Liberty cried for a long time and only put away the tears when Hank came home. She pretended to be asleep, but her ears were pricked up for the noise outside. Ever since the domestic abuse, the couple had slept in separate rooms. Hank must be scared Liberty might cut him up in the middle of his sleep. The bedroom door was pushed open, but Hank did not enter. Instead, he looked in from the door. Seeing that his wife and child were asleep, he closed the door and went to the bedroom next door. With the door shut, he phoned Jessica. “Mr. Brown.” “We’re not in the office. Call me Hank.” Hank spoke in a hushed tone so his wife could not hear him from the next room. “Are you home, Hank? I was so worried about you. You drove home even though you had a lot to drink. I was worried sick. Don’t do that again. It’s dangerous to drink and drive. You’ll be in trouble if the traffic officer catches you driving under the influence.” Jessica expressed her concern for Hank over the phone
“You had a lot to drink. You reek of alcohol. Go and shower.” Disgusted by the stench, Liberty kicked Hank. Now that she had found out that he was cheating on her, Liberty was going to take her sister’s advice and refrain from spooking him. She would carry on with life like nothing ever happened while collecting evidence of his infidelity behind the scenes, so he could not talk his way out of it.As for whether Hank would do something to her, Liberty believed that he was not that cruel. Besides, the police could easily crack a murder case with today’s technology. His misdeed would not go undetected if he ever lay his hands on her. He would not throw away his future in exchange for her life. Amid all his swearing, Hank still went to take a shower. After coming out of the bathroom, Hank lay down next to his son again, but in less than two minutes, he sat up and crawled near his son’s feet to slither his hand onto Liberty’s thigh. He made his intention abundantly clear. Altho
Liberty was not at the market getting groceries. She had been looking for a job during the day and making a detour to the market while on her way home. The produce at the market tended to be cheaper at night, so she could save a bit of money this way. Although Liberty had not gotten a job and could not rely on her husband, she had not maxed out her resources. It was a good thing Liberty took her sister’s advice to save up some money back then. Her sister was against Liberty quitting her job and getting ready for pregnancy after getting married. Her sister said that women should have their own income instead of relying completely on men no matter before or after marriage. All was good if the husband was good to the wife. Once the husband fell out of love and started cheating, the wife, who was without a job or an income, would be in an unfavorable position and be sunk into oblivion. Liberty had been foolish. She trusted her relationship with Hank was solid and that Hank woul
Serenity had just gotten downstairs when she heard her man’s cries. The bodyguards, who were pretending to be strolling nearby, swiftly turned their backs against Serenity as if they did not see her when the missus emerged downstairs. They carried on with their leisure walks. It did not take long before Mr. Zachary was calling out to the missus. Stopping in her tracks, Serenity turned around and looked at Zachary. With the car keys in hand, Zachary said to Serenity, “I’ll come along.” His sister-in-law bravely fought back when Hank abused her. Liberty was a spitfire. She was not the type to back down and endure the suffering. How could Liberty tolerate her husband’s cheating? The couple might engage in another physical altercation. Zachary knew that Hank could not hurt Serenity since his wife practiced self-defense. Nevertheless, she needed a man by her side as Hank or the Browns would not think twice before acting cocky. He was her husband and her supporter. Zach
Serenity was about to say that her sister would never forgive infidelity but hummed a response on second thought. The couple did not exchange another word during the journey. Zachary did not do well at small talks while Serenity was preoccupied with her sister’s marriage to engage in conversation. It was pin-drop silence in the car. Zachary did not even put the music on. Tilting her head, Serenity looked at the scenery outside the window. She waited until they were reaching Bright Boulevard before giving her sister a call. Serenity was relieved that her sister picked up the call. “Liberty, are you and Sonny up? I made quite a lot of sandwiches, so I brought you and Sonny some.” Liberty stopped walking and stared at her son in the stroller. She said, “Sonny isn’t awake yet. Seren, I’m not at home. I took Sonny out for a stroll and somehow ended up near your bookshop. I’ll just head to your shop instead of going home.” “Oh, I see. Where are you now? Can you drop me a pin?
What should Liberty do if she failed to get custody of Sonny following the divorce? The Browns were a nasty piece of work, in the same class as Serenity’s relatives. Serenity dared not imagine Sonny’s life if he were to stay with the Brown family. The Hunt sisters had been caring for Sonny since the day he was born. Serenity loved her nephew like her own. Her heart sank at the thought that the custody of her nephew would be given to the Browns. “Liberty, if we do get there, we must fight for Sonny’s custody. Sonny will suffer and be bullied in their hands,” Serenity said softly. Biting her lip, Liberty replied in a hushed voice, “I’ll do everything I can to secure full custody.” While behind the wheel, Zachary chimed in. “You can go on with the divorce proceedings and fight for custody after you find a job. Otherwise, it’ll be easy to lose the custody battle.” Although Liberty was Sonny’s primary carer and the child was closer to his mother than his father, Liberty had n
“Sonny didn’t finish the sandwiches, so I ate his leftovers.” Liberty did not have much of an appetite. She ate after Sonny and finished the sandwiches in the lunch box. Neither hungry nor full, Liberty simply did not feel like eating. Jasmine already had her breakfast. Serenity helped herself to the plate of pasta. She slurped down her pasta and finished the whole plate in minutes. While she cleared away her dirty dishes and cleaned them in the kitchen, Jasmine came in and whispered, “Seren, did you notice your sister’s swollen eyes? Has she been crying?” Serenity quietly washed the dishes. A while later, she spoke softly, “Shawn was at a business dinner last night and saw my brother-in-law together with another woman. They were rather intimate at the event. It would be hard to believe that there’s nothing going on between them. Shawn only remembered who he was when he got home last night and told me about it. I filled my sister in on the whole thing.” “Huh?” Jasmine
“Seren, starting tomorrow, you can pick Sonny up while I jog to your shop. I want to lose weight!” Liberty was not getting into shape to save her marriage. It was for her own self-confidence.“Okay, ” Serenity replied. She had told her sister to work out before it turned into a health issue. “Seren.” Liberty suddenly put her arms around her sister and cried. In fact, she bawled out loudly. All the years she devoted to the relationship had come to this. Liberty would be lying to say it was not eating her up inside. However, she put on a brave face so her son did not see her cry. Holding her sister tightly, Serenity could not stop the tears in her eyes too. It was like fifteen years ago when she first heard her parents’ passing in an accident. Liberty went to fetch her from school to bring her home. Serenity had only walked out of the school gate when her sister held her and burst into tears. Serenity had no idea what was going on then. Her sister had only said that thei