Chapter 1 All for Laila

David raised the bunch of flowers he bought from the florist with both hands to his face and gave it a passionate look.

He kissed it with a very wide grin. It was all for Laila, his adorable wife.

It cost him half of the total money he has, both at home and in his pocket.

Whatever was spent to please a wife who is a real wife is no waste.

David's love for Laila could only be compared with Paris's love for Helen before their elopement.

She was the wife after his heart. The bunch of flowers was for their third marriage anniversary and to compensate her. Three days to the third anniversary of their marriage he had bought the flowers. Why? He did not want another competitor to be the first. He wanted to show her that she was the only one dominating his mind and in him, he wished by the effect of these blossoming flowers, in her heart and his heart, so would their love blossom.

They had met during David's graduation from the University and because of David's handsomeness, Laila's brain was spun and they had sex that night, super sex that made them cleave in passion, in desire, in Oath. Name them and David became an adopted son-in-law.

His family had arranged a wife for him whom he would marry after graduation. A girl from another royal family but he ran away with his angelic Laila.

He waited for a cab. He had never boarded one for a long time but to preserve the flower's health, he used the last dime on him to pay for the casing and cab fare.

Despite rolling up the glasses of the cab, the Territory A winter of Denver seemed not to abate.

Would these flowers that cost him all the money he would have used to go to work tomorrow, do the magic again? Laila to surrender herself to him again?

The cold permeated his skin as he shivered

The cab pulled up at Anderson's home and David came down hopefully, with the beautiful casing containing the bunch of flowers, finely banded together with its small ceramic vase.

The gateman opened the gate. He was the only worker in the Anderson's household that does not make a jest of him.

"My guy. Welcome," Phillip said to him.

"Is my wife in?" He did not know if Laila was back from the office because he had no credit on his phone.

"Sure!" Phillip nodded.

He was happy as he walked briskly in.

"Hey! Evid, come here!"

His mother-in-law from nowhere called him. His heart jigged:This witch. What again?

Nothing she said now that will be so damning. "David, I cannot run away from my wife because of her family!" under his breath he said so.

His parents died in an auto crash on August 22, last year and he did not attend the burial because they were opposed to his marriage with Laila. So, what is it again to fear?

Evid stood before his mother-in-law who had chosen to call him 'Evid' instead of 'David' because both cannot have the same 'D' starting their names. Her name was Dina.

" What is this? " Her face was contorted as David tried to explain why he bought the flowers.

" Hehehe!" She clapped. "What a fool you are?"

She snatched the flower case from David and had a look into it.

"So, this is your own money?" She raised her face to look into David's face.

David was cold and creased his face.

"Come down, my daughter is sleeping,"

It was on the staircase she stopped David. He wanted to match up to his room and Laila's.

"I said come down!" she commanded."Church rat!" she named him.

David came down to the first step. He shared a bedroom with his wife. He wanted to go in at least to wear something for the weather.

"Go now and do your laundry before you go to your useless work tomorrow."

She did not just say it. She pointed at the laundry shed.

David checked the water he added yesterday in the electric iron to spray some on the stiff dresses. Her children deliberately complain of poor ironing and to avoid anything that creates a problem for him, he was determined to be ironing their starched clothes to shine more than an army General's uniform.

The imp entered, looking at him. He knew trouble had entered. He makes war for his elders to fight.

"You didn't iron my dress well, yesterday. Fuck you!"

Tim said. He was five years according to Laila.

David silently cursed him, widened his eyes, and gritted his teeth and he ran, crying.

Selena briskly came in, towing him along. "What did you do to him?" she asked. Others in the family hated David because he was poor but her reason was more severe.

So sexy, with a good mass of flesh behind and firm protruding breasts, she had wanted a fling with David. So, because of sour grapes, she spits at David and calls him names more than a church rat.

She shifted a rubber chair in the laundry shed and sat. " Go," She eased Tim away and said. " You ain't ashamed loving who doesn't love you."

"No problem," said David, eyes now glued to the dress he was ironing.

"David."

David refused to look her way having seen how she sat.

She got up. " Gold digger. If you ain't, why then do you act like a fool."

"Who is that, Selena?" asked Laila, coming out of her Dad's sitting room.

She had barged into the sitting room and whined to her Dad that her Mom squeezed her flowers.

Hearing what Selena said, she told him to go to their Dad's sitting room.

In the sitting room, the Andersons were seated. They want to use the beef the squeezing of the flowers created between Laila and her mom to finally tell Laila to divorce David or be disowned.

". Laila" her family called her. For the umpteen time, we the Andersons don't want a handsome son-in-law who has no money and we are the ones taking care of him. Are you with us? Fine. Dr Pat is whom we want. With him as our son-in-law, assurance covers your career, and our family business will be connected to AB Corp.

Laila climbed up and flopped on the bed.

"Laila, what is it again?" asked David as he came in. She whined, and tears dropped.

"David. For my career."

"Tell me." inquired David. He knew without being told it was about what her family said about him.

But what else would they say that he is poor and useless?

His ears had been accustomed to their gossip so they were wasting their time thinking that would make him leave.

In the morning, he matched on, wobbling in his movement because the soles of his shoes were not flat and one was higher.

At work, there was Mr Manfred, a lodger.

He beckoned him "Hey, my friend."

"You are back sir." He shook his hand

Manfred nodded. " Come to my room."

He took David to his room and gave him money." Good guy!" They shook hands again.

The first tip, a clock with gold studs, which he gave to Laila was the only thing Laila could believe she had ever gotten from him. Now, what she does is each time there was a misunderstanding due to her parents' involvement in their relationship, she would ask 'Do you want your clock back?'

With this one hundred dollars, he proposed what to buy for the third anniversary for her since the mother had squeezed the flowers.

No no...He changed his mind. "When we go out for the anniversary," he said.

Reaching home, Dina and Fred saw him coming in and handed him a divorce letter.

And there was silence. Like the silence after a cease-fire.

David twitched his nose scanning through the letter. He said he acknowledged their message but he won't sign it until his wife sees it

"Your wife?" Dina almost punched him if not Fred who held her hand.

"I said I will call her!" David spoke strongly. It is once a man dies.

He was not interested in the clause in the divorce paper. What is a car to a man deprived of his love?

He called Laila on the phone.

"Are you in support of the divorce?"

"My family said you don't have money."

"Your family. You don't have a choice? David. I had a choice when it was my turn to show you love."

"I loved you because of your handsomeness but now your future is not bright"

" Laila...it was not about money. Remember our love."

"Something more than love has come up. Sign the divorce paper." Laila told him with finality

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