The Son-in-Law They Threw Away

The door to Julietta’s office swung open hard.

Killian stopped right there in the doorway. His wife was sitting on the sofa with another man. The man’s arm was wrapped around her shoulders. He was leaning in close, whispering something in her ear, and she was smiling at him.

Killian’s stomach twisted. The bag of food in his hand suddenly felt heavy and useless.

“Julietta… what are you doing? Who is he?”

The man looked up slowly, like Killian was just some random stranger who had walked into the wrong room. “Hey. Hey. What the hell are you? How dare you just walk in here. Get out.”

Killian stepped inside. His voice came out tighter than he wanted. “Who are you?”

“Who the fuck are you?” the man shot back. “Julietta and I were trying to have some fun. You just ruined it.”

Julietta didn’t look guilty at all. She sat up a little straighter and spoke in a clear voice, almost like she had been waiting for this moment. “Killian. What a surprise. This is Mr Robert. He’s going to be my husband after we divorce.”

The words hit him harder than he expected. For a second he couldn’t even answer. “When did I ever say I wanted a divorce? I never said that.” He turned to the man. “Get away from my wife. She’s still married to me. You have no right to sit there touching her.”

He took one step forward.

The slap came so fast he never saw it coming.

PLUCK.

Julietta’s hand smashed across his face. The sound was loud in the quiet office. Killian’s head snapped to the side. His cheek burned and stung at the same time. He could feel the shape of her fingers on his skin.

“A dirty hobo like you doesn’t get to touch Mr Robert!” she shouted. “Get out of here right now! We’ll talk about this at home. Just leave!”

She pushed him hard in the chest with both hands. He stumbled back two steps. Before he could stand up straight again, Robert stood up, grabbed a full glass of red wine from the table, and poured the whole thing over Killian’s head.

The cold liquid hit his hair and ran down his face, into his eyes, and soaked straight through his shirt. The strong smell of wine filled his nose. He stood there dripping while the two of them watched him like he was something dirty on the floor.

Something inside him finally snapped.

Killian moved fast. He grabbed the front of Robert’s shirt with both hands and punched him hard in the mouth. The sound was ugly and solid. Blood showed on Robert’s lip right away. Robert tried to swing back, but his punch was wild and slow. Killian dodged it easily and drove his fist into the man’s stomach. Robert made a broken sound and dropped to his knees, holding his middle.

“Killian! Stop it!” Julietta’s voice went high and scared. “Do you even know who he is? Mr Robert is a manager at Spencer Group! One word from him and you could be finished. Kneel down and say you’re sorry right now!”

Killian wiped wine out of his eyes with the back of his hand and spat on the floor. “A man like him doesn’t deserve any respect.”

He kicked Robert hard in the side. The force sent the man crashing backward into the glass table. The table shattered under him with a loud crash. Pieces of glass flew across the floor. Robert groaned and tried to push himself up, blood still running from his mouth.

“You dare hit me?” he shouted, voice shaking with anger and pain. “Don’t you know who I am? I run things at Spencer Group! You’re dead after this!”

Julietta ran to him and grabbed his arm, almost crying. “Mr Robert, please. Forgive my stupid husband. I swear I’ll divorce him. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t be angry.”

Killian stood there staring at her. This was the woman he had tried to take care of for a whole year. The same woman who now looked at him like he was garbage while she held another man’s arm and begged for forgiveness.

“Julietta,” he said. His voice sounded rough and tired. “I’m your husband. Show me even a little respect.”

She spun around and faced him with pure anger in her eyes. “Husband? Respect? You still live in my family’s house. You eat our food every day. You bring nothing home. The whole time we’ve been married, people have looked down on me because of you. My family is ashamed because of you.”

Her voice got louder and uglier with every word. “You think a useless man like you can call yourself a husband? You’re more like a dog that sits under the table and eats leftover food. I’m tired of looking at your face. Get out.”

Then she spat.

The spit landed on Killian’s cheek and slid down slowly toward his jaw.

