will father believe when your hands say otherwise?” Herman asked firmly. “Come here, let’s talk nicely.”Dito turned to Shirley and nodded his head, then they were forced to separate when Herman told him to.“I have a work permit, Dad.” Marcel said goodbye because he was not interested in participating in the conversation between father and son.“No, Marcel. You have to come too,” said Herman, shaking his head. “You just sit down first, Mrs. Delvino said you were discharged from the hospital?”Herman joined in the act, although in his heart he was quite amazed that Marcel had managed to escape from the supervision of Lista and his family.“Okay, Dad.” Marcel just nodded, he didn’t want to prolong the pr
“Oh, the people have arrived! “You just ask him directly,” said Shirley, pointing at Marcel with her chin.“What is it?” Marcel asked, embarrassed.“When are you going to pay all your parents’ debts?” Dito asked back in a style like collecting a debt.“My in-laws and I have agreed that I will pay off the debt as soon as I get more money,” Marcel answered flatly. “What’s the matter with you anyway and why should I explain it to you?”Dito suddenly became silent.“Even if my in-laws’ family objected, they should have contacted me directly to discuss this matter further.” Marcel added.“That can’t be the case,” shook Dito’s head. “I am one of Mr. Herman’s office employees, so I have the right to know when your payment will be completed.”Marcel shrugged and replied, “I will contact my in-laws directly if I want to make the payment.”“Why don’t you finish things now, Cel?” asked Shirley interrupting. “You’re so embarrassed that you owe us money.”Marcel threw a warning glance at Shirley.
Shirley’s voice was so loud, Nana even jumped in surprise.“Patience, Madam ... Mr. Marcelino has had an accident ...” said Nana stammeringly.Shirley snorted, her eyes scanned Marcel from head to toe with a probing gaze.“Why are you wearing those clothes?” Shirley asked curtly.“These are clothes from the hospital,” Marcel answered flatly. “I was in care for more than one night, that’s why I didn’t go home ...”“Whose fault is it that you ran away?” Shirley said fiercely.“I didn’t run away, don’t make accusations without evidence!” Marcel replied. “I went to work, then ....”“So what? Have you had a disaster? Robbed? Mugged?” Shirley actually got even crazier. “Old song, Cel! You pretend to be sick, so that I feel sorry for you. Isn’t it? Having a husband like this is such a showman!”Marcel sighed. Timidly, Nana placed a cup of hot tea on the table.“Please drink it first, Sir.”“Thank you, Nana.” Marcel nodded, but Shirley immediately pushed the cup aside until the contents spill