Hector was lying flat on his stomach, the same position Katherine was in. There was a significant
distance between the two of them, and Hector was wearing his own clothes.
Katherine blinked briefly before using all her might to repress her startled shrieks. She rapidly sat up on
the bed and took a good look at herself.
Of course, she and Hector were people with good manners. It was apparent that nothing had happened
between the two of them. Still, Katherine felt her stomach twist with worry and a tiny pinch of
uneasiness.
Katherine stood up next to the bed and stared at Hector for quite some time. She felt the need to wake
him up and reason with him, but in reality, she had no idea what she would say if she did.
Katherine debated with herself for a good while before she finally went to a guestroom to complete her
toilette routine.
The one Katherine went into was Marshall’s old room, and some of Marshall’s belongings were still
there. When Katherine entered, she inspected on those items and tossed everything into the trash bin.
It didn’t make sense to keep his things when the owner himself was no longer staying there.
Katherine intentionally stalled as she brushed her teeth and washed her face. After she was done, she
strolled sluggishly back to her own room.
As she stood in front of her door, she was uncertain as to whether she should get in and wake Hector
up. It would be weird if she didn’t do it, since that meant Hector would continue to sleep on her bed. But
if she did, she hadn’t the faintest idea how to face Hector and rationally talk through this. Whatever she
chose to do, it would be an extremely awkward situation.
The door to her room was open. When she dawdled over to the room to glimpse on her bed, she found
it empty.
Katherine blinked in surprise. Did he leave? That was unlikely, since Hector would have the basic
decency to notify her if he wanted to leave. So she tentatively called Hector’s name.
“Here!” came his voice from the ground floor.
Katherine thus made her way towards the staircase.
Hector was indeed downstairs, except he wasn’t alone.
Standing at the upper end of the staircase, Katherine froze before her brows slowly creased into a
frown.
Downstairs, Marshall looked livid as he looked up at her.
Katherine knew that Marshall probably misread the situation. Everybody would! So she opened her
mouth to speak, but the words came out wrong. “What are you doing here so early in the morning?”
Marshall’s tone was icy cold, just like his face. “What, did I interrupt you two mid-frolicking?”
Hector smiled as he talked to Katherine. “You should get changed now. We are going to have a lot to
do at the store, so we might as well have breakfast outside.”
Katherine pursed her lips but didn’t mind.
Downstairs, Marshall spoke again. “You know what, Katherine? You exceed my expectations. That is
speedy of you.”
Katherine understood his insinuation immediately. She had just talked about how she liked Hector but
hadn’t confessed her feelings yet, and now they appeared to be living together. Speedy indeed.
Inexplicably, Katherine laughed. “So congratulate me then.”
Silent, Marshall glared at Katherine without looking away for a split second.
Katherine added, “What do you want this time? Did you forget something here, or are you making
another delivery for me? Whatever it is, I want you to sort it out once and for all and don’t ever show up
again. I’m already bored of this game even if you haven’t given up playing…”
Just as she finished speaking, Marshall made the sudden move to march over to the staircase in a few
quick strides. He was so quick that Hector barely had time to react. Katherine did instinctively try to
react, but it was too late since Marshall had already materialized himself right in front of her.
Marshall grabbed one of Katherine’s shoulders and pushed her against the wall with force. “Do I look
like sucker to you?”
Hector had climbed the stairs, too, and rushed over. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Marshall’s hand grabbed a little too hard and it hurt Katherine’s shoulder. And her back hurt, too, from
being pushed forcefully against the wall. Weirdly, she felt like it was a familiar scene.
Katherine palmed her neck as she demanded angrily, “Why are you doing this again? Do you look like
a sucker or is it really me who looks like a sucker?”
Hector tried again to pull Marshall away, but Marshall, after only a second of pause, abruptly let go of
Katherine before he turned around to aim a punch in Hector’s direction.
Nobody saw that coming, least of all Hector, so the punch landed squarely in his face and made him
stumble on his feet.
Katherine was truly startled. Hector was going to compete in a talent show, and an injured face would
seriously hold him back in his pursuit.
Katherine let out a shriek. “Marshall Grant, you son of a bitch.”
Pushing Marshall to the side, Katherine ran to Hector and inspected his face. “Are you okay? Did it
hurt?”
Marshall looked gloomy as he remarked, “Wow, you really care about him, huh?”
Katherine whipped her head around to glare at Marshall as she yelled, “Why are you losing your shit in
my place, you cold bastard? And who are you to go about hitting people? I’ve told you time and again
that you should know you’re only my ex-husband. We’re divorced. It’s done! We don’t have anything to
do with each other anymore, and you have got to stop interfering with my life. Now, I beg of you, stop
showing up at my place, because I really, really don’t like you. What’s more, I think I may even hate
you.”
Marshall started to look a little manic. “Katherine.”
But Katherine wasn’t afraid this time. She opened her eyes wide as she said, “What else have you got,
other than hitting me?”
Marshall truly froze at that question, and his almost