Chapter 1: Her defiant Attitude

The night was still young and while many would have hoped to enjoy the beauty that comes with the night, it had all been disrupted with a heavy downpour, which dropped heavily, forcing everyone to get back to their houses.

Lorenzo had been caught outside by the rain, but he had made up his mind despite his health condition to make it back to his house. Apparently, he had gone out to visit an old friend of his, who lived nearby. As he knocked on the gates while the rain poured, Lorenzo cursed heavily; he had health issues and staying under the rain wouldn't help in any way.

After several knocks, he felt relief as his beloved wife Bianca stepped out with an umbrella In her hands. For some odd reason that Lorenzo couldn't point out, she looked absolutely furious.

"Thank you very much." Lorenzo stated, grabbing his walking stick and hurriedly attempting to step inside. Bianca halted his movement with her hands and Lorenzo became confused temporarily.

"And where were you all day long?" Once again, Lorenzo was confused by her choice of words. He had simply been out that evening and he had informed her about heading to his friend's place.

"This isn't the right time for this, Bianca.I am under the rain..." Lorenzo indicated and attempted to step inside the house once again, but was pulled back by Bianca.

"You lazy man! While every single man would have returned home with their cars, honking at the gate to be opened, you returned with your stupid walking stick...." The anger in Bianca's eyes was immeasurable.

Lorenzo was slowly getting irritated by Bianca's antics and he wasn't willing to be involved in them. "Bianca please, step aside, I want to stay away from the rain. I am cold." His legs were shaking at this point and he needed to remind himself that if he stayed in the rain for another time again, he could catch a flu.

"Oh please! You deserve to be beaten by the rain Lorenzo! You have been nothing but a liability to me. While you should be thinking of how to provide for the family, you were out there with your friends discussing irrelevant things. You really deserve the punishment that the rain brings." Lorenzo was fully speechless at this point. Ever since his incident, Bianca had fully changed, constantly reminding him everyday of his predicament.

The rain continued to pour aggressively and all Bianca could do was to make sure she locked the gate well and went inside the house. Lorenzo begged and banged on the gate but nobody came for his rescue, The heavy downpour of the rain was all over him. It broke his heart just because he was used to that kind of maltreatment. It was not the first time, as the night got dark. He gave up and slept under the downpour of the rain, shivering to death.

As the night deepened, Lorenzo huddled under a tree for shelter from the rain. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to stay warm. He was exhausted from standing for so long, and the dampness of the air seeped into his bones. He could not sleep, despite his exhaustion, as his mind was racing with thoughts of Bianca and her family.

He could not believe that his life had come to this. He had once been a proud and successful man, but now he was a broken shell of his former self. He was alone and destitute, without any hope for the future. Every woman would support their husband, when they go through hurdles like his own, but Bianca wasn't that sort of woman. She was highly materialistic and the one regret he could ever have, was getting to consummate her in marriage in the first place.

As the hours passed, the rain began to let up, and the moon peeked out from behind the clouds; the cold had increased. Lorenzo was shivering and weak. He dropped his walking stick at the side of the tree, leaning on the rough surface of its root. He knew he needed to find shelter before he would die of the cold, but none was forthcoming. As Lorenzo tried to stand up with his walking stick once more, his legs were too weak and he collapsed back to the ground. He knew he had to get help, but he had no idea how to find it. He was lost and afraid, and he felt like he was going to die there in the woods.

Lorenzo looked up to the sky, when the moon had peaked its gaze, smiling upon the face of the earth. He wished things hadn't turned out the way it had turned out. Many times, Lorenzo wished he could turn back the hands of time, but he wasn't the ultimate decider of his fate. All he could do was stay at the mercy of the man that lived up in the sky. After countless thoughts, Lorenzo's eyes became heavy and despite the cold, he slept off on the cold floor, curling himself into a ball.

The next morning Lorenzo was still sleeping, when his ears perked up at the sound of the gate. He turned his head slowly and looked towards the gate and noticed a feminine figure heading towards his direction in so much hurry.

"Oh my God! Bianca allowed you to sleep outside?" Lorenzo couldn't speak, his body was ice cold, his head was aching and his legs had gotten used to the insects' bites. He was certain his health had alleviated.

"Here, let's get you inside." Clare had been the only person who was humane enough during his trivial times and it made Lorenzo ponder if she was the same blood sister with Bianca.

Gently placing his hands at her shoulder, Lorenzo grabbed the walking stick and they gently walked inside the gate. Lorenzo's mind was numb, he had undergone a pain stricken moment over the night and all he wanted to do was forget about it.

Once they stepped into the living room, Bianca was seated on the couch, obviously watching a random reality show. Most times Lorenzo couldn't help but wonder if she had a life outside watching these reality shows.

"How could you Bianca? How could you allow such an innocent man to sleep outside, under the freaking rain!" Clare's voice increased for a moment. "For heaven's sakes, he is your husband!" She further added as she helped Lorenzo get seated at the couch.

His eyes were fixated on his wife, who had a look of remorse? Lorenzo couldn't decipher. He watched as Bianca got up from the couch and walked towards Clare, no emotions written on her face and within a short moment, a wavering impact on flesh flew towards Lorenzo's ears.

"You would not talk to me like that again Clare!" Bianca warned as Clare held her cheeks in shock.