Chapter 5 - she was expecting a boyfriend (2/2)

'future?

Is he really determined not to divorce her? How dare he say the word, future?' Jean couldn't take his games anymore. She raised her voice, ”What do you mean, Zed? We agreed on a divorce. You cannot take back your words. You cannot ruin my future. I'm looking forward to getting out of this situation and finding a real boyfriend...” Jean grabbed Zed's arm as she spoke. She was so overwhelmed with the idea of spending the rest of her life with his heartless man that she nearly burst into tears.

”Real boyfriend?” 'She is actually considering looking for a new boyfriend! She must think I have no way to make her suffer more, this abandon is the proof.'

Zed abruptly and forcefully shook off her hands.

Zed squinted at Jean. When she made eye contact with him, she noted the strong warning he was giving her. Then he spoke, ”You are a married woman. If you cheat on me, that will make me a cuckold. I will not stand for something like that. If that happens, you are doomed for sure!”

Jean shuddered at Zed's threat. However, she soon regained control of herself. She cleared her mind, straightened her body, and spoke with authority, ”If you don't want to be a cuckold, then divorce me as soon as possible. I cannot guarantee faithfulness in a fake relationship!”

”Fake? Do you have any proof?” Zed stood and approached Jean threateningly. Soon, his face was just a finger's distance from hers.

Zed didn't have to remind Jean that they had married legally. They had stood before an applicable authority and completed all marriage procedures. They had even consummated their marriage. There was no way left for Jean to claim that their marriage wasn't real.

”Why? Why aren't you honoring the agreement? Why did you change your mind so suddenly? We don't like each other at all, and you have no feelings for me.” Jean was bewildered by Zed's actions. In all this time, she had not been able to come up with a plausible explanation for why he wanted to continue this charade. There was no other way for her to get answers, except to ask Zed. And so she did. She blurted out all her questions. Aware that Zed wouldn't take kindly to her behavior, she was too nervous to look at him. She knew that his eyes would be as deep as the sea and as dark as the night sky.

”I just do what I want.”

Zed turned around and walked toward the bedroom after his careless and less than satisfactory response.

Jean blinked several times as she tried to make sense of what Zed had just said. He was entitled, yes. He was cold and conceited as well. But did he really think that he could play with a human life?

She satirized, ”Of course, you are the big boss, Zed. You have power, you have money, you can do whatever you want!” The anger coursing through Jean left her shaking. She clenched and unclenched her fists several times in an attempt to calm down. However, nothing helped. She whispered curses at Zed's retreating form.

with a clear mind, Jean reached a decision. she dragged out her suitcase and packed a few necessities.

Then she made her way to the Wen house. When she arrived home and opened the door, she saw Shirley, her half-sister, sitting on the sofa and smoking. Jean studied her half-sister. Shirley's face was covered in a thick layer of makeup that made her look hideous. It seemed as though her half-sister hadn't changed in all this time that Jean had been away. Realizing that she had company, Shirley looked up. When she saw Jean, Shirley sneered with disdain, ”Look who's back. Zed must be ruthless for having kicked you out so soon. Perhaps you did something to deserve it?”

Jean ignored Shirley's ridicule and headed for her room. The moment she opened the door, Jean was shocked by what she saw. Her bed was overflowing with delivery boxes of various kinds. As she looked around, she realized that her whole room was a mess!

”The housekeeper will only come tomorrow. I do believe you will have no place to sleep before she comes to clean. Besides, I didn't expect you to return so soon. The sofa is an alternative place to sleep, don't you think so?” Shirley's derisive tone and taunting comments chipped away at Jean's spirit. She turned to face her half-sister only to find Shirley taking a deep drag of her cigarette before casually tapping the ash onto the floor.

”Why do I have to sleep on the sofa? This is my room and you have made this mess. If you do not clean it up, then I will use your room. Perhaps I'll even move this mess to your room when you step out of the house.” Jean tried her best to reason with Shirley.

Annoyed, Shirley threw the burning buŧŧ of the cigarette toward Jean. As a quick reflex, Jean raised her hand to stop the cigarette end from hitting her face. Although she blocked it, she burnt her hand. Jean whimpered as the stinging sensation from the burn shot through her arm.

”Huh, funny! Jean Wen, you just cannot win, can you? It would be best if you realized that nothing, not even a grain of dust in this house, belongs to you. How dare you say this is your room? You must have forgotten how this room happened to be yours. Fine, I will remind you. This room was a hand-out from me to you. Since you are married now, you are not welcome here. And so, there is no room left in this house for you. Just get lost!” Shirley, the foul-mouthed woman, didn't stop there. She went a step further by grabbing the broom resting against the wall. She raised it quickly and whacked Jean with the broom. ”Shoo... Shoo” Shirley said as though driving away a stray dog.

Jean had restrained herself and had been understanding and cooperative right since her father married joy yi. years and years of mockery, beatings and curses had worn Jean down. but now , the pain she felt physically and mentally had engraged her so much that she couldn't bear it anymore. so she caught the broom and yanked it from Shirley's hand.

Shirley had not been expecting such a reaction from Jean. a corner of the broom that had been chipped had scratched on Shirley's plam. she looked at Jean with frightened eyes, still disbelieving that her sister who had been meek, is rising up against her. as Shirley was trying to snatch the broom from Jean she saw her parents walking towards them . she sat on the floor and started to cry, as she was being bullied.