Emery is sulking

"Em, can I come in?" Erza asked with a mischievous smile.

"Don't call me that," Emery said, looking annoyed. He hated being called "Em."

"Em, Er, and El… those are the nicknames mom calls us when we're young," Erza said as she entered the room and sat down on the sofa across from Emery, who was sitting at his desk in front of his laptop. Was he working on office work, or was he thinking about his marital problems? "Aren't you going to the office today?"

Emery sighed. "I'm taking a day off." He glared at his sister for a moment before pressing his fingers impatiently onto the mouse. Then his finger strummed the keyboard like a keyboard warrior. "I'm working from home." Emery was still typing faster, showing Erza he was busy doing office work. The truth is, he was playing PUBG! He has muted the sound.

"Why?" Erza asked.

"I just need some time to myself," Emery said.

"Or are you avoiding someone?" She knew he was not the type of person who liked to work from home, and he had only started doing so since his crisis with Rhea.

"What do you want, Er?" Emery was not in the mood for chit-chat, and his tone was unfriendly when he asked Erza. He hated being disturbed for nothing important, especially when it came to his problems with Rhea.

Erza knew that Emery did not like her being nosy about his problems, but she went straight to the point. "Jane called. She's been asking about you. Jane knows about your problem with Rhea." Jane had apparently spoken to Rhea, and that is why she was bothering him.

Emery heaved a sigh when he heard Jane's name being mentioned. Emery sighed and rubbed his temples. He knew he would have to talk to Jane eventually, but he was not looking forward to it. "That is why I don't want to go to the office. That witch will burn me alive."

Erza chuckled. "Your best friend and your wife are teaming up to defeat you. Oh, and your best friend Jane is also your ex. I wonder what Rhea has up her sleeve?"

Erza's words left Emery speechless. He couldn't believe that Jane and Rhea were plotting something against him. He had always thought Jane would always be on his side, but now he realized she could change sides as simple as that. He didn't know what Rhea was planning by talking to Jane. Since when did Rhea become Jane's acquaintance? Isn't Rhea hate Jane? Whatever it was, he knew he had to be prepared for anything.

He took a deep breath and tried to focus on the task at hand. "I don't have a problem with my ex, okay? So stop bringing it up!" He gave his final words to shut Erza from continuing to blabber.

"But Rhea still thinks you're having affairs with your exes!" Erza said with a slight rise in her voice, ignoring Emery's words just now.

Emery rubbed his temples. He felt a surge of anger and pain as he recalled his wife's affairs. How could she do this to him? How could she betray their marriage with a so-called platonic relationship with her colleague? Even though it is platonic, it is still an affair! He knows that their marriage is loveless. But still, she doesn't have the right to do that.

What if he doesn't poke his nose where it doesn't belongs that day? What if he just ignored Rhea's and Desmond's so-called platonic relationship? It could be worse if he found out about their relationship from someone else, like what happened at Rhea's office a few days ago. If he did not do some digging, Rhea's reputation would be at risk, and so does her career. All her hard work will go down the drain.

"Her platonic relationship… my exes… it's all nonsense, you know!" he cried out, finally standing up. He walked to the balcony door and stared at the blue sky. He wished he could erase the past few days from his memory.

His sister, Erza, was still sitting on the sofa, watching him with concern. She had invited him over for breakfast, hoping to cheer him up after what was happening in his marriage. She had no idea that he was going through such turmoil. She felt sorry for him but was shocked by his wife's behavior.

"Emery, I'm so sorry. I can't believe she would do something like that. How long has this been going on?" she asked softly, trying to sound supportive. She wondered what kind of person would have a platonic affair and what that meant. Was it really harmless, or was there something more?

Knowing Rhea, this news was actually shocking. She has known Rhea since they were young. Their family was closed. They sometimes have a family gathering at their late grandfathers' orchard. When Emery and Rhea were still in elementary school, they used to be good friends. Things started to change after Rhea's grandfather passed. There were no more family gatherings as her grandparents were also getting old and soon passed. She hadn't seen Rhea for years until suddenly, last year, her mother, Eleanor, brought up a marriage proposal between the two families. It's their grandfathers' will, and her mother was ardent to keep the promise.

Emery was against the proposal. At that time, he and Jane just broke up. He has not recovered from the breakups and pushed toward an arranged marriage. Emery tried to reason with their mother but to no avail. Since Emery was a good son to her mother, he finally agreed to accept the marriage to Rhea.

As far as Erza could remember, at that time also, Rhea was a single woman. She does not have a boyfriend or lover. Since the marriage proposal was brought up after her parents' fatal accident, Rhea turned orphan. That was why Eleanor was determined to bring Rhea into their family as her daughter-in-law.

But why now Rhea has such an affair? Does she not love Emery?