| Body |
"Kneel down and apologize to Sunny, now!"
Several servants were surrounding Kevin. Opposite him was a fierce dog, which was Morris's Sunny.
Morris thundered. His voice attracted some of the maids and they sneaked into the large lobby of the Perry family's villa.
Morris saw them but didn't say anything. His mission was to embarrass Kelvin like he used to anyway. With the maids around, it would make everything sweeter for him.
"Do you even know how high and important this dog is?" Morris began with a flex of his muscle. "This dog is more expensive than the whole of your family combined. I will not stand still and watch you disregard it!"
Kevin felt so humiliated, and he struggled hard, and said angrily, "It was your dog that bit me first! I'm just trying to protect myself!"
Morris scoffed. "Does it look like I'm concerned a bit about you? Aren't you the useless house husband of the Perry family?"
He said mockingly.
The maids laughed lowly and exchanged words quietly.
Something built inside Kevin. He felt a mixture of anger and sadness. For how long was he supposed to continue bearing the ill-treatment of the Perry family? As much as he was supposed to have gotten used to it by now, he was still a man.
When was he going to start acting like the man of the house?
"I will not apologize, Morris. The dog was being rude and I taught it a lesson. It wanted to bite me and I stopped it. If anyone should apologize, it should be you, on behalf of your dog."
Morris went still for a moment and suddenly burst into laughter. He sobered up almost immediately and gave that wicked grin.
"Force him down!"
He ordered in a thick voice.
Three men advanced forward immediately. They caught Kelvin by his hands, pushed him towards the dog, and tried to force him to the floor. They could not do so until one of them eventually kicked Kelvin by his legs.
He was forced to kneel in front of Morris' dog. Kelvin tried to stand up but the men pressed him firmly on the ground. So, he gave up.
The maids burst into laughter again.
"He's such a useless man, that's why he would apologize to Sir Morris' dog."
"Well, the dog is worth more than him. So, technically speaking, he needs to worship his master, the dog for being rude."
The maids exchanged words between themselves with scoffs and mocks.
“Let me go! Morris, this is too much!” Kevin could not get rid of these strong servants, Kevin could only plead with Morris to let him go. However, Morris responded by slapping Kevin hard across the face. Blood trickled from Kevin's mouth, but Morris ignored it.
"Apologize now!" Morris demanded impatiently.
Kevin's voice trembled as he replied, "No, I will never apologize to an animal. It's beneath my dignity!"
"Dignity? You?" Morris erupted into laughter upon hearing Kevin's words. Suddenly, his tone turned vicious, "You think you have dignity? In our eyes, you're not even worth a dog's whimper!"
Kevin gasped for air, his speech slurring from the blood in his mouth, but it was evident he had no intention of apologizing to a dog.
Suddenly, Morris's demeanor changed. He smirked coldly, "Fine, if you won't apologize to Sunny, sign this, and I'll forgive you."
With that, he threw a stack of papers at Kevin's face. Kevin furrowed his brow as he looked at the document.
Divorce Agreement.
Kevin glared angrily at Morris and exclaimed loudly, "You want to force me to divorce Mia? What gives you the right?"
Morris's expression darkened, and he struck Kevin again, this time with even more force, "Right? What right do you have to ask me that?"
Kevin was baffled. "If Mia wanted a divorce, she would propose it herself..." he said stubbornly.
"Because I know the best for her. Besides, she will agree with me that you aren't the best one for her. So, I'm only interpreting what she wants."
Kevin scoffed.
"Are you her mouthpiece? Do you have so little work to do that you now talk for her?"
Kevin didn't believe Morris. There was no way Mia would want a divorce now. Besides, Mia would lose her inheritance if she was divorced without a child. This was the family rule.
Morris felt a stab of annoyance at his words. He rushed at Kevin quickly and punched him hard in the face, forcing his head against the table.
The maids gasped as the table gave way and the glasses shattered on the floor.
Kevin felt a stab of pain and a strong headache set in.
