Chapter 2


    Benjamin entered the vi through the main door while chewing on a pizza slice. This was the same


    pizza he had wanted to give to the chief driver, though he ended up lying about forgetting to bring it. He


    took the rest of the pizza to the children’s room.


    His inw’s children, there were four of them. All crazy, selfish, and self-absorbed in their own ways,


    just like their parents. Two of them talked too much, while the other two rarely ever talked.


    When Benjamin walked in, they were all ying games or chatting with their friends in their own


    mobiles. Their mobiles looked stylish and up-to-datepared to the crappy old mobile Benjamin had.


    “Hey, kids. I brought pizza,” Benjamin put excitement into his voice.


    “Put it on the table and leave,” the oldest of the four, Lisa, replied without even looking. Even though


    she looked cute with her pigtails and all, her words were always cold and indifferent, even more so than


    Reba.


    Benjamin did as she said and was leaving. (Not one of them looked at me. They eat the pizzas I bring,


    but they don’t even call me uncle. None of my friends were this self-centered when we were young. It


    just shows how poorly these kids were raised, or should I say they weren’t cared for properly?)


    “Ah, Benjamin, wait,” the second oldest among them, Roshan, called out for him.


    Benjamin stopped and turned around.


    “It’s Sunday, so don’t forget to polish our shoes before tomorrow morning,” Roshan said, sparing a


    nce at Benjamin. The best thing about Roshan was his hair, which didn’t needbing. It was like


    that of Justin Bieber in his Baby song. However, his character was a thousand times more


    questionable.


    “Sure thing,” Benjamin forced out a smile. Roshan was only fourteen years old, two years younger than


    Lisa, yet he was the one who made Benjamin iron their school uniforms and clothes almost every


    single day, as told by his grandmother. For a twelve-year-old, he probably had a heart full of hatred


    because he listened to Reba’s mother way too much.


    Benjamin was walking out silently with a little bit of a heavy heart.


    “Wait, bring me a slice,” Roshan called for him.


    Benjamin stood there for a second before turning back with a hot smile on his face. He delivered a slice


    to Roshan and walked out while licking the sauce stuck to his finger.


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    “Shameless,” a feminine voice almost hurt his ears. It was Veronica, the short-haired younger sister of


    Reba, who was wearing a see-through dress that revealed her bra and panties. She was eating


    noodles.


    “You don’t need to describe yourself,” replied Benjamin before he was able to control his tongue.


    Veronica’s eyes and mouth widened for a second. “What did you just say?”


    (Ah, crap…) Benjamin already knew where this was going.


    Veronica immediately tossed the cup of noodles at him. He swiftly dodged to the side, but then she


    threw the fork with even greater force. Thanks to his lightning-quick reaction, the fork was caught


    between his forefinger and middle finger an inch away from his left eye. (That was dangerous.)


    “Mom! Dad!” Veronica began crying out loud as she stamped her feet up the stairs. “Your useless son-


    inw just called me shameless!”


    The first one to walk out of their rooms was none other than Reba.


    Veronica’s tearless eyes tried so hard to get wet. “Sis,” she ran over to her elder sister with a crying


    face. “Your good-for-nothing husband said I’m shameless! You should punish him!”


    “Why did he call you shameless?” Reba queried.


    “Because I wore this dress,” Veronica replied in haste. “You should punish him. Make him clean the


    dishes today. No, for this whole week!”


    Reba cast a cold nce at Benjamin. “What’s wrong with my sister wearing this dress in this


    house? Why did you have to call her shameless? Are you trying to get back at me through her?”


    “Y-You’ve got it wrong, darling,” he said, but then a re from her made him say, “I mean, Reba.”


    “Who’s got it wrong?” a talldy entered the scene, her chin slightly tilted up, but her gaze looking down


    on Benjamin throughout. She had not a single white hair even though she was Reba’s mother,


    Selena, and was fifty seven years old. After all, she was an A-list actress who needed to keep


    appearances. “My daughter who earns over a million dors per month as a top fashion designer, or a


    trash who toils on the streets every day of the week and barely makes mere five figures per year?”


    “Of course, it’s the trash who’s got it wrong,” Veronica backed her mother like she always would. “As he


    always does. And he just stole my noodle cup from me!”


    “To think you’d steal food from your sister-inw,” Selena’s gaze was filled with disappointment, with a


    mix of anger as she peered at her son-inw. She shifted her gaze to her daughter, “It seems there’s


    really no limit to how low he can stoop.”


    “What’s with the ruckus?” Jacob, a burly man in a ck suit, stopped right behind Reba’s mother.


