Just like Sabrina, Kenneth’s eyes have dark circles around them when he woke up. He didn’t know what time it was because he was too lazy to check the time but he believed it was already dawn when sleep consumed his whole being.
"Good morning, Ken!" Sabrina cheerfully greeted him.
When Kenneth remembered the audacity of his wife last night, he felt annoyed and wanted to retaliate. But how could he get back at a woman who didn't care about anything? Sabrina proved to him that she was not sane. His family has mistreated her since the wedding and yet, she continued to act as if she was the happiest in the world.
"Is the food ready?" he asked.
"Of course! Please have a seat, and I'll serve you," Sabrina replied.
While waiting for the woman to bring the food, Kenneth couldn't help but gaze at her plump buttocks. Perhaps Sabrina felt him looking at her from behind because she suddenly turned around. He immediately shifted his gaze to avoid the woman realizing that he was slowly starting to notice her allure.
"Salted fish again?" Kenneth raised his voice when he saw the contents of his plate.
"You said it's your favorite, so there you go," Sabrina said, but her annoyed expression was evident in her eyes.
"Are you stupid? Just because salted fish is my favorite, doesn’t mean I have to eat it every day!" he shouted at her and the woman was clearly taken aback when he screamed into her face. He even called her stupid but she didn’t even flinch from her seat! “You used to be a smart girl, Sabrina. So, what happened to you?”
“I happened to get married to the most pompous man I had the misfortune to encounter,” she responded.
“Oh really? Are you saying it is my fault now that we are in this situation?” he asked.
“Of course, Kenneth. It wasn’t my family who forced you to marry me. It was your grandfather, so you should blame that old fart,” she said.
“Mind your language, woman! He is still my grandfather and the head of this family!”
“Are you a toddler? At your age, you are supposed to be independent from your family. So what’s wrong with you? Why are you still living with them?”
“Because that is how we live here and you don’t have the right to question me or anyone from this family,” he warned her.
“Alright, if you say so. If you don’t like your food, you can cook it by yourself or hire a maid. I am your wife, bastard! Not your servant to do everything at your beck and call!”
“Isn’t that what a wife is supposed to do? Be submissive and obedient to her husband?”
“This is forced servitude! How can you treat me this way when I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“If you didn’t find me cute back then, you wouldn’t accept my invitation to come with me at my apartment. If you didn’t like me, you wouldn’t look at me with those eyes when I stripped your clothing, Sabrina.”
“And, what’s your point?”
“You could have stopped me! But you didn’t!”
“Are you for real? Between the two of us, Kenneth, you are the older one! You should have been so sensible not to ask an eighteen-year-old girl to have sex with you. It was your fault when you failed to stop your libido. You were horny but weak enough to stop yourself from wanting my young body!”
“Oh God, will you just shut up?”
“Okay,” she said before walking away.
When she was walking away, Kenneth realized that Sabrina was giving him an attitude. After the wedding, she was so obedient and submissive, but then she suddenly changed! What right did she have to answer him back like that? He stood up, left the table, and followed her outside. Then, he grabbed her arm before she could enter her bedroom.
"What's your problem? If that's your attitude towards me, we might as well settle everything in court,” he told her.
Sabrina didn't flinch at Kenneth's words and raised an eyebrow at her boss. "Are you trying to scare me?" she asked because if it came to going to court, she wasn't afraid. What else could she lose? She had already lost everything, so she didn't care anymore.
"I'm not trying to scare you; I'm just telling the truth. Just let me know when we'll settle things, so I can inform my lawyer," Kenneth said.
Sabrina chuckled at Kenneth's statement, knowing that he wouldn't follow through. It was all talk. "All you do is talk. Why don’t you go to the main house and discuss it with your grandfather?”
"Wow, you're really gutsy! Go back to the kitchen and cook something good for me,” he ordered.
“I told you I am not your servant but your wife. You can ask me to please you in bed, but you can’t order me around to do the chores here,” she said.
"I don't know why you ended up with me, but I'm already regretting it," Kenneth said.
“The feeling is mutual, Kenneth. Do you think I am happy to be here?”
