Marriage and Annulment

Arthur’s car stopped in front of me. He let me in by opening the door.

“Come in, Zaneska,” he said.

When I walked in, I was surprised to see a woman in the front seat frowning. I don’t believe she was pleased to see me. And I’m aware that this woman is Arthur’s girlfriend. I didn’t give her a smile. Instead, I cocked my brow at her.

“What’s with  your stares? Do you have a problem with me?”   Arthur has a reason to be distracted by my actions.

“Ah, that’s Martha, my girlfriend,” Arthur explained.

“I know, but he doesn’t seem happy that you picked me up today; I just want her to know that all we had was business,” I said, looking out the window.

What I said seemed to embarrass the woman. We stopped in front of a fast food restaurant. Arthur emerged from the house and opened the door for his girlfriend. I saw the woman come out.

Following that, Arthur started the car.

Arthur apologized, “I’m sorry, Zaneska, we’re fighting.”

“Will your girlfriend still be angry with you if you’re so successful?” I’ll inquire.

“Of course, I’m not perfect; I’m too busy with work, and I don’t always give him my full attention.”

My brow furrowed.

“It was only time that mattered; why doesn’t she understand you?” I asked. “I know what you’re doing is also for the future, if you and her stay together.”

Arthur shook his head.

“I don’t know what to do; it’s as if I don’t want to love anymore, but I can’t stop my heart from beating; I’m so tired from work, and someone else is angry,” Arthur lamented.

“You can avoid me; I’ll call someone else; just give me the address,” I said.

“No, we’ve already arrived.”

“Why did your girlfriend choose the fast food chain?” 

“It’s her business; I invested in it; you know her family’s life in the province is difficult; she can be sent there; she stopped working because I don’t want to,” Arthur explained.

“Where did she previously work?” 

“She’s a bartender at a bar; it’s just that there are always rude people, so I stopped her working there.”

“That’s also good; you can keep him out of harm’s way, and he should still thank you,” I explained.

“He’s grateful, but in a relationship, he can’t really avoid a fight,” Arthur explained.

Arthur’s car stopped near the bridge. I took a look around.

“We’re here, Zaneska,” he said.

I got out of the car and opened the door. I peered beneath the bridge. I noticed some houses, particularly in the front.

“Don’t they realize it’s dangerous to live under the bridge? How can I have crashed vehicles? They’ll be affected underneath,” I retorted.

“They don’t have a choice; they don’t have anywhere else to live,” Arthur responded.

“Isn’t it a good thing they haven’t been fired yet?”

“As far as I know, they were given notice that they would be evicted, but they all stood firm because they had nowhere else to go.”

We drove down the narrow road to the houses. When I tripped on the slick road, I rolled down.

“What kind of place is this, Arthur?” I complained, citing the difficulty of the passage.

“They’re getting used to going this way every day; you could also donate a entire land to make them live there, what do you think?” Arthur smiled.

“All right, are we still a long way away?” I’ll ask.

The last house is still standing. We had a large number of children passing through. They’re playing next to each other. Based on what I’ve seen, they’re having a difficult time in life. Women were staring at us. Their brows furrowed. Perhaps they were curious about who we were who were stranded in their place. In a small shop, I noticed six men drinking. They gave Arthur a salute.

“Drink first, sir,” he instructs.

“Later, my companion needs something from Carol.” Arthur said.

They gave me a friendly smile. I returned their smile. I don’t think they’re bad people.

“All right, Carol is here now; she doesn’t have a job on Thursday,” said the mustachioed man.

Arthur gave a nod.

“Her son?” Arthur inquired once more. While I was simply listening.

“He left earlier because, according to the news I heard, he was able to work for a large company, and from what I can see, the owner gave him a new car; I saw the beauty, and I know that car is expensive,” the curly-haired man explained.

I cracked a grin.

“You, sir, don’t you have a job for us? We’ll take anything; we can be janitors,” the short man said.

Arthur gave me a look.

“You go to her; she has a lot of work to offer,” Arthur advised.

They looked at me as if they were pleading.

I took my business card inside the sling bag. And handed over to them.

“This is my business card; call the number listed there, and there’s also the company’s address,” I explained as I handed it to them.

“Thank you very much, ma’am.”

I nodded and kept walking. I even heard the woman we were passing say something.

“She’s stunning; what is she doing here?”

I didn’t look back at them and just kept following Arthur. We stopped in front of the bamboo house. Because the door was shut, Arthur knocked. Carol pushed open the door.

When she saw me, her eyes widened. The woman I met in the office two weeks ago is not the same as the woman standing in front of me now. She was only dressed in a duster with a hole in the hem. And her hair isn’t in the proper place.

“Hi, may I come in?”

She was trembling, which I noticed. She appeared to be in the mood to cry. She let me in by opening the door. Arthur indicated that he would not be entering. I entered the room and sat on the bamboo bench. I took a look around their living room.

“Where is Lara?” 

She can’t look me in the eyes. And I could tell she was scared. The female fighter who had rushed me to the office had vanished.  Sh e has transform into a gentle sheep.

“She’s at school,” she replied, her voice trembling.

“Look, I didn’t come here to imprison you or hurt you; I came here to clarify something. Regarding our issue. I now know everything, and I already know that you already know why I’m here, so I see in your face the fear of what I might do to you,” I said.

She began to cry. And knelt down in front of me.

“I’m sorry, forgive me. I didn’t mean to. I’m just really stressed. My husband got into debt because he wasn’t ashamed of what he was doing in his family. He died, but I wasn’t happy because he left me with a lot of debt,” she says.

“I admit what you did was wrong; you can come to me and ask for help; it’s not like you ruined my daddy’s image,” I said.