    He was taller than her and sturdier as well like one of those hairy guys in vintage videos. Despite his


    old age, his muscles showed out through the suit. He took a couple whiffs from his smoking pipe before


    speaking, “Why are you three wasting your time with this guy?” he shook his head and walked past


    Benjamin. “Time is money. Don’t waste it on someone who eats more than he earns.”


    Jacob’s words brought distasteful smiles on Veronica and her mother’s faces. Reba seemed as


    indifferent as ever to negative remarks about him.


    Benjamin’s heart grew heavy, and he lowered his head and walked away. Jacob’s words weren’t


    completely wrong. The menu made for breakfast and dinner in this vi would cost a lot if he were to


    eat the same food in a restaurant. A pizza-delivery guy couldn’t possibly hope to afford to eat such


    meals monthly, let alone daily. Nevertheless, hearing such unpleasant words stung Benjamin’s heart.


    “Don’t forget to clean the dishes after dinner tonight,” Veronica blurted vehemently.


    “Hold on, Trashmin,” Selena walked forth and put her hands in Benjamin’s pocket, which didn’t startle


    her daughters at all. She pulled out an envelope full of cash. This was Benjamin’s earnings for the


    week. She slid it in her costly handbag with a shameless smile on her face. “If you need any money,


    you can ask my daughter.” She then walked away.


    Veronica was now snickering inly. This wasn’t the first time she saw Selena snatch Benjamin’s


    earnings, though she mostly did it behind the scenes when Reba wasn’t watching. Nevertheless,


    she was thoroughly entertained. She came up to him and spoke in a low, mocking voice, “You can’t


    even buy a pizza now. You need to ask my sister even if you want to recharge your shitty mobile. That’s


    what you get for stealing my sister’s priceless purity! You will pay for that sin for the rest of your life,


    roaming in this house like a dog, keke!” With an amused expression, she left the scene, unting her


    see-through dress.


    Only Benjamin and Reba were left standing there by the inner balcony with a view of the ground


    floor and upper floors.


    Benjamin could have left, but he stood there, hoping his wife, who looked wonderfully cute in pajamas,


    would say at least oneforting word.


    “Why are you looking at me like that?” Reba asked, her hands folded as though she was guarding


    herself against this man’s intentions. “You brought this upon yourself, so suck it up.” Saying that she


    went back to her room.


    Suck it up. Yeah. She was spot on, he thought. That was exactly what he had been doing for many


    months. But, like with any other human being, he, too, had his limit, and his self-control would also be


    broken one day. However, he hoped such a day would nevere, for he really wanted to set things


    right with his one and only wife.


    Suddenly, something flew past his head, and his hand reacted in response. A fork flew out of his hand


    and struck the thing that had just whooshed past him. He looked to his right. A butterfly was pinned to


    the pir by the fork, which had pierced its wings. He squeezed his lips together and walked over to the


    pir. He gently pulled out the fork and separated the butterfly. It flew off his palm, but it couldn’t fly for


    long because of the holes in its wings, and it began to fall. He stretched forth his hand and made sure it


    landed on his palm. Seeing it struggle to fly reminded him of his current self. “I know. It’s my fault that


    you’re like this, but never lose hope, my friend. Luckily, only two of your wings got hit. The other two are


    just fine. You can still do it if you try.” He gently blew the butterfly off his hand, and the little push he


    gave helped the butterfly, and it persevered like it was born for this. And it paid off.


    The butterfly flew as Benjamin believed.


    And he was genuinely happy for it. His phone rang. He flicked it open. The word ‘King’ popped up on


    the screen. He stared at the screen for a while before bringing the mobile closer to his ear and


    answering with a press of the button.


    Silence on both ends, but one could hear the breath of the other.


    “Your breathing rhythm tells me your heart is weighing you down,” a mature and manly voice spoke


    from the other side. “But I want to hear it from your own mouth….” his voice turned a tad bit caring, “So,


    how are you doing, my son?”


    Hearing his father’s voice, Benjamin’s eyes turned a little teary, but he couldn’t reply.


    “I’m not angry at you, so why don’t youe home?” he asked.


    “I already told Alfread I’ll being home,” Benjamin’s voice grew somewhat heavy. “Didn’t he tell


    you?”


    “He did, but I wanted to hear it from you directly,” he said. “And I’m d you are nning to return. I’ll


    be waiting for you.”


    ‘See you soon… Dad.”


    The call ended. Benjamin drew in an audible breath and exhaled the same. “Now that they found me, I


    hope they won’t cause any trouble to the Sterlings.”