001
Vaughn Fell silent for a moment after Noelle's office door swung open. A man, around 27 years old, was casually seated on the sofa next to his wife, his left arm draped over jasmin's shoulder as if whispering something into her ear.
The man was dressed in a light brown Armani collection ensemble,donned with matching brown dress shoes. His attire appeared impeccably coordinated.
Circling his wrist was a luxurious bremont watch, seemingly valued at around $ 2000.
Adorning his ring finger was a sizeable well-crafted ring, resembling the DGH 5735, estimated to cost between 5 to 15 million or more.
"Noelle, what are you doing? who is this man?' Vaughn asked in a panic.
"Hey...hey...hey... what do you think you're doing? How dare you storm into this room.
Get out!" the well dressed man thundered back angrily.
"And who are you?
"who am i? Damn it! Noelle and I were just enjoying ourselves, and then you come barging in," he added scornfully.
"Vaughn! Good timing, Meet Mr. Vincent, my future husband. Once we're divorced, I'll marry him," Noelle interjected confidently, showing no signs of remorse.
"When did I ever say I'd divorce you? Never!" Vaughn retorted, glancing over at Vincent.
"Get out of my wife's office! She is lawfully married to me. How dare you touch her," Vaughn argued with clenched fists, taking little steps toward the man who was holding his wife.
Slap!
Suddenly, the sound of a slap echoed sharply in the room, accompanied by a grimming face trying to bear the pain.
Indeed, Vaughn had been slapped by his own wife, in front of a man who deserved respect, He was shocked that Noelle could do this for someone else.
"You lowlife scum, you don't deserve to raise a hand to Mr. Vincent!"
Now leave! we'll sort this out at home. Go!" Noelle commanded harshly, shoving him, causing him to stumble backward, and then...
Splash!
A glass of red wine was poured over Vaughn's head, drenching his hair and partially soaking his clothes.
Upon absorbing the wine, he rose and approached Mr. Vincent, grabbed his clothes firmly, and suddenly...
Thud!
The sound of a raw punch resonated clearly, striking Mr. Vincent squarely in the face, unexpected by him, with a trickle of fresh blood seeping from his mouth.
Mr. Vincent, wincing in pain, attempted a retaliatory strike, reaching for Vaughn's shabby clothing, but Vaughn dodged and once again delivered a solid punch to Mr. Vincent's stomach, causing him to double over and kneel on the floor.
"Vaughn! What have you done? Don't you realize, Mr. Vincent Is a manager at Velmore Group?"
"With just a word from him, you could be finished. Get down on your knees and apologize to him!" Noelle screamed in fear.
"Pah!"
"This bastard doesn't deserve any respect, and...
"Thud!
"Argh!"
Once more, Vaughn assaultec Mr. Vincent, kicking his body so fiercely he crashed into a glass table behind him, shateering it.
"How dare you strike me? Don't you know who I am?"
" I have power at Velmore Group! You will pay for this!" he yelled, trying to rise from the floor.
"Mr. Vincent! please forgive my foolish husband. I promise, I'll divorce him for you," Noelle pleaded to Mr. Vincent, even more frightened.
Meanwhile, Vaughn's fury surged, observing how his wife lavished attention to another man, something he had never received during their years of marriage.
"Noelle! How could you! I am your husband, show me some respect," Vaughn shouted angrily.
"Husband? Respect?"
"When did you start claiming to be a husband, when you still mooch off my family, working just to eat at my house.
That's what you call a husband?"
"What have I gained from marrying you?
Nothing but mockery and scorn from
people and my own family!"
"Do you, a wretched loser and parasite,
deserve to be called a husband?"
"You're better described as a guard dog,
living off scraps thrown away. You are a
dog, get it?"
"Now get out of here! I'm sick of looking at
your dog-like face," Noelle said
emotionally, unleashing her frustration as
she pointed fingers at Vaughn.
Her anger was further fueled by Vaughn's
provocation of Mr. Vincent and the audacity to strike him, jeopardizing her chance to gain
Mr. Vincent's favor because of Vaughn's rough treatment.
