Chapter 2 - The Stupid Waiter

In an instant, all eyes turned to Jack.

They alternated between staring at him and the television, comparing the picture on the bottom of the screen to a young man walking hurriedly.

At that moment, their anger reached its peak.

"Hey, you shameless young man! How could you think of betraying your wife, the one who has provided you with food and a life all this time?"

A middle-aged woman rose from her chair and pointed at Jack.

"Exactly! Scoundrels like him should be put in jail so he can repent for all his actions!"

Now, a middle-aged man in another corner shouted something similar.

After the two of them, many others were moved to do the same.

They stood up from their seats and cursed at Jack.

This only irritated Jack more.

He wanted to be angry, but the shame and humiliation were too strong.

Then, without paying attention to his steps, his foot hit the shoe of someone who was deliberately trying to hurt him.

His body became slightly unstable and...

Clang!

He dropped his tray.

Not on the floor or anywhere else, but on a table where a tall and fat man in a dark brown suit was enjoying his meal.

Not only that, but some of the food on the tray actually hit the man's body.

"Fool! How dare you soil my clothes!"

The man rose hastily from his chair and grabbed Jack's neck with one hand while clenching the other in preparation for a punch.

Before that could happen, however, the manager quickly approached them.

"Sir, please forgive our employee's foolishness! We will provide you with free lunch today and compensate you!"

The manager, dressed all in white, bowed and begged the man repeatedly.

"Huh, go away! The next time I see your face, I won't hesitate to ruin it!"

The man in the brown shirt then shoved Jack violently.

Jack then looked at the manager.

At that moment, a warm feeling surged through his heart.

For the past three months, the fat man had never smiled at Jack, let alone be kind or defend the young man as he did now.

Jack used to feel hatred towards him, but the man's current attitude changed his mind.

"Boss..." Jack started to explain something.

But the manager quickly raised his hand.

"Get out!"

Jack tried to pick up all the plates on the table and the floor, but the manager stopped him again.

"Enough! Get out now!" he yelled.

Without thinking, Jack walked out the back door.

As he passed the kitchen, the entire staff, including the chef, looked at him with disdain.

"Who told him to betray his wealthy ex-wife after enjoying her wealth so much?" one commented without looking at Jack.

"Karma works really well, doesn't it? Now he has to live a hard and bitter life he probably never imagined before!"

Jack gritted his teeth and held back the emotions that were boiling inside him.

For the past three months, none of these employees had wanted to speak kindly to him, except for yelling and rude remarks.

This time, they were openly mocking him.

But Jack didn't stop, he walked to the back door and left.

"This is because of you, dad! This is your fault!" Jack said, clenching one hand and slapping it against his other palm.

Sitting near a large, tightly closed garbage can, he couldn't contain all the emotions and burdens he was carrying.

"If you hadn't left all your wealth to Cathy, I wouldn't have to live like this! What were you thinking? Making me suffer like this?"

Three and a half years ago, Benjamin Eldrone, Jack's father and a wealthy entrepreneur in the provincial capital of Riverchester, brought Catherine Wilson, a very simple girl, into his large house and introduced her as Jack's future wife.

Although he had no feelings for the girl before, Cathy captured his heart and the hearts of everyone in the house with her gentle manner and words.

In the end, it didn't take long for Jack to fall in love with the girl, a deep feeling he had never experienced with any girl before.

A month before the wedding party, Benjamin died in an accident and left a will stating that all of his wealth was to be inherited by Catherine!

"You don't have to think too much about the will!" Catherine said the day before their wedding.

"To me, what is mine is yours, even my life is yours! If you agree to marry me, I will give you everything! But if not, I will always be by your side, whether as a sister, a friend, or just someone you can confide in!"

These words made Jack fall even more in love with the girl.

He married Catherine without hesitation.

But that's when the disaster began.

The girl's attitude began to change.

She, who used to take care of all Jack's needs, became very indifferent.

A month after their marriage, Catherine didn't even talk to Jack or greet him, let alone eat with him.

She even chose to sleep in a different room from the first day of their marriage.

Because of his great love for the girl, Jack tried to endure all these drastic changes in her attitude, hoping that one day she would be his "Cathy" again.

However, until their first anniversary, the atmosphere in the large house worsened, making Jack feel like he was just a lodger.

Then one night.

"You fool! There are plenty of servants in this house, so why do you still ask me to serve you?" Catherine scolded as Jack invited her to dinner.

"I'm not asking you to serve me! I just want you to eat before you rest!"

"Really?"

Catherine, who was cleaning her face in front of the dressing table, turned her head toward Jack.

"All you can do every day is eat, sleep, and have fun, while I have to get up early every day to take care of the company and other businesses! I've been patient with you long enough. If I didn't have any compassion for you, I would have kicked you out of this house a long time ago!"

"Cathy, ..."

That was the last night he could talk to Catherine.

Because the next day a group of strong men in black shirts took him out of the house by force.

As they threw Jack's body out the gate, the burly man also threw some of the young man's belongings at him.

"Never set foot in this house again, or we will lose patience and kill you on the spot!"