As she looked at me, her eyes were blurred with tears.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t respect your daddy’s image; now I realize it’s wrong to hurt him in that way; he left me because he thinks I had an affair with someone, but that’s not true, so I decided to exact revenge on him, but it turns out that I’ll be the one who suffers in the end.”

“I hope you don’t accuse me, because I know it’s really my fault, but I just hope you forgive me,” she told me.

“I’m here to help you and get you out of here; I’m not here to imprison you.”

“Thank you so much, Ma’am; I hope it doesn’t get to Calvin anymore because I know he’ll be upset with me.”

I gave a nod.

“I won’t be long; I’ll leave you my phone number; call me and come to the mansion,” I said as I stood up.

“I appreciate it.”

I left his house while he was smiling at me. Arthur stood up when he saw me.

“Are we leaving?” he asked me.

“Yes,”

Two minutes later we were in the car. Arthur turned it on as I fastened the seatbelt.

We are here at the eatery today. I was with Duke and our other co-teachers. A miracle we decided to eat all here today. Vienna is here too. Maybe he’s not mad at me anymore because he already smiled when we met earlier inside the school. I’m not at fault for him. And I had no intention of hurting him. Davianna, on the other hand, I just found out that she was pregnant and the man left her.

“Congratulations, Zander, because you finally found a girlfriend as well. Your co-teachers and I once discussed why you haven’t found a woman you want to love. We thought. What’s wrong with you? You’re handsome. And successful in life. But now we know you just waited for the right timing,” our principal, Mrs. Lazaro, said to me.

I couldn’t bring myself to laugh.

“Thank you, ma’am, as long as you’re all invited to our wedding,” I said.

“We’ll expect it, and we’ll be disappointed if you don’t invite us,” Dona said.

They were all laughing. In addition, Vienna is rooting for Duke. He even smiled and gave me a thumbs up. I’m relieved because we’re both fine.

“Now that we all know that next Monday is a holiday, I’m sure you’re all happy.”

We had left the company. I exited the car and went inside. I’m going straight to work. Randolf was tying up the six men we had seen earlier in Calvin’s place when I arrived.

“Ma’am, it’s good to see you here; this man is tying us up; we’re not thieves,” the short one said.

I’m cracking up.

“Miss, you’ve arrived; do you recognize them? I’m stunned because I just saw their faces,” Randolf said.

“Ah, yes, I know six of them. Untie them first; they’re here to apply for a job,” I explained.

“Is that correct?”

“Yes, are there still jobs available to them. Even janitors are supposed to be able to enter.” I said.

“All right, Miss, I’ll take them all,” Randolf said.

They wouldn’t have stood up yet because Randolf might tie them up and drag them away. In my head, I laughed.

“Don’t worry, he’ll give you a job,” I said.

As a result, they came out with six. I leaned back in the swivel chair. I’m sorry. I still feel like I have a fever today.

Monday. We’re on vacation, so I’m at home with Mom and Melissa right now.

“Are you on vacation now? Don’t you have any plans to go somewhere?” mom asked me.

“No, Mom, I’ll just stay at home,” I replied.

We’re drinking coffee on the balcony right now.

“You and Uncle Augusto, do you have any plans for a vacation?” 

“I’m not sure; I’ll just wait for his call.”

I noticed a motorcycle parked in front of our house. Mitch entered through the gate, carrying a backpack.

“Good morning, Aunt,” she greeted my mother. She  kissed my cheek she entered the house.

“Did you get a visit, Mitch?” 

“I’m here to say goodbye to you, Zander, and I would have taken him to the city,” Mitch said.

“Are we leaving now?” 

“Yes, if it’s okay, let’s go; but if you don’t want to come, that’s fine,” Mitch said.

“No, I’ll come with you. Wait, I’ll just get dressed,” I said.

And then I went into my room to dress. I didn’t bring any clothes with me. Perhaps that’s where I’ll get it. In order for me to go shopping at the mall. I exited the room and went outside to the balcony.

“Oh, don’t you bring a dress?” Mitch asked me.Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.

“No, I’ll just buy it there, and we’ll bring the car,” I explained.

“We’re really going to use your car. Aunt, are you really okay?” Mitch asked mom.

“No problem with me, Mitch,” mother replied, “as long as you just take care of him there.”

“Thank you, aunt,” Mitch said.

“Mom, we’re leaving,” I announced.

“All right, take care.”

I let Mitch in by opening the door. Then I walked in. I accelerated out of the gate.

“Where is Duke?” Mitch ask.

“I’m not sure.”

“I was thinking, he’s coming?”

“He’ll just call, and maybe he’ll follow us if he finds out we’re in city.”

Mitch gave a nod. I looked at the time. We had not yet arrived in the city despite the fact that it was twelve o’clock at noon.

“Are you hungry, Zander?” Mitch ask.

“I’m a little hungry, but it’s okay,” I replied.

Our flight took about five hours as well. When we got to the mansion. Mitch and I stepped outside, and he rang the doorbell.

“Perhaps no one is here, Mitch; the place is quiet,” I suggested.

“Perhaps he’s just inside,” Mitch responded.

Mitch rang the doorbell three times more, and the gate swung open. The man emerged. Because the man in the photo with Zaneska has a different face, it’s unlikely that he’s her boyfriend.

“Hello, Zaneska and I are friends; is she here?” 

“No, he’s still in the office. You two go in first, and he’ll be waiting inside.” said the man.

He opened the gate and welcomed us in. The size of his estate. That woman is extremely wealthy. We were sitting in the living room. We were also given food.

“Have lunch first, and then I’ll call her and tell her you’re here,”