"How dare you!" Morris yelled angrily. He rushed to grab Kevin by his collar.
He pulled Kevin up violently.
"Blood!" Some of the maids yelled and Kevin felt the blood streamed down his face.
He looked at the shattered table and realized he was bleeding.
A sharp pain penetrated him suddenly, and his head banged harder.
Some disordered memories suddenly flooded into Kevin's mind. For the past few years, he had been in a state of amnesia. All he knew was that Mia, the eldest daughter of the Perry family, had saved him and married him, making him a son-in-law of the Perry family.
However, no one in the Perry family treated him as a son-in-law; he was even worse than a servant in this family.
Nevertheless, after receiving a severe blow to his head, he unexpectedly found that he seemed to remember something.
He clutched his head and yelled in pain as those memories gradually began to resurface, but they brought him even greater pain than the injury on his head.
"No matter what! You will sign these divorce papers!" Morris clenched his teeth in anger, oblivious to the state that Kevin was currently in.
"I will not allow a lowlife like you to continue being the son-in-law of a prestige family like Perry! I will not allow that! Karim Mendy will marry my sister very soon!" He announced in a low deep voice, meaning to make Kevin jealous.
But Kevin wasn't replying to him. To Morris, Kevin was just playing one of his dumb games on him.
Kevin didn't hear him actually. His mind was going through a frenzy of thoughts. Flashes of images flickered across his eyes. He felt dizzy as strange memories filled his head. He closed his eyes in an attempt to shut it off but it couldn't be stopped. It felt like he was going crazy.
Sensing that Kevin was ignoring him, Morris' anger turned to rage.
"How dare you!" He sneered, let go of him, and punched him hard on the nose.
Kelvin's nose burst and Morris smiled at this. He punched him again, in the face and forced Kevin back to the floor.
Morris huffed. "He's so weak. Yet, he rebels against me? I am going to teach you a lesson you will never forget!"
Morris kicked Kevin's head violently several times. Kevin’s head started bleeding, but he seemed oblivious to it.
Morris grew even angrier and picked up a nearby vase, he was about to smash it fiercely towards Kevin's head!
That vase was extremely sturdy, and if it hit Kevin's head, he could have died!
Just at that moment, Kevin suddenly opened his eyes and quickly grasped Morris's hands, pushing him away.
Morris fell heavily to the ground, and the vase dropped to the floor, shattering into a myriad of pieces.
Everyone around them stared in shock.
Morris yelled in pain and held onto his waist. He didn't expect Kevin to make such a move.
He had never made such an intelligent move. How was he able to do it? Kevin has always been the dumb husband of Mia and he has enjoyed treating him badly for a year now.
The men rushed closer to him and assisted him up. But he pushed them away angrily and turned to look at the maids who had been watching the whole drama unfold. He felt embarrassed.
"What are you still doing there!"
He thundered. "Get lost!"
The maids scampered away.
Morris yelled several times before he turned to Kevin again. He was very upset. How could Kevin have made such a move and the men couldn't even stop it?
"You are making a big mistake!" he yelled. "I'm telling you! You are!"
Kevin didn't respond. A dark frown was on his face as he stood up slowly. More images flashed across his eyes. The dizziness increased but the headache was gone now. The images became clearer now but it seemed like his heart was racing as he went through them.
"I...I'm Kevin, Kevin Di Lorenzo..."
He muttered to himself, "Could I have sunk so low?"
At that moment, the door of the Perry family's villa suddenly opened. A man and a woman walked in. The woman frowned upon seeing the disarray in the hall.
She said discontentedly, "What are you doing again? You've made a mess in the house!"
"Mia!" Morris called suddenly, pulling Kevin out of his trance. "Did you see how your husband was going to kill me?"
Kevin looked at Mia. There was a young, handsome guy beside him. He was dressed in an expensive Italian suit.
He looked at Mia, but wasn't as excited as he used to be. Not now that he knew who he truly was. He smiled calmly instead.
"Welcome home, Mia," he said calmly.
The man beside Mia held her by the waist and moved her slightly away from where she was initially.
