The rain poured heavily as a cold breeze whipped through the air. It was evening and they were just little passersby on the lane. A thin, young man, Alexander Sterling in a shabby-looking jacket trudged down the lane as he hid a rose inside his jacket.
It was his wife’s birthday and he had planned to surprise her with a gift. In previous years, he was unable to buy her any gifts because he had no money.He proudly walked into the opulent mansion, as his worn-out shoes stained the clean, tiled floor with dirty mud. He was prepared to do anything to make his wife happy again after so many arguments and problems.Inside the opulent mansion was a crowd of wealthy people in the living room, drinking and dancing roughly with music playing loudly. Alex was a little confused with this.His wife, Bella had texted him about calling a doctor when she had a fever, but she didn't inform him about throwing a party or inviting her wealthy friends.Alex silently walked past the crowd as he didn't want anyone to notice him. Suddenly, a voice yelled from behind. “Alex is here!”Alex stood still. He was a little anxious about what his wife's wealthy friends will say about his poor appearance.A tall man who wore a big top and baggy jeans walked up to Alex, with a bottle of alcohol in his hand. He wrapped his hand around Alex’s neck, squeezing him teasingly as he announced. “Everyone look at him! My poor brother-in-law!”Alex cowered his head at this statement. It was very usual for his brother-in-law, Garrett to insult and embarrass him publicly because of the difference in their status. Everyone there laughed at him as usual, and only after that was Alex able to walk away from the mocking crowd.He softly walked up the stairs as he walked towards his wife’s room with hopes that he would surprise her with his early arrival from his works. When he reached the door, his jaw dropped to the floor as he heard moans and gasps in the room.Alex barged into the room, his eyes widely scanning his wife. His wife, Bella who texted him about having a fever was lying on the bed, moaning at another man's intimate acts with her.Alex could not believe what he had just witnessed. His wife with another man?! His heart shattered at what he had just witnessed as his knees suddenly went weak.He had worked extra hours and had taken extra jobs to buy his wife a good birthday gift this time, but here was his wife, cheating on him without any sense of remorse as she continued moaning."Bella!" Alex bellowed as he jolted his wife from her fantasies. Bella's heart raced at the voice of her husband, as she didn't even notice him before. Hurriedly, she pushed the man above her away while the other man stumbled on the bed. He looked up and when his gaze fell on Alex, he hastily put on his pants before getting off the bed. He appeared muscular, tall, and handsome compared to Alex, who was thin and rough-looking.Bella hurriedly wore her gown as her disheveled hair and the sweat on her forehead showed the intensity of what had just taken place. It pained Alex to see her like this, and before Alex could react, Bella hissed.“I forgot that I had a husband,” Bella spoke, placing a strand of her hair behind her ear.She stopped the other man from going out of the room, and turned to her husband before yawning loudly. "Alex, get us a bottle of wine. As you can see, I'm stressed up already and what I need now is to be a little tipsy with my man."Alex balled his fist, annoyed and ashamed of his wife. His veins throbbed in his neck and he could not even comprehend what his wife had done.Without thinking twice, Bella threw her heels at Alex. The heels hit Alex’s face, which gave cuts and Bella yelled at him. "Alex, it's you I'm talking to! Be useful for once!""I should get going now," the other man whispered."Simon, no" Bella stuttered. The other man, Simon pecked her on the lips and whispered, "Let me go before your poor husband goes crazy."Bella sighed. She nodded and they kissed before hugging each other.At that time, Alex could no longer control his anger. Without any thought, he struck Simon's face, flinging him to the bed, before he pounced on him.“Alex!” Bella yelled, weakly dragging Alex from Simon as she became anxious. With all the strength she could gather, she was finally able to pull Alex from beating Simon.Her heart raced loudly and she sent a hot slap to Alex’s cheek before spitting on him. “Shameless fool!”She rushed back to Simon who was lying on the bed, a bit unconscious and she sat him up. With tears filled in his eyes, Alex gazed at his wife, as he wondered why she was so bothered about the other man and not him. He proposed to her when he had nothing, and she accepted him. So what went wrong?"Apologize to him right away!" Bella ordered.Alex chuckled miserably at his wife's statement as he felt like he was in a nightmare. He had been married to Bella for three years even when he had nothing, and even when her family disagreed with the marriage.Simon groaned as Bella helped him sit up. He glared at Alex from head to toe as he spat at Alex. “Mannerless fool, I can sue you for what you did!”"I'm so sorry, baby," Bella spoke sweetly. She caressed his face as she tried to calm him. “Forget about Alex. He has always been useless.”Simon smiled and he responded. “Why bother about him when I have you?