Upon hearing those words from the woman, it felt like she had killed him and buried him alive. It was far from his imagination that their relationship would be destroyed. If it weren’t for Isabelle meddling in his life again, Sabrina’s perception of him wouldn’t have changed.
Kenneth assumed that Sabrina’s anger towards him would only be temporary, but he didn’t expect that she would also ignore him at home. She moved to a different room, and every time they crossed paths, she wouldn’t acknowledge him. One morning, while he was heading to the kitchen to eat, he encountered Sabrina near the staircase, so he blocked her way.
“Can we talk?”
“Oh, so you’re still here,” Sabrina said flatly, and the man was clearly surprised by her words.
Kenneth was taken aback by the woman’s statement. What did she want him to do? Leave and abandon Scarlet? “Wherever you are, I’m there too,” Kenneth said.
Sabrina sighed and tried to slip past Kenneth, but when he stood his ground, she kicked his leg. “Get out of my way!”
“You know, you act like a child! Do you think I wasn’t hurt by the loss of our child? The problem with you is that your mind is so narrow! You didn’t even bother to listen to me,” Kenneth angrily expressed, as he had been enduring the woman’s cold treatment for several days.
Sabrina just rolled her eyes at him because she didn’t have time to listen to his lies. “And now I’m the one with a narrow mind. Really, Kenneth? Am I the one who cheated? Am I the one who slept with another woman while we were preparing for our wedding? You weren’t satisfied and made me the other woman,” Sabrina said, clenching her teeth in anger.
Kenneth let out a sigh and left the woman because he knew she wouldn’t believe him anyway. However, after a few seconds, he returned and faced her again. “I know you’re still angry with me, but I hope you don’t prolong it too much, or we might end up completely broken,” he reminded her.
One of Sabrina’s eyebrows automatically rose upon hearing the man’s words. She grinned and said, “Wow, really? Are you challenging me? Because I’m telling you now that it will be difficult for me to forgive you.”
“Every day, you keep throwing at me the death of our child as if you were the only one who suffered. Sabrina, it also hurts me to lose her. I’m human too, and I feel the pain!” Kenneth retorted.
Sabrina was about to respond, but the man interrupted her, so she closed her mouth to listen.
“I’m sorry for raising my voice earlier,” Kenneth apologized before leaving her and heading downstairs to continue to the kitchen. Because of their argument, he felt even hungrier, and he thought he would eat a lot.
He wanted to call out to the retreating man, but she was overtaken by embarrassment. She felt guilty for what Kenneth accused her of. Could she blame him?
“Did you two fight again?”
Sabrina was startled when Meghan suddenly appeared in front of her. “As usual,” Sabrina replied.
“Stop blaming him, Sabrina. He didn’t want what happened to happen. Just think that the child is in a better place,” Meghan suggested.
Sabrina raised an eyebrow at what she heard because she also heard those words from Margaret earlier. Her ears were starting to get annoyed, and because of that, she had considered leaving the place and distancing herself.
“It’s easy to say that I should just let it go, but it’s hard to do. Meghan, didn’t you do the same thing to Marcus?”
“That’s a different story because he cheated on me,” Meghan made an excuse.
“Do you think Kenneth didn’t do that to me?” Sabrina asked.
“Repeat what you just said,” Meghan said, struggling to believe Sabrina.
“I don’t know if it’s right for you to know the truth, but I found out that he is still seeing his mistress,” Sabrina replied.
“WHAT?”
“Oh, so that’s why you’re still not paying attention to him? Or are you just lying to me?” Meghan said.
“I don’t want to pay attention to him,” Sabrina replied.
“Talk to each other before it’s too late,” Meghan suggested, not wanting their story to end up like hers. It hurt her to see Sabrina and Kenneth distant from each other because she knew how deeply in love they were. It would be a waste if they didn’t discuss their problems.
“How did you manage to go through everything, Meghan?”
Meghan smiled because of Sabrina’s wrong assumption. Little did she know how many buckets of tears she shed every night without Marcus. “We’re women, Sabrina,” was her only response.
Sabrina furrowed her brow as Meghan’s answer confused her even more. She knew she was a woman, but what did that have to do with her grief? “I don’t understand,” she said.
“What I mean is that we, as women, are strong. There is no challenge in life that we can’t handle,” Meghan replied.
