Rain On Her Heart

5. Her Husband And Her Ex

When she saw Rex suddenly appear, Grace felt her heart almost drop to her stomach. The man's unpredictable presence instantly sent her into a state of panic. Rex's presence would only worsen the already tense atmosphere. Oh no, this is really, really serious. Grace shook her head repeatedly.

Grace was sure that Luke must have seen what was now in Rex's hand—a bag that belonged to her. And Grace was annoyed because what was even more annoying was that the bag was Luke's gift to her.

The war is about to start. Grace knew this was coming. It can be seen that Luke's hands are clenched so tightly that his knuckles look white. Seeing Rex come with the bag clearly made Luke's anger boil.

Grace knew both men. And she was afraid of what was going to happen. More precisely, what was about to happen? The ticking seconds were terrifying.

Rex was stepping closer and closer. Every step he took would bring about his own doom. However, there was no look of doubt in his eyes. He walked confidently, as if he realized that there was nothing wrong with what he was doing.

"Why is her bag in your hand?" Luke immediately lunged at Rex with a question.

The two tall men were now facing each other. Luke stared at Rex with a fierce gaze, as if he wanted to kill Rex, as if Rex were a delicious meal for predators like him. Rex, on the other hand, seemed to be calmly dealing with the situation. He didn't seem to mind anything. With a calm look, he replied to Luke's eyes, which were as sharp as kitchen knives.

Rex did not pay attention to the questions that came from Luke's lips. Instead, he stepped aside and approached Grace.

"Here's your bag. Sorry for interrupting what's going on."

Unsure of what to say, Grace just accepted her bag. She was silent, her brain not helping her to think of what to say. She knew that she shouldn't just stay silent like this.

"Hey man, I'm asking you!" Luke immediately grabbed Rex's shoulders, then turned the man's body to face him.

When Rex was facing him again, Luke shouted as sharply as before, "I ask again, why is my wife's bag with you?"

"I don't want to answer, I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing. You should ask Grace directly." Rex finally gave an answer while dismissing Luke's hand, which was on his shoulder. "I have to go soon."

"You slept with her?"

Rex, who was ready to leave, immediately paused his steps when an unexpected and almost accusatory question was directed at him.

"What did you say?" Rex had now turned around, his gaze fully fixed on Luke. One eyebrow dipped sharply upward.

"Was my question unclear? Do you want me to repeat it?"

"Luke, you can't make accusations like that!" Grace exclaimed from behind. She realized this was the beginning of a fight that would continue. She didn't want any more commotion, especially not here.

"Oh, am I wrong? How can I think positively if he just keeps mum instead of answering my questions? My question was simple, I was just asking about the whereabouts of your bag. If he won't answer, why don't you?"

Grace let out a long sigh. Luke's tone hardened. Anger was getting the better of her body. She didn't want anything bad to happen.

"I didn't sleep with him!" Grace continued.

"So, why is your bag with him?" Luke laughed widely. He looked at Grace, shaking his head. "You're being ridiculous, you know? You've been cornering me! You're talking as if I'm the only guilty party here! But what's the truth? You were with him? Did you go out together last night?"

Luke looked at Grace and Rex in turn. He smiled while shaking his head, until finally he clapped his hands repeatedly. "Bravo, Grace! You're such an ignorant woman. You talk as if you're completely innocent. It's as if I'm the worst and have done the most wrong here. In fact, you're just like me."

"Stop talking about things you don't know, Luke. You don't know anything about what's going on with me, so don't infer from the things you think you do, and get out of here. Didn't I tell you to leave earlier?"

Luke folded his arms instead. "You told me to leave because you wanted to be alone with him, right? Now, be a sport and be honest with me. Am I right?"

"Get out of here, Luke! I don't want to see your asshole face anymore!"

Luke smiled sarcastically. Seeing Grace's red face overcome by anger only made him want to linger here even more.

"So it's true, last night you did sleep with him? You feel betrayed by me because I cheated on you, but you also did the same thing. You're such a hypocrite, Grace. It's as if I'm the only one at fault here, but you are too."

Hearing Luke's words made Grace's fist grow stronger. She tried to be patient, but apparently she was not able to control her body.

