Second Chance For Revenge

Chapter 2

Gerald stepped out of his car and checked his watch. 8:00 PM. He was exactly one hour late.

In his past life, that hour would have destroyed him. He would have been sweating, shaking, his heart pounding so hard he could barely think straight. He would have rushed in with cheap flowers, already planning how to apologize for the next week just to make Tina stop looking at him like he was trash.

This time, he straightened his jacket and walked toward the entrance like he owned the place. His heart was steady. He wasn't thinking about Tina's anger or the Hills family's disappointment. He was thinking about the next twenty-one days and everything he needed to do before the world ended.

The restaurant was exactly what he expected. Gold everywhere, soft music, the smell of expensive food that cost more than most people made in a month. The kind of place designed to make factory workers feel small.

He spotted the Hills family right away. They were sitting at the biggest table in the center, like they always did. James Hills at the head, Jane Hills beside him covered in jewelry,Tinaa was in a tight red dress, and Henry sitting close enough to her that there was no hiding it anymore.

Gerald looked at them for exactly one second.

Then he walked straight past their table without stopping and headed directly to the front counter.

The silence behind him was immediate. He could feel their eyes burning into his back, waiting for him to turn around and come crawling like he always did with bows and his words stumbling even each other.

But he didn't even spare them a glance.

The young man behind the counter straightened up when Gerald approached, giving him the same polite smile he gave everyone.

"Good evening, sir. How can I help you tonight?"

"I need to place a bulk order," Gerald said, pulling out the list he had prepared. "I want the freshest ingredients with the highest quality. Everything vacuum sealed for transport."

He slid the paper across the counter.

The server's eyes moved down the list slowly. His expression didn't change -just like his training demanded. But Gerald could see him calculating the numbers in his head.

"Of course, sir. This is quite a large order. Let me get this started for you right away."

The server treated him with complete respect, not caring about his worn jacket or rough hands. In a place like this, the staff knew better than to judge before seeing the payment.

---

Behind him, the Hills table had erupted.

Henry's voice boomed over him from behind dripping with disdain.

"Look at him!" Henry snarled, loud enough for half the room to hear. "He doesn't even have the dignity to greet his wife or his in-laws. We call him here for a family meeting and he ignores us like we're strangers!"

Jane Hills set down her wine glass with growl, her face twisted with disgust.

"What do you expect from someone like him?" she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "He's already broke, living below the poverty line, and yet he still has the nerve to show us this rude attitude. No manners, no respect, no gratitude for been the reason he's alive up till this day."

Their voices weren't quiet. They wanted people to hear, and see how useless and worthless their son-in-law was.

The crowd turned to look, taking the bait. Their eyes moving between the Hills family and Gerald at the counter. Whispers started up, growing louder by the second.

"Is that the son-in-law of the Hills family?The factory worker?"

"He just walked past them without even saying hello."

"Probably trying to save face. You know how these types are - they come to places like this and pretend to order something just so they don't look completely pathetic."

"Exactly. A man like that can't afford a bottle of water here, let alone a meal. He's just trying to keep his dignity."

The laughter carried through the room, not hiding the venom in it.

Gerald let them finish and then, he turned around slowly, his eyes moving across the room until they landed on the Hills table. His face was completely calm, contrary to what they expected.

"I believe," Gerald said, his voice cutting through the noise like ice, "you didn't call me here to make me the center of your jokes and useless comments or are the Hills now that jobless?”

The restaurant went dead silent.

James Hills froze with his glass halfway to his mouth. Jane blinked like someone had slapped her. Henry's mouth fell open, then snapped shut.

This wasn't the Gerald they knew. The old Gerald would have been bowing his head by now, apologizing for breathing too loud, scared to upset them.

Tina was the first to recover and she growled.

She let out a sharp laugh and stood up, grabbing a thick envelope from her purse and tossing it at him.

