Darwin continued to massage his throbbing forehead. In front of the man, as usual, were Kennedy and Randy accompanying him. The three of them had just finished having dinner together and were now continuing their conversation.
Earlier, before leaving work, Darwin had suddenly contacted his two cousins. After a heated argument between him and Veronica earlier in the afternoon, Darwin felt the need for someone to share his concerns with and to talk about what he was feeling at the moment.
“So, what were both of us called here for, anyway? We’ve been sitting here for over an hour, but you haven’t said anything,” Randy, who was growing impatient, finally spoke up. As usual, he was the one who often complained or talked a lot.
“Yeah, Win,” Kennedy added. The man had been wondering since earlier why his cousin had invited them to meet. “Actually, what do you want to talk about?”
Darwin let out a long sigh. Lifting his face, he looked at his two cousins sitting across from him.
On one hand, he actually didn’t feel like talking. It could be predicted that Randy would make fun of him. But, on the other hand, if he didn’t talk about it, he felt suffocated. After all, he had gotten used to confiding in these two men whenever something happened. It was strange, indeed. His behavior was almost exactly like that of a woman.
“Actually, I want to talk,” murmured Darwin.
“What do you want to talk about? Just get to the point, Bestie,” Randy replied impatiently, annoyed by Darwin’s constant beating around the bush.
“What do you want to talk about? About Veronica? Or about what?” Kennedy continued after him.
Darwin nodded. Taking a deep breath, he then began to talk. In truth, he was also confused about where to start. Veronica’s unexpected behavior today had left him unable to think clearly.
“Veronica really left me helpless,” he whispered. “Do you remember the story I told you the other day? About her catching Vivian and me alone at the office? Somehow yesterday, she caught me again visiting Vivian’s apartment. And today? She really proved her words.”
Kennedy frowned. Darwin’s explanation sounded ambiguous to him.
“Proved her words how?”
“She wants to retaliate for everything I’ve done.”
“So, she’s cheating too, is that it?” guessed Randy, equally curious.
Darwin shook his head. Instead of retaliating by cheating or getting close to another man, Veronica responded with something unexpected. It wasn’t directed at him, but at Vivian, her own husband, in a way that left him utterly powerless.
“No! Veronica isn’t cheating,” Darwin shook his head while looking intently at his two cousins. “Just so you know, Veronica did something completely unexpected. Instead of attacking me, she slowly destroyed Vivian. Imagine, with the power she has, Veronica forcibly evicted Vivian from the apartment I had been renting for her. Not satisfied with that, she also got Vivian fired from her job.”
“Bravo … bravo!”
Those words flowed without restraint, followed by rather enthusiastic applause from Randy. The cursed cousin was actually quite pleased with the story Darwin had just shared. Not only did he lack sympathy, but upon closer observation, Randy seemed to be gleeful about the suffering Darwin and Vivian were currently going through.
“Why do you seem happy about this?” Darwin wondered, squinting sharply. He needed a more in-depth explanation of what his cousin was doing.
Randy continued to smile broadly. A clear sense of satisfaction was etched on his handsome face. At first, he didn’t understand and was curious about what Darwin wanted to talk about tonight. But after hearing the recent story, he found himself quite impressed with the lesson Veronica was teaching his cousin, whom he considered to be quite strange.
“Well, it’s just nice to see that Veronica is actually smarter and classier than you, Win.”
“So, you support Veronica destroying me? Your cousin is me, not her,” Darwin retorted, unwilling to accept this. He was annoyed that his cousin was supporting someone else instead of him, especially since they were family.
“It’s not about who’s whose cousin, Win,” Randy argued. “I just support what I believe is right.”
“Besides, your behavior has been wrong from the start, hasn’t it?” Kennedy added. The two men were attacking Darwin instead of offering support. “And I think a woman like Veronica isn’t someone you can underestimate, Win. I’m sure she’ll do something else or even worse if you’re caught doing anything questionable again.”
Darwin sighed heavily. He continued to gaze at Kennedy and then nodded.
“It won’t be just ‘something else’, Ken. Veronica has already done something that I can’t retaliate against or fight back anymore.”
“So, what is your wife up to?” Randy asked.
Darwin fell silent for a moment. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to recall everything Veronica had done to him today, to the point that it was hard for him to breathe.
“So, what condition is she putting forward?”
Veronica, in her seat, let out a small laugh. A satisfied expression radiated from her beautiful face. She was pleased to see Darwin, who had previously acted like a lion, now behaving like a small kitten afraid of losing its home to the owner.
From this experience, Veronica had finally learned that dealing with Darwin required a more assertive approach, along with a bit of shock therapy, to prevent him from misbehaving again.
“I want you to do one thing for me.”
“What do you want me to do?” Darwin asked again.
“Please, from now on, treat our marriage properly and responsibly.”
Darwin was taken aback. He stared straight ahead, then looked at his wife intently. There was a hint of doubt in his eyes after hearing what she had just said.
Imagining himself in a serious marital relationship with Veronica made him want to laugh. Not without reason. However, it seemed a bit funny to him to force himself to accept Veronica as a wife and go through marriage as it should be. Nevertheless, he wasn’t in love with the woman in front of him.
“Isn’t this excessive?”
At that moment, Veronica raised her eyebrows.
