The Sweetest Revenge

Chapter 03: A Battle of Gifts

When I returned home and opened the door, I saw another man in the living room. Rosie was all smiles as she chatted with him. Kate was there as well, sitting very close to him. It seemed they had a pretty good relationship.

"You're back." Kate greeted me, her tone still cold and detached.

"Auntie, who is this?" the man asked.

"Ah, he's a distant cousin of Kate's. He came here to enjoy himself and is staying with us for the time being."

"Oh, I see. Bro, how are you doing?"

Rosie's excuse kindled the flames of anger in my heart. She went as far as to turn me into Kate's cousin! What's worse, Kate did not say a word, implying that I really was her cousin! It seemed that my status as her husband meant nothing to her.

"Go back to your room. There's no need for you to stay here." Rosie tried to force me away, afraid that I would do something to ruin her plans. This hag sure had a belly full of tricks!

If it were before, I would have obediently returned to my room. But today, I decided to make a stand!

I walked toward them and sat opposite Kate. I said coldly, "Why? Are you talking about something I shouldn't be privy to?"

Rosie looked at me disdainfully and snorted. "You can stay if you want to. I was afraid you would be overwhelmed by the discussion since you come from the countryside and have little experience in such matters. Here, let me introduce you. This is John Barkley, Kate's former classmate. His family manages a foreign-owned company, and they own a branch office here. The company's annual turnover is over a billion dollars. Can you comprehend the scale? One billion dollars! He makes more in one day than you'll make in ten years!"

I glanced at John. He was beaming, apparently very proud of his accomplishments. Kate, head lowered, was leafing through a fashion magazine. She seemed to have no intention to say anything to help me, which left me heartbroken.

Although I was just an ordinary employee, I had been good to Kate in the past two years. What did my efforts earn me? Rosie's scorn and Kate's indifference. I did not care about my mother-in-law, but my wife's coldness was indeed hurtful.

"Return to your room, all right? I'm afraid that the content of our discussion won't be to your liking. Or rather, it'd be better to say that you won't be able to understand it at all. It's good that you came to say hi, but there is no need to force yourself to mix in a circle you don't belong to!"

John could hardly hold back his laughter after Rosie's barrage of insults. I felt like a dummy under their pincer attack.

Since she did not care about me, there was no need for me to mind my manners, either. I got up and sat beside Kate, wrapping my arm around her slender waist.

I was never this bold in the past. Her waist was soft to the touch, and I could feel the warmth of her body through my palm.

Kate was shocked, confusion and anger flashing in her eyes. Rosie even hit my hand, hinting me to let go.

Not only did I not let go but also tightened my grip. I then calmly looked at John and said, "I'm David Wayne, Kate's husband. My boss just fired me, and I'm currently unemployed. It's a pleasure to meet you. As for that distant cousin thing, you can consider it a joke."

My suicidal move triggered Rosie's temper. Never could she have expected that someone, who was usually a whipping boy, would be so audacious today!

"Hmph, then I won't bother being polite, I'll speak clearly! David, you're not worthy of my daughter. Only someone like John is a good match for Kate."

Rosie furiously pointed her finger at my nose, the corners of her mouth twitching.

John smiled and pretended to be a down-to-earth man. "Auntie, you flatter me. I'm not that good, really. My family only owns one listed company, and the annual income is slightly below one billion dollars. My education is also just passable, I only have a Master of Arts degree."

"Did you hear? Compared to him, you're nothing!" Rosie echoed.

Next, she took out the gifts John had prepared for Kate. There was a purse, a bag, as well as cosmetics.

"Do you see this purse? It's a Chanel, and it costs eight hundred dollars. This perfume is from Dior, also worth several hundred dollars. Then there is this lipstick and these clothes. What did you buy for Kate? As far as I remember, it was just cheap junk you got from some random stall!"

Kate rubbed her forehead, seemingly disappointed by my behavior.

