Chapter 2 Ruthless

The large clock in the living room kept chiming. Until twelve o'clock, the big clock made a loud sound indicating that midnight had begun. If usually many people have slept soundly in their rooms, it is different with Aleta who is currently still seen pacing in the living room.

She repeatedly looked at the front door as if she was waiting for someone to come.

Foolish it is, indeed. Just this morning she had said fervently that she would not interfere with that man's life. But what now? Instead, she looked very worried when her husband didn't come home.

In the gloomy living room, Aleta was still pacing back and forth with a worried look. Somehow she had to feel this way about a person who didn't think she existed anyway. She would rather just sleep in her room quietly.

Wasn't he the one who told her to stay out of his personal life? But, why is she like this now? What's wrong with her?

"This is really weird. Why should I care about him? But, it's really late. Why isn't that guy home yet, anyway? Maybe he's working late at the office? Or maybe he went out with another woman?" Aleta muttered.

Aleta let out a harsh sigh. "I'd rather go to bed in my room than wait around like this," Aleta muttered as she walked up the stairs.

However, it wasn't long before her footsteps climbed the third flight of stairs. For some reason, her heart wavered from waiting for her husband to return home. Is this how a wife feels when her husband doesn't come home?

Aleta walked back to the living room and sat there. She bit her finger to think whether she should just go to bed or wait for Ansel to come home.

"I'll just wait for another hour. If he hasn't come yet. I'll go to my room and sleep," Aleta muttered.

However, because of her heavy sleepiness. She slowly began to close her eyes.

***

The sound of music thumped loudly. Disco lights flickered along with the agile bodies of people dancing in a crowded club. Women in sexy outfits flocked to the club. The bustling situation in the center of the club room was unlike the situation in one of the rooms that looked less crowded than outside.

In the room, four handsome men were seen enjoying the drinks in front of them. The three men were seen together with the woman they hired. However, it is different from a man who looks only alone.

"It's a wonder Young Master Desmond doesn't want company," quipped a man with blond hair, Vincent Radi Wyman.

"Hey, Vincent. Don't be like that. This young master is already married. That's why he doesn't want to play with women other than his own wife," chided a man with cat eyes, Rafael Noman Xavier.

"Both of you, please. Don't keep bothering Ansel," Bagas interrupted.

Meanwhile, the person being talked about just silently took a sip of the drink in his hand. The three friends looked at him in confusion.

"Are you thinking about your wife?" asked Bagas suddenly.

Suddenly Ansel widened his eyes when he heard the question thrown at him. "What?! Don't be silly, Bagas. I'm thinking about her? Tsk, I haven't thought about that woman for a second," Ansel denied. Ansel then got up from his seat. Making the three men immediately look at him.

"Where are you going, Ansel?" asked Rafael.

"Out," Ansel replied coldly as he left the room.

The three men stared at each other, especially Vincent and Rafael who were quite surprised. Seconds later, they clapped loudly. They knew what Ansel meant by coming out was that he wanted to hire a woman and take her to bed.

"Well, that's Young Master Desmond!" said Vincent.

"You're right. I had thought that Ansel was suffering from an illness so he didn't want to be approached by women," said Rafael.

Bagas just kept quiet. He knew very well that Ansel was just trying to avoid his question. Of Ansel's three friends, he was the one who knew Ansel best, because he and Ansel had known each other since they were children.

Outside the room, Ansel is walking towards a room he has booked. He opened the room and saw the woman he had hired. The woman was quite beautiful, especially since her body was clearly visible with the lingerie she was wearing. The lingerie looked so transparent that it showed her underwear.

The woman walked with quick steps towards Ansel. She gave Ansel a seductive look. "I did not expect to be used by Young Master Desmond. Even if I don't get paid, I will still do it. Young Master Desmond is my dream," she said while sensuously stroking Ansel's chest.

Unfortunately, it could not make Ansel horny. Even when the woman was completely naked in front of him, it could not arouse Ansel's lust. For some reason he suddenly saw the woman in front of him as Aleta. That made Ansel confused. He shook his head quickly.

"Young Master, what's wrong with you?"

The woman held Ansel's chest again. Ansel opened his eyes. He showed a surprised look when the person in front of him this time was really Aleta.

"Aleta?" called Ansel.

The woman looked confused at Ansel. Why did she suddenly mention another woman's name?

Ansel walked up to her. Just as he was about to kiss her, Aleta's face suddenly appeared in front of him. He immediately pushed her body away and walked away.

"Young Master! Where are you going?"

Ansel ignored her. He just threw a large sum of money at her and got out of there.

Ansel walked into his car. His mind was a mess right now. How could he have seen Aleta's face earlier? Even more curious, why did he suddenly get aroused when he saw Aleta's face?