“You call it excessive? Oh my god, Darwin Walters, do you think I’m happy and so looking forward to this damn marriage?” Veronica retorted in annoyance. “Let me emphasize one thing to you. Remember it well. I’m asking you to do this not because I love you or I’m crazy about you. No…” Veronica shook her head multiple times. “Please don’t be too confident. If I could choose from the beginning, I’d rather marry Sean than a jerk like you.”
“Veronica…” Darwin sighed, glancing. “Are you going to explain the conditions or insult me?” protested the man, not pleased. Over time, Veronica’s mouth felt more and more poisonous. It was painful for Darwin to listen to the cutting words from his wife’s lips.
“Okay, I’ll make it short,” Veronica continued. “As we know, our marriage is the result of our parents’ ambitions. That’s why I want us to go through this marriage properly for the sake of maintaining the honor of the extended family. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be concerned about being trapped forever in this marriage.”
“What do you mean?”
Darwin blinked. His forehead reflexively furrowed. He had no idea what else his wife was planning after this.
“Yes.” Veronica nodded. “No need to drag it out. I think six months is enough time for both of us to try living in this marriage.”
“And after six months?”
“According to your wishes. We’ll get divorced. At the very least, I’ll have some time to find the right reasons and gradually explain to Dad that we can separate amicably. Just so you know, my Dad has a heart condition. I don’t want to disappoint him and end up causing problems.”
“Is that your only request?” Darwin asked dismissively.
Veronica nodded once, then spoke again a moment later.
“Simple, right? I think my request is pretty easy. But there’s just…”
“Just what, Ve?” Darwin sighed again. Over time, Veronica seemed to have more and more demands.
“You need to listen clearly to this one. During the six months of our marriage, I don’t want to hear or see you meeting Vivian for any reason. So, please tell her not to meet you until the agreed-upon time.”
“Oh my god, Ve! It can’t be like that.”
“Can do!” Veronica said firmly. “Just let your affair know to be patient and wait for Veronica’s turn. Besides, it’s only six months. If they’re patient and agree, I promise I’ll return the privileges I’ve taken from them before.”
Darwin remained silent for a moment. Of course, he needed to think and weigh the offer Veronica had just presented. But upon closer examination, there seemed to be no choice but to agree.
“Will you return her job too?”
Veronica nodded confidently. She never played around with her words.
“Sure. If she agrees and is willing, I’ll even give her a job and a good position in the branch company I hold tomorrow. The important thing is, Vivian won’t bother you or show up in front of you for now.”
As if finding an oasis in the desert, Darwin felt a glimmer of hope. For him, the most important thing was that Vivian wouldn’t be harmed or endangered by Veronica.
“Okay, fine. You win. I’ll go along with your request to keep Vivian from meeting for the next six months.”
“But, Win-”
“Oh my god, Veronica. What now? You have too many conditions.”
Reluctantly, Veronica laughed. Not because of Darwin’s protests, but because she found it amusing to see her husband’s expression of desperation.
“I’m not adding more conditions. I just want to warn you. And you need to pay close attention to this.”
“Alright, what is it?”
“If, before the agreed-upon time, you break the agreement by secretly meeting with Vivian, for example. Be prepared, you’ll lose everything you have, whatever it may be. And I never joke around with my words.”
“Deal!” Darwin replied confidently. “From now on until the next six months, we’re officially husband and wife for real.”
Upon hearing the story, Randy and Kennedy burst into laughter together. Naturally, they teased Darwin about his current situation.
“Oh come on, Darwin. You should be grateful that Veronica is still forgiving you instead of banishing you and Vivian from this world,” Randy chuckled with satisfaction. Right from the start, he was actually very supportive of Veronica.
“You’re lucky you’re not being made poor, Win,” Kennedy continued. “What’s wrong with Veronica giving her a job, a good position, and an apartment for Vivian.”
Darwin grumbled in frustration. He had actually anticipated that his cousins would mock him like this.
“Both of you are truly wicked, aren’t you? Instead of supporting me, you seem really happy that I’m being oppressed.”
“From the start, you’ve been unreasonable, Win. It’s not Veronica. If your wife’s fangs are showing now, it’s because of your own mistakes. Besides, from the beginning, both Randy and I already warned you. We’ve given advice multiple times not to play with fire. And now? You’ve gotten burned on your own, right?”
Darwin sighed again. Well, he’ll just have to accept his fate after this.
“Alright, enough. I’m tired of your stories.”
Kennedy laughed again. Placing his hand on Darwin’s shoulder, the man patted it gently. Trying to calm him down while giving advice once again before parting ways and heading home. After all, it was getting late in the evening.
“That’s enough. Don’t be sad. Just be thankful. Besides, what’s so difficult about learning to build a real marriage? Who knows, it might work out like it did for me and Luna. It all depends on the intention.”
“So, you think I should just give in to Veronica’s request?” Darwin asked to confirm.
Kennedy nodded.
“Just try it slowly. Besides, there’s no other choice, right?”
“Cheesy…” Randy suddenly teased. “There’s a scent that someone’s going crazy. Watch out if someone starts confessing their love for real. Just watch out.”
Darwin immediately scoffed. He grabbed a tissue, balled it up, and then threw it at Randy in annoyance.
“Typical suck cousin!”
***