“ Bella chuckled at his statement and she muttered. "I'll go get you some ice, okay?""Alright then," Simon replied and Alex stood still, observing his wife’s attitude. He had never experienced anything like it before, and he didn't know how to react to it.Bella rushed to the kitchen and she dragged Alex with her. The kitchen was silent with the clean floor and cabinets sparkling. It was unlike the living room which had music booming loudly or people drinking and dancing roughly.Bella placed a bag of ice in Alex’s hand and she instructed him quietly. "Give Simon this ice and apologize to him...on your knees."Alex chuckled, a little disappointed at his wife’s response. He assumed she dragged him into the kitchen to explain that what he had seen was a joke but her response almost made him cry. He dropped the ice and looked at his wife. "Bella, please tell me this is a joke.""Joke? No, honey. It's reality," Bella answered, and Alex staggered. "No, this can't be!"He bellowed, "I loved you, Bella! We got married, why would you go ahead and have another man on our matrimonial bed?! Don't you have any sense of loyalty?! I've done so much for you!"Bella coughed, chuckling silently. "So much?” She rolled her eyes as she continued her statement, “Tell me, what have you done? You've never taken me to a cinema, you've never bought me a car, we don't go to the beach! You did nothing!""Bella, I gave you love, attention...and my kidney!"Bella crossed her arms as she fumed. "And what about money? What about jewelry and cars? And about that kidney you talked about, I paid you in return. I gave you this marriage. With three years, a reputation of a son-in-law from a rich family! Is that not enough for any poverty-stricken man?"Alex stayed mute as he understood that his wife was now annoyed. He suddenly recalled how he resolved their arguments in the previous years of their marriage and he decided to try it again.He stepped further, taking away any steps between them, "What has gotten into you, Bella? Did that man threaten you to do all that you did?" Alex spoke calmly, trying to resolve the argument.He expected Bella to turn cold, as she always did, but instead, Bella burst into laughter. "Oh, my dear husband, that man over there is my dream man, a trillionaire to be exact! He loves me a lot, and I love him too!" Bella spoke sweetly with a smile dancing on her lips.Alex's heart sank as her hurtful words cut through him like a knife. "Bella, please stop! You cheated on me.. for money?" he asked, his voice trembling with emotion.Alex had always been underrated by other people because of his status but he did not expect his wife to do the same.His heart yearned for Bella to give him a good response but then, she spat out her retort. "Don't be naive, Alex! You can't expect me to stay with you forever. You are poor, useless, a burden... What else? Oh yeah, you are a pain in the a$$. You can never, and you have never been useful to me or to anyone!"Alex became more pained, but despite her harsh words, he mustered up the courage to present her with the gift he bought, hoping to win back her affection. “But... I brought your birthday gift.”Bella's face lit up with anticipation. She stretched her neck to look at what the gift would be as she assumed it was something very expensive and important.Alex smiled as he noticed her anticipation, then he pulled out a single rose from his jacket. The rose was a beautiful one, but unfortunately, its petals were already stained with mud and they fell off immediately.The smile on Alex's face dropped as the petals fell off. The rose was not as beautiful as he bought it. He looked up at his wife as he scanned her expression.Bella's smile had quickly turned into a scowl. She threw the rose on the ground and spat on it. "Useless fool!" she screamed before storming off in a fit of rage, leaving Alex to be heartbroken and alone.Leaning on the counter, heartbroken Alex thought back on his marriage. He did a delivery job when he was very young before he was able to successfully get admitted into the university. Even after the admission, he had to get different jobs in order to keep paying his university fees and his mother’s medical fees. He and Bella were close friends. He loved her, and he decided to propose to her after he graduated. Luckily, Bella accepted but the marriage was not accepted by her family until Bella pleaded with them. Afterward, the marriage was filled with thorns. Bella’s parents, Mr and Mrs. Vanderbilt kept embarrassing Alex as they never thought of him as a part of their family. Even Bella started despising him too. To keep his marriage intact, Alex went through hell and back, as he also tried to be a good son-in-law to Bella's parents. He borrowed money from loan sharks to buy Bella and Bella’s parents lavish gifts, which left him at the loan shark’s mercy and at risk of physical ha
Alex returned to Bella’s mansion as he pondered about what the doctor told him. He could not even think of how to come up with such an amount of money, hundred of thousands of dollars! Even if he were to borrow money from the loan sharks again, they would only beat him up and maybe sell him this time. He gently pushed the door open as he walked into the living room. The wealthy crowds left the living room in a dirty state. Cups, empty bottles, and trays of food were everywhere on the couch. The music was stopped and some maids were cleaning the living room already. He walked up to Bella’s room, and he sighted Bella all alone, on the sofa with a goblet of wine in her hand. “Bella, Mum is at the hospital and the doctors need some money for treatments.” Alex spoke slowly as he was scared of how Bella would respond. He knew Bella would only give him money if she wanted to post it on her social handles. Bella slowly sips her wine before turning to Alex. “Open the drawer and take as muc
