Chapter 4: I Believe My Wife!!
"Are you stupid?! Because you have a guild, you think you can climb over us commoners?!!" She yelled at him, her voice trembling but fiercely defiant.
"Get lost!"
The leader of the group finally snapped, unable to handle a bruised ego. He struck his hand forward, slapping the lady hard on her face, throwing her to the ground with a sickening thud.
"....?!"
"Sofia!" Juliana was shocked, staring at the lady’s bruised face.
"You should worry about yourself, not others." The leader smirked, as the four men behind him rushed forward, hands stretched forth, ready to deal out the same brutal treatment.
"How dare you touch my wife!!"
Everyone froze hearing the words. They all turned to the side, watching as Asher rushed towards them, sliding into a protective stance right in front of Juliana. He didn’t have the strength of a high-ranking Awakener, but at that moment, he didn’t care. He was a shield.
"Huh? So you’re that slut’s husband!" The fat woman yelled, pointing a thick, accusing finger at Asher.
"Watch your words you fat pig." Asher said with killing intent, turning his gaze to the woman. The rage bubbling inside him surprised even himself.
"Fat pig?!! How dare you?!! First, your wife copied my work, and now, you’re insulting me!! What a good couple!" She yelled, her face turning purple with indignation.
"Copied?" Asher was confused, his fierce momentum stalling. He looked over his shoulder at Juliana, who was staring at her feet, not daring to look up at him. He blinked at her behavior, a bit confused, but this wasn’t the time to think about it.
"Yes!!" The fat woman answered, now pointing at the bags scattered on the dirt.
Asher was even more confused seeing the bags. He stared at the scarves for some seconds, then looked at Juliana over his shoulder again, as the disjointed pieces of his morning finally clicked in place. The scarves and jackets she had occupied herself with during the day wasn’t just out of hobby or need, she was actually making these scarves to sell, and make money for the family.
But this was weird...
Wasn’t she the one who placed a knife on his neck last night, how come she is now helping with the house?
He exhaled, his fists clenched tight at his sides: ’There is nothing I can do here... I can’t beat these five men, but there is something I can do.’ He looked up at them with feigned confidence:
"Alright, I get what is going on here. You said my wife plagiarized your work, but do you have proof?" He asked, setting his trap.
"Of course I do!! On my work, I always leave a mark in the shape of a star! All this work has that exact mark!!" She yelled triumphantly.
The onlookers looked at one another, stunned by the revelation:
"Really?!"
"If this girl’s work also has the same mark, it means she is guilty."
"Yes, let’s see how it goes."
They murmured amongst themselves, watching the scene with eager eyes.
"Impossible!!" Juliana couldn’t stay quiet anymore, looking up at the fat lady with raw indignation:
"That is my mark! I always make sure to leave a star on all my items!" She yelled. The star—perhaps a subconscious nod to his ’Starfire’ name or just her own personal symbol—was her undeniable signature.
’Ok, this will be an issue.’ Asher thought, walking towards Sofia, and finally helped the lady back to her feet. His mind was racing for a solution:
’I am 100% sure Juliana’s is saying the truth, because I had personally seen her adding that mark on a jacket... Even if I haven’t seen it, I would still believe her.’ The absolute trust he felt towards her was surprising, considering their history, but it was unwavering.
"Thank you." Sofia said in a low voice, while Asher nodded, and turned back to the fat woman.
’I trust her, but that won’t help us here... If two side claims they have the same mark, it will be difficult to guess who is right or wrong... If I openly agree with my wife, she will turn this into something else. Like saying, we two are trying to steal her stuff. We can also do a contest, and let the two knit before everyone, and we will know the right owner, but she will definitely refuse this.’ Asher smirked inwardly, thinking he had brilliantly cornered her:
’If she refuse, I can use it against her.’ He nodded his head, locking into his bluff:
"Alright!! There is only one way to settle this!!" He yelled, stretching his hand at her in a bold challenge:
"You, and my wife will knit a scarf, right here and right now! Prove to us who is the original and who’s the fake!" He said, staring at the fat pig with absolute certainty.
’Now refuse.’ He thought, waiting for her to back down and expose her lie.
"Alright then, I don’t like someone doubting me, but I won’t do this for free. If I win, what will you do?" The fat woman said with a greedy smile, her words stunning Asher in place.
’Huh?! That isn’t your line?! Why did she readily agree to this?’ He thought, shocked in place. A cold dread pooled in his stomach.
’I haven’t even asked Juliana, she might not even agree to this.’ He glanced back, fully expecting her to explode in anger at his unprompted interference.
"Okay, I will go with my husband’s words... If I lose, I will admit I plagiarized your work, and also apologize." She said, her voice surprisingly steady, anchoring herself entirely to his sudden authority.
".....?!!"
Asher was speechless again.
"Hmph! Who wants your apologies? You will drop to your knees, and lick my shoes, don’t forget, your husband placed this bet!" She said, pointing a vile finger at her dusty shoes.
"Hey! That’s going too far!! Instead of that, what about, if we lose, I will give you my car!" Asher yelled, desperately throwing himself in the line of fire to protect Juliana’s dignity. He pointed his finger at his car parked nearby:
"It’s not that great, but it’s still functional." He added, offering up his only means of finding a job and traversing the city.
The fat pig turned to the car, a slight frown on her face: "That car is even cheaper than mine."
"Hm... Boss’s wife, we would like that car." The muscular man said with a sly smile, staring at the SUV as if he already held the keys.
"Yes Boss, we will help you with any other thing you need, no matter how crazy the job is, just give us the car."
The woman stared at the five men, and nodded: "Alright then! For my guys, I will accept that cheap car." She said.
Asher grimaced at her words, feeling the sting to his pride; that was his car, looking down on it is looking down on him. But, the main question here is, why are these people so confident? If Juliana was the real creator, this woman should be terrified of a live demonstration.
"Are you sure about this? We don’t have another car." Juliana said in a low voice, looking up at Asher with vulnerable, wide eyes.
’What have gotten into her today?!! Is this still the same Juliana I know?!’ He thought to himself, completely speechless at the rapid shift in their dynamic.
Juliana was never this friendly, and meek. She was genuinely relying on him. For the first time since this sham of a marriage began, they were standing united as a real family against the rest of the world.