CHAPTER 1

"Where the hell is my rent, Jeremiah?!"

Inside the poorly furnished living room of a one-bedroom apartment, the elderly landlord and his son glared at a young man who had tape, ribbons, and pieces of popped balloons all over his body.

"But, Mister Owens, my rent hasn't expired yet and you know that. I still have a week until I have to renew, so why are you hassling me for it like this?" Jeremiah Garrick said with a confused look on his face.

The landlord frowned.

"Did you forget that I gave you a one-week extension when you didn't have the money on time last month? That extension means that you owe me a week and I'm deducting it from the one you have left which means your rent expires today!"

Jeremiah's eyes widened.

"That's not fair! You can't just decide to do something like that without first informing me about it. Even if my wife and I go around town and start begging everyone we see, it'll be impossible to make the rent within the amount of time you're giving me" Jeremiah complained and the landlord sneered at him.

"Do I look like I care about your useless complaints? I own this place and I can do whatever I want." The landlord said and Jeremiah gulped.

"For your information, the price of rent has doubled, so if you know that you won't be able to pay it by tomorrow morning, use this night to pack your things and get out of my house before I come back because anything I see will be thrown away" The landlord warned.

Jeremiah went on his knees.

"Please, Mister Owen, I'm begging you to be considerate. Today is my one-year wedding anniversary and I've used most of my money to decorate the house and get a gift for my wife. Can't you find it in your heart to give me till next week to gather up your—" Jeremiah pleaded but was cut off.

"Listen here, you punk! My father has already told you what to do, so don't make him repeat himself. You either get the rent by tomorrow morning or pack your stuff and get lost! This is a business and not a charity!" said the landlord's son.

"You heard my son. Now, decide what you're going to do between now and tomorrow because the next time I come here I won't be so nice" the landlord said then left with his son.

Jeremiah was speechless. It was already night time so how would he be able to gather enough money to pay the rent the next morning? It was just impossible.

What makes it worse is that it was his one-year anniversary celebration, so how could act happy and cheerful in front of his wife when the threat of being kicked out the next morning was stuck in his mind?

Even telling her what the landlord told him would ruin the mood and he didn't want that.

"What do I do now?" Jeremiah asked himself. "Is there even anybody I can ask to borrow from?"

Jeremiah was the only child to a late father and a mother who had been in the hospital since he was little, so besides his wife and her family, he was all alone.

From paying his mother's hospital bills that had accumulated over the years to carrying out his duties as a husband, Jeremiah hardly had any savings he could reach into in emergencies like these.

As Jeremiah wondered what to do, his phone on the couch started ringing.

He stood up and went to check who the caller was.

It was his best friend and best man on his wedding day, Daniel Hendricks, calling.

Daniel had just created a family of his own with his long-time girlfriend and the twin boys she recently gave birth to, so he wasn't financially buoyant enough to lend Jeremiah any cash, and knowing this, Jeremiah didn't even attempt to ask.

Jeremiah took a deep breath, prepared to act like he was in a good mood then he answered the call and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello, Dan—"

["Congratulations bro!"]

Jeremiah grimaced in confusion.

"Congratulations? What are you congratulating me for?"

["On winning the lottery of course. What else could it possibly be? Wait, did you think I wouldn't find out?"] Daniel laughed.

Jeremiah was still confused about what he was talking about.

"I'm sorry Daniel but I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. What lottery?"

["Come on, bro. Why are you trying to lie to me, your best friend since high school? I saw the super expensive car you bought your wife and you even went as far as getting her a chauffeur to drive her around since she doesn't know how to drive herself. Why didn't you tell me all this time that you were loaded?"]

Jeremiah frowned.

"A super expensive car and a chauffeur? What nonsense are you talking about this night?"

["Again with the lies? Bro, I saw your wife coming out of a very expensive car and wearing a very expensive designer gown and jewelry. Are you going to deny that you didn't get them for her?"]

Jeremiah chuckled.

"Now I know you're joking. My wife is on a late night shift at work and when she's done she will come home for our one-year anniversary. Are you sure you're not mistaken and saw someone else that looks like her?"

["What do you take me for, bro? How many times have I visited your house that I wouldn't be able to know your wife when I see her? Are you sure she's at her workplace like you said and not somewhere else?"]

"What are you talking about? Of course, she is at her workplace. You know what, I'll prove it to you right now. I'll check her location on my phone and it'll show me that she's in her—" Jeremiah froze.

["Bro, what is it?"] Daniel asked.

With trembling hands, as he stared at his phone's screen, Jeremiah replied "It says that her phone's location has been turned off. I can't find her on the find-my-partner app"

Daniel groaned.

["That's strange. Has something like that ever happened before?"]

Jeremiah shook his head.

"No. This has never happened before. We both share our locations for security purposes so this is extremely weird. Wait, where did you say you saw her again?"

["At the Ludwig resort where you work part-time. I thought that both of you wanted to have your anniversary celebration there now that you're loaded and can afford how expensive it is but I guess I was wrong"]

Jeremiah grimaced in confusion.

"That doesn't make sense," he said

["Why doesn't it?"]

"Because I was fired from there this morning and she was the first person I told about it. Why on earth would she be there when she knows I no longer work there?"

["I don't know, bro, but what are you going to do?"]

"The only thing I can do and that is to go there and find out," Jeremiah said then ended the call and rushed out of the house.

He went straight to the Ludwig resort where he was able to go in without any interruptions because he used to work there as one of the many security guards before he was fired.

He gave a really good description of his wife to some of the workers as he asked if they had seen her around and they directed him to the VIP wing of the resort.

Jeremiah went over there and continued his search then just when he was starting to lose faith in what Daniel had said, from the distance, he heard something very alarming.

It was a familiar voice and it was coming from one of the VIP rooms.

Jeremiah went closer and listened some more.

"There's no doubt about it. That's her voice" he jolted as he looked at the door with bewilderment.

He wanted to ignore what he was hearing but something told him that he should at least check if his wife was really behind the door or not, so he opened it and what he saw shattered his heart.

Jeremiah saw the love of his life and wife of one year in bed with another man.