The whole room went quiet for a moment. Killian could hear his own breathing. He could feel the wine still dripping from his hair and the spit on his face. He lifted his hand and wiped it away with his sleeve. His fingers were shaking a little, but his voice came out flat and cold.

“Fine. I’ll leave. I won’t stop whatever this is anymore. But listen to me carefully. One day you will regret what you did to me today.”

Julietta laughed in his face. The sound was sharp and mean. “Regret? You? A nobody like you thinks a daughter of the Smith family will ever regret anything? Keep dreaming.”

She turned her back on him completely and started brushing pieces of glass and dust off Robert’s clothes, speaking to him in a soft, worried voice like Killian was already gone from the room.

Killian couldn’t stay another second. He turned and walked out of the office without looking back. In the hallway he stopped only long enough to throw the bag of food into a trash can. The lid slammed shut with a loud sound. He. He kept walking.

His legs felt weak and heavy. His wet shirt stuck to his back and chest. Every step felt harder than the last. He didn’t really see the people around him or the hallway signs. His mind kept replaying the slap, the cold wine, the spit, and the way Julietta had looked at him at the end — like he was nothing at all.

He walked straight into someone coming the other way.

Papers and files flew everywhere and scattered across the ground.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” a young woman cried out. “Why are you walking around like that?”

Killian blinked and looked up. The face was familiar. College. Years ago.

“Elizabeth?”

She stared at him for a second, then her eyes widened. “Killian? It’s really you. What are you doing here? Do you work at Spencer Group now?”

He bent down slowly and started helping her pick up the papers. Drops of wine still fell from his hair onto the ground. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking. My head… wasn’t clear.”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t paying full attention either.” She gathered the last of the files and stood up, brushing dust from her clothes. “So what are you doing at this building?”

“Nothing special. I just came to bring lunch to my wife.” His voice sounded empty even to himself.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. “You’re married?”

“Yeah. About a year now. To a woman from the Smith family.”

“Why didn’t you tell any of us? Or invite people from college at least?”

Killian looked away down the hallway. “It’s better if we don’t talk about that.”

Elizabeth watched his face carefully. She had always been good at noticing when something was wrong with people. After a moment she changed the subject gently. “After we finished school… what happened to you? Most of us lost contact. What have you been doing all this time?”

“Long story.”

“I’ve got time,” she said. “I just lost my job anyway. Julietta’s manager fired me two days ago. I found out someone was stealing money from the company. When I reported it, they kicked me out the next day.”

Killian’s head lifted sharply. “You got fired for telling the truth about fraud?”

“Yes.”

He let out a short, bitter breath. “That manager… the one who fired you. That’s my wife. Julietta. She’s the same person who just threw me out of her office, slapped me, and poured wine on my head.”

Elizabeth’s eyes went wide. “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to bring it up like that—”

“It’s fine,” Killian cut in quietly. “Right now I’m still her husband. Soon I won’t be.”

She frowned a little. “What do you mean? Miss Julietta is beautiful and comes from a rich family. Why would you want to leave her?”

“Again… long story. Not something I can explain while standing out here on the street with wine all over my clothes.”

Elizabeth looked at him for a few seconds. Then she nodded once. “There’s a place called House of Asia nearby. It’s quiet. We can sit down and talk properly if you want.”

Killian hesitated. He looked down at his wet, stained shirt and the dark spots on his pants. “You sure you want to be seen with me looking like this?”

“Why not?”

“I’m just surprised you’re being this kind. You can clearly see I’m a complete mess right now.”

Elizabeth’s voice stayed steady and clear. “You’re still my friend. That hasn’t changed. I still remember how you stood up for me in college when those guys tried to hurt me. If you hadn’t been there that day, things could have ended much worse for me.”

She adjusted the folder under her arm and looked him straight in the eye.

“So… are you coming with me or not?”

Killian stood there in the afternoon heat, wine drying sticky on his skin, the taste of humiliation still sharp in his mouth. Behind him was the office where his wife was comforting another man. In front of him was an old friend waiting for a simple answer.

He didn’t know yet that the choice he made in the next few seconds would turn his whole life upside down.