274: INTRODUCTIONS ARIEL’S POV “I am Luke’s wife!” I spoke boldly to this old woman. I had enough already; she was making me sick, and I didn’t want to get this day ruined. Because I was in bliss before she just came out of nowhere. Now I wasn’t craving shit, but if she wanted that, who was I to say no? “You are Luke’s wife,” she repeated my words slowly, giving me a skeptical look. “Yes. What’s the problem? Are you surprised?” “You’re lying.” “What? Why would I want to lie?” “Because you’re a whore, and you don’t want yourself getting the treatment you deserve.” “Okay, that is so fucked up. This has to be the dumbest thing I’ve heard so far. It just doesn’t make any….” I was interrupted the moment she seized my hand and she forcefully dragged me out of the room. She tugged me downstairs, and you want to know the worst part of it all? I still had this towel wrapped around my body, and I felt like it was going to fall down any moment. When we reached the living room, she pushed me to the floor. Some workers were present, having different discussions, but they all stopped them and gave me their attention right away. “Do you people know this woman right here?” the old lady asked loudly, looking around. “I repeat, do any of you know this woman?” They refused to answer, but I could hear the murmur. Good–for–nothing idiots. “You all don’t know. Fine, I’ll tell you. She is a prostitute, and it’s an abomination for her to be present here at my house. Her words were so irritating, and she was annoying herself. Who the hell was this Canon ball? What was her relationship with Luke? It’s obvious she’s family. “Mommy?” I heard Janice’s voice, and I turned around. She was standing with those two little boys who were living with Luke, and they were all staring at me. Janice quickly ran to me, but the canon ball stopped her as she was about to get close. Where do you think you are going, and who are you?” “Let go of me. What are you doing to my Mommy? Why is she on the floor?” “Shut up! Your mother’s a prostitute. Luke really did shit bringing the two of you into this house. That’s so shameful.” “What are you saying?” One of the boys chimed in. The old lady turned to them that very moment. “What did you just say?” Her voice was low and threatening. “We are telling the truth. You are lying by clicking her that.” “Who are these two morons? Don’t you know I’m ten times older than you?” “We don’t care. We won’t let you insult the woman of our big brother.” “Your big brother?” She chuckled. “Is that what you call him?” “Enough!” I spoke harshly, rising from the floor and holding Janice. I looked this woman right in the eyes, and we both glared at each other, and no one was breaking the dark look. any time soon. “I’ve had enough of this nonsense,” I spoke to her coldly. “Then go to hell.” 沖縄 “You go to hell. You are an old woman and so should be giving you respect, but you don’t deserve any.” “How dare you insult me?” “I didn’t even say anything. I’m still trying to hold myself together because I respect elders.” “I don’t need your respect.” “So that means I can throw tohs of insults at you, right?” “You wouldn’t dare,” she uttered slowly, with such intense bitterness. “Whore,” she added. My glare only intensified, and I was burning with rage. My fists were clenched tightly, and I just wanted to give her a hard punch in the face right now. But composure mixed with respect still held me. An elder was still an elder. “Your words mean nothing to me. So if you think I’m going to get hurt by the shit you say you’ll only be making a fool of yourself.” “You dirty whore.” She wanted to slap me, but I seized her hand. “I did not come to this house for this.” I shoved her hand away, still glaring at her. “And don’t be surprised if people don’t respect you. You’re the one who brought it upon yourself. I mean, look at you right now and take a look at everyone present here. They all know you’re just acting crazy. Even the little children can testify.” “Ariel?” Luke’s mom uttered, stepping foot inside the house. “What’s going on here?” The old lady glared at her incontinently. “That’s none of your business.” “It is. Because this is her son’s house,” I reminded her, crossing my arms. “All of you are crazy.” “Not as crazy as you,” I retorted. “Just watch, the both of you. I will make your lives miserable if you two live in this house.” “You don’t have to worry about me. I won’t be staying here,” I told her with a feigned smile. She angrily walked away, and the helpers watching the scene also left. I turned around to Celine. “Who is she?” “She’s Luke’s great–aunt. Her name’s Liliana and she’s the sister of Sir Reynold.” “Wow, how come I’ve never heard about her?” “She left for a very long time. But she just came back all of a sudden.” “Just like how you did.” “Yes,” Celine said under her breath. LUKE’S POV: “I’ve got your schedule for the day ready and some important files for you to go through, took Jack said, handing me a stack of papers. I had arrived at the company minutes ago, some calls for quite a long time, and Jack was the one who welcomed me. I thanked him and made my way to my office, with Jack following closely behind. Just when I settled into my chair, he began briefing me on the projects and meetings I had lined up. “Sir, I also wanted to inform you that we’ve had some people terminate their projects with My heart sank at the news. I knew I had been neglecting my work lately, but I didn’t think it would have such a big impact. “How many?” I asked, dreading the answer. “There are about five major partnerships. It seems like you haven’t been responding to them for the past few weeks,” Jack replied, handing me a file with the details. I sighed, feeling disappointed in myself. I had been so caught up with my personal life that I had neglected my work, and now it was coming back to bite me. “I suggest we contact them and try to salvage the partnerships. They were all very important clients, and losing them would be a huge blow to the company. I nodded, knowing he was right. ‘Call them and set up a meeting. I want to speak with them” Jack reassured me before leaving the room to make the necessary calls. I sat back in my chair, running a hand through my hair. I knew I had to fix this and make things right with those goddamn folks. But Ariel was still on my mind.
