The Magnificent James Lawrence

Chapter 1 - James the Loser

"You're such a loser!" cursed an old woman, her face completely furious at James Rickon's arrival.

That night, James Rickon had returned from his shift at a small bar on the city's edge. The man with shoulder-length black hair looked exhausted, with a strong odour coming from his body, sweaty from the heavy physical work at the bar.

He arrived at the house where he lived with his wife, Caroline Rosewood. The house didn't belong to the two but to Caroline Rosewood's big family. There were three families living there with their children; only James and Caroline were childless.

The old woman who shouted at James was Madam Margaery, the owner of three large companies under the Rosewood Family. The 74-year-old white-haired woman hated James because he came from an ordinary family, and his work wasn't worthy of the Rosewood Family.

"You are a disgrace to Rosewood. I don't understand why Caroline keeps sticking up for you!" snapped Madam Margaery, pointing at James kneeling resignedly before her.

Not only Madam Margaery but Caroline's two older siblings were standing behind their mother. They worked as the CEO and Finance Director in Rosewood's company, while Caroline worked as General Manager due to her young age.

"If I was Caroline, I would have dumped you on the first night!" moaned Madam Margaery.

James was silent. This had been common for him in the two years since his marriage to Caroline. That night, he was unlucky as he arrived at the front door, so he had to meet Caroline's big family.

The old woman picked up a file, throwing it right in James' face, to his surprise. Madam Margaery told James to open and read aloud the contents of the file she threw.

James' eyes widened violently, never expecting the papers to be divorce letters. Not only papers but a thick-looking brown envelope filled with money to buy James and Caroline's marriage.

"I've added a lot of money to that envelope. You just need to fill out the paperwork and give it to Caroline," Madam Margaery said, unable to bear James' presence in her manor.

"Divorce? I'm not getting divorced from Caroline, no matter how much you pay me!" said James, his tone unintentionally rising to the point that one of Caroline's brothers, Zachary, walked up to James and gave him a hard blow to the face.

He kept it up violently, James tried to evade, but the fatigue in his body failed to dodge every attack from Zachary.

"How dare you speak in such a tone! Do you realize who you're talking to?!" Zachary snapped.

A crushing blow to James' cheek left the man limp with bruises all over his body. Instead of sympathizing, Madam Margaery, who saw the incident, became even more outraged.

"Oh gosh! You stained my floor with your filthy blood," moaned Madam Margaery, pointing at the white marble floor stained with James Rickon's blood.

James picked up his fallen glasses again, staring at his mother-in-law while trying to take a firm seat, "I'm sorry. I refuse your offer."

The man held out the file that had been dirtied by James' blood back to Madam Margaery. The old woman looked disgusted, reluctant to touch the file and preferring to tell her son to take it.

"You're stubborn, just like Caroline!" growled Madam Margaery.

Just when things were getting tense, the door opened to show Caroline arriving in her blazer suit. All eyes were now on her, as well as James, who turned his head and smiled at Caroline, despite the bruises on his face.

"What happened?" asked Caroline, putting her handbag on the table and walking over to her husband.

Caroline's looks were beautiful, a typical fair-skinned European with auburn brown hair. She sat on the floor with both hands rubbing James' injured cheek and the corner of his lip.

"Did you do it again, Zachary?" asked Caroline, her eyes boring into her older brother.

"He deserved it. How dare he speak in such a tone to our mother!" said Zachary.

"You beat him up all the time. Don't you have a heart!" snapped Caroline.

A fight ensued between Madam Margaery's children, upsetting the woman and wanting to leave Caroline and James immediately. In the end, the situation turned favourable. James thanked Caroline for saving him.

"Next time, use the back door. Never come home through the front door," Caroline pleaded, her face looking sad seeing her husband, who continued to be beaten by his big family.

"This is my fault. I'm sorry for making you worry. Next time, I'll be careful."

Caroline smiled. She began to lead James' body to their room for medical treatment. James had never told Caroline about the divorce papers Margaery had given him, something he wanted to hide so that his marriage with Caroline would be fine, even though he had to take endless torment and insults.

***

The next day.

"Did you tell your wife that you would be late?" James' coworker Stephanie asked.

"My phone broke a few days ago. I'm sure she'll be fine once I get home," James replied, putting his work uniform in his locker.

"I hope so. I don't want her to be worried about you," Stephanie said.

"Haha, she's the kindest and caring woman. She definitely understands this," James said, praising his wife's attitude to his coworkers.

"I'm glad you're happy."

The two parted ways as they left the bar. James had earned some extra money, a bonus from his boss, thanks to the overtime he had worked today. On the way home, James bought Caroline's favourite food that night, a medium-sized meat sandwich with mayonnaise sauce. James was sure Caroline would love his present.

From afar, he saw the house where they lived. James remembered the words Caroline had always told him. The man walked roundabout and entered through the house's back door.

"Where are the people?" asked James, confused by the quietness of the house.

As James was leisurely walking in the living room of Caroline's big family home, he faintly heard sighs and romantic words from a room. At first, he thought it was Caroline's brother and his wife, but strangely, the sound was coming from his room with Caroline.

James stopped walking, gulping down his saliva several times to brace his heart. His left hand began to grip the bedroom door handle and opened it slowly, completely unlocked.

James' world seemed to stop for a while, his heart beating fast with a trembling body. He was sure that the woman he loved was being touched by someone else on the bed where he and Caroline were sleeping. What hurt James, even more, was that Caroline seemed to enjoy every gentle touch the other man made on her.

"Wha-What?" whispered James, unable to believe what he saw.

His right hand dropped the sandwich he had bought with his hard-earned money for Caroline. He ran out of the mansion with a heavy heart, like someone was stabbing him cruelly.

"It can't be! Caroline was cheating on me all this time?!" asked James, stopping at a bus stop with his breath catching.

"What should I do? How should I act if I meet her?!"

He continued to wonder and mourn his miserable life story, hated by his wife's big family and betrayed by Caroline, whom James had always loved. It was a depressing night for James.

James sat alone at the bus stop that night, the rain falling so heavily that it was impossible for him to return home. In the middle of his blank reverie, his eyes caught a change in the lenses of the glasses he wore.

[VIP system activated]

[Target detected]

[Good evening, Mr James Lawrence]

[Initiating opening mission file]

Both of James' pupils rounded when his real name appeared on the glasses lenses he wore. The anger and hatred in his heart eased as he recalled why he had to marry Caroline.

"Ah, damn it! Keeping this heart from falling in love for two years is really tough," said James Lawrence; Caroline never knew her husband's real name.

[Opening complete]

[Mission: The Rosewood Family's Corruption and Drug Syndicate]

[Target: Rosewood Family]

[Launch authentication process for all assets]

[Authentication process completed]

[Congratulations!]

[You have complete control of your assets]

James smiled widely. Now, his assets, which had been suspended by his office, were being returned to him. He could use those assets for mission purposes.

[Amount Of Money: Unlimited]

James's eyes narrowed; he never knew he would get such assets. An unlimited amount of money could make him do anything, whether for personal pleasure or mission needs.

[Good evening!]

[I am your personal assistant]

[You can call me Prime]

"Alright, Prime. Show me the file."