Chapter 3 How Dare You
Chapter 3 How Dare You
The rainstorm from yesterday went as quickly as it came. There was not a cloud in the sky as the sun shone brightly overhead. This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.
Joan pulled her clothes tighter. The man's shirt was too big for her slim body, but she had no choice. Her clothes were all wet and thrown haphazardly into the trash bin. Joan couldn't help but curse that strange, tall man in her head again and again.
Although she was no longer feverish, she still felt pretty weak. Slowly, she made her way to her villa. As she walked towards the door, she was surprised that it looked a bit unfamiliar to her. Three years had passed, and she didn't know if this house looked the same as before.
Just as Joan was about to set foot on the stairs, the door opened all of a sudden.
"Honey, be careful on the way. I will wait for you at home with the baby." The woman in a red housecoat reached out to hold the man's strong waist, and the two looked at each other shyly.
That woman, Jean Bai, was the one who got in between Joan and Scott's marriage. But most importantly, she was one of the reasons why Joan got locked up in jail.
A sharp pain came to Joan's heart. She was so painful that she could hardly breathe. When she was released from prison, Scott didn't even bother to come pick her up. Instead, he was fooling around with his mistress, Jean Bai. What's more, it seemed that during the three years when she had been in prison, they were living a happy and full life!
"Scott..." said Joan in a trembling voice.
The two people who were about to kiss were froze. When they turned their heads and saw the person standing in front of them was Joan, they were both stunned.
"Joan?" Scott exclaimed, not believing what he was currently seeing. Then, the expression on his face turned blank and flat. "So I see that you're already out of jail."
The man was dressed in a well cut and handmade suit, accentuating his well-toned body. He looked like a dressed statue, giving off a cold and haughty air. Beside him, Jean Bai snuggled up closer as he tightly hugged his arms.
But this man was Joan's husband... This was her home!
"Why... Why is she here?" Joan asked in a trembling voice, stretching out her hand and pointing at Jean Bai.
A flicker of awkwardness flashed across Scott's eyes, and the woman beside him seemed to be frightened by the malicious look in Joan's eyes. She then once again shrank back in his embrace. With her petite figure, Scott had the urge to protect Jean Bai. It was at that moment that he remembered what Joan had done to Jean Bai, making the guilt in his heart vanished in an instant.
"I asked her to stay here. She is weak and needs to be taken care of." Scott said coldly at Joan, "You almost killed her because of what you did. I thought that you would at least apologize to her. It seems that I've expected too much from you."
Joan trembled and looked at him in disbelief. She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms. For a while, the pain in her hands overcame the agony in her heart.
'Apologize? Why should I apologize! I was totally wronged and innocent! Everything was Jean Bai's ploy. I had nothing to do with what happened to her!' she screamed in her head.
Joan shook her head and opened her mouth to try and explain, "Three years ago, it was--"
"Enough! I don't want to hear anything about it anymore," Scott interrupted coldly.
He didn't even give her a chance to explain. Three years ago, when the incident happened, she also didn't get the chance to share her side of the story. In a heartbeat, Scott sided with Jean Bai.
Joan glared at Jean Bai. As she hid in Scott's arm, Jean Bai flashed a smug smile, as if mocking Joan for losing the battle.
Jean Bai opened her mouth slightly and mouthed to Joan, "Go away, trash."
Finally, Joan couldn't control her grief, indignation and anger anymore. She rushed in front of Jean Bai, pulled her over and slapped her across her face.
Slap!
It all happened so quickly that Jean Bai and Scott were in shock. Immediately, sharp pain spread to her fair and tender face, the shape of Joan's hand clearly imprinted on her cheek.
"What are you doing, Joan?!" It was rare for Scott to be infuriated. He pushed Joan away and pulled Jean Bai into his arms nervously. When he saw Jean Bai's face, he frowned as he gently caressed her with a gently finger.
"Don't forget, Scott," Joan said with a cold sneer. "You're still my husband. As long as I'm around, you can't have a mistress."
When Scott was about to say something, tears suddenly fell down from Jean Bai's face. She choked with sobs. "Scott, let me go. I... I shouldn't have been here. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. I just feel sorry that our baby won't even get a chance to meet his father..."
"Jean, no. Shh... Don't cry. What you need to do now is to take good care of yourself. It's not good for the baby." Scott lovingly rubbed Jean Bai's stomach. Then he glared hatefully at Joan. "Three years..."
he said scornfully, "Three years in prison and you still haven't reflected on your evil deeds? You are still as vicious as before!"
How could he say that she was vicious? Why did he still defend Jean Bai like this? Joan's heart broke. The three years she spent in prison was a living hell for her that she wouldn't be able to forget. She was thrown into jail because of these two!
She remembered how she saw Scott in bed having an affair, and yet he kicked her out without any sense of guilt whatsoever. The moment Joan was sent to jail, Jean Bai happily moved in the next day. All of the anger that was pent up inside was too much for words, and so Joan couldn't help but attack Jean Bai.
Jean Bai was a conniving woman. She had caused a scene all by herself by pretending to fall down the stairs and blaming Joan. With realistic tears in her eyes, Jean Bai cried about how she lost her baby, and blamed Joan for attempted murder. Scott had believed what Jean Bai had said without any hesitation, and at last, he had put Joan behind bars, sentencing her to three whole years.
Noticing the visible bulge on her belly, Joan raised her eyebrows. "Are you pregnant again? Then you'd better be careful. It won't be easy for a woman to give birth to a healthy baby, especially when she had a miscarriage before," said Joan sarcastically with her cold eyes. Because of her attempt to frame Joan, Jean Bai had risked the life of her unborn child.
Without waiting for their response, Joan pushed them away and went straight into the house.
Tears welled up in Jean Bai's eyes. With a pitiful look, she glanced up at Scott. "Look at her. She... she's..."
"Jean Bai, as long as I'm still in this family, you have no right to flirt with my husband. You'd better get half a brain and figure out who is the real hostess here."
Joan caught a glimpse of the woman's dresses scattered on the sofa in the living room. She grabbed them and threw them out of the room.
At this time, Scott was turning red with fury. His booming voice echoed in the house. "How dare you!"