"Be careful, you could have stepped on glasses," he said, trying to show Mia he was very caring.
Mia regarded the whole mess for a moment and she felt disappointed and unhappy. A dark frown played on her face. She looked at Kelvin. "You should all stop this children's play."
Kevin frowned, he knew that Mia didn't care about him in the past years, but he was bleeding now! How could he be bleeding and Mia thinks it's child play?
He was disappointed. Mia has always ignored his maltreatment and pretended she didn't see how her mother treated him. But he didn't expect her to take such a matter currently with such levity.
He didn't let it bother him. Instead, he looked at the man standing too close to Mia.
Mia doesn't like to bring business home. So, he wondered who the man was.
"Who is he?" he asked instead.
Mia frowned, she didn't expect him to ask her such a question because Kevin never cared about her business before. He was just a person who lost memory.
At first, she thought she was only going to worry about his lost memory but now, Kevin had added dumbness to the list. How could he be interfering in her business?
Mendy eyed Kevin levelly and looked at Mia. "I think you may introduce us to each other first?"
He asked with a smile.
Mia felt ashamed suddenly. She felt reluctant to introduce Kevin to Mendy, not with the mess that she met Kevin in. He was disgracing and she wasn't even moved to introduce him.
Kevin saw the sour look on Mia's face and knew he was reluctant to tell Mendy who he really was to her. This made him sad.
"Well, Mr Mendy," Mia cleared her throat meaningfully. "He's my husband," she said softly as if she was forced.
"And this is Mr. Karim Mendy, a very important business partner of our family."
Mendy smiled and added, "And also a good friend of Mia."
He grinned slyly. "This must be that famous husband of yours?" He said in an offensive tone, while still sounding like he had an intimate relationship with Mia.
Kevin looked at him, smiled. "I'm pretty famous, no?"
He replied calmly.
His reply made Mendy laugh.
Mia cleared her throat meaningfully and looked at Kevin. "You should get clean out of this mess." She looked at the Mendy. "Mr Mendy, please, let's go to the meeting room."
Mendy's hand was still resting on Mia's waist. Kevin looked at them and frowned.
Mendy saw Kevin's expression and faked a gentle smile.
"Actually, I think it will be nicer to talk in your room, won't it?" He said provokingly and looked at Mia with lust in his eyes. "Your room has better privacy and what we are about to discuss is equally very important."
Mia felt awkward especially because of Mendy's hand that was still around her waist. She needed Mendy's help and didn't want to upset him.
"Ok then. Let's go."
Wendy smiled softly, feeling satisfied in himself.
"Wait, I don't think it's good for you two to be alone in the room together, right?" Kevin asked with a smile, but it was clear that there was more hidden in his smile.
"What do you mean?" Mia frowned and looked at Kevin, who was completely different from usual.
"I mean, I can go in with you, so no one will spread rumors. This is also for your own good, right?" Kevin's voice was still calm, but there was an unmistakable note of certainty.
Mia frowned. She didn't expect that from Kevin at all. Within a year that she had known him, he was always timid but she didn't know where the courage suddenly came from.
When Mia first met him, Kevin was not only timid but dense. This was even one of the reasons why she decided that he was fit to be her husband.
But it was strictly a deal, Kevin wasn't supposed to act like a real husband. This was why they never slept together. They have never even shared a kiss since they have been married.
But then how dared he demand to get involved in a business negotiation? Who has he started seeing himself as?
Morris was shocked at Kevin's utterance too. Kevin has been acting really strange since a few minutes ago. Firstly, it was the skill he displayed. Now, he was being too bold.
But before he could say something, Mendy cut in quickly.
"Well, you shouldn't be worried, Kevin. It's not like it's a new thing to us. Just last night, we were together in the same room in the hotel for a whole night."
He said with a smile.
Mia frowned.
"That was just business negotiation."
She said quickly. Then she hesitated and thought about it. She didn't owe Kevin any explanation actually. She could choose to do whatever she wanted. Kevin had no say.
