It was a late winter night and cold outside. The street was decorated with Christmas lights of various shapes, sizes, and colors.
James Wane had just returned home from work with a bouquet of flowers in his hand to surprise his wife, Alisha.
It is their third wedding anniversary. He was tired but happy, looking forward to having an intimate night with her tonight just like a few days back.
He didn't buy her any gift but he had prepared her favorite dish in the morning before he left for work.
He quickly parked his electric bike outside and headed to the door to surprise her with the flowers.
As he walked in, he was surprised to see two people seated in the sitting room watching TV.
One was a middle-aged woman who looked about 40 years old. She was dressed in an expensive Dior gown and had an expensive Dior bag with the same color as the gown.
The other was a young man in his late twenties. He was wearing casual wear. It was the kind of clothing you wear when you're relaxing. A T-shirt, jeans, and a pair of white sneakers.
James quickly recognized them as his mother-in-law, Kate, and his brother-in-law, Henry.
'What could have brought them here?' He thought to himself.
He wondered if they had come to celebrate the anniversary and also to spend Christmas with him and his wife, Alisha.
A few years ago, back in college, James Wane met Alisha Carl, the eldest granddaughter of the Carl family. They both fell in love with each other.
One thing led to another and they quietly got married in the local registry. It was a private and intimate way to make their commitment official.
Her family initially wanted to marry her off to one of the rich families in town, but Alisha settled for James instead.
But ever since they got married, her family never approved of him and never regarded him. They are always looking for every means to kick him out of their life for good. He knows this but he always keeps being nice to them.
The Carl family is like many families in Emerald Falls. They live in a regular neighborhood and have a house that's not too big or too small. They work hard for their money, but they're not super-rich.
They have little to pay the bills, put food on the table, and maybe save a little for special things. They're just an everyday family trying to make a good life in the city of Emerald Falls.
Everyone in the Carl's family treated James like a piece of shit and regarded him as a nobody because they didn't know his true identity.
James takes care of all the chores in the house. He washes the dishes, sweeps the house, cleans the toilet, and keeps the house tidy. Sometimes, he even washes his wife's clothes and undies. He does all of this while she is at work, trying to make things comfortable for her. It's a lot of work for him, but he does not complain.
One certain time when they had all returned home for a family gathering at the main house, everyone used this opportunity to say harsh words to James, but he never for once tried to retaliate or do something crazy.
"Where is that Moron you call a husband? Pa Aaron the grandpa and also the head of the Carl family had asked Alisha. "Tell him to come and arrange the tables and chairs."
James was on his knees, mopping the floor with a cloth when Alisha came to call him.
He was shocked 'Arrange the tables!' This was something anyone in the house, especially the little ones, could do but they all expected him to do it.
He had entered and greeted them all, but he got no response from any of them.
"You're nothing but a burden to our family. A loser who can't even provide for our sister." It was Sophie, Alisha's cousin who taunted him first.
And everyone picked it up from there.
"I've seen more promising ants than you. You're a complete waste of space."
"I can't believe my granddaughter chose you. You're just a bottom-feeder," Ma Pat, the grandma of the family, also expressed her hatred towards James.
"You're a disgrace. My friends were right when they said you'd never amount to anything."
"You're not fit to be part of this family. You'll always be an outsider."
James was used to everyone in the family maltreating him and making jest of him. He tries to endure all their bullying and mistreatment.
He doesn't even have a car or a house of his own. He earned less than five hundred dollars in a month. To everyone, he is just a live-in-son in-law in the Carl family.
His wife, Alisha works in Emerald Multisource Cooperation managed by the Sterling Dynasty, while he got a job as an ordinary cleaner at a grocery store with miniature pay which pissed his wife's family the most.
Later on, James was kicked out of the Carl's family house, and his wife had left with him to the disappointment of her family where they both rented an apartment in the suburb of Emerald Falls.
Now they had come to pay him a visit finally!
"Happy Christmas Eve, Mom." James greeted his mother-in-law but before he could finish greeting them, Kate lashed at him.
"Why are you coming back by this time?"
James couldn't find the right words to reply to her.
He just kept quiet.
Henry just sat there still watching TV with disdain in his eyes.
"Answer me you bloody b*stard. Why are you coming back by this time?"
"Today is our Anniversary, and I… I… wanted to surprise Alisha, so I got her…"
"Speaking of anniversaries," Kate snapped, "what did you buy for her as a gift?"
Henry looked at him and found the bouquet of flowers in his hands and interjected mockingly.
"Oh, you got her thorns for flowers. This a*shole is really a piece of shit. Does she look like a joke to you that you will buy her this?"
"Is this the best you could do, James? Pathetic," Kate hissed.
"You can't even afford a decent gift, can you? What a disappointment you are to yourself," Henry jeered disdainfully.
They both took turns to say hurtful words to him.
"She deserves better than your cheap excuses for presents."
"Alisha must be so embarrassed by you right now."
"You're hopeless, James. Absolutely hopeless."
"I can't believe you're her husband. She must be regretting it every day."
Henry then dragged the bouquet of flowers from James' hand and whipped it all over his face and body.
James ignored him because of his mother-in-law. He kept staring down at his feet like a poor child who was being scolded for doing something wrong.
A document was thrown at his feet.
"Now here, sign them," Kate shouted at him.
James was surprised.
"What are these, Mom?" He asked her.
'kpa! Kpai!' Two hot slaps landed across his face.
"Are you legally blind? You are good for nothing. Can't you read anymore?" Kate shot back at him.
She began pointing out his flaws and Shortcomings while Henry sat lazily in front of the TV, not wanting to get involved.
"Your mates are Billionaires, CEOs, managing and directing Multi-million dollar Companies and you are just this poor thing working as a cleaner in a local grocery store." She spat.
Just that moment Henry stood up and walked briskly towards James and looked him in the face and shook his head. He then turned to his mother and said.
"This loser cannot read Mom. He's illiterate. I guess his schooling was a waste of time and money."
James quietly picked up the documents and tried to read what was written on them.
It’s a 'Divorce Agreement Paper'. He was frozen in shock. Why was he given a Divorce Agreement Paper to sign?
James did not say anything to them, instead, he kept his eyes fixated on the document before him.
"Is Alisha aware of this?" He finally asked calmly. "I'm not signing this unless she agrees to it."
Henry grabbed the papers from James and hissed. "Now, look closely here you son of a b*tch."
Henry then showed him the signature, where his wife had already signed her name and signature.
James couldn’t believe it even though he recognized Alisha's handwriting and signature on the Divorce Agreement Papers.
Alisha was finally divorcing him for good.