"Grace, you did what I did. And you don't want to come back to me. I think the reason is not because I cheated on you too much, but because you don't love me anymore, you want to be with him. And you didn't want to be accused of being at fault, you took it all out on me, as if I were completely at fault. You don't want to be considered bad by others. If anyone asked you why we separated, you would have answered that I had cheated on you, but that wasn't the case. You wanted a divorce from me because you wanted to be with him. I was right, wasn't I? You're dumping everything on me, which isn't fair at all. Honestly, Grace, I feel wronged here."

Unable to hold back the anger that had seeped into her chest, Grace's hand, which had been clenched so tightly, suddenly lunged at Luke's cheek. She slapped him unmercifully.

One slap was so powerful that Grace felt the heat of her palm biting.

"I didn't sleep with Rex, asshole! You're the one who slept with another woman over and over again. You cheated on me!" Grace shouted loudly and was filled with rage that had burst out like a flash flood.

Not stopping there, Grace pushed Luke's body so hard that her husband was pushed backwards with such force.

The hatred Grace felt for Luke only intensified. Once again, she screamed. "I demand that you leave right now!" she said, which Luke did not obey. He did not heed Grace's words. Annoyed, she yelled once again. "Leave!"

Grace's face already looked very scary. Her bulging eyes and frightening face made Luke finally take a step to follow what she said.

But, before actually leaving, Luke first looked at Rex. There was a thick hostility in his gaze, but Rex didn't care much about it.

"We now have a problem. I'm watching you." Luke said while moving away.

Meanwhile, Rex, without the speck of fear that he exuded, only replied to Luke's words with a flat stare.

Relief instantly flooded Grace when Luke finally left. She could breathe a sigh of relief. But Grace felt weak, and facing Luke took an effort that really drained her energy.

Grace then leaned against the closed door, her eyes closed tightly.

"Are you okay?"

Grace opened her eyes again when Rex's voice filled her ears.

Grace nodded. "I'm fine, I'm just tired, that's all. This is really bad."

"I'm so sorry, Grace. I didn't expect it to be like this. I came at the wrong time. I saw that you left your bag at my house, and I moved quickly, I followed you, and I..."

"I know, you don't need to explain in full. It's okay, you just meant well. Thank you for bringing my bag." Grace tried to force a smile out of her face, but it was difficult when her heart was in turmoil.

"Okay."

"Anyway, I can't get into my flat because the key is in this bag. Do you want to go inside?"

"I don't think so, I don't want to add to the chaos going on between you and your husband."

"No problem, he's gone. And I hope he won't come back and bother me again. I'm really fed up with him."

"Grace, I don't mean to interfere, but you can tell me if you want to. I'm not forcing you, of course, it's up to you."

Rex just wanted to be nice to Grace. Since earlier, he has been putting together the puzzle pieces of what happened. All the questions that had accumulated since last night, more precisely when he saw Grace drunk, one by one, had begun to be answered. Especially now that Grace is living in a cheap, small, and rather shabby flat. It's obvious that there's a problem going on between Grace and her husband. And from the argument that Rex heard earlier, he knew a little bit about the conflict they were facing.

Grace has now opened the door to her flat.

"Rex, listen, I apologize for how Luke treated you just now. He is an asshole. He's been accusing you of things. Please don't mind what he says to you. He is a crazy man who doesn't know himself."

"Relax, I'm not taking his words to heart."

Grace smiled slightly. "Thank you very much."

Rex nodded briefly, then said, "I think I'll just go, I'll drop by sometime. I don't want your husband to accuse me even more if I go inside your flat. It's better for me to just leave."

Grace could not force Rex's will and desire. She finally said yes. "Alright, thank you again."

"See you again, Grace."

"Bye, Rex."

Rex smiled at Grace before he walked away. Grace let out a long breath after Rex left her presence and had completely disappeared. Then, she chose to go inside the flat she rented.

Grace's mood certainly hadn't improved. She didn't know what to do after this. Her life was in turmoil. And to make matters worse, she could only keep her problems to herself.

Grace finally chose to take a shower. She not only needed to freshen up her body, but her mind as well.