"Puh!" Noelle spat toward Vaughn, hitting his face directly.
For a moment, Vaughn was in disbelief. His
cherished wife, whom he truly loved and
always protected, had performed such a
disgraceful act.
With feelings of disgust and humiliation,
Vaughn wiped away Noelle's spit with his
sleeve before saying...
"Fine. I'll leave and not interfere with your
fun any longer. But remember! You'll regret
this humiliation!"
"Regret? Ha! Ha! Ha!"
"You, a vagrant, dare talk of regret to a
daughter of the Harrington family. Dream on," Noelle declared, laughing mockingly. She then approached Mr. Vincent, hugged him,and started to dust off his expensive garb.
Viewing this scene, deep down, Vaughn felt an urge to throw another punch at both Mr.
Vincent and Noelle.
Yet he chose to walk away from the room,
heart aching profoundly. The food he had
been carrying all along, he threw into a
nearby waste basket.
Dejectedly, Vaughn left the office grounds
where his wife worked, without a clue as to
where he was headed.
His thoughts and focus scattered, he
accidentally bumped into a slender figure
passing by, and..
Crash!
"Aaahhh," a young woman's voice exclaimed as her body was struck by Vaughn, spreading the contents of her folder across the floor.
"Hey... watch out! Why are you walking
around in a daze?" a soft voice reproached
Vaughn once she regained composure.
Vaughn had came back to his senses and
recognized the familiar face from their
college days.
"Skylar!" he greeted warmly, removing the
cap that was perched on his head.
"Vaughn! So it is you? What are you doing
here? Do you work at Velmore Group too?"
Skylar bombarded him with questions, taken
aback.
"I'm sorry for bumping into you earlier. It
was an accident" Vaughn replied, bypassing
Skylar's earlier questions.
"Never mind. I wasn't paying attention
either. Anyway, what are you doing at this
Velmore Group subsidiary?"
"Nothing! l just wanted to deliver lunch to
my wife." He answered dispiritedly and
despondently.
"You're married?" Skylar probed curiously.
"Yes! I've been donning the title of husband
for a year now, to a woman from the Harrington family" he revealed.
"Why didn't you invite me? Or at least your
other friends?" Skylar continued, failing to
grasp the situation.
"Let's drop it. Better not to talk about it
anymore," Vaughn cut off, lacking enthusiasm.
Skylar, as an astute woman, sensed that
there was something off about Vaughn's story but chose to steer the conversation in a different direction to dispel the awkwardness.
"Oh, Vaughn. What have you been up to since graduating?"
"After graduation, it's like our friends lost
touch with you. What really happened?"
Skylar inquired, lightening the mood.
"It's a long story' Vaughn replied briefly.
"Then tell it! I happen to be free right now.
I've just lost my job after being fired by
manager Noelle for uncovering embezzlement at Velmore Group."
"What! You got fired for exposing
embezzlement by your manager?"
"Know this! The manager Noelle you just
mentioned is my wife, and she kicked me
out of there just now" Vaughn interjected with emotion.
"Oh, I apologize. I didn't mean to insult her.
Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. Right now, I'm indeed
her husband, but soon I'll be her ex"
"What do you mean? lsn't Miss Noelle
beautiful? Why would you want to be her
ex?" Skylar asked, not understanding.
"Again, it's a long tale. I can't tell it all here.!"
"Then let's go to the bamboo cafe just a
short distance from here."
"Are you sure you want to take me there?"
queried Vaughn incredulously.
"Why not? Don't you want to?" Skylar
responded by returning the question.
"It's not that. I'm just surprised at how kind
you are to me, even knowing my situation,
Vaughn answered nervously.
"To me, you were, are, and always will be
one of my best friends!" Skylar declared.
"I still remember when you bravely saved
me from the bullying, and wrongdoings of our college mates back then."
"Without you, who knows what might have
happened to me' Skylar recalled sadly.
"Come on! Are you coming or not?