Expelled

"Sorry, Mr. Davis. For now, you still cannot join our company. Maybe next time."

For the umpteenth time Bill Davis heard the rejection sentence after a job interview. Though initially he felt quite optimistic, but in the end he was still rejected too.

Bill left the company building where he had applied for the job feeling uneasy. This was the thirteenth time he had failed in different places. Surely Miranda, his wife, would not be happy to hear this.

"What should I tell Miranda?" Bill muttered to himself. Still ringing in his ears were the words his wife had spoken this morning.

"This is your last chance, Bill. If you get rejected this time too. I really don't know what to do anymore. I don't want to be your cash cow for the rest of my life."

Miranda had said that before in a low, calm tone, but it sounded so threatening. It felt like Miranda was really going to dump him if he still failed to get a job this time. Ah, just imagining it Bill couldn't bear it. It felt really horrible if that really happened.

The ringing of the dial tone on Bill's cell phone broke the man's reverie. He immediately checked the object. Miranda's name appeared on the phone screen. Bill sighed for a moment, before he finally accepted the call.

"How did the interview go?" Miranda asked immediately without preamble.

"Not good." Bill replied with some hesitation.

"Not good? You mean, you got rejected again?" asked Miranda in a voice that suddenly sounded annoyed.

"Yes, Honey. But don't worry, I'll find another job soon. This time, I should have better luck." Bill tried to answer calmly.

"Next time, you say?" Miranda sounded even more annoyed.

"Yes--"

"I told you, this is the last time, Bill. There's no next time!" Miranda exclaimed before Bill could finish his sentence.

"Honey, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I really did the best I could." Bill said.

"That's wonderful. You did your best, but it still turned out this way. I guess it's true that I married trash." Miranda said sharply.

"Miranda!" Bill snapped a little unconsciously. Of all the slurs his wife had uttered, the phrase that he was trash was the most hurtful to him.

"Why are you angry? If not trash, then what do you call yourself, a parasite? Don't you feel how miserable my life is because I'm married to you? How long do you want me to work hard to feed you? You want me to die standing up, huh?" retorted Miranda fiercely.

"Miranda, please ... don't say that." Bill's pride was hurt, but he couldn't defend himself because what Miranda said was a fact. For a year now, he had been living off the fruits of his wife's labor.

"I can't be your cash cow anymore, Bill." Miranda said later in a lower tone, but it sounded sharp in Bill's ears.

"Honey, when did I ever make you a cash cow?" asked Bill with feelings that were crushed beyond measure. He had indeed given his wife a lot of trouble, but there really wasn't the slightest intention in his heart to deliberately use Miranda. Not at all!

Miranda did not answer Bill's question and immediately ended the phone call just like that.

Bill himself was still stunned while staring sadly at his cell phone screen. His heart ached so much that without realizing it, his eyes became teary.

"I'm sorry, honey. I haven't been able to be a good husband for you. Please be patient a little longer. Someday, I will definitely make you a queen." Bill muttered softly with a tight chest. If only a year ago he didn't trust his business partner so much, maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this. His business wouldn't have gone out of business and Miranda wouldn't have to suffer.

Bill finally came home as it was getting late. There was guilt lodged in his chest at the thought of Miranda having to cook dinner on her own after being tired from work. He should have gotten home earlier so he could prepare dinner for his wife.

"Honey?" Bill muttered absentmindedly when he saw Miranda sitting in the house, staring at him. Bill's gaze then fell on a large suitcase beside the chair his wife was sitting in.

"Where are you going?" Bill asked a little surprised.

"This isn't my stuff, it's yours." Miranda said.

"These things are mine?" repeated Bill.

"Yes. I've been kind enough to help clean it up so you don't have to." Miranda said again.

Bill frowned slightly, then shook his head in disbelief.

"Honey, what's the point of this?" asked Bill once again.

"You haven't forgotten that this house was given to me by my parents, have you?" Miranda asked back.

Bill frowned even more. "Of course, I remember. But what do you mean by that?"

"Please leave here, Bill. I give up being your wife. I'm tired. It feels so much better if I just live alone." Miranda said in a lower tone than before, but it sounded like a thunderclap in Bill's ears.

"Honey, what are you saying? You want to kick me out?" Bill looked incredulous at what he had just heard.

"What's wrong with Miranda kicking you out? Only a stupid woman would put up with a trashy husband like you!" A loud voice came from the doorway, making Bill turn his head with an indescribable expression on his face.

Anne, Miranda's biological mother, suddenly came and approached while girdling her waist. She stared at Bill with a fierce look on her face.

"Mom ...." Bill muttered softly. Since he no longer had parents, he had always considered his mother-in-law as his own biological mother.

"Don't call me mom. It sounds disgusting to my ears." Anne said.

Bill could only hold back the turmoil in his chest as he heard the cruel words from his mother-in-law.

"Don't trouble my daughter again, if you still have any shame." Anne pleaded fiercely.

"But, Mom--"

"How long do you want to suck my daughter's blood? Do you want to see Miranda die first?" Anne asked sharply before Bill could finish his sentence.

"In all my life, this is the first time I've met a useless man like you. I really wonder why Miranda would go to this extent." Anne said again.

Bill clamped his mouth shut with his jaw hardened. His pride had really dropped, but he couldn't say anything because he had been living off Miranda's income for the past year.

"Go away, Bill. I don't want to hear my mom talk any further. So, please, just leave the house now." This time it was Miranda who spoke.

"Honey, I know you're upset right now, but please don't be like this," Bill finally said. He didn't know where to go, so all he could do was persuade Miranda not to kick him out. It didn't matter if he looked like he had no pride anymore.

"Yes, it's true that trash has no shame and is also ignorant." Anne quipped, before dragging the suitcase containing Bill's belongings and throwing it out of the house.

"Go away! My daughter doesn't need trash like you!" Anne exclaimed, looking at Bill with hatred.