“That attitude of yours is a clear testament to why your parents didn’t even bother to check on you, Sabrina,” he said but he didn’t expect to see her reaction. “Sabrina…,” he called her name in a barely audible voice as soon as he saw the tears welling up in the corner of her eyes. “I didn’t mean to say it that way,” he added.
"Is there really something wrong with me?" Her voice cracked as she asked him. "Am I really difficult to love? Am I a burden to the people close to me?"
When Sabrina looked up at him, her tear-filled eyes, Kenneth was surprised. He saw the pain in her eyes. What kind of life had she been through, and the woman didn't know how to cry properly? He didn't hear her sobbing, so he decided to approach her on the bed.
"Sabrina..." he called her name, but she didn't seem to hear anything.
So, he went to the window where she was facing and widened his eyes when he saw her tears flowing incessantly. He could only see her eyes crying, and in his estimation, she couldn't see anything else. He didn't hesitate to be beside her and hugged her tightly. He was surprised by what Sabrina did next, as she suddenly burst into tears.
"Is there really something wrong with me?" she sobbed.
"Shhhh, there's nothing wrong with you, okay?" he tried to calm the woman who continued to cry.
"I don't know what to do anymore," Sabrina said, as she had lost all hope of finding complete happiness. “I just wanted to be happy but then I got married to someone like you. My life is forever doomed!”
At that moment, Kenneth felt bad for the woman. She was right. It wasn’t her fault to become a member in their family. If only he was strong enough to go against the wishes of his grandfather, but then, his mother would be mad at him. He was torn in between!
"I'm sorry. It is all my fault," Kenneth said. “From now, I will try not to be so difficult, Sabrina.”
“If you can’t talk to your grandfather, then I think I would rather do it. This marriage is nonsense!”
“No, please. You can’t provoke my grandfather like that. You don’t know him,” he said.
“Then, what should I do? Endure everything even if it’s killing me?”
“No. I promise. I will be kind to you,”
Since then, the dynamics between Kenneth and Sabrina have changed. They have become close and were always together. They agreed to be on good terms for the time being while together in the same house.
"Morning Sabrina," Kenneth greeted Sabrina while she was busy cooking their breakfast.
"Sit down, it's almost ready," Sabrina told him.
In truth, Sabrina was happy about their friendship because she really lacked friends. However, as each day passed, she felt like her feelings for him became more intense. She was having difficulties in controlling her heart.
She noticed what perfume he used. She also paid attention to small details in his appearance, like his thick eyebrows and long eyelashes. Even the shape of his lips had left an impression on her heart. It seemed like she noticed everything about him since the time he comforted her once. She even noticed the way he laughed and breathed.
"Why didn't you wake me up to accompany you to the market?" Kenneth asked when he noticed the fresh seafood Sabrina prepared in front of him.
"Don't mind that," Sabrina replied and also served soup in her bowl so they could eat together. "Is it delicious?" she asked, and he just nodded. However, his cell phone suddenly rang.
"Why, Isabelle?" Kenneth said as he answered the call from Isabelle.
While Kenneth happily chatted with Isabelle on the phone, Sabrina's heart grew restless. She knew she shouldn't be jealous if he was talking to another woman especially when the woman was his sister-in-law, however, she couldn’t stop herself from feeling that way.
She felt like pouring the hot soup on Kenneth's face, who was gleefully talking to Isabelle while they were at the table. When Kenneth smiled at her, she forced herself to smile back. She couldn't eat properly while the two of them were talking on the phone.
She repeatedly scolded herself, reminding herself that she had no right to be jealous because, first and foremost, he didn’t love her as a wife. She wasn't even sure if they were really friends.
"Sabrina, can you cook something delicious later? Isabelle will be coming over to have lunch here since Daniel went to an important meeting,” he said.
“Alright, Kenneth,” she agreed.
“Well, I think this is the perfect time for the two of you to bond as sisters. She’s a nice woman, Sabrina,” he said.
“If you say so,” she replied.
“Good,” he stated.
When it comes to kindness, he couldn’t say anything negative about Isabelle. She was the perfect wife that a husband could ever have! Daniel’s wife was naturally kind and she was the complete package. If only she was not engaged to Daniel first, he would probably court Isabelle to become his wife.