Besides, Kevin wouldn't understand business strategy. He had no skill in it. In fact, he has no skill in anything.
Kevin sneered, he looked at Mendy's eyes and said, "You should be careful of what you say, Mr.Mendy."
He ignored Mia's words and continued, "As you know, Mia is a married woman. So, you shouldn't say something that may cause any misunderstandings. We wouldn't want people to think she's cheating on me with you."
Mendy felt a stab of annoyance at his word. He laughed out menacingly, trying his best to conceal his emotions because of Mia. He became sober almost immediately.
"Cheat on someone like you? Why will that happen? Are you starting to see yourself as the husband? Do you think you are even fit to bear Mia's husband? What makes you a husband? The name?"
Morris laughed. "He's so delusional to think Mia is his."
"Yes! You are not worthy of Mia at all. No one is going to cheat on you because you are that useless husband!"
Kevin's looked at him coldly, "Be careful of what you say."
He said indifferently, but there was a trace of authority in his words, as if he were a superior.
"Or what?" Mendy dared. "We both know you are very useless as the son-in-law. How dare you want to disrupt a business transaction? Do you even know what we wanted to discuss or do you have the knowledge or skill to discuss with us?"
Kevin sneered, "Mr. Mendy, don't be so hypocritical. Why do you have to discuss something in my wife's room?"
It was Mendy's turn to get angry. His face went red and he lurched forward to hit him.
Kevin saw his move and waited, with a soft smile plastered on his face. He was ready to combat him.
"Enough!" Mia yelled suddenly, putting an abrupt stop to Mendy's action. She looked at him. "Please, Mr Mendy. You have to stop this," she beseeched softly.
Mendy hesitated briefly before he eventually backed away but the anger was still vivid on his face.
Kevin relaxed. Mendy was no use getting angry for anyways. He was a nobody.
Mia took a step closer to Kevin with a dark frown on her face.
"What is wrong with you, Kevin? What do you think you are doing? Mr Mendy is not someone you should offend. Don't make any trouble here!"
She said in a cold tone and turned to Mendy again.
"I'm so sorry about everything that has happened here, Mr Mendy. Please, let's go and talk about business,"
She said in an apologetic voice.
Mendy smiled victoriously, He smiled provokingly at Kevin.
Kevin frowned and looked at Mia somewhat unhappily, saying, "Mia, are you sure you want to ‘talk business' with him in your room?"
He emphasized the words "talk business", obviously not believing that the two of them would simply discuss business in the room.
Mia sighed in frustration and somewhat anger.
"Mr Mendy is here to help us on business. He knows Lord Phoenix."
Mendy smiled with confidence, feeling so proud of himself.
"At least if you don't know anything or have any skill in the business world, you should definitely know about the popular Lord Phoenix. You should know how powerful he is as well."
Kevin feigned ignorance. "I don't know. Tell me."
He said with a straight face.
Mendy laughed and turned to Mia. "Your dumb husband doesn't how powerful Lord Phoenix is?"
"Well, he doesn't know anything!" Morris joined in.
Mia felt embarrassed. She wondered why Kevin wasn't letting the sleeping dog lie. He was provoking Mendy and she knew that if Mendy refused to help her, it would be trouble for her.
How else was she supposed to explain to Kevin that this was very important? It looks like her husband was off to make everything go astray for her.
Kevin regarded Mendy for a moment, with a sly look. "You said you know Lord Phoenix?"
"Of course yes!" Mendy answered proudly.
Kevin smirked disdainfully and looked into Mendy's eyes, asking, "Then why don't I know you?"
Kevin's words stunned everyone, but only Kevin himself knew the truth.
Yes, he was the legendary "Lord Phoenix."
Years ago, Kevin was ambushed by his enemies and met with an accident.
He suffered head injuries and lost his memory. Fortunately, he was rescued by Mia, who happened to pass by.
The Perry family was in turmoil at that time, and Mia, as the heir of the family, was on the verge of being stripped of her inheritance rights because she was unmarried.
