Chapter 3 His Wife Has Changed

Albert came out of the bathroom and entered the twins' room. The kids were not there. He looked at the clock and realized that it was nine already. The twins should be sent to kindergarten now.

Then Albert remembered that he was supposed to work the morning shift. He turned to look for his phone.

"Honey, you don't have to go to the hospital. I'll ask for a day off for you. You've drunk so much last night. How can you treat a patient when you can't even move or think nimbly? Listen to me, stay at home today and have a rest. Come here. Have the porridge."

Isabel said as she prepared the porridge and other food.

Seeing that Albert wasn't moving, she stepped forward and pulled him to the table. "You cooked all the time, and all I did was sitting around and enjoying the fruit of your hard work. But you don't have to cook at home from now on. I'll be the one doing it. As for you... You and our babies only need to tell me what you want to have and sit at the table for the food. Now try my cooking."

When Albert wasn't moving, she picked up a spoonful and sent it to his mouth.

Albert didn't have his dinner last night. Coupled with so much liquor, he felt his stomach was churning. The light porridge was what he needed the most. So instead of turning Isabel down, Albert picked up his bowl and said, "I can eat by myself. You're not working today?"

"No. I'll stay with you!"

Sitting across from Albert, Isabel rested her smiling face on her palm and watched Albert in happiness and admiration.

"Why?"

"You know why, and you still asked. You were amazing last night, and I was satisfied and happy. Since I have such a wonderful husband, I must take good care of him! I got nothing important to deal with in the company, so I'm not going there today."

Hearing him, Isabel cast Albert an accusing yet captivating look.

Albert was surprised. In the past, he would be moved at her words and crawled to her immediately with gratitude.

But now, he felt a little sick!

The woman should be equally flirtatious when she was with her secret lover, right?

Seeing that Albert had put down his bowl and spoon, Isabel offered to fetch him some more food. When the man said he was full, she hurried to clean the table and wash the dishes. Then she walked to the living room and sat down next to Albert. She leaned herself against Albert but was pushed away. But she insisted on gluing herself to him and finally got to hold his arm.

Then she said, "Honey, what happened to you last night? Why did you drink so much hard liquor and so many cigarettes? If you hadn't been that amazing last night, I would have called an ambulance for fear that you got alcohol poisoning."

Albert did a double-take. He cast a glance at the three bottles left in the corner. He couldn't believe he had drunk so much.

And three bottles were not enough to knock him out!

Isabel added, "Right, honey, where did you learn it? How could you call me whore last night? I am your wife, and you can't call me that anymore. You should love me!"

"Did I call you whore? I guess! Well, but you are a whore! You've cheated on me, after all!" Albert thought to himself as he rubbed his temples.

"See? You still have a headache. You can't drink that much anymore."

Isabel stood up and massaged his temples.

Since it felt good, Albert didn't shrug her hands off. Isabel was still his woman before he divorced her, so it should be his right to enjoy her service.

He asked, "Weren't you turned on when I called you a whore?"

"A little. But that's not the only reason. The truth was you were so good at it last night and made me so happy. That was the best sex I've ever had. Honey, you are amazing!"

To his surprise, Isabel blushed and nodded.

Albert was stunned. He had taken her like a precious, fragile little prince since the first day they met. He had always treated her with great respect. When they were in bed, all he cared about was her feelings. When she told him she was not comfortable, even if Albert was close to orgasm, he forced himself to stop.

But what did he get in return?

Betrayal!

He felt disappointed again. Did she look down upon him because of his years of patience with her?

It took two to tango.

"Whore!"

Pa!

"Ouch!"

Not expecting the good slap on her bottom, Isabel let out a moan and dropped on Albert's thigh. "Honey, be gentle with me because we still need to head out for lunch. Jessie is about to get engaged, so she invited us out for lunch to ask about the dos and don'ts. After all, we are a married couple already."

Jessie? Jessica Defoe?

Albert quivered. Jessica was one of Isabel's bridesmaids. She and other bridesmaids should be stuck with Isabel on the wedding day. She would have noticed it if Isabel had done anything she shouldn't.

But if Jessica knew about Isabel's secret lover and even covered for Isabel, it would be another story!

Albert asked, "Jessica is getting engaged? What does the soon-to-be fiancé do?"

Isabel answered, "He has a Ph.D. in chemistry at JD University. He has also been abroad for five years for his doctoral degree. He started his career and bought a house in a foreign country. Jessie said that they won't come back from abroad after they get married and spend the honeymoon here."

Albert digested her words. If that was the case, Isabel should have nothing to do with Jessica's boyfriend. He cursed inwardly. 'Why did I care about the relationship between Jessica's boyfriend and Isabel? Isabel is proud and from a good family. She won't even cast a glance at ordinary men.'

'But what about me?'

Something came to Albert's mind. "Babe, I'm asking you a serious question, and you must be honest with me. I had nothing when we met, but why did you want to be with me and even marry me? Don't tell me that you've fallen in love with me at that time. I wasn't good enough for you to love me back then."

"You silly! It's because you were so nice to me. Because you loved me and took good care of me. And you were so handsome. At that time, I was thinking that I'll never be with such a good guy like you, so I decided to be your wife."

Narrowing her eyes, Isabel gave him a warm, soft smile.

'Looks like her secret lover didn't treat her nicely enough. That should be why she didn't feel she was loved. And the guy probably was not as young and good-looking as me, so when a fool like me walked into her world, she decided to hook up with me. Or, maybe the guy's identity has prevented him from marrying her. The guy might be worried that his relationship with her could bring him trouble, so he persuaded Isabel to married a fool like me. And after she got married, they could meet each other secretly because they think I'm too stupid to find out about it. And maybe the lover is too ugly. Maybe the guy had fooled her when Isabel was an innocent teenager, so when Isabel met me, she realized how good it felt to be with me. But if so, why did she sleep with him again? The man she wants to marry doesn't seem to be me. She wants that guy...' The more Albert thought about it, the more nauseous he felt. He pushed Isabel away and rushed to the bathroom.

'No, I can't think more about it! Otherwise, I'm going crazy. Isabel doesn't love me! She is a liar! I have to dig that bastard out as soon as possible and divorce Isabel! I'm ending the torment...' Albert washed his face to calm himself down.

That was when his phone rang. It was his mentor asking Albert why he had a day off. The mentor was an attending doctor, but Isabel had turned to the director of the department. Albert had read the message Isabel sent and knew the excuse was that he had diarrhea. So Albert told his mentor he had eaten something he shouldn't.

"What's the matter?"

"I heard that the Health Department is recruiting. The administrative posts are open. You're qualified for the job, so I think you can give it a try."

"I'll be in the hospital right away. Let's talk in person."

Albert hung up the phone, got changed, and reached for the car key in the hallway. But he went still when he touched it. Then he picked up the key of his electric scooter that had been sitting idle for a long time.

He had bought the scooter with his own money.

When he closed the door, he saw Isabel putting his slippers away. Albert could not help but wonder if she would ask her lover over when Albert was not home.