chapter 7

Of course, why would he go home, when I'm not his home anymore.

“Here we are again, overthinking the things that are beyond to happen.” but I couldn't stop thinking about the things that are possible to happen.

In five years of our marriage, I have never been this uncomfortable whenever he was surrounded by women. Just this time when Scarlet came back.

I finished my food on my plate and started to clean the table. I just help the housemaid for a while.

“Miss, maybe you should take a rest for a while. I’ll be the one to do that, it's our job after all.” One of the housemaids told me.

I just smiled at them, and said. “No, let me help you. I’m okay, I can rest after this.” The house maid let me do some stuff.

Then after a few seconds, I felt someone's presence, when I turned my back. I saw a woman who totally hated me and despised me.

“Nope, you can’t rest after that!” In the middle of doing my thing. I heard a familiar voice behind my back.

Her voice is full of authority and demand. A woman behind my back was my mother-in-law.

“Who told you to rest after that?” There was a short, sharp exhale on the other end irritation, impatience, disappointment. I couldn’t tell which hurt more.

“Hello, mom! Are you done eating?” She just looked at me from head to toe, then raised her eyebrows.

“I don't get it, why did my son marry a woman like you? You're too far from Scarlet.” those words pressed against my chest.

Every time she would come here she would always ask me that. She always looks at me like I am the most useless woman on earth.

“Do you need anything? I’ll tell Lucas that you drop here.” I still stand firm and compose. Somehow, I still respect her as my mother in law even if she treated me like a stray cat.

Nope, I never came here for Lucas. I came here to talk to you.” I signaled the house helper to step outside for a moment because we needed to talk privately.

They immediately understood what I meant and they quietly left the area. When they were gone, I pulled the empty chair to let her sit.

“Here’s the tea, mom! This is the best tea in town.”

“Stop the act, Kayla. I don’t want anything. All I want is for you to disappear from my son's life.” My breath suddenly stopped.

“How much do you want? I know all you need is his money.” I let out a heavy sigh.

“Is that really what you see in me? A woman with a long list of intentions? What if I tell you that I love your son? I love him not because he’s rich, but because of who he is in my eyes. And for me, that is what matters, that even money couldn't buy.”

“So you’ve grown that thick-faced, huh? Don’t make things harder for yourself, Kayla. Lucas doesn’t love you. He only married you because you look like Scarlet.” And with that, it felt like a bullet shot straight through my heart.

“Lucas was devastated at that time because he lost Scarlet, and you just happened to be there, so he married you.”

It was as if cold water was poured all over me. A part of what she said was true.

I was there when he was at his lowest.

I was there when he was drunk and broken. And I was there when he almost died in that accident, and I was the one who saved his life.

“I’ll give you a huge amount of money.”

She pulled something from her bag, a checkbook, and wrote something on it.

“Is this enough?” she asked, handing me the check. My eyes instantly widened.

“If you think that’s not enough, then name your price.”

“With all due respect, Ma’am, I can’t accept that kind of money.” I said as I handed it back.

“Your choice. Let’s see how long you’ll endure living in this house because I will do everything to make sure you will be the one begging to leave, to the point you’ll beg my son to let you go.”

“I know this marriage is far from the way I pictured it, but we made a promise at the altar that we would get through this.”

I said, standing my ground. There is no relationship that isn’t tested by time.

Mom has been gone for a while now, and here I am in my room. It's already 9:00 PM in the evening. I already had my dinner alone. No update from him, so I decided to text him.

“What time are you coming home?” but 30 minutes had already passed without any reply, so I decided to open my social media account so I wouldn’t get bored waiting for him.

While scrolling through the site, I saw Scarlet’s post on my news feed. It said, “Thank you for saying yes to spending a wonderful night with me.” That was the caption, and I also saw a picture of a bouquet of tulips. While studying the picture closely, I suddenly noticed something.

The flowers were being held by a man because the hand clearly looked like a man’s hand. Then, when I zoomed it in, I saw a ring that looked exactly like mine.

I don’t want to think that hand belongs to Lucas, but I can't avoid it. I know Lucas' figure very well.

Moments later, Lucas finally replied.

“Don’t wait for me, I’ll spend the night in my office,” he said, and he even sent a picture of himself in the office.

I almost believed that statement when another notification popped up on my phone. I saw Scarlet’s name.

“Have a good night, Kayla. I’ll borrow him for a while.”