Edginess Out of Nowhere
1323 Words
Arthur was still frozen halfway through switching his laptop off. By the time he got his senses back, a few minutes had already passed. Very quickly, he shut his laptop with a snap.
"Ha, how could that be possible? That woman values her life more than anyone else." Arthur was instinctively in denial of the news.
However, why was he feeling a burst of edginess out of nowhere?
Suddenly, his cell phone buzzed, and Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. 'Look, isn't she already calling to do a spot check on me?' he thought.
Ha, did she still want to play tricks with him?
However, the name on the screen was his buddy's, Chad. He frowned almost imperceptibly.
"Why is it you?"
"..." Chad felt incredibly hurt. D*mn, he hadn't even said a word!
"Arthur, please come hang out with me."
"No."
Chad was on the verge of whining. "Arthur, don't tell me you want to go home and spend time with your wife?"
"Chad, are you craving a good beating?"
His grim tone made Chad shudder. Was it too late to apologize?
However, Arthur's gaze was resting on the laptop that was still open, his expression very gloomy.
He realized that he was actually wasting time thinking about Lucy.
It wasn't like him.
"Send me the address." He hung up, grabbed his car keys, and strode out of the office.
Chad was still in a daze listening to the beeping dial tone. Did Arthur just change his mind?
...
Club Trinket—
In the private room, all the lads were enjoying themselves except Arthur, who sat in a corner alone smoking silently.
His long legs were slightly crossed and the first two buttons of his shirt were undone. He was shrouded in shadows, but his cold eyes still gleamed from time to time, making the hearts of many girls race.
"Mr. Johnson, fancy a drink?" A bold woman approached him and stroked his muscular thighs.
Her actions were very seductive.
She had heard from Chad that Arthur was already not available, but so what? She was younger and prettier. What did she have to worry about beating a mundane woman?
"Mr. Johnson, I didn't expect you to already have a wife at such a young age. You're so dashing and successful in your career, so why would you keep yourself confined to your home? There are god knows how many young ladies out there who admire you."
Her voice was tender and her gaze was coquettish. Her nimble hands slowly worked their way to the belt buckle at his waist.
"So, are you among my admirers?" Arthur crushed his cigarette out and looked at her with a vague smile.
Being stared at that way, the woman felt her cheeks burn and her heart pound. "Mr. Johnson, do you still not know what I'm getting at?"
"Ha." Arthur gave a short laugh. In the next second, he grabbed the woman's slender wrist with an iron-like grip.
He didn't know why, but when he heard her mention his wife, his anger flared.
No matter how imperfect Lucy might be, a stranger liker her had no rights to talk about her.
"Who do you think you are? F*ck off!"
The woman was thrown to the ground and her long hair covered her face. She looked very embarrassed.
The atmosphere immediately grew tense, and Arthur was no longer in the mood to stay there. Just as he was getting ready to leave, Chad blocked his way and said, "Arthur, don't get angry. If she's not to your liking, just swap her with someone else."
"Enjoy yourselves. I'm drunk, so I'll head off first." He patted Chad on the shoulder and left expressionlessly.
In fact, he wasn't that drunk, but he just kept checking his phone.
The ridiculous part of it was that it seemed like he was waiting for a phone call from someone.
"Young Master, which way are you headed?" the driver asked carefully as his hands tightened around the steering wheel.
Arthur sighed softly and pinched his forehead wearily. "Head to Goldfinch Villa."
If it wasn't for his body's needs, Arthur wouldn't go there at all.
It was ridiculous. In the past, whenever he saw Lucy calling him, he would feel extremely annoyed. But now that there wasn't even a single text from her, he actually felt unused to it.
He felt as if something was bugging him, making him feel slightly uncomfortable.
...
As soon as he got out of the car, he could see the villa brightly lit even from afar. He could also smell the faint aroma of food.
Sure enough, weren't the divorce settlement and the plane crash just some trick of hers?
How could something bad happen to someone just like that for no reason?
"Sir, you're back." The moment he walked through the door, he saw Aunty Julianne bringing a bowl of soup to the table in the living room kindly.
Arthur stopped in his tracks. Only then did he recall that it was a Friday, and Lucy would do all the house chores if she was around. Even so, Arthur had hired a helper to do the cooking and cleaning on weekends.
"Where's Lucy?" Arthur pretended to ask casually and handed his briefcase to the helper.
"I don't know. I didn't see her even when I arrived. She might have gone out and should return very soon."
Aunty Julianne sounded a little happy when she spoke. She had been working there for more than half a year, and she could tell that the couple did not seem to have a good relationship. Although Lucy had a good character, Arthur had always been indifferent.
Now that Arthur had taken the initiative to ask, Aunty Julianne undoubtedly felt a little happy about it. She still hoped for the young couple to get on well with each other.
Arthur didn't say anything and went straight to the bedroom on the second floor, walking hastily.
As soon as he opened the bedroom door, the old smell of perfume hit him. Nothing much seemed to have changed inside, but a lot of things seemed to be missing.
Just as Lucy had said, there were a few thin sheets of paper on the tidy bed. He could see the words "divorce settlement" clearly even from a distance away.
"Lucy?" Arthur called out hoarsely, starting to feel something.
On the dressing table was a bunch of white roses that had not wilted, but her skincare products were all gone. After looking around for a while, Arthur realized that the wardrobe was still filled with clothes.
He should have felt relieved, but those clothes were expensive ones that he had gifted her, from fancy gowns to suits. Lucy...had never even touched them?
There were also complete sets of flashy accessories and limited edition handbags. Anything he had gifted her had been left behind.
It looked like she wasn't willing to bring along anything that had anything to do with him.
'Ha, Lucy, how nice of you!' he thought.
Arthur was still expressionless. He picked up the thin pieces of paper from the bed and tore them to shreds after a quick glance.
The shreds of paper fell on to the bed like snowflakes and made Arthur's eyes look as cold as ice.
Had Lucy gotten his permission to leave?
Back then, she had tried so hard to get into his pants. So alright then, he had made her Mrs. Johnson. But did she think she could get rid of him so easily with some divorce settlement?
Dream on!
"Aunty Julianne," Arthur called out. He pointed at the clothes in the wardrobe that still had their price tags on with a gloomy expression. "Pack up Lucy's stuff and throw them out."
"I..." Aunty Julianne was stunned as she rubbed her hands on her apron, at a loss.
"I won't repeat myself." Arthur was burning with anger.
- Writer