The night sky was aglow with bright city lights as the rain stopped pouring. A Mercedes car sped off into a villa, and it was parked neatly in a spacious garage. Mr. Vanderbilt, the old man alighted from the Mercedes car as he walked gently into his villa with his stick hitting the floor calmly. His mouth agape, he was stunned by Bella, his daughter's presence since she only visited him when he had a meeting with his wealthy business partners. He looked at Bella as he noticed that her hands were wrapped around a pillow and she clutched it towards her chest before sobbing quietly. With what he witnessed, he assumed something bad happened to Bella so he walked towards her to calm her down and to question her for the unnecessary sobs. Mr. Vanderbilt stretched out his hand from his pocket and Bella screamed. “Ah! Dad, didn't you see the camera was on?” Bella yelled, glaring at her father before she glanced at the little camera that was recording what she did. She grabbed the camera then
On a bed with crisp white sheets and a thin pillow under his head, Alex lay there unconsciously as he was in a small, quiet toom. The scars he got from the assailants hitting him were evident, even the scar over his left eye. He had been in a coma for nine months and luckily, the fisherman who rescued him took care of him, along with a country doctor. The silence in the room immediately got broken by the noise of chickens clucking loudly outside the room. Alex stirred from his sleep as the chicken's cluck disturbed his sleep. For the first time in nine months, he opened his eyes and moved his fingers. Finally conscious, he found it difficult to recollect, focus or bring himself to recall how he got to the room. He could not even remember who he was or why he was in a room. He felt like he was a newborn baby that had graduated from college recently. And then, he tried his best to piece two and two, or to remember anything but still, his mind was in a blank state. Confused and scared,
Alex shrank back as Emma glared at him like a mother scolding her son. “You heard what I said, didn't you?” Emma scolded and Alex replied, “Yeah, but you don't need to yell at me like that. I promise you, you will get back to school soon,” Emma smiled and she pats his head slowly, “Better...you can come to check on the chickens and pigs now,” she spoke before turning around to leave the room. “Sure, Mum!” Alex replied sarcastically and Emma turned back, facing Alex with her eyebrows furrowed like the sharp claws of a bird. She opened her mouth to speak, then she stayed mute, crossed her arms, and pouted, “Whatever,” She walked out of the room, a little annoyed while Alex stared at her in surprise. He could not remember anything, but he certainly believed Jack’s explanation after his encounter with Emma. “Funny sister...” Alex muttered to himself as the room became silent. He pushed the bed sheets off his body and he stood up to check the house. He walked gently out of the room an
Stepping off the train, Alex and Emma were welcomed with the blaring of car horns that emitted an unpleasant noise. Slow, sweet melodies mingled with the unpleasant noise as Alex looked up at the street performers. “Finally, we are here, Emma,” Alex cooed and a smile formed on Emma’s face. She eagerly walked away from the train as she sniffed the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. “Hmm, the rich aroma...“ Emma mumbled quietly and Alex chuckled at her dramatic excited self. He turned around to gaze at the crowds on the sidewalk who rushed toward their destination, and he sighted Jack. “We can't continue to stand under this hot sun just for you to admire the city. It's very hot out here, you know?” Jack spoke quickly and Emma looked up at him as she studied his facial expression. He looked tired and sweat dripped from his forehead like it was raining sweat. Emma nodded sweetly and she obeyed him. They continued to walk down the lane until Jack stopped. “Dad, are you alright?” Alex excl
“Great!” the call recipient exclaimed on the other end of the call as his voice brimmed with excitement. He briefly glanced at the glimmering Graff Diamond Hallucination on his wrist as he peeked at the digits displayed.“Rob, meet me at the villa immediately.” The call recipient demanded.“Understood, boss!” The thug’s leader replied before the call ended.Following their leader’s orders, the thugs swiftly reverse their vans as they race toward the luxurious villa, passing by a magnificent water fountain that added a dominating aura to the air.Rob quietly entered the grand villa, as he locked his eyes on the tiled, golden floor with the word ‘REX’ customized on it.“Aren’t you supposed to be here?” A middle-aged man’s shrill voice echoed, shoving Rob to rush toward him.The middle-aged man had brown shoulder-length hair, and he wore an expensive grey suit that fitted his healthy-sized body. His legs were straddled as he sat in a golden wheelchair that was adorned with a large, cust
In a small restaurant near Jack’s new apartment. Alex sat in a peaceful area, far away from the soft music the waitress played. There were only a few patrons in the restaurant, and it was very quiet. With a cup of water placed before Alex, he sipped slowly to bid his time until Jack returned with the apartment key. Without a way to unlock the door or contact Jack, he relied on patience. The rich scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the air as it tickled his senses, but he had no money to afford them. He contented himself with the water he had managed to obtain for free. Amidst the peaceful atmosphere in the restaurant, the door swung open, accompanied by a subtle and luxurious fragrance that enveloped the air. Bella walked in majestically, dressed in an elegant Gucci attire, as her group of female friends followed her closely. They decided to dine at the small restaurant after Bella had deceived them with positive feedback about the restaurant’s food. Deep down, she wanted to avoi