Chapter 6

Asher was in an international video conference. On his screen, several blond and blue-eyed executives were talking excitedly. Asher propped his chin up with one hand, feeling disinterested. His phone vibrated on the table. It was his mother, Amanda. He hung up, but Amanda called again. A cold look flashed in Asher's eyes, and he said impassively to the crowd on his screen, "Sorry. Let's take a five-minute break." He picked up his phone and went over to the lounge, closing the door behind him. "What?" He sounded impatient. Amanda's high-pitched, shrill voice immediately came over the phone. "Asher, I cannot stand your wife!" Asher's brow furrowed, and his impatience intensified. "I went to see her out of the kindness of my heart to ask her to come back, but she kicked me out! She even said that she doesn't want to deal with our family anymore!" She spoke rapidly, the words tumbling out of her. Asher listened quietly without saying anything. All he could think about was Juliet and her impassive expression. He knew what Juliet was like. She was stubborn, but she would never say such things. She didn't even dare to raise her voice with Amanda, let alone talk back to her. "Asher, did you hear me? We can't allow women like her to be part of the family. Hurry up and divorce her!" "That's enough." Asher cut her off coldly. "Don't interfere with my personal affairs from now on." Amanda was rendered speechless. "I'm your mother!" "Then please remember that you're my mother, not hers." Amanda could not believe her ears. She asked, "W-What did you say? Did you yell at me for that woman's sake?" "She's my wife." There was a dangerous note in Asher's voice. "Don't bother her again. If you have too much time on your hands, go and travel around the world. I'll pay the bills." He hung up. Asher tossed his phone on the sofa and tugged at his tie, but the irritation he felt became more intense. "Is she serious?" Juliet had actually defied Amanda. Asher's phone screen lit up again. It was a message from Evangeline. "Ash, don't blame Juliet. She was just in a bad mood. That's why she said those things and made Mrs. Greene angry. "Mrs. Greene just got carried away because of how much she cares. It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, you two wouldn't have argued. "Go and talk to Juliet. I feel so worried about her living on her own." Worried? Why would anyone worry about Juliet when she was obviously feeling so smug? Asher grabbed his car key and strode out of the lounge. "The meeting is over." … When he arrived outside Juliet's apartment building, he sat in his car and lit a cigarette. The smoke curled around him and tamped down the fury he felt. Asher forced himself to calm down. He would have to be polite first. He could not lose his rationality like he had the last time. They would have to resolve the issue. It wouldn't look appropriate for him to let his wife move out. He finished one cigarette and went to knock on the door. It opened. Juliet was dressed simply, and she looked calmly at him, as if he were just a stranger there to ask her for directions. She was exuding a sense of comfort, but it made Asher's anger flare up once more, despite his efforts to suppress it. "Congratulations, Juliet." He smiled scornfully. "You won a battle against my mother. You've become stronger. Are you happy now?" He raised his hand out of habit to pinch her face. It was something he often did when trying to please her. However, Juliet stepped backward, as if she were trying to dodge something dirty. There was a crisp slap as she swatted away his outstretched hand without mercy. "Don't touch me." Her voice was chillier than the autumn wind. Asher's hand froze in mid-air as a bright red scratch appeared on the back of his hand. He stared at her in disbelief, and rage bubbled up inside him. "How long are you going to keep up this nonsense? Haven't you already won back your pride? No matter how badly my mother behaved, she's still your elder!" Juliet suddenly felt amused when she saw how angry he was. "She's your mother, not mine." She made the distinction between them very clear. "Also…" Juliet looked up calmly in the face of his fury. "When are we going to get our divorce finalized?" She had said the word "divorce" so casually, and it touched a sore spot with Asher. "I told you that I won't agree to this divorce!" He stepped forward and grabbed her wrist, although he remembered to control his strength. "Juliet, don't say 'divorce' so casually!" Juliet merely looked coolly at him before using all her strength to fling his hand away forcefully. "I told you not to touch me!" Asher actually lost his balance because of how hard she had pushed him. He stumbled backward and crashed against the wall behind him with a dull thump. A vein throbbed in his temple, and he felt as if his blood was on fire with the shame and rage he felt. Fine! Asher's lips moved, but he could not say a single word. He turned around and kicked the wall viciously. Just as he left the building and lit a cigarette, Zachary called. "Hello, Asher? Did you go to see Juliet?" Asher grunted, still sounding angry. "Did you argue again?" "She wants to divorce me." "She's just saying that because she's angry." Zachary chuckled. "She's just saying it so that you'll care more about her. "She just had an argument with your mother and is still caught up in her emotions. Won't it be adding fuel to the fire for you to go and see her now?" Zachary sighed. "Come on. You know what your mother's temper is like. Why did you let her go and meet Juliet? Now look at what's happened. It's very difficult to solve conflicts between a mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law." Zachary had deftly pushed the core of the problem to the relationship between Amanda and Juliet. Asher remained silent, but he was obviously listening. "Let her calm down. She's all alone with no money and no support. How long can she last? Once she realizes that she needs you, she's sure to come back meekly." That was true. She had just been taken care of so well that she was ignorant of reality. "Alright," Asher said in a low voice and stubbed out his cigarette. Zachary hung up. The room he was in was pitch black. The only light came from his phone screen, which cast a glow on his face. He was smiling. He tapped on his photo album and scrolled down until he stopped at a particular photo. It was an old photo that looked fuzzy with age. The girl in the photo was wearing a blue and white school uniform. She was smiling at the camera, and her eyes shone like stars. It was Juliet as a student. Her warm voice seemed to ring in his ears once more. "Zach, you only failed once. If I were as smart as you are, I'd be the happiest girl alive!" It had been more than ten years, but Zachary could still remember the warm, smooth touch of her hand on his arm. Zachary had been 13 years old at the time, and it was the first time he had failed to control the stock market. He had lost three million, which he had found extremely difficult to accept. He had always been called a prodigy, and he never failed in anything. He had even had thoughts of suicide and slashed his own wrists. Looking back on it, he realized how immature he had been. However, he would have died from his own immaturity if he hadn't met Juliet. Zachary's long, slender fingers caressed the face of the young girl on the screen. "Jules, you were right about not being smart. You fell for an arrogant jerk like Asher." There was a dark, wild look in his eyes as he leaned closer to his phone and murmured to the young woman in the photo, "It's okay. I'm going to get you out of there very soon."