Vera and Patrick sat across from each other, with four people on the sofa beside them to help determine the truth.


    Vera said excitedly, "You said it yourself. You clearly said you were going to see another woman this afternoon."


    Patrick replied, "I said that to annoy you on purpose."


    "Are you crazy?"


    Patrick took out his phone and handed it to the angry Vera for her to check. "Look, see if there''s any call with a woman in there."


    Vera unceremoniously picked up his phone and started checking.


    "Patrick, you answered Emma''s call!"


    She questioned loudly again.


    Patrick rubbed his temples and swore he would never make Vera jealous again. Her jealousy had too much of an impact. She had even lost her sanity.


    "Vera, look carefully, she called me, and I didn''t answer."


    Vera nced at it, and it was indeed the case.


    "But you answered a call from someone named Tooker!"


    Patrick patiently exined, "That was a call from an expert. He fixed today''s equipment."


    "But there''s also an unknown number."


    Patrick exined again, "That was Emma''s dad, Glen, calling to ask me to go easy on Alexis Tooker and let her resume her studies. I told them they were asking the wrong person and that my wife is in charge at the school now, so my words don''t count. Then I hung up."


    Vera still felt angry. She didn''t know how to control her emotions; she was on the verge of losing control.


    Shawn lost in thoughts, believing it was difficult toe to a conclusion. So, he took out his phone and called Jackson.


    "Hey, Jackson, it''s Shawn."


    "I need to ask you something. This afternoon, Patrick..."


    Jackson said something on the other end, and Shawn nodded. "So that''s it. Patrick was with you all afternoon. What about the women present?"


    Jackson said something else.


    Shawn repeated, "Really? The women left early. That makes sense; they should go to the hospital for a check-up since they''re not feeling well. You did the right thing."


    Vera listened carefully and confirmed that Patrick hadn''t been out partying that afternoon.


    She then thought about how he had deliberately annoyed her, and she wanted to throw the phone at him.


    "Jackson, let''s add each other on Facebook so we can stay in touch."


    "What? You don''t have Facebook? You''re behind the times! Get your kids to download it for you. My daughter-inw set up a Facebook ount for me today and even created a group. It''s so convenient to notify everyone in the group. Plus, I''m the group owner, with the power to manage members. You should stop being old-fashioned and get your kids to set one up for you."


    Shawn went off to show off his new social media skills.


    Vincent took Cindy''s hand and signaled her to leave with him, leaving the ce to Vera and Patrick.


    Randall also tactfully left.


    Now, therge living room was left with just Vera and Patrick.


    Vera sulked in silence.


    Patrick got up, walked over to her, and bent down to hold her hand.


    Vera shook it off again.


    Although he hadn''t cheated, he had deliberately made her jealous and let her misunderstand for an entire afternoon, making her feel bad all afternoon. She had to get back at him. Back in the bedroom.


    Patrick finally realized he had thoroughly angered Vera at noon.


    "Vera, tomorrow I won''t go anywhere. How about I stay home and teach you how to drive?"


    "I don''t care."


    Patrick tried to appease her again. "How about I take you to Rustic Hearth Cafe tomorrow?" "Go by yourself, take all your many female friends, and enjoy the food," Vera replied angrily. Patrick was helpless.


    Back in the bedroom, Veray down and went to sleep, not getting close to him all night.


    The next day, when Patrick wanted to spend time with her, Vera was nowhere to be found.


    He asked Randall, "Where''s your aunt?"


    "She went to find Mia to scold you."


    "Mia?"


    Randall nodded.


    Mia and Vera were good friends. Whenever they had something to vent about, they could rant and curse for an hour.


    They felt better after venting.


    Vera usually felt better after a fight, but since the person who upset her this time was Patrick, as his wife, she held back her temper a lot.


    At the cafe, Vera and Mia sat across from each other.


    One was venting about her husband, the other about her brother.


    Mia said, "My parents went back to their hometown to visit my grandparents, so it''s just me and my brother, Sebastian, in Zandonick now. He loves to control me. You know, Vera, I went to the bathroom and yed on my phone for a bit, and after five minutes, Sebastian was knocking on the door, urging me toe out like it was an emergency."


    Vera said, "Sebastian is good to you. Don''t be ungrateful."


    "But he''s so good that I want to escape. When my parents weren''t home before, Sebastian and I always ate out. I''ve eaten at every ce near the police station. Now, he won''t even let me go find him. Do you know why?" Vera shook her head, asking, "It''s not embarrassing to go there, is it?"


    Mia pped the table and said, "Because his apprentice, Sam, has a crush on me!"


    When Vera heard that Mia had a man interested in her, she immediately forgot about being angry with Patrick. "Mia, I remember you told mest time that Sam is a handsome guy, right? Was he still in training and hasn''t graduated yet?" Mia nodded quickly, very sure of what Vera said. "You can understand why I''m angry, right? Sam is even more handsome than Randall. Such a good man, and my brother wants to stop us from getting closer."


    "You should be mad. Thest time I went to the police station, I think I saw Sam. He''s got rosy lips and white teeth, very handsome. He''s the most good-looking one there. Honestly, if I weren''t married, I''d ask Randall to get his contact info for me," Vera said.


    Mia regretted it so much that she pounded her chest."My brother threatened Sam, saying if he liked me again, he''d transfer him. I really think it''s tough for me."


    She was already in college, and having someone like her wasn''t easy, but Sebastian was stopping it.


    Vera asked, "Can''t you date him secretly?"


    "How can I date secretly? You mean I should hide it from Sebastian and meet him privately?"


    Vera nodded. "Yeah."


    "Vera, please think about what my brother does for a living. He''s a cop. He has ways to check all my spending records and whereabouts. Even if he can''t find out, with his interrogation skills, if he used them on me, I''d spill the truth in less than three minutes," Mia said.


    Vera said,"If you don''t go after him, I will."


    "Why would you? Look at the wedding ring on your finger and please remind yourself that you''re married."


    "I''m mad at my husband, "Vera said.


    Mia felt sorry for Sam and tried to persuade Vera. "Don''t do that, Vera. Don''t get Sebastian into trouble. It''s already enough for him to deal with Sam liking me. If Mr. Olteran finds out you like another man, my brother and I are done for." "You have a point."