Jake gripped the steering wheel tightly. He tried his hardest to block out the disgusting sounds coming from Kody in between Mary's pleas to let go. He started speeding up.
"Kody, please… This is humiliating. You can't do this to me even if I'm your wife. This is rape!" Mary kept resisting with all her strength, but her efforts were still in vain.
"Why? Are you really scared your little lover boy will see you moaning while doing it with your own husband? Come on, Mary. It's fun watching his face turn red from embarrassment, hahaha," Kody taunted. "Or… maybe he's actually enjoying it and having dirty fantasies in his messed-up head?"
"Kody!" Mary shouted and slapped her husband across the face. Instantly, silence filled the car. Kody's ears rang. Not only Kody, even Jake widened his eyes and glanced in the rearview mirror to see what had just happened in the back seat.
"You filthy woman! How dare you hit your own husband in front of your affair partner?! You ungrateful wife!" Kody cursed as his pride took a hit. He raised his hand as if to strike her back.
But Jake didn't stay silent. He suddenly slammed the brakes hard. Both Mary and Kody lurched forward.
"Hey, you idiot! What the hell are you doing?! You two are a damn disgrace!" Kody shouted again, this time clearly directing it at Jake.
"Get out, or do I have to force you out?" Jake said coldly.
"What did you say? You're kicking me out? Who do you think you are, you moron?! You're just a bum my wife picked up, and now you're her gigolo!" Kody spat.
"Kody!" Mary reacted.
"What? You're still defending him?!" Kody shouted again. And this time—Slap!—his hand landed hard on Mary's cheek.
"Enough!" Jake shouted and immediately got out of the car. He walked around to Kody's side and flung the door open. "Get out!" he yelled.
"Are you crazy?!" Kody snapped back, resisting.
"Yes, I am crazy. But not as insane as you, hurting your wife and spouting all this crap!" Jake said. He didn't care about Kody's resistance—Jake was bigger and would easily win in a fight.
Jake kept pulling Kody by the collar. Once they reached the highway divider, he shoved Kody hard, making him fall into a drainage ditch. "Stay there and shut up!" Jake barked, then jogged back toward the driver's seat.
"Jake, what have you done?" Mary asked in a panic. Part of her wanted to get out and help her husband, but her clothes were too torn and revealing to cover her properly.
"Just fix your clothes and stay quiet. Leave him there—he needs to soak that filthy brain of his in the gutter. I'll take you home," Jake replied coldly, forcing himself to ignore his urge to hold Mary tight.
He felt such pity for Mary that it made him want to kill Kody right then and there. But knowing how much Mary still loved that bastard, Jake held back.
Mary sobbed, hugging her torn clothes to her chest. She was clearly hurt by Kody, but Jake's actions only made her more anxious—because now Kody would surely be furious and fire Jake.
"Do you realize what you did isn't the right way, Jake? You could get in serious trouble. Kody won't let this go," Mary said after calming her sobs.
"I didn't hit him, so there's no way I'll go to jail. And even if it comes to that, I can report him for domestic abuse," Jake replied nonchalantly, still angry.
"But he'll fire you!"
"Let him. I don't care. I'd rather lose my job than stay silent while my friend gets hurt," Jake said. "Has he hit you before during arguments?" he asked, but Mary remained silent.
"That time you came to the fried chicken stand, your face was bruised. I knew it was from a punch. Was that your husband's doing too?" Jake pressed, but again, Mary didn't respond.
"Are you just going to stay quiet and keep letting him hurt you?" Jake asked again, his tone rising.
"Yes, let it be. I don't mind being hit as long as he's satisfied and you don't get into trouble!"
"He's my husband too, and I know Kody will change someday. So your behavior today was just too much!"
Mary's outburst made Jake take a deep breath. His heart ached hearing those painful words from her wounded lips.
After that, the car fell into silence. Jake asked nothing more, and Mary said nothing else. The ride home felt suffocating.
An hour and a half later, the car slowed down as they entered the parking lot of Mary's apartment building.
Jake turned off the engine and exhaled deeply before glancing back at Mary.
"Take care of yourself," he said shortly and handed something over. "Here's your car key. Goodbye, Mary—until we meet again on better terms," he added and got out of the car.
Mary was frozen by his words. She stared blankly at the car key in her hand. When it slipped from her grasp and hit the seat, she finally realized what Jake's words meant. Yes, they meant goodbye.
As Mary stepped out of the car, she saw Jake jogging away, trying to leave as quickly as possible—avoiding her.
"Jake, wait!" Mary called, chasing him barefoot.
But sadly, Jake didn't look back and kept running out of the parking lot, leaving behind his fury and Mary's stubbornness in continuing to let Kody treat her however he pleased.
***
Jake didn't go straight to pick up his daughter. Instead, he made a stop at his previous workplace—a fried chicken supplier store where Stu still worked.
There, Jake asked if there might be a chance he could work again. Fortunately, Stu, who had been entrusted as the store manager, gladly welcomed Jake back to help with various tasks. However, Stu's acceptance clearly came with questions. Jake explained that working around wealthy people just didn't feel comfortable for him. He said he preferred delivering fried chicken.
Of course, that was just a side excuse. There was no way Jake could reveal the real reason—it had everything to do with Mary and Kody.
Only after nightfall did Jake go to pick up Elsa. He was now dressed casually as usual, wearing jeans and a slightly tight plain T-shirt that showed off his muscular build. No leather shoes, no tidy blazer like the kind worn by chauffeurs of the rich. This was the real Jake.
As usual, Jake rang the doorbell. He didn't have to wait long before Mina opened the door. "Ah, Mr. Jake. How are you?" the young woman greeted politely, which made Jake feel a bit odd.
"I-I'm good. Where's Mrs. Katty? She was the one who received Elsa this morning," Jake asked.
"Please come in first. I'll make you some tea. Oh, and Elsa just fell asleep after I gave her some milk about fifteen minutes ago," Mina replied with that same overly polite tone, which made Jake feel even more uneasy. Still, he said nothing and followed her inside.
Jake waited in the living room after checking on his daughter, who was sound asleep in her crib. It looked like the other babies had already been picked up by their parents that evening. Only Elsa remained. Not long after, Mina returned with a tray carrying a cup of tea and a jar of roasted almonds.
"Please, have some, Sir. I'm sorry this is all I could offer," Mina said again and sat across from Jake.
"Thank you, though this is already more than enough. No need to go through all this trouble. I just came to pick up Elsa and talk to Mrs. Katty," Jake replied calmly.
"My aunt is currently unavailable. She's not here or at her house. Earlier this afternoon, I received news that Aunt Katty's brother-in-law passed away. She had to leave town for the funeral. Because of that, she called the children's guardians to pick them up right away—including you. Unfortunately, your phone was off."
"That's why she asked me to wait here until Elsa's father came," Mina explained.
Jake gave a short nod after understanding what Mina had just said. "Ah, I see. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting like this, even if it wasn't intentional. I had my phone off all day," he apologized sincerely.
"It's alright, not a problem at all, Sir," Mina replied promptly. The young woman seemed like she had something to say, but appeared hesitant. That made Jake feel a little awkward.
"Well then, Miss Mia, I'll take Elsa home quickly so you can go catch up with Mrs. Katty. So—"
Jake's sentence was cut short as he gasped when Mina suddenly stood up. The young woman bowed her head toward Jake.
"Mr. Jake, please forgive me for what happened yesterday…" she said clearly and firmly.