According to the Perry family's rules, only married individuals could take the helm of the family!
Thus, Mia set her sights on Kevin, who had lost his memory and was somewhat timid. To her, Kevin was merely a tool to enable her to smoothly take over the family.
Over the past few years, she had shown no concern for Kevin. Who would care about the feelings of a mere tool?
But obviously, no one would believe his words.
Mendy regarded Kevin for a few minutes and suddenly burst into laughter. "This your husband is a really humorous guy," he pointed at Kevin while his words were directed at Mia. Suddenly, the laugh was gone from his face, just as it had appeared. It was replaced with a cold one.
"You make it look funny but Phoenix would never love this joke."
Mia's heart skipped a beat. She was frightened. Everyone knew who Phoenix was and how powerful he was. Well, except Kevin who has been acting strange since she got home from work.
Phoenix wasn't the kind of person to be messed with. Not even the family of Perry can afford to stand against him. In fact, she needed Phoenix's help and not fight him.
She turned to Kevin in anger and hit him across the face.
Kevin was shocked while Mendy smiled secretly. He was very glad that he had successfully instigated Mia against Kevin. If Mia already hates him, it would be easy to get rid of him.
"Leave now!" She yelled. She was really angry and it was evident on her face. "Your attention isn't needed here. You, in fact, have no right to meddle in it. Leave before you cause us trouble!" She said harshly.
Morris chuckled. "Right, he needs to!"
Mia turned to Mendy with an apologetic expression. "Please, Mr Mendy, do not be offended. I'm sure there's something you can do about all these."
Mendy loved the fact that Mia was helpless. He always wanted to be a hero to her. "Well, your husband might cause a fatal disaster to your family. The Phoenix doesn't listen to explanation. He's not someone you can joke about. There will be no way for you guys to redeem yourself," he said with a hypocritical look.
Mia felt embarrassed and angry the more at the statement.
"You are not to interrupt this meeting!" Mia yelled suddenly, in anger, forcing Kevin out of his thoughts again. She glared at him. "Do you understand that, Kevin?" She tapped her feet in anger.
Kevin sighed and nodded slowly.
"Good!" She looked at Mendy again. "I'm really sorry but can we please talk in the meeting room? My room is in a mess. So, the meeting room is the best option," she explained.
Mendy nodded once. "Alright. That's fine by me," he reluctantly agreed.
And they both walked away.
Morris laughed. "Suit you right, loser!" He mocked and walked away with the men.
Kevin hesitated for a moment. He was still in shock at his discovery. He was not expecting what he just discovered.
He was the courageous Phoenix, yet he became a househusband and was mistreated every single time for a whole year.
Why didn't he remember earlier?
But where are his people? How did he get disconnected from them?
He still remembers Alessia as if he saw her the day before. He should reach out to her because she would have been worried to death. He remembered a phone number suddenly, took out his phone and dialed it.
It rang for a long time before someone finally picked it up.
"Yes, who is this?" a feminine voice said coldly.
Kevin recognized that voice instantly. There was no way he wouldn't. It was the voice he had heard for over seven years of his life.
Kevin went silent for a second. Alessia would definitely not expect this.
"It's me, little cat," he said finally.
There was a few minutes of silence from the other side. Alessa was probably thinking. She never would have thought it could be him.
Alessia screamed suddenly, then cried. "I knew you didn't die! There's no way you would have died," she sobbed further.
Kevin has really missed her. He had known Alessia for a very long time now. So, it was normal for him to miss her.
“It's ok, little cat. I'm here now,” Kevin comforted.
Alessia dragged her breath. “Where have you been? I've searched everywhere for you. I just had to hope you would return to me unscathed. I'm so happy to hear your voice today,” she said excitedly.
Kevin could easily note the happiness in her voice. He was so caught up with what Alessa was saying that he didn't notice Morris creeping inside.
Morris walked back inside to look for a way to make Kevin do something wrong again by the time Mia came out so that Kevin would eventually leave the house. He couldn't wait for that to happen. Mia must marry Mendy at all costs.
