Chapter 1

Ever since Leonardo had lost his job at his best friend's company where he used to work as a chauffeur, he had become a househelp in his own house. But he never complained. 

He was still searching for a job for the past four months and hadn't been successful with finding one. So, naturally, as the ‘jobless’ husband that he had become, Leonardo had no other option but to take care of the house while his wife, Sophie, was away for work. 

Today, he had deep cleaned the entire house, fixed the sink in the toilet, washed his wife's cars in the garage and made lunch. His wife's cousin, Emma, had offered to help him but he'd politely turned down her help. 

She was a graduating college senior who visited the house whenever she was on the weekends or on long breaks, and Leonardo hated to stress her when she should be having a rest. He was not the time who was inconsiderate of others.

“Hmm. I smell something nice. What's cooking?” Sophie walked into the house, looking tired in her corporate, white and black work outfit. 

Leonardo's eyes twinkled with excitement as he saw her walk in and he hurried towards her with spread arms to give her a hug but she brushed past him, leaving his arms hanging wide and open. 

Leonardo felt his stomach drop in disappointment but he did not give up. He went after her and hugged her from behind but Sophie did not reciprocate the hug. She kept her body numb and had a bored look on her face. 

“Not today, Leo. I'm tired.” She gently disentangled herself from him and plunged her weight upon the sofa in the living room. This time, no matter how much Leonardo tried to conceal his sadness and disappointment, he couldn't. 

“Why do you keep running away from me, Sophie? Did I do something wrong?” He asked her, with a look of lost and forlorn. 

“You didn't wrong me, Leo. I'm just tired. That's all.” She answered, without sparing him a look but Leonardo did not believe her. He knew there was something wrong with their relationship. He could feel it deep in his heart.

“You've been avoiding body contact with me since the past three months, Sophie. You've starved me of sex and you don't even act like you love me anymore.”

“I don't have time for any of these talks today, Leo.” She reached for her phone and opened her I*******m app to chat with a few friends. “Quit being a whiny husband and go get me something to eat. I'm starving.”

Even though Leonardo was hurt, he managed to put his emotions behind him and headed towards the kitchen to get her some food but he stopped halfway as soon as he was only a few feet away from her. A sudden thought rang through his head and he turned around again to face Sophie, his eyes staring at her inquisitively.

“Where is Ava?”

Sophie raised her gaze to look at him, her eyes bored and uninterested. “What do you mean, where's Ava?”

A frown appeared on Leonardo's forehead at her nonchalant response. “Did you forget to pick her up from school again?”

“Oh, spare me the crap, Leonardo. You cannot possibly expect me to remember to pick her up from school all the damn time. I have work to attend to and…”

“She is your daughter, Sophie!” Leonardo couldn't control his emotions this time and he yelled angrily at her. “Our daughter! You cannot prioritize work over her!”

“Then, get a freaking job if you want me to focus on our daughter!” Sophie yelled back at him, steaming with rage too. “Stop being a lazy, useless ass of a man, and go get yourself a godforsaken job!”

Leonardo paled at Sophie's words and his whole body weakened. Was this what she thought of him? A lazy, useless man?

“I agreed to marry you even though you barely had nothing! You live under my roof, feed under my earnings and drive my car! So, you have no right to control me! Do your job as the servant that you have always been, and stop complaining!”

“Sophie, that is enough.” A female voice came behind them and Leonardo turned his head to see Emma standing behind him with a disappointed look in her eyes as she stared at Sophie. “Don't be so rude and mannerless to your own husband. That is unfair and disrespectful. What would mom say?”

Rolling her eyes and scoffing ridiculously, Sophie picked her handbag from the sofa and stood up. “I see that you've both teamed up against me now. Well, goodluck to you both. Get out of my way, Leo.”

She pushed past Leo, almost causing him to trip, as she headed upstairs. After she was out of sight, Emma walked closer to Leonardo, whose face looked pale and blank. Inside his head was a storm of rage that he battled to keep under control. 

Sophie's words had cut him so deep, that he could hardly feel himself again. He wondered when things had gone wrong between them. 

They had met in college and even though he was poor and had nothing, she didn't care and had gone ahead to marry him regardless. So, hearing her say things like this, five years later, shattered his heart to pieces.

“Don't take her words to heart.” Emma consoled him. “You know how thoughtless she can be when she's mad.”

“Yea. I know.” Leonardo nodded with a sigh. Even though he was hurting deep and angry at the same time, he offered her a closed mouthed smile. “Thank you for standing up for me, Emma. I'll go fetch Ava at school now.”

“I'll come with you.” Emma offered. “I haven't seen Ava in a while. I'm sure she would be thrilled to see me.”

“Definitely.” Leonardo agreed with a laugh. “Let's get going then.”

“Alright.” Emma walked ahead first and Leonardo turned his head to take a look at the direction that Sophie had left. 

He missed his wife badly and would do anything to win her back again. He made a mental note to get her some flowers from the florist on his way back from Ava's school. Maybe that would cheer her up.

Or maybe he would come home to the biggest shock of his life.