“Maybe I’m not a woman because I’m weak,” Sabrina said, but she received a strong slap on her arm from Meghan. “Ouch!”
“You’re overreacting! If you really don’t want him anymore, clarify it so it won’t be unfair to him,” Meghan scolded Sabrina.
Sabrina contemplated Meghan’s words after she left. Perhaps she was right. It would be unfair to Kenneth if she didn’t talk to him, so she decided that she would speak to him after dinner.
She walked slowly to her room, lost in thought. Her current room was far from her old one, but as she passed by Kenneth’s room, the door suddenly opened, and he pulled her inside. She screamed, but when Kenneth closed the door, it was impossible for anyone to hear her. As they faced each other, the conversation she had with Meghan earlier replayed in her mind.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“I just want to show you something,” Kenneth replied and then opened his phone.
Sabrina raised an eyebrow while focusing on the file that the man showed her. “Will anything change?” she asked. “You’re still having an affair!”
Kenneth closed his eyes momentarily, trying to control his anger and speak calmly so they could have a proper conversation. It was different from their previous argument where they just ended up shouting.
Sabrina rolled her eyes at him because she felt like he was just copying Marcus. “True ot not, the truth remains that you lied to me,” she said.
“Yes, I admit that I made a mistake, but I’ve apologized to you multiple times, Sabrina. Please forgive me,” Kenneth pleaded.
“After all the fights we’ve had, you still want me?” Sabrina asked.
Kenneth nodded, believing that Sabrina’s behavior was a result of emotional and physical trauma from what happened. “My feelings for you won’t change,” he said.
Sabrina smiled at Kenneth’s words but quickly frowned and stared at him. “I wish everyone was like that. But I still can’t easily forgive you,” she replied. She wanted to shout at him, but she felt a rush of blood and decided against it.
“I’m willing to wait,” Kenneth added before leaving.
“Then wait,” Sabrina challenged him.
Several days passed, but Sabrina and Kenneth’s relationship remained unchanged. Sabrina was still cold towards him, and Kenneth’s patience was running out.
One day, while Sabrina was watching children playing in the sea, Kenneth approached her. As usual, she raised an eyebrow and ignored him. Nonetheless, Kenneth still stood beside her.
“It’s good for your health to swim early in the sea,” Kenneth started to speak.
“I know.”
“If you’re afraid to swim alone, I can accompany you. Come on,” Kenneth invited her as if they hadn’t been fighting.
“How shameless can you be?”
Kenneth’s ears reddened from Sabrina’s question, and he gritted his teeth in anger. “I’m saddened that we’ve reached this point, Sabrina. I think our relationship has become too toxic,” Kenneth said, waiting for Sabrina to look into his eyes. After a few seconds passed without her doing so, he stood up and brushed the sand off his shorts.
Sabrina hesitated to move from her seat, but her entire being felt open. When Kenneth stood up, she suddenly felt scared because she thought he was saying goodbye. “Sit down again,” she ordered Kenneth.
“Thank you, but no. I just need to talk to Scarlet for a moment,” Kenneth said and left without saying goodbye.
Sabrina felt surprised by Kenneth’s behavior because in the past, he would still try to win her over even when she had become unreasonable. She wanted to call out his name, but he said he would only talk to Scarlet.
She felt relieved when she saw Kenneth carrying their eldest child. The child laughed hysterically as Kenneth tossed them into the air, and their laughter sounded like music to her ears.
After playing with Scarlet, Kenneth approached Meghan and her mother. Sabrina furrowed her brow when she noticed that the three of them were having a serious conversation.
She shrugged her shoulders while standing up and proceeded to the table where they placed their food. She could already smell that Kenneth was the one who cooked. He was fond of using garlic. She took a piece of grilled pork chop and dipped it into the sauce he made with lots of chili, then she ate it.
“Mom, aren’t you going to eat?” she asked her mother as Margaret came, but Margaret shook her head, and Meghan did the same when she caught Sabrina’s attention.
“Remember, Sabrina, no matter what happens, we’re here for you as your family,” Margaret said emotionally.
“Thank you, Mom. Did Kenneth go for a swim?” She pretended to focus her gaze on the sea, acting as if she didn’t care, so they wouldn’t notice that she was looking for him.
“He already left,” Meghan said.