When the situation worsened, and Rosie was about to start hitting me, the doorbell rang. There was a visitor!

I sat on the sofa, having no intention of getting up. I stayed glued to Kate and did not let go of her hand.

After a brief and fruitless struggle, Kate's chest started heaving violently, her anger palpable. However, I was beyond caring at this point.

"Brat, wait for me here! We'll settle this later!"

Rosie went to get the door. What greeted her was a bunch of men and women in black suits who seemed to have walked straight out of the movie "The Matrix".

Rosie was rooted to the spot, clearly frightened. She was the type who would act like a bully but cower if something big happened.

I was also uncertain as to what was happening. However, the old man leading the group looked affable. He did not seem like a criminal.

"Hello, may I know who you are and why you're here?" Kate got up and asked respectfully.

John also got up. Their outfits looked even more expensive than what John was wearing. It was enough to tell him that they were not ordinary people.

John was a born bootlicker and would not miss such an opportunity. He smiled and took out his business card, presenting it to them.

"Nice to meet you. I'm John Barkley, Sales Director of the Kossler Group. This is my business card."

John flashed his best smile as he presented his business card. But none of the guests paid him any attention leaving him in an awkward position. His face twitched as if he had accidentally eaten a fly.

The old man in the lead smiled and said, "Hello, Ma'am. We are here to give our regards to Master. We came over in a hurry, so I hope we didn't cause you trouble."

"Master? There is no 'Master' here. Are you sure you came to the right place?"

Kate's face was filled with confusion, but I had more or less guessed who this "Master" was. After hearing the old man's voice, I was pretty sure that he was the same person I talked to on the phone — my mother's butler!

Shaking his head, the old man arrived by my side. He smiled and bowed. "Master, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

Next, all the people behind him also bowed, echoing his words.

I hurried to get up and returned the courtesy. "Please, there is no need for such formalities. I'm very happy that you were able to visit."

"Master Wayne, it's already pretty late. I hope you weren't inconvenienced by our sudden visit."

"Not at all. It's good that you're here."

I smiled faintly and looked at Rosie. She was still rooted to the same spot, dumbfounded. Kate was no different.

At this time, the old man had his subordinates take out some gifts, which he then presented to Kate. "Ma'am, you must be the Master's wife. Here is a small gift for you, courtesy of the Master."

The old man was obviously trying to raise my position in Kate's eyes, which warmed my heart.

Next, wrapped gifts were carried over one after another. Rosie ran over and started unwrapping them like an uncouth woman. What she found inside were limited editions of bags from brands like Chanel, Gucci, Armani, and many others. There were also cosmetics and lipsticks. The quality of these goods was much higher than John's, and made the ones John brought over looked like cheap junk.

"Was this all you?" Kate looked at me with a complicated expression.

I nodded.

At this time, John seemed to realize something, and thinking himself clever, he went to whisper a few words in Kate and Rosie's ears. In the next moment, a sneer returned to Rosie's face.

"Hehe, David. Oh, David! Did you have fun with this farce? Bags, lipsticks, and so many branded goods... Geez, even making someone call yourself Master! What century is this? Do you really believe yourself to be the son of a wealthy family?"

Rosie believed that this was all a meticulously planned farce to save my dignity.

Kate also seemed to have believed John's explanation. She sighed. "I'm disappointed that you would go as far as to deceive me with these fake goods. You can keep them."

I found it laughable that Kate failed to recognize the genuine goods before her eyes. I felt pity for how ignorant they were!

Seeing my expression, John was even more convinced that his guess was correct. He smiled and shook his head. "Bro, it's every man's dream to get rich overnight. However, you need to know your limits and take things slowly. Acting big and pretending to be someone you're not will just come to bite you in the ass later. I can't even imagine how much money you must have spent to hire these people. Ah, my heart aches at the thought! If you had so much cash to spare, you should have used it to treat your father's illness."