The night before, after turning away from the bus that carried Serena, Zake headed to Lust&Fun Club, an outskirt club that served as his refuge to avoid media detection.
He was almost at his destination when, with one hand, he tossed his suit onto the back seat, along with his tie. Still, with one hand, he unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it out of his pants.
Music thumped from the establishment as he arrived in the back alley and parked his car in the spot reserved by the club owner specifically for him.
His phone rang.
Zake was tempted to ignore it, but the corner of his eye caught his mother's name on the screen. He took a deep breath before answering the call.
"Yes, mother," he greeted shortly.
"Where are you?! Don't you know what your barren ex-wife did to me and Rita?" his mother complained suddenly, with Adrian's crying heard in the background.
Surely, he was shocked by the unpleasant sound of his grandmother's voice.
Zake frowned; why was his mother talking about Serena? What had the woman done? He had just seen her return home by bus as usual. How could she quickly go to the Addam Mansion?
Zake's mind was filled with questions, and now his attention shifted from his original intention of having fun at the club to thinking about his mother's problems.
Because his mother mentioned Serena.
"What's going on between you and Serena?" Zake inquired softly, trying to understand what had happened.
He knew his mother liked to exaggerate issues, but this time, it seemed too absurd to overlook.
"She pushed me! That woman dared to push me and slammed the door in my face! Luckily, you divorced her; her attitude is truly rude! Now you know why I never liked her? Because she's uncouth; you can never polish her into a diamond!" Adeline rambled on.
Adrian's cries in the background grew louder, making Zake's thoughts chaotic and eventually escalating his emotions.
Serena acted rudely towards her mother? Why did she become disrespectful? Just because she was no longer his wife didn't mean she could behave harshly towards her former mother-in-law.
Zake's desire for clubbing tonight failed; instead, he turned around and drove his car quickly to Serena's apartment.
He ignored the angry honks echoing as he drove recklessly. He even ran through red lights just to get to Serena's place quickly and demanded an explanation for her disrespectful behavior towards his mother.
One more block until he reached Serena's apartment when suddenly realization struck him.
Initially, he thought Serena had gone to Addam Mansion, but when his mother explained further, his subconscious realized that his mother had gone to Serena's residence. What was his mother doing there? And again... with Rita?
Finally, before embarrassing himself by scolding his ex-wife, he grasped the situation.
This is definitely still about the alimony issue, which was the topic of their conversation earlier that morning.
Rita and his mother are unwilling to let go of the matter and continue to disrupt Serena's life.
Moreover, when he arrived on the street in front of Serena's apartment, he saw her sitting on her balcony on the third floor with an empty gaze while having what he could predict was her favorite super spicy instant noodles for dinner, again.
"Mother must have messed with her emotions..." Zake thought.
Initially, he didn't understand that bad behavior of her. When they were still officially husband and wife, he often found his wife quietly going to the kitchen in the middle of the night to cook instant noodles, which Serena considered comfort food, while for him, it was food from hell.
Eventually, he realized and connected the dots; Serena always did it whenever she and his mother just met that day.
He urged Serena to tell him what happened between her and his mother because, frankly, as her son, he knew how irritating his mother could be. But Serena's lips remained sealed, always saying that nothing happened between her and Adeline.
Until he found out for himself.
During a garden party event among business associates at his mansion, he looked for his wife, who suddenly disappeared. He found her with his mother, gathering with the wives of his colleagues. He intended to greet them but refrained when he heard his mother humiliating Serena in front of them.
"Do you know what's worse than having a poor and questionable daughter-in-law? Not having any in-laws! Hahaha..." his mother's laughter echoed, followed by the others.
Zake stood frozen, unable to do anything, especially when he saw Serena's polite smile, not responding to his mother's bullying. He couldn't help someone who didn't ask for help.
He felt like a useless man, and it wounded his pride.
Not satisfied yet, his mother continued, "I don't know what Zake was thinking when he married her. I guess it's because my son was delusional and inspired momentarily after reading the Good Samaritan? I bet he regrets that harsh decision now but is trapped in the situation."
The women's laughter grew louder, unaware that it wasn't a joke because the target didn't laugh. Serena's head hung lower, her smile still present but now looking very fake.
"Well, we hope Zake realizes soon and gathers the courage to get out of this situation, right, Mrs Addam?" one of the wives continued the mockery.
His mother seemed pleased that someone understood her joke.
"Let's hope for the best... I'm grateful they still don't have children; hopefully, they never will. I refuse to let Zake continue my lineage from her womb. Poor child; he has no idea what it means to have grandparents on both sides. Isn't that right, Serena? You're barren, aren't you?"
His mother forced Serena to speak, and she finally lifted her face, nodding weakly, still with a forced smile on her lips.
The five socialite women smirked satisfactorily at Serena's suffering.
Zake could see Serena's trembling hands as she placed the glass back on the table. She seemed to squeeze close to his mother, saying something that Zake couldn't hear.
"What? You want to go to the bathroom? Then why bother telling me?! It's so unimportant, do as you wish! Keep your hygiene matters to yourself; it's so impolite, rude..." his mother replied irritably, with a disgusted expression, while harshly brushing off Serena's polite touch from earlier.
"S-sorry..." Serena mumbled while bowing repeatedly before quickly heading to the bathroom.
Zake, on the other hand, had no idea what was on his mind at that moment when he suddenly turned and left to avoid meeting his wife.
He felt ashamed; he never knew his wife could be so weak and looked down upon by the wives of his business associates.
Why didn't she stand up and defend herself?
His initial pride in his wife, whom he considered strong and independent, suddenly crumbled. It turned out his wife was not as noble as he thought.
He then imagined his friends' laughter, silently ridiculing his decision to marry Serena. Their silent mockery, along with their wives, turning his life into a subject of jokes, truly hurt his self-esteem. Instead of making him proud, his wife became a laughingstock! Truly, she was a useless wife.
After the event that evening, he, who usually accompanied Serena while she enjoyed her super spicy instant noodles, suddenly lost the reason. Although he eventually got an explanation for his wife's bad habit, his sympathy had vanished, replaced by a feeling of disgust.
'Why do you make yourself a victim and sulk about it?! Weakling!' Zake protested in his mind, seeing his wife eating with a vacant stare facing the brightly lit swimming pool.
Instead of consoling his wife, he chose to leave, seeking an escape.