"Akh! It is crazy! Really really crazy. I seem to have lost my mind at the moment. Is it maybe because I drank too much? How can I see that substitute girl's face in front of me?" muttered Ansel with a face full of anger.

He shook his head to wake herself up. He didn't intend to go home at this time. He didn't want to meet Aleta. He don't know, his feelings became chaotic when he met Aleta. He was very angry to see her. But, for some reason he also wanted to see her face. He really didn't understand what was going on.

He was currently driving his car to his house. Ansel parked his car and immediately entered his house. Of course, he had a spare key to his house, so he didn't need to press the bell to enter. As he entered his house, his steps suddenly stopped. Ansel's gaze was straight ahead.

Precisely in the direction of a woman who was lying soundly on the living room sofa.

For some reason, he became fixated on her. His feet didn't seem to want to move from there. He kept looking longingly at the face of the woman who was sleeping peacefully.

Ansel gulped his saliva with difficulty. A feeling that was hard to define suddenly urged him.

"What happened to me? Why am I like this just because of that woman?"

***

Ansel was still silent in his place. He walked over to the woman who was sleeping on the living room sofa. He turned his face down and flicked her hair. This revealed the beautiful face of Aleta who was sleeping.

A lopsided smile appeared on his face. He chuckled quietly. "Tsk, does she think I'll sympathize with her by doing this? I'm even more annoyed with you. You're deliberately doing all this just to get attention from me. But I won't care about that. You have to suffer for your choices," Ansel hissed.

He straightened up and walked away from Aleta who was still sleeping there. In fact, there was no desire from the man to move Aleta to her room. Of course, his answer was that he didn't care about that at all.

Ansel preferred to clean his body because his body and mind were very tired at the moment. After cleaning his body, he went to rest his body. When he tried to close his eyes, his eyes suddenly opened again. Somehow his mind drifted back to Aleta who was sleeping outside.

"Akh! Why should I think about that woman? I'd better get some sleep now. I'm so tired right now," muttered Ansel, who preferred to focus on resting his body.

***

"Hmm. Ah, my body hurts," complained Aleta who had just woken up from her sleep.

She was quite surprised when she woke up on the living room sofa. She looked at the clock which showed five in the morning. "How could I fall asleep when he's not home yet?" Aleta muttered.

She held her waist, which was quite sore from falling asleep on the sofa. Her body was already quite fresh as she had cleaned her body. After wearing her clothes, Aleta walked out of her room and down the stairs to the kitchen. When she got to the kitchen, she saw a maid she already knew.

"Morning Aunt Nani!" greeted Aleta.

The middle-aged woman turned her face and smiled broadly at Aleta. "Morning to you too, madame!" greeted Aunt Nani back.

"Auntie, I told you not to call me madame. I'm not used to it," Aleta complained.

Aunt Nani chuckled softly at Aleta's protesting tone. "I can't do that. You are Young Master's wife. That's what I'm supposed to call you like this, isn't it," Aunt Nani chimed in.

"Well, you calls me madame when there are people around. But if we're alone, just call me Aleta. I don't want to be too formal," Aleta replied.

"Alright Aleta! I'm understands," Aunt Nani replies back..

The two immediately laughed together. "Oh yeah, Auntie. Can I ask you a question?" Aleta asked.

"What, just ask," replied Aunt Nani.

"Hmm, does Ansel really not like breakfast?" Aleta asked cautiously.

"Not really. Young Master usually only drinks coffee and usually only eats a piece of bread," replied Aunt Nani.

Aleta was somewhat surprised to hear that. "Isn't it not very good to drink coffee in the morning? Especially since she drinks black coffee," Aleta said.

"I has offered to make something else. But he didn't want to," replied Aunt Nani.

Aleta made a thinking face. "I'll make Ansel breakfast," Aleta said.

Aunt Nani looked stunned by what Aleta had said. "You'd better not Aleta. I don't want you to get angry with him. He has a bad temper," said Aunt Nani who wanted to stop Aleta from making breakfast for Ansel.

Aleta shook her head softly. "It's okay, Auntie. It's my role as his wife. By the way, is he home yet?" asked Aleta, who had just remembered that she hadn't seen Ansel earlier.

"Young Master is home, Aleta. You saw him come into the room last night," replied Aunt Nani.

Aleta felt a lump in her chest. That meant Ansel should have seen her asleep in the living room that night. But, he had no mercy to lift her to his room.

Why would I think that? Besides, he didn't think much of me in the first place. It's okay, Aleta. You have to bear with it ~ Aleta thought

Aleta started cooking for her husband. She didn't know if Ansel would accept it or not. The important thing was that she had done her part as a wife.

