Chapter Three

James sat on the couch, his hands folded together and his jaw rested on the top while he stared into the air deep in thought. It was past 7 a.m., and he had been up the whole night.

A squeaking sound from the door announced another party, but James didn't bother to look. The door opened, and Harper walked into the house holding her heels and handbag in her left hand. 

On seeing James looking haggard in distress, she walked to the couch by the side, and a freshly made burger was sitting on the table before her. She rolled her eyes and snorted angrily. 

“Are you kidding?” She questioned, casting a glare of disdain at him and scoffed.

“How is this supposed to make me feel good? You should be more focused on working on your finances. That's what will make me feel good, not by making breakfasts for me,” she said in a disrespectful tone as she shook her head almost imperceptibly, a gesture that conveyed both resignation and disappointment.

“You should step up and make real money, James. Command wealth, that's what real men do. Not these little gestures you're always on. You know what, I'm tired and I need to rest. You can do whatever you want anyway,” she said, but despite it all, James maintained silence.

She lay on the couch and rested her head while a heavy sigh escaped her lips. As she stared at the ceiling, she noticed his improper behavior and turned in his direction. 

“James? Come give me a massage. I'm so tired, I feel my body aching right now,” she said, and James shifted his gaze toward her.

When their eyes met, she was startled by the coldness in his eyes. Disappointment hung heavy on his features as he stared back at her blankly.

“Are you alright?” She asked, her voice low and unstable. 

James scoffed and adjusted on his seat.

“How could you do that, Harper? How could you be so shameless that you were kissing a man in a public club? A woman who has a husband waiting for her back home. I'm so disappointed,” James spoke up, and Harper swallowed hard. 

The shock was all over her features as she struggled to understand how James got to find out. 

“Uhm… What are you talking about? I was in the office the whole night. How can you ask me such a question? Hold on, are you even spying on me? Like you don't trust me enough?” 

"Well, fuck you, James! Who cares what you think anyway? I told you last night when you called, I only went out to grab a few drinks with my colleagues at work. I stayed all night at the office. If you don't believe a word I say then that's on you. Fucking shrimp!” She yelled at him. 

His eyes widened in sheer disbelief, and his jaw dropped as he marveled at her arrogance, frozen in shock. His brows furrowed in frustration, and his disappointed gaze lingered on the shattered expectations before him.

“Did you just call me a shrimp? Seriously?" He asked, and Harper suddenly went mute. She rolled her eyes over him in disdain but didn't utter a word.

James scoffed and shook his head in disappointment. He turned towards the other side, and Harper flared up, seeing that he had lost interest in the conversation. 

“All I'm saying is that you're a fucking cunt. For God's sake, your wife just returned from work, you should be happy to see her, but here you are, accusing me of infidelity. How dare you?” She roared, her voice echoing across the house. 

Seeing her angry reaction, James went cold. His gaze went blank, filled with sudden disgust as he stared back at her. He grabbed his phone from under the cushion pillows and threw it at her.

The video from last night was displayed on the screen, and Harper saw herself kissing Henry in the club. Her eyes twitched, and a rush of guilt enveloped her. 

“You didn't just cheat on me last night, Harper, you still came home, looked me in the eyes, and denied your actions. You're not even bold enough to be honest with me! I'm so disappointed,” he said, and she raised her shoulders ignorantly. 

“Well, I'm disappointed in you too. Are you gonna blame me for being with a man like Henry? I mean look at you, James. You're a riffraff. You should be happy that I married a man like you because it's a stain on my legacy.”

“What do you have to offer me? Nothing! You're just a broke asshole who was privileged enough to be my husband. So yes, I had a moment with Henry last night. Isn't that what you want to hear?” 

She yelled back at him, trying to pick a quarrel, and James couldn't believe it.

He stared at her, wondering how long this had been going on. Immediately, the door opened and Mrs. Georgina Williams walked into the sitting room with a little shopping bag. 

On seeing the two, she sensed something unusual, and she turned towards James.

“What's going on here?" She asked, her voice calm and direct. James let out a deep breath and wiped his face with his palms. His eyes had gone red, a visible sign of the deep emotional pain he felt. 

He picked up the phone and handed it over to Mrs. Georgina without uttering a word. After watching the video in silence, she directed her gaze to Harper, who quickly looked down on the floor to escape her guilt. 

“So that's all? Is that why you're looking haggard by this time of the morning?” Georgina asked, and James raised his brow, following her statement.

"Oh come on! You weren't expecting your wife to be committed to you, were you? How can you expect that when you've not laid your pillow properly? You're broke, no real job. Which woman wants to be with a broke man? Come on James, it's time to face reality. Besides, you should be glad that at a point in your life, you married a woman of her class.”

Mrs. Georgina said and gave a disdainful snort, a sound that conveyed her utter contempt for him.

James furrowed his brow, his eyes fell, a subtle but unmistakable expression of disappointment clouding his gaze. He gritted his teeth, jaw clenched, as he fought to mask the pain etched across his face.

“How could you say such a thing? What kind of a mother are you? How can you be in support of your daughter running around like a whore?” James questioned, his voice loud and filled with so much pain. 

Harper was quick to swing into action, casting a glare of scorn towards him. Her eyes were filled with so much hatred as she glared at him.

“You have no right to call me a whore! You ungrateful asshole. Everything I have done is for you. I leave this house every morning and I work by myself day and night just to provide for this family.”

“What about you, James? What do you do? You're just a delivery man who makes little money for a living. You can't even feed yourself. Everything you are today is because of me. Yet, you dare to call me a whore? You crazy piece of shit!” 

James was quiet, his gaze fixated on her as she boiled out in rage.

If only she had known that everything she said was the other way around.

***

James was the owner and chairman of Turbo Caramel Company and many other industries across the country. In a quest to find true love after so many failed relationships, he secretly went undercover and pretended to be a poor delivery man.

He married Harper, who was a mere employee in the Turbo Caramel Company at that time. His true identity was a secret known to him Rosalind and a few other friends of his. 

After their marriage, James instructed Rosalind, who posed as the chairman to keep promoting Harper. 

Just as James had instructed, Harper was appointed the manager of the company. She wasn't clear on the sudden promotion, but she believed that she was working hard enough to please Rosalind. 

Over the past few months, her newly found position made her rich and influential, so she became friends with several business Moguls around the globe.

***

In a moment of rage, Harper swung a slap across James's face, leaving him in total shock as he stared at her perplexed, and his mouth opened agape. 

He couldn't believe it. His eyes met her furious glare, and a chilling wind swam through his system and settled on his spine.

“Did you just slap me?" He asked, and she snorted.

"Yes I did, and I'll do it over again, you fucking cunt.” 

Just as she said, she cast a contemptuous glare at him and reached for his face, but this time, James evaded her fist by stepping backward. She lost balance and staggered forward, and in return, he slapped her straight to the face, dropping her to the ground.

An immediate silence filled the room. Harper raised her face and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears. Her gaze lingered all over him as she slowly stood to her feet with fear all over her eyes.

She had never seen this side of him. Mrs. Georgina Williams rushed to help her. She turned to James with anger, but seeing the rage in his eyes, she couldn't utter a word. She pulled Harper backward while staring at James in shock. 

Given the situation, James inhaled deeply to control his rush of anger. 

He shook his head disappointedly and walked out of the door, while Harper and her Mom stared at his back in silence like they hadn't recovered from the shock.