CHAPTER 3

Gary was perplexed with Sandra's haughty behavior. He felt she was supposed to be sorry and even get to apologize, based on the fact that she was wrong and he had caught her right in the act, but there she was being pompous and taking pride in the wrong she had done.

She behaved as though Gary was left with no choice without her.

Gary sat on the bed in frustration after he was thrown Into a slight daze. He couldn't help but nod his head consecutively.

This was the first time in his entire life seeing a married woman take so much pride in her infidelity.

Nevertheless, Gary stomped back to his feet to return his bags back to his closest.

As Sandra said, no decision could be made until the next day which he looked forward to.

The following day was fun-filled, the Larson's organized a birthday celebration for their beloved, highly respected grandmother, Alora Larson.

She was known as the matriarch of the family. Many of the family decisions often solely rested on her command.

Before that moment, the four branches of the Larson's had to come together in a joint decision to come up with ideas just to make the day fun-filled.

At noon, the celebration commenced and truth be told, it was a heartwarming and memorable event. 

The mansion hall was transformed into a festive space with balloons, streamers, and flowers in the celebrant favorite colors. A large birthday banner was hung on the wall, and a table was set up for gifts.

 A delicious spread of food was laid out, including the grandmother's favorite dishes, such as roasted chicken and mashed potatoes. There were also different kinds of salads, bread, and a variety of desserts. Several drinks were served, including wine and non-alcoholic beverages.

Distinguished guests arrived to graze the ceremony, and as such, Alora was seen beaming with excitement and happiness. 

Not just that, a musician was hired to graze the occasion with her favorite music.

After the commencement of the ceremony, Gary arrived together with Sandra. But the gesture at which they walked in proved that a lot was definitely amiss between the couple.

However, upon Gary's entry, all eyes were on him, several people hated and despised him In the family. Every single person saw him as a leech.

Whereas, Gary on the other hand, never batted an eye at then, all his attention was focused on speaking to the grandmother as Sandra said and finally leaving the damn marriage.

While he and Sandra moved to the family table, Sandra made sure she sat far away from him, but close to Alora where she could at least have access to her first before Gary could.

Even at the sight of Gary, Alora herself wasn't pleased, nevertheless, she kept quiet just in honor of her birthday.

When it got to the point of presenting gifts, each family member presented materials worthwhile. Alora was all beaming with smiles at every single thing they brought.

This was her 70th birthday and the younger generation had made it special in ways she herself could never have thought.

Every single person had presented whatever gift they got. Gary was also expected to present a gift with Sandra as one family, but then Sandra had presented a gift solely on her name alone.

As for Gary, the ruckus he went through the night before hadn't given him time to think about getting a gift, but then he had brought something different.

"Let's see what the scumbag has got." Raphael, Sandra's elder brother, said , breaking the atmosphere and all heads turning towards Gary expecting to see whatever he really did have to present.

Even Sandra was expecting his downfall, she hoped he really did have nothing at all to present therefore the insults could be quite much.

The moment Derek lifted a small bag strapped to his neck, all attention was fixed on him to know what he had in store.

Nothing good was expected of him, therefore they had concluded he had nothing tangible to offer. However, to satisfy their curiosity, some even urged him when they felt he was quite reluctant.

The moment he brought the gift out, everyone burst into laughter. "Grandmother, I got this for you." he said, presenting an oversized half mega scarf.

Even Alora gawked at him in disgust, she wondered what cheapskate material he was trying to offer her.

"What the hell do you think you are doing offering grandmother such a cheapskate material? Are you out of your mind?" 

"You shouldn't have brought anything if you knew you had nothing at all to offer." Raphael pointed out to Gary in scorn.

"Grandmother, please accept this. It's really not a cheapskate material, it's worth a lot of dollars." Gary assured without batting an eye not giving heed to whatever Raphael had said initially.

"Who told you I would accept such cheap stake material! Why can't you just get something right in your entire life?" Alora grabbed the scarf from him, but threw it into his face.

Every single person burst into laughter, Including Sandra who should have brought his support.

"That suits you right thrash! That you should have found something else to get, but you keep disgracing my daughter even in the limelight." Claire, Sandra's mom chipped in angrily.

Amidst all they said, Derek bent down to pick the scarf. It wasn't a cheap stake material as they said, it actually cost eight hundred and twenty dollars, yet it was never appreciated.

"For the rest of the day here, I do not want to hear a single word from you. It's either you go out there to get a gift worth the stress of feeding and clothing you for the last two years In this family or you scram entirely." Alora declared harshly.

Nevertheless, Gray picked the scarf in pain. He was still going through the fact that he caught his wife in bed with another the previous day, and wasn't ready to face another.

All he wanted was to get the hell out of their damned family.

Gary lifted his face and said amidst the insults. "I would like to tell you something very important."