01. Mysterious Call

"Jav, it's already 9am. Let's get up! I'll make you breakfast." The sound of a woman's voice woke Javier up instantly. After the voice stopped, the sound of footsteps was heard and slowly disappeared from inside his room.

"I always wake up late, I should have gotten up earlier and helped Blaire clean the house," Javier mumbled as he stretched his body and got out of bed.

Javier left his room and went to the kitchen, when he entered the kitchen, he could see Blaire's body from behind. His wife was busy chopping vegetables for their breakfast, Javier smiled at how beautiful his wife looked despite the shabby clothes she was wearing. Javier thought that his wife didn't deserve this kind of life because before marrying him, Blaire's life is different from the life she lives now.

Blaire came from a rich family, unlike Javier who was poor and didn't have any wealth. He didn't even have a job, but Blaire never questioned that. Blaire accompanied him and chose to live like this with him, so Javier loved his wife very much and continued to try to change their lives.

"Why are you just standing there? Just sit down and wait until the food is ready." Blaire's voice broke Javier's reverie.

"No, I'll help you." Javier walked over and was about to help his wife but Blaire immediately shook her head, refusing.

"No need! I can cook myself," Blaire said as she gently pushed Javier away.

"You always don't want help." Javier sighed, he kept looking at his wife and somehow every day he kept feeling lucky to have Blaire in his life. Blaire always took good care of him as a wife, but Javier didn't take good care of Blaire as a husband.

"I suddenly felt ashamed for always failing to give him a happy life." Blaire turned her head and noticed the change in expression on her husband's face.

"What's with that expression, Jav? Are you angry that I didn't let you help me?" Javier didn't answer and hugged Blaire from behind while hiding his face in his wife's neck.

"I always feel useless," Javier muttered.

"I've even failed at getting a job." Blaire released Javier's embrace and turned his body around, looking into his husband's eyes with a smile.

"That doesn't mean you're useless, Jav," Blaire said, making Javier slowly smile at his wife's words. Thinking about work, Blaire remembered something and instantly the smile on his face disappeared. She became a little anxious but tried to hide it from her husband.

"Javier," Blaire called suddenly, feeling that she had to speak to Javier directly. Javier looked back at him and waited for Blaire to continue.

"How about you ask my mom to give you a job?" Blaire's suggestion didn't sit well with Javier. He knew very well that Blaire's family never liked him, even though he was adopted by the family but they always treated Javier badly.

"My mom might help you get a job." Blaire was still trying to persuade Javier even though he knew that Javier didn't like his idea. That's because he had no choice and Javier had to get a job as soon as possible.

Javier sighed as he lowered his head, he didn't want to but this was what his wife wanted.

"Do you want us to separate, Jav? I'm afraid my mom will force us to divorce and I'll marry the rich man they want. Do you want that to happen?" Blaire didn't want to threaten Javier but Blaire did this so Javier would ask his mother for a job.

"Of course I don't want that to happen, Blaire!"

"Fine. I'll go to your mom's house and ask her for a job." Javier gave in and finally did what Blaire wanted him to do. And Blaire was relieved that Javier finally agreed, one of the reasons Blaire forced Javier was because she was pregnant and she didn't want to part with Javier when they were about to have a child.

She had not told Javier about her pregnancy, she intended to tell him at the right time and now seemed like the right time.

"Jav, I actually wanted to say that..."

"It's still 9 o'clock, right? I'll go now to your mom's house. She doesn't go to work at this hour yet." Javier cut Blaire off and walked away in a hurry.

"I'll go now, Blaire."

"But you haven't had breakfast yet and… I'm not done talking." Javier didn't listen to her, he had already walked out of the house and stopped a taxi. Blaire sighed as she kept her eyes on her door.

"Maybe I'll tell him later and hopefully mom will give Javier a job," Blaire muttered and went back to cooking.

Meanwhile, Javier was already on his way in a taxi to Blaire's parents' house. It wasn't too far and 10 minutes later he was in front of Blaire's parents' house.

"I'm not sure she'll give me a job, she's been refusing to give me a job since the beginning but because of Blaire, I'm going to ask her again." Javier had asked Blaire's parents for a job before, but they had insulted him. Javier didn't tell Blaire about that, if Blaire knew, his wife probably wouldn't have told him to ask her mom for a job again.

Javier walked into the house and met one of the servants.

"Is Mrs. Anne here?" asked Javier, the servant looked worried.

"She is, but she's having breakfast." Everyone knew that Javier's existence was never welcome in this family, he was adopted by this family but never treated like family. Especially when Javier married Blaire, Blaire's parents hated Javier even more.

"I'll let Madame know you're coming." The waitress trotted off to the dining room, but Javier decided to follow her rather than wait.

"Who's coming? Gosh, it's still early." Javier could hear his mother-in-law's voice as he got closer to the dining room.

The waitress was about to tell her but Javier had already walked over and his mother-in-law could see him coming. Her expression changed to annoyance, Anne didn't like seeing Javier's arrival.

"What are you doing here? It's early in the morning and you're already bothering me," Anne asked sarcastically.

"You don't have a job and you're bothering other people, how annoying." Javier tried not to listen to Anne, he clenched his fists tightly and held back his emotions. He kept smiling and being polite.

"I'm sorry, mom. I came here right away because I knew that you hadn't gone to work yet so I wanted to talk to you for a while." Anne snorted in annoyance and continued eating her breakfast.

"Hurry up and tell me! I don't have much time because I'm busy! I have to catch up with my husband at the office."

"It's about work, mom. I just found out that Blaire is pregnant and once again, I'm asking for your help to get me a job," Javier pleaded this time. Even though he lost his pride, it was for Blaire and his unborn child. He knew that Blaire was pregnant that's why he kept thinking about work lately.

"I'll do any job!" Hearing Javier's words, Anne laughed mockingly.

"I already told you that I don't have a job for someone like you." Anne looked at Javier's shabby appearance with disgust.

"You're not fit to work in any position therefore no one will hire you."

"But I have to work, mom. I can't go on like this after finding out Blaire is pregnant," Javier continued to plead even though he had been insulted. He kept thinking about Blaire and his unborn child.

"I don't care about Blaire's pregnancy, it would be better if you guys divorced as soon as possible." 

“I wonder why Blaire would want to marry someone like you when even the world is forced to accept you.” Javier completely lost control of his emotions when he heard Anne's words.

"Mom, please. I love Blaire so much that I'm asking you.”

“Your love is useless! You're giving my daughter a hard time because of your miserable life. Now go away, you're bothering me," Anne shooed Javier away.

"Okay, I'm sorry, mom. But please, give me a job if you have one and please call me." His mother-in-law seemed intent on not listening to him and Javier knew that she wouldn't give him a job.

Javier finally said goodbye and walked out of the house. He was so confused, he was ashamed to go home because Blaire would be very disappointed to know that Javier had failed to ask his mother for a job.

"I'm out of money, I can't take a taxi home anymore."

"It's sad, I'm so useless and now Blaire has to continue living a miserable life like me." She stood beside the road daydreaming.

Until suddenly his cell phone rang, he took it from his pocket and saw an unfamiliar number appear on his phone screen.

"Whose number is this? I've never called this number," Javier muttered in confusion. He rejected the call without knowing who the mysterious person was who was calling him and keeping secrets about him.