Chapter 6


    In the evening, Reba took Benjamin to her personal physician, one different from their family doctor,


    who gave him some medication to improve his hunger. No tablets. Only some syrup. However, the


    doctor took 300 dors for providing less than ten minutes of her time, which was much more than what


    Benjamin earned that day from tips working from 10 to 4 on that day.


    As they were heading home, Reba was silent as usual. She was a woman of few words, as though


    something always ran through her mind.


    “Reba…” Benjamin started a conversation. It was better than being silent, after all. “Today,” he was


    fiddling with his wedding ring, “one of my coworkers started rubbing my elbow.”


    Reba was startled out of her thoughts, but she put on a poker face.


    “I told her I’m married, of course,” Benjamin continued. “How can I look at another woman when I have


    you, right?” he looked into the mirror and could see her pretty doll-like face. He wanted to nt a kiss


    on her cute cheeks, but he couldn’t dare to do so, not without taking her permission. Since she never


    even let him touch her, there was just no way she would allow him to kiss her. Hell would freeze over if


    she were to allow him to kiss tonight, so he didn’t even bother asking.


    Since Reba wasn’t responding to his efforts, Benjamin entered into his begging mode.


    “Can we have dinner together at a restaurant tonight, please?” he asked in a pitiful tone, like that of a


    child who was begging his mother to buy him some sweet chocte. He looked so close to shedding a


    tear or two. “I won’t ask you to take me anywhere again this whole week.”


    It sounded like a great deal, so Reba felt tempted to agree. These days, Benjamin was talking too


    much. He was growing more and more desperate for her attention. She knew that. If taking him to a


    restaurant would calm him down, it was worth trying, she thought.


    “I’ll think about it,” she said.


    “Okay,” Benjamin didn’t sound too excited. At least she didn’t reject him, so he wasn’t sad.


    “By the way, how did you injure your hand?” she asked while ncing at his wedding ring. Unlike him,


    she didn’t wear the ring.


    As for the injury, it was the doctor who had noticed Benjamin’s wound, but he didn’t tell the doctor how


    he suffered the bruise.


    “Ah, this… one of the customers asked me to move their sofas and beds up the stairs, and they were


    clumsy, so…”


    “They ask the pizza guys to move their houseware?” Reba couldn’t believe it.


    “They do, sometimes,” Benjamin said, looking at the bruise on his hand. “And I should say, this was the


    most memorable part of the day as I got to help someone who needed a hand. Moreover, the guy gave


    me a five dor tip, so it’s a win-win for us.”


    “He gave you a few extra bucks, and you took it?” Reba’s brows drew together. “That’s stooping


    low. Don’t take it like that next time.”


    “What? Why?”


    “If you help someone, you should demand money from them for your service, not take whatever tips


    they throw in your hands. Got it?”


    “That’s…” Benjamin tried to keep silent so she would forget about this topic.


    “He gave you a couple of bucks, and I’m sure it was cheaper for him than hiring someone to move his


    stuff.”


    “You are not wrong, but…”


    “He used you. Can’t you see that?”


    “Well,” Benjamin didn’t know what to say. This was what he found difficult to understand about her. She


    thought of things in her own self-centered perspective and made things difficult for him, straight from


    that morning when she woke up and found him sleeping next to her in her bed that no other man had


    everid on before that. It was her pride that got hurt the most at that moment, and because of that,


    she couldn’t let him walk away, so she married him and bound him to her to keep him in her sight,


    always.


    Benjamin was doing his best to make her see how much he cared for her, but her eyes were still


    blinded to such things because her ego and pride would have been infinitely bigger than her breasts if


    they were to be manifested into the earthly realm.


    Thinking about breasts, Benjamin didn’t even remember what exact shape or size Reba’s breasts


    were. What was the appearance and texture of her nipples? Everything was so vague, not because he


    was pretty drunk when they had sex on that fated night but because if felt like it happened ages ago. All


    the hardships he had been experiencing ever since entering Sterling’s vi made him forget not just


    about that night but even his own name sometimes. He also barely remembered the moment he first


    entered Reba after she said the words, ‘Be gentle.’


    At present, he wasn’t even sure if she really said those words or he just cooked up that little story in his


    dreams. He could onlyugh at his own inability to not even remember such important and personal


    things about his wife.


    When they got home, Anous, the chief driver, was waiting for his cheesy chicken pizza with extra


    toppings. He waited until Reba went inside and then hurried over to Benjamin before he even


    parked the car.


    “Where is my double, bitch?” he demanded by stopping in the car’s path.


    As promised, Benjamin handed him the two pizzas worth 30 dors. All he received in return was


    Anous’ snickering as he walked away like a crooked old rat.


    The head butler, Devon, was watching all this from a distance. He came over after Benjamin had


    parked the car.


    “How much do you earn through tips, boy?” he asked curiously.


    “It depends,” Benjamin replied casually. “Richmunities make more orders but give less tips, so the


    more I avoid them, the higher my earnings will be.”


    “Hoh, are you saying the lower and the middle ss customers pay more?”


    Property ? 2024 N0(v)elDrama.Org.


    “No, but they always make sure to tip us,” Benjamin replied. “The rich kids just don’t know what we


    pizza guys go through, so they either give a lot or nothing most of the time.”


    “Interesting. It’s really interesting how the world works these days,” Devon sounded amused. “Back in


    my younger days, work was really simple. You know everything before what you’re getting into.”


    “Though it may seem that way now, the equation is still simple and straightforward,” Benjamin said.


    “The longer it takes for you to reach the front door, the harder it will be for you to make the residents


    pull dor bills out of their purses. There are always exceptions, of course, like some old grandmother


    who’s overly grateful, but I try not to take from such folks unless they make orders often.”


    “Mm, I see,” he stretched forth his hand.


    Benjamin looked around before putting a small pack of weed. “Go easy, or you’ll kick the bucket soon.”


    “Haha, I’m not afraid of death anymore.”


    “Yeah, but you should at least be afraid of the one who created death.”


    “And who would that be? God? Isn’t he the one who created this weed? Why would he punish me for


    consuming it?”


    “The issue isn’t whether you’re smoking weed or not,” Benjamin put his hand on Devon’s shoulder. “It’s


    about how you are treating your own body and life. Just because you don’t have any regrets, it doesn’t


    mean you’re doing the right thing. There’s nothing in this vi that can give you peace. Go to where


    your children are, and spend yourst days with them. I’m sure your wife would also want you to do


    that.”


    Devon pushed his hand away. “Don’t tell me what my wife would have wanted me to do!” Saying that


    he left.


    Benjamin just watched the old butler leave. Ever since Devon’s wife, the chief maid of the vi, died


    about six months back, Devon hadn’t been himself. He was secretly smoking and drinking after his


    work hours. From the way he went about things, he seemed like he wanted to die in the same vi his


    wife passed away. Still, Benjamin couldn’t just see the old butler suffering.


    “Should I just bring his children here once?” Benjamin wondered. “Maybe, some time with them will


    change his mind.”


    “Benj-fucking-min!” a voice echoed in the vi, startling the sparrows in the garden. “Get your stinking


    ass over here!”


    Benjamin frowned. It was Elizabeth’s voice. “What’s this gold digger up to now?” he thought, but then


    he yelled in response. “I’ming, ma’am.” He ran into the vi to be of service to the Sterling family


    as usual.


    Oliver, who was watering the nts in the garden, was watching Benjamin from a distance. “I must get


    my hands on his phone tonight. My meat shop is waiting for me!”