"Sign these," she said, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Those are our divorce papers. I'm done, Gerald. I'm tired of pretending we belong in the same world. You are out of my league. You always were. You're useless, you have no future, and frankly, you're dragging me down just by standing next to me."

In his past life, those words would have shattered him completely. He would have dropped to his knees, crying, begging her to give him another chance, promising to work harder, be better, somehow become the man she deserved when it was supposed to be the other way around.

This time, he knew better and he didn't even blink.

He took the envelope from her hands and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Are you sure it's because you're tired?" Gerald said, his voice calm and cold. "Or is it because you can't keep your hands off your best friend Henry's dick?"

The words hit the room like a bomb.

Faces turned, blowing up red with steam. Forks dropped and Tina's jaw slacked.

‘How did he find out.’ She almost stumbled in her step. Even the soft music seemed to stop.

Tina's face went white, then bright red. Her mouth opened but no sound came out.

"You've been clinging to him for months," Gerald continued, his eyes never leaving hers. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice? Or did you think I was too stupid to see what was right in front of me? All those late nights, all those 'best friend' meetings. How long have you been spreading your legs for him while I was out working to feed you?"

Henry shot to his feet, his chair scraping loudly against the floor.

"Watch your mouth!" he snapped, his face red with rage. "What kind of lies are you-"

Gerald ignored him completely.

"I hope the Hills and Thornes legacy heir is everything you planned for," he said to Tina. "I really do."

Tina found her voice again, sharp and desperate.

"You're just saying these things because you're hurt!" she stammered, then straightened, trying to regain control. "Even if it were true - so what? Being with Henry at his worst is still ten times better than being with you at your best. You can't even afford my makeup, let alone give me the life I deserve!"

The crowd, always eager to side with money and beauty, quickly rallied behind her.

"She's not wrong," someone muttered. "A girl that hot shouldn't have to settle for someone that can barely afford to feed properly."

"Look at him compared to her. It's not even close."

"Honestly, she did him a favor staying as long as she did."

Gerald snapped.

“Feeding me? Maybe everyone should know that you've being leeching on me instead, the firm you think you have, I fought in the agency to get it for you, standing day and night while you sneaked into your best friend's pant, I used my savings to get you ungrateful bastard a new house…” Gerald paused.

"I hope you don't come crawling back," he said simply.

The Hills table exploded with laughter.

James Hills let out a sharp bark. Henry shook his head like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Jane covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking.

"Crawling back? First Gerald, nobody forced you to do what you did, you did them willingly and compared to what real men do out there, you should be ashamed.”

Henry said, his voice full of mockery. "You're going to be dead in the streets in six months. You don't even have enough saved to survive without the Hills family supporting you. Who exactly do you think is crawling anywhere?"

More laughter from the crowd. Someone even clapped.

Gerald ignored them. He pulled out a pen, signed the divorce papers with one clean stroke, and shoved them back at Tina without a word.

"Congratulations," he said. "You're finally free."

Gerald turned back to the counter.

Just then, the server appeared beside him, holding a long receipt. He looked nervous, glancing between Gerald and the Hills family.

"E-Excuse me, sir," the server said, his voice shaking slightly. "I wanted to confirm your order before we process it. There seems to be a small issue with the total."

He cleared his throat and began reading from his notepad, his voice getting quieter with each item.

"One thousand portions of premium high quality chicken fried rice, one thousand high end Vientiane red wine…”

He looked up, sweat beading on his forehead.

"The total comes to five hundred and thirty-two thousand dollars, sir. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a mistake."

The restaurant went completely silent.

Every head turned and every conversation stopped at the sheer sound of that amount.

Half a million dollars all for food from a man that was dressed like he dragged his clothes out from the gutters.

All eyes swung from the server to Gerald, then to Tina and her family.

Tina's face twisted with rage and disbelief.

"Are you mad?!" she screamed, her voice echoing off the walls. "Are you trying to make our family run into debt with your stupid games? Do you think if you pretend to order something that expensive, people will forget you're broke?!"