The memories of the days before and after his marriage were something he desperately wanted to forget, even though it was incredibly difficult.

And every time he did, he blamed it on his father.

Since being kicked out of his own home three years ago, he had never known the words "comfort" and "ease" of life as he felt when his father was still alive.

Outside, he had to work hard just to survive, moving from one place to another and from one job to another.

Being a waiter in this restaurant was the longest job he had so far.

"Are you done mourning your fate?"

A heavy voice rang in Jack's ears as he tried to keep the sound of tears from his mouth so it wouldn't be too loud.

After quickly wiping the tears from his eyes, Jack turned to face the voice.

"If you don't know the problem, please don't comment on anything!" Jack never showed himself crying to anyone.

Therefore, the sudden arrival of the person who caught him made him feel very embarrassed.

"I need someone to do a job... a very good job, and I see that you meet all the criteria I need!"

The statement only made Jack turn to look at the mysterious man to see if he knew him.

With a black fedora hat on his head and black sunglasses on his face, this man was wearing a knee-length black coat that covered a black suit underneath.

If he wasn't a director or a lawyer, he looked like a detective or a policeman!

Looking at the man for a moment, Jack had come to a conclusion.

"A stranger who comes out of nowhere and suddenly offers me a good job? Huh, does he think I'm stupid enough to believe what he says?"

After three years of miserable life, Jack had learned a lot about human character. He could no longer trust people blindly.

Especially in a time of financial difficulty like this, there weren't many jobs available.

Let alone a high-paying job, there aren't even many openings for a modest salary, just enough to survive for a month.

"He doesn't know me or my background at all, so how could he offer me a job unless he turns out to be a... fraud!"

Jack stood up without feeling the need to look at the mysterious man. "Sorry, I'm not interested!"

Then he walked away, heading for the back door of the restaurant.

"If you're interested, come to your father's grave!"

The mysterious man said to Jack from behind him, making him even more irritated.

Jack stopped in his tracks.

"You have no right to insult me like that!" he said angrily.

When he turned around, the man had disappeared without a trace, just like when he first arrived.

"Damn!"

Jack hurried to the door.

And before he could reach out to open it, the door had already opened.

"Oh, thank God I found you here!" said the chubby man, who was none other than the manager.

"Boss, I apologize for what happened today! I promise it will never happen again in the future!"

Jack said this because he was sure that the manager was far from being the cruel and heartless man he had thought he was all this time.

He would surely forgive him.

But his answer startled him.

"Go and never come back! You're fired!"

The manager said very coldly as he threw a piece of paper in Jack's face and slammed the door.

When Jack picked up the paper that had fallen to the ground, it contained details of his salary and bonuses for the past three months. However, the last line read, [His reckless behavior makes him no longer entitled to any of this money!]

***

The next morning.

Under a drizzle that wasn't too heavy, Jack visited Benjamin's grave, something he hadn't done in three years.

Ever since he had learned that his father had left all his fortune to Catherine, he had vowed never to return to the place.

"I didn't come to see you, you heartless old man! I just want the job!" he said quietly.

The pain in his heart still lingered.

"You blame others for something that should be your responsibility! Your life is your own, so learn to take responsibility for it!"

Once again, that very disturbing voice rang in his ears.

"Who are you really? Why are you always interfering in my personal affairs? Don't you have anything else to do?"

From the tone of Jack's voice, it seemed that he was angry, sad, frustrated and disappointed all at the same time.

The man didn't say anything, just stood next to Jack, who was still staring at the name engraved on the gravestone.

"Take this," he said, handing over an object in his hand.

"Read all the messages and notes in it and then decide if you want to accept my offer or not!"

When Jack looked at the man's hand, his body instantly tensed.

"This... this is dad's phone!"

On the day of his death, no one knew where Benjamin's phone was, but by that time, both Catherine and her lawyer were desperately looking for it.

Jack immediately turned on the phone and looked at its contents.

He opened the gallery folder and hoped that there was not a single photo of him.

But his thoughts were wrong.

All of Jack's photos from birth to adulthood were neatly stored in folders numbered 1 to 17, according to Jack's age.

At that moment, his tears flowed freely.

He had always known in his heart that his father had always loved him.

He was only angry because of the difficulties he suddenly faced after the old man died.

Jack then looked at the message folder, and at that moment, his eyes widened and his mouth could hardly speak.

"W-what... is this?"

In the message he could read how his father first met Jeremiah Wilson, Catherine's father, who turned out to be a man who only pretended to be good in order to trick Benjamin and gain control of his wealth.

Benjamin did leave a will, but it was different from what his lawyer showed.

The sound of his will as he sent it through a message to his lawyer was: "Give all my wealth to Jack and let him decide his own path in life!"

Jack really didn't expect that the girl he had always thought of as good was nothing but a snake that slowly wound around him before destroying his life.

"Catherine, you are an impostor and a criminal! Just wait, I'm going to take back everything you stole from me!"

Jack said, clenching his hands.

Under the pouring rain, he said to himself, as the mysterious man had instructed him earlier.

"I accept this job! I will do any mission you give me!"

At that moment, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky and landed directly on him.

Zap!