Chapter 206 Turned into a Scumbag
After hearing what Matilda said, Charles didn't rush over.
It was already late, and he drove home alone.
"Reflecting on Zoey’s absence, the thought of returning to an empty house felt utterly hollow. In that moment, he felt a desperate need for a distraction."
But when he called a few friends, they all said they weren't available.
One friend said he needed to stay home with his kid, and added that at almost 40 years old, drinking too much was bad for your health. He advised Charles not to drink either and to live a good life.
Another friend was at his girlfriend's place. He changed girlfriends constantly but just didn't want to get married. Charles told him to take care of himself, saying in another couple years he'd be useless. His friend told him to fuck off.
There was also a workaholic friend who was dealing with company matters. When he heard Charles wanted to drink, the workaholic friend was shocked. "You're not even at the office working, what are you drinking for? How old are you? Wake up, that's not realistic."
Charles couldn't find anyone, so he had to go home.
Usually, Zoey would cook when he got off work, but since she left home, there was only Mrs. Chubby at home.
Mrs. Chubby asked, "Sir, would you like something to eat?"
Charles shook his head. "No need."
He went upstairs alone to shower and sleep.
......
Zoey's phone was finally turned back on, and she saw many missed call notifications.
She had already let her parents know she was safe, so she didn't need to respond to theirs.
There were over a dozen calls from Charles, which she just skipped over.
At the same time, she cursed in her mind: That bastard!
This time, she was definitely getting divorced and wouldn't soften her heart.
Just as she finished cursing in her mind, Charles's call came again. She hung up directly.
The phone rang again, and she hung up again.
When it rang once more, she just turned off her phone.
Walking out of the small room, she saw Matilda getting ready to go out and buy groceries.
"Matilda, let me go grocery shopping with you."
Matilda knew that pregnant women at this stage should be moving around, so she said, "Okay, and we can see what you feel like eating and buy some together."
On their way out, they ran into Phoebe and Rose. Rose greeted Matilda, "Matty, is this your sister-in-law?"
Phoebe said, "Why is she so young? Wentworth's brother must be much older than her, right?"
Matilda stayed silent.
Zoey said indignantly, "Exactly, and he doesn't even know how to care for people."
"What's wrong?" Phoebe asked.
"Zoey sighed, 'Every family has its hidden struggles. I imagined an older partner would cherish and support me, but instead, I feel like I've sunk into the role of a domestic servant.'"
When Phoebe and Rose heard this, they guessed Zoey must be facing those common marriage problems, like conflicts with in-laws, an inconsiderate husband, or a husband who didn't appreciate his wife's contributions to the family.
At first glance, they had felt Zoey looked very refined, clearly the daughter of a wealthy family, and felt distant from them. But after Zoey mentioned her unhappy marriage, the distance between the women immediately closed.
Phoebe and Rose warmly pulled Zoey close and started asking about her well-being.
Phoebe even asked Zoey, "Young lady, are you pregnant? I can tell from your waist..."
Zoey said, "You can tell?"
Phoebe wasn't quite sure. "Just a suspicion. Your face isn't fat at all, but your belly is a bit round. It can't just be from eating too much, right?"
Zoey pouted and suddenly started crying. "You understand me so well. Oh, even you can tell, but that blockhead at home can't. He keeps thinking I'm fat from being greedy."
Seeing Zoey cry like this, Phoebe and Rose quickly comforted her. "Oh dear, don't cry, don't cry. He's just a man, no big deal. If he doesn't know how to care for you, we care for you. He better not come here, or we'll teach him a lesson for you."
Zoey linked arms with Phoebe on one side and Rose on the other, crying while saying, "I've always heard from Matilda that the people here are good, and I didn't expect it to be true. As soon as I arrived, I met you two such warm-hearted sisters."
"Why say such things? Come to my place for lunch!"
Matilda watched from behind, thinking, well, she wasn't needed anymore.
......
Wentworth also came back today.
He had caught a ride from someone else from the training ground, so he got dropped off at the fork in the road in the residential area.
After getting out, he still had to walk a mile to get home.
Along the way, he noticed people were looking at him differently, all with expressions like they wanted to say something but held back.
These were all family members, people he only half-knew, so he felt awkward asking.
Until he ran into Mary. Mary knew all the gossip about this place.
Mary and Wentworth were quite familiar.
Mary called out to Wentworth, and Wentworth stopped and looked at her. He felt Mary had something to say.
"Wentworth, your sister-in-law is here, you know that?"
"Zoey?"
"Yes, she looks like she's in her early twenties. Didn't expect her to get married so young. Poor thing. And I didn't expect your older brother to be that kind of person."
Wentworth took a sharp breath. "What about my brother?"
Mary glanced at Wentworth and said disapprovingly, "Wentworth, we all think you're a very fair and just soldier. Even if it's your brother, you shouldn't take his side. Your brother, at his age, married a young girl, and after marrying her, he doesn't even take care of her. He let the young girl come here pregnant to seek help from us. Do you think that's right? I think that young girl is quite pitiful. You need to take good care of her and definitely don't let her leave, understand?"
Wentworth fell silent.
He didn't expect Zoey to come, and even less expected that his older brother's reputation had spread throughout this military compound.
His brother, not yet 40, was being described as almost 50, with white hair, using money to marry a young girl, and then fooling around with other women.
A total scumbag, really.
......
When Wentworth got home, he saw Zoey sitting on the sofa eating snacks and watching TV.
In the past two days, Zoey had won deep sympathy from the women in the military compound. They kept sending her gifts—food, clothes, and other things.
She didn't take their things for free either. She gave them face masks and skincare products, all name brands. When the women said they were too expensive, she said, "I bought these all with that bastard's money. If I don't spend his money, he'll just spend it on other women!"
They sympathized with her, so they had to accept the gifts to prevent other women from benefiting.
"Wentworth, you're back?" When Zoey saw Wentworth, she greeted him, then pointed upstairs. "Matilda's upstairs."
Seeing Wentworth looking at what she was eating, she handed him a bag of chips. "Do you want some?"
"No thanks, I'm good," Wentworth said.
Zoey ate them herself, her eyes glued to the TV, which was playing her favorite soap opera.
Wentworth frowned.