He watched him for a moment, with curiosity. He wondered who he was talking to. Kevin looked happy which was strange. This means that the person he was talking to was somewhat special to him.
“It's ok, little cat. I'm back now,” he said softly, with a wide smile on his face.
What! Little cat! Morris wondered for a moment who Kevin could be referring to. His eyes widened with shock as realization finally dawned on him.
Kevin was cheating on Mia! No way! It was why he looked so happy and was even telling the person he was back. He even called her ‘little cat'.
A smile evaded Morris' face. This was a perfect reason to make Kevin leave. He pulled out his phone and started to record him. If Mia sees this evidence, he will divorce Kevin.
“Where are you, Kevin?” Alessia asked excitedly. She just couldn't wait to see Kevin again.
“I'm in Falcone state.”
“Falcone state?” Alessia repeated, somehow shocked. “Where in Falcone state are you? Because I searched everywhere and I couldn't find you.”
Kevin smiled softly. Well, Alessia wouldn't have been able to see him when he was always in the house 24/7 working. He was a house husband anyway.
“Where are you, Little cat? Tell me and I will find you as soon as possible.”
“I'm currently at Phoenix Plazza. I head the place now,” she explained.
Kevin has heard about the Phoenix Plaza several times from Mia and he knew that it was headed by Alessia Anderson, the most successful businesswoman in Falcone state.
Even though the name sounded familiar then, Kevin couldn't place where he had heard it from.
But what people didn't know was that Alessia Anderson was the known General Tiger of the Phoenix.
“I will be there soon. Just give me an hour, I will meet you there,” he assured.
“Alright, Boss!”
Kevin smiled at this and hung up. It wasn't like Alessia loved calling him ‘boss’. She was merely teasing him.
He placed the phone in his pocket and remembered that he was initially bleeding. He stepped inside the bathroom and washed the blood off his face. The bleeding has stopped now actually. He saw some glasses sticking out of his head. He pulled them out successfully and stepped out again.
He was going to see Alessia Anderson.
Morris was still hiding in a corner, waiting to see what Kevin would do. When Kevin stepped out of the bathroom and moved towards the front door, he stepped out and followed him quietly.
The door of the meeting room opened suddenly, putting a stop to Morris' obsession. Mia and Mendy stepped out with a smile on their faces.
Mia was fast to see the broken table. Her first thought was where Kevin was and why he wasn't cleaning the lobby. She looked up and saw Kevin walking towards the front door.
“Kevin!” She called quickly before he would open the door.
Kevin stopped and turned to look at Mia. He didn't expect the meeting to be over so soon anyway. He wondered what Mia wanted again. But he nonetheless decided to move closer and see what it was all about.
When Mia saw that Kevin was moving closer, she turned to Mendy. “Thank you, Mr Mendy, for having this meeting with me.”
Mendy actually wanted to stay or invite her for lunch but he decided not to push his luck further. Instead, he made a hypocritical smile. “Alright then. I will see you later,” he bade his farewell and walked towards the front door.
Mendy and Kevin walked past each other with the latter not forgetting to spare him a dirty stare and Kevin did as if he didn't even see him.
“Where are you going, Kevin? Without tidying up this place? What do you think you are doing?” Mia bombarded him when he was close enough.
Kevin sighed. “I need to meet a friend of mine.”
Morris sneered from one side. He was tempted to give Mia the video and let her know who Kevin really wanted to go and meet but he seriously wanted to discuss it with Mendy first. So, he was going to give Mendy the video instead.
“Well, this is important. Besides, Morris can clean it up since he caused it.”
“Are you kidding me!” Morris snapped.
Mia sighed, not at all in the mood to prolong the matter any further. She delved inside her bag instead and pulled out a card.
She passed Kevin the card, “There are 10k dollars in the card. I need you to buy a nice gift for my grandmother. You know her birthday party is around the corner already. Just make sure you choose a nice gift. This is why I gave you a card with such a huge amount of money. Don’t make me embarrassed!”
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