Chapter 1
While I was raising chickens in the country, my husband, Jasper Coleman, was involved with other women in the city. He played too recklessly and ended up having a pair of twins.
Behind my back, he threw a lavish hundred–day banquet for them downtown.
I turned up with two of the wildest roosters I owned, ready to ‘congratulate‘ my dearest husband somehow.
And when the moment he saw me, Jasper’s face turned pale.
His whole body stiffened as he rushed over and muttered under his breath, “What are you doing here?”
I gave him my brightest smile and lifted my voice so everyone could hear.
“You might not know better, but I do! Since your chickens laid you two chicks, shouldn’t I bring you two chickens as gifts? After all, you are what you eat.”
Jasper’s expression darkened.
He lowered his voice to a growl. “Don’t make a scene. Leave now. I’ll explain everything when I come back tonight.”
He tugged at my arm, trying to shove me toward the door.
Instead, I shoved the roosters right into his chest and raised my voice again. “I told you, I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m here to give a congratulatory gift!”
The wild birds went wild in his arms, thrashing their wings and screeching nonstop.
Cluck, cluck, cluck.
They just wouldn’t shut up.
Annoyed, Jasper lowered his arms. The roosters dashed off, wings flapping wildly as they sprinted through the banquet hall, leaving chaos and feathers behind. Then things got messy when they pooped on his suit. His face twisted with disgust as he grabbed a wet wipe and scrubbed frantically.
I sneered.
“Dirty, is it? You think this is dirty? These wild chickens are very clean. You’re the first man ever to hold them. Much cleaner than the ones you picked for yourself.”
The angrier I got, the sharper my words cut. Crying and begging to know why I wasn’t enough? That wasn’t me. I raise chickens for a living, and if I lost to a chicken, that would be the real humiliation.
So this fight? I refused to lose.
“Katie, who are you really cursing here?”
At last, my husband’s mistress, Bianca King, snapped. She straightened her back, puffing herself up like the lady of the house, and shot me a glare.
“Just because I’ve kept quiet doesn’t mean I’m a pushover. Jasper and I have been sparing you some dignity. Don’t mistake courtesy for weakness.”
i
212
10.0
4:31 pm P
She cradled the twin girls like prized trophies, her eyes gleaming with smugness as she looked down at me. That woman always had a sharp tongue that could turn black into white.
They’d warned me back in the village: ‘Once a man has money, he changes. Go to the city while you can, they’d say. Stick by Jasper’s side, don’t let another woman enjoy the shade of the tree you planted.‘
However, my mother–in–law, Joanne Coleman, had been paralyzed for eight years, and she desired the peace and quiet of the mountains.
And what about me? I was convinced that childhood sweethearts could last, that love could survive any storm. I genuinely thought Jasper would remain faithful.
Not in a million years did I think he’d cheat–let alone with Bianca King, the girl who grew up in the same village as us.
After high school, she had run off to the city and started selling herself.
Before that, she and I were inseparable, best friends who shared everything. I still remember her trying to talk me into her ‘plan.’
“What’s the point of girls going to college? Ultimately, you’ll get a job making three to five grand a month. We’re pretty–why not use our looks while we’re young? In just a few years, we could earn millions. Then, when we’ve had our fill, we marry some honest guy. Isn’t that perfect?”
Bianca’s words reached Jasper’s ears that day.
I remembered how furious he had been, his face red, veins bulging as he cursed her.
“You’re nothing but a parasite, a maggot crawling in the sewers. Twisted values like yours are disgusting. I don’t want Katie being friends with someone like you ever again!”
Who would’ve thought that same righteous, sun–kissed boy would one day fall for her?
It was all a complete joke–one that not only humiliated him, but me too.
When did I first realize the two of them were together?
When Bianca was two months pregnant.
I could stay there calmly today because over the past eleven months, I had turned every drop of rage into cold, hard reason.
It’s still fresh in my mind the day I went into town to see Jasper.
As always, he drew me into bed, clinging to me for over half an hour.