She made breakfast of fried rice for her husband. When she was done, she carried the food to the dining table. Just as she put the food on the table, there was the sound of loafers walking down the stairs.

Aleta looked at her husband, who was already neatly dressed in a navy blue suit. Still, he had a flat face. Ansel walked over to the dining table where he frowned at the food on the table.

"I-I made breakfast for you," Aleta said.

Ansel immediately looked at Aleta who was staring at him nervously. He let out a rough breath.

"Don't you remember what I said yesterday?" asked Ansel in an emphasized tone.

"I-It was...."

"I told you that I don't need your attention. I don't care what you do. I warned you not to bother me. Is that not clear enough in your ears? I think you need to see an ENT doctor to check your ears," Ansel sarcastically glared.

Aleta was quite stunned by the sharp tone. But she could not give up.

"I made breakfast for you because it's my wifely duty. And I...."

"What did you say?! Wife?!" cut in Ansel which made Aleta stare at him in confusion.

"Y-Yes"

Ansel laughed out loud. Or rather, he laughed dismissively.

"Are you stupid or senile? Since when did I consider you as my wife? Gosh, you don't deserve to be with me at all. You want to know why? I don't like little girls like you. I also don't like someone who accepts whatever is done to them. So, from now on, stay out of my life. And this," Ansel explained as he picked up the plate of fried rice.

Aleta wondered what Ansel would do with the food he had made. Ansel walked over to the wastebasket and threw all the food into it. Suddenly it made Aleta widen her eyes to see what the man was doing.

"W-Why did you throw it away?" asked Aleta.

Ansel turned to look at Aleta. He stood in front of her and looked at her coldly. "Do you want to know why?" asked Ansel.

Before Aleta could say anything, Ansel suddenly slammed the plate in his hand, causing a loud noise. Suddenly Aleta closed her eyes because of the loud sound.

Ansel firmly grabbed Aleta's chin. "Open your eyes!" Ansel snapped.

Aleta slowly opened her eyes. She was quite scared to see Ansel's attitude like this.

"Look at this! Look at this broken plate. That's who you are. You are just a broken plate. And if you want to slap it, it will only leave a mark. You must remember that you are not my real wife. Remember one thing, you are just a surrogate," Ansel insulted her as he threw Aleta's face to the floor.

Ansel stomped on Aleta's hand so hard that it was pierced by the broken plate.

"Akh! It's Sack!" Aleta screamed with tears pouring out of her eyes.

"Y-Young Master, please don't tread on Madam's hand. I beg you," pleaded Aunt Nani with a pitiable face.

Ansel lifted his foot. He looked sarcastically at Aleta. "If you bother me again, I will give you more punishment than this. Do you understand?" Ansel motioned as he walked away from them.

"A-Aleta, let's get up. Let's treat your hand first," Aunt Nani said as she helped Aleta to get up.

Aleta walked slowly and sat at the kitchen pantry table. Auntie Nani walked over to get the first aid kit and sat near Aleta.

Tears were still pouring down on her face. She did not expect Ansel to be so ruthless just because she made breakfast for him.

"Hold on, okay? This will be very painful. But if you don't treat it, it will get infected," said Aunt Nani, who began treating Aleta's injured hand.

The wound was so deep that Aunt Nani had to remove the fragments in Aleta's hand first. Aunt Nani looked at Aleta who was just silent with a blank stare. Because it wasn't her hand that hurt, but her heart that was currently hurting because of Ansel's words.

"Well, it's done. For now, don't expose this wound to water. You can call me if you need anything," said Auntie Nani.

Aleta looked down at her bandaged hand. "Thank you, Auntie. You helped me earlier. But, not again next time. I don't want you to get involved and get angry too," Aleta explained.

Aunt Nani lifted Aleta's face. She shook her head as she wiped away Aleta's tears. "There's no way you can let yourself get hurt like that. You just calm down, it's okay for me to get angry later. The important thing is that you're okay," said Auntie Nani.

Aunt Nani grabbed Aleta and hugged her tightly. She stroked her back gently to let her calm down.

"Does your hand hurt a lot?" asked Aunt Nani.

"Instead of my hands hurting, my heart hurts more, Auntie. I didn't expect Ansel to be that angry just because I made him breakfast," Aleta said with a sad look.

"Next time, don't do it again. The young master will be even angrier. Or don't take too much care of Young Master's life. I'm worried about you," explained Auntie Nani.

Aleta thought about what Aunt Nani had said. Was she not supposed to take care of Ansel's life? But Ansel was her husband now. Despite her ruthless attitude towards him. She didn't want to be seen as an unfaithful wife by God.

"Aleta?!"