Chapter 5

Once the door closed, the world became quiet once more. Juliet leaned against the door and slowly slid down to the floor. Her lips curved imperceptibly into a self-deprecating smile. "Jules?" Ariane rushed over and crouched down next to her. She cupped Juliet's face in her hands and scrutinized it. "D-Don't scare me. Have you been struck dumb by that old hag?" Juliet shook her head. Her eyes were as dark as ink, and there was no flicker of emotion in them at all. "I just feel like I've finally escaped. It's been 15 years, Ari." It had been 15 years of admiration and pursuit. She had gone from being an innocent young girl to someone's wife. She had been like a string puppet as she tried her best to play the role of Asher's meek and understanding wife. Now, she had cut those strings herself. "I finally don't need to pretend to be the gentle and meek 'Mrs. Greene' anymore." Ariane felt a lump in her throat and pulled Juliet into her arms. "That's right! You don't have to do that anymore! Let Evangeline join that stupid, rich family if she wants to!" The two of them sat on the floor for a while, but Juliet got to her feet first. She dusted herself off and went to sit down in front of her laptop. "What are you doing?" Ariane followed her. "I'm going to check how much I have." Juliet opened her online bank account to check her finances. She had done simultaneous interpretation and translation before getting married, and she'd used the money she saved to put a down payment on the apartment. She had to pay one thousand dollars a month for the house loan, and there was only enough in her account to make loan payments for two more months and cover her basic needs. Ariane gasped when she saw the numbers. "Is that all? Didn't you get anything while you were with the Greenes?" She poked Juliet's head, looking aggravated. "You are such a hopeless romantic!" Juliet had never realized it before, but she felt rather awkward now that her best friend knew how silly she had been for so many years. "I stopped working after I got married, and I didn't touch the money that Asher gave me. It's still on that supplementary card, which I didn't bring with me." Ariane ground her teeth. "How could you leave without taking anything? You're an idiot!" "No, I'm not." Juliet closed the browser window and began scrolling through her contact list. "If I take his money, I'll always owe him a debt, and I don't want that." Ariane knew that many members of the Stone family were working in companies that belonged to the Greenes. Juliet was afraid that there would be gossip if she used the Greenes' money. Juliet began sending messages to the agencies and clients that she had once worked with for translation. The first to reply was Lisa Manson, who was part of the agency that had gotten Juliet started. "It's me, Lisa. I want to start taking jobs again." "You're very welcome to do so! However, you've been gone for three years. Most of our major clients already have regular translators. I only have some odd jobs available right now, and it may not pay much." Juliet read the messages, and she understood. She was ready to start over. "Thank you, Lisa. I'll be happy with any kind of job." Lisa soon sent her a document. "This is an urgent one and will be needed by tomorrow afternoon. You'll get 500 for ten thousand words. Can you do it?" 500 for ten thousand words. It was a very low price for Juliet, but she did not hesitate. "Yes. I'll start right now." She opened the document and got to work. Ariane watched as Juliet rapidly got immersed in her work. Her heart ached for her friend, but she was also filled with admiration. Juliet had been living like a bird in a gilded cage just a while ago, but she hadn't allowed herself any despondence after leaving the rich family she had once belonged to. Instead, she had started adapting to her new life at a shocking rate. "Go ahead with your work. I'll cook." "Alright." Juliet didn't even look up as her fingers flew over the keys. At 4:00 pm, Juliet finally finished the first part of the translation. She rubbed her aching neck and walked out of the study. Ariane was sitting cross-legged on the rug in front of the sofa in the living room. She was hugging a cushion to herself, and her head was drooping as she dozed off. There was a bowl of hot soup on the coffee table with a saucer placed over it to keep the heat in. "Ari." Ariane woke up at once when she heard the noise. "Have you finished? Come and have some soup!" She brought the soup over to Juliet, looking eager. The two of them sat on the carpet with their bowls. Juliet took a sip, and she felt a warm feeling in her chest as the soup slid down her throat comfortingly. "It tastes good." "Of course!" Ariane looked smug. "This is my grandma's secret recipe." Juliet drank a few more mouthfuls and suddenly felt nauseous. She had to put the soup down. "Ari, I'm pregnant." Ariane almost spat out her soup. Her eyes widened as she almost dropped her bowl. "What did you say?" "I'm pregnant," Juliet repeated. Ariane's hands started trembling. She put down her bowl as she felt rage overwhelm her. "Asher is a total jerk! Does he know?" Juliet shook her head. "I was planning to tell him on our wedding anniversary." Ariane was even more furious. "He's an inhumane beast! Evangeline is his mentor's child, but you're his wife! He doesn't even know what his priority should be! I have no idea how that scumbag manages to earn so much money!" Ariane continued abusing Asher, but her eyes turned red. "Then do you plan on—" Juliet hung her head and looked at her bowl of soup. "I haven't decided yet." Ariane was silent for a few seconds, but she suddenly lunged over and hugged Juliet tightly. "No matter what you decide, I'll be with you. "If you want to have the baby, I'll raise the baby with you and be its godmother! "If you don't want it, I'll go with you to the hospital and take care of you after the operation. I'm here. Don't be scared." Juliet felt a lump in her throat, and her eyes finally reddened. "Thank you, Ari." "Don't be silly." Ariane let her go and wiped her own eyes. "The two of us go way back. By the way, how do you feel? Do you feel any discomfort?" "I'm alright. I'm just a little tired." Ariane stood up and went to the kitchen to get two bowls of pasta. "Come on, eat more. You've got to get enough nutrition." … Meanwhile, back at the Greene residence, Amanda flung her handbag down on the sofa aggressively as soon as she got home. "She's a total rebel!" Juliet's calm demeanor had made Amanda even more furious. Her relatives kept trying to fan the flames. "Don't get too angry, Amanda. I think that Juliet has made up her mind." "Yes. She thinks she's independent now, and she doesn't even respect you anymore." Amanda looked even more displeased when she heard this, and she called Asher at once. "Asher! If you don't manage that wife of yours, I'm going to end up downtrodden by her and her cronies!" She ranted about what had happened and embellished the story heavily. "Not only is she going to divorce you, but she also insulted me to my face! "She says that our family doesn't count for anything and that she doesn't care! "Evangeline was kind enough to try and talk to her, but she got so upset because of Juliet that I was worried that it would affect her pregnancy!"