Chapter 3

Mason was jolted awake by the freezing cold water that was poured on him.

Cursing softly, he jumped out of the bed.

His precious bed was now soaked wet and the clothes he wore stuck on his body like a second skin.

"How dare you sleep so peacefully? Do you have no shame?" Samantha, his wife bellowed angrily.

According to her, he didn't deserve to sleep in such a cosy bed when he does nothing other than leech off her family money.

Mason felt wronged. After working hard the whole day, what was so wrong to have a goodnight rest? Wasn't he now allowed to sleep anymore? Was he expected to stay awake the whole night and day?

But he dared not voice out his grievances. He knows better than to go brewing trouble for himself.

"What's the matter, Samantha?" Pushing his dissatisfaction, he asked meekly.

"Why didn't you wash the clothes I left in my laundry bucket?" Samantha asked, anger visible from the twisted look on her face.

"You sent me to the market and I couldn't complete the chores on time. I plan to do that tomorrow." Mason replied. He couldn't help but try to defend himself, hoping she could soften her stand and let him off the hook.

He couldn't get the time to finish his daily chores after coming from the market.

She was the one who sent him there as a punishment and then had him attend to her and her friends when he came back. He thought she would understand and cut him some slack, how wrong he was!

" Excuse! Excuse! Excuse! That's all you ever give me! Do you expect me to sleep in such a filthy environment?" A resounding slap sent Mason stumbling to the floor as he tried to regain his footing.

The slap had caught him off guard, making him lose his footing.

He looked at Samantha in disbelief.

Yes, she mistreated him alongside her family members. He would also receive beatings from her brother and mother, but this was the first time his wife Samantha laid her hands on him.

He never expected her to do that, afterall, they were husband and wife.

They might not have married out of love but he was her husband for crying out Loud.

The two were only married on paper and were nothing close to a real couple. They slept in different rooms to keep distance from each other or should I say, to avoid him rubbing his poverty to her as Samantha had said on their wedding night.

Mason never expected anything from his wife but getting slapped by her felt like the biggest embarrassment of his life.

Others could and did beat him, but for Samantha, he didn't expect it.

"What are you so surprised about? You are the family's dog and a dog should be punished If it doesn't follow it's masters orders." Samantha spat, eyeing him with contempt.

Mason lowered his eyes to hide the burning fury in him. He sometimes fails to understand whether these people have a human heart or not.

"I want the clothes cleaned right this moment if you don't want to sleep outside like the dog you are!" She threatened before walking away in her high heels shoes.

It was past midnight when Mason finished washing the clothes. As a punishment, he was instructed not to use the washing machine. He could only hand wash them.

Walking back to his room, he groaned out loud.

His bed was now wet and he could only sleep on the floor.

Spreading the spare blanket on the floor, Mason laid on his back and hid hand to support his back.

He raised his other hand and observed the wolf tattoo imprinted on it.

'What could be the meaning of this tattoo and where did I get it from?' he questioned himself inwardly. It was like a mystery he couldn't solve.

Many times, he would ponder on the same thing. He remembered nothing about his life. Just how he found himself laying in the streets, wounded and with a wolf tattoo on his hand.

He couldn't help but wonder whether the tattoo has any connection with his roots.

With those thoughts, he drifted off to sleep.

The following morning, he woke up to the loud banging on the door.

He had resulted in locking the door to avoid a repetition of what happened last night.

He didn't want any more surprise visits from Samantha or anybody else for that matter.

It was a decision he made thinking about his present but knew that it would cost him come tomorrow.

But he didn't care, he was already used to their punishments, what else more could they do to him?

Pushing himself up, he made it to the door before clicking the doorknob open.

Samantha stood there, her beautiful face twisted to an ugly morph.

"How dare you close the door?" She bellowed angrily, the veins on her face popping out one after the other.

Mason rubbed his nose, unable to come up with what Samantha called excuses.

Of course, he could not tell her the truth. That would land him into even deeper shit.

Pushing the door wide open, Samantha made her way to the room and sat on the single chair in the room.

"Change your clothes, I need you to drive me to the office." She ordered, her eyes never leaving his face.

"Okay."Mason obediently replied as he made his way to the little closet that housed his few dollar wears.

Picking up a towel, he was headed to the bathroom when Samantha asked," and where do you think you are going?"

Mason turned to look at her with confusion.

Didn't she tell him to change? So how was he supposed to change without taking a shower first?

"To shower." He replied honestly.

"Are you naturally stupid or just pretending to be dumb?" Samantha berated, making Mason frown even more.

He felt insulted, but that didn't matter.

"I said change, did I mention anything about taking a shower?" Samantha added.

Although dissatisfied, Mason dared not disobey her.

Picking up his slacks and t-shirt, he started undressing before her.

Don't get him wrong, he wasn't trying to seduce her, he was just saving himself some scolding.

The last time he tried telling her to turn so that he could dress, he really heard it from her.

"You can change, I'm not interested in your body. Even if you are the last man in existence, I still won't look at you like a man. To me, you are nothing but a pauper and a useless piece of trash."

She had told him that with a straight face and disgust in her voice.

He was embarrassed hearing that but had chosen to do what's best for him, swallow her insults and fake Indifference.

After changing his clothes, he led the way out of his room with Samantha following behind her.

The door to his mother-in-law opened, revealing a grumpy Susan.

Mason could not help but wonder why the woman's mood is always grumpy even when waking up.

"Why are you coming out from that bastard's room? Are you sleeping around with him?" Susan asked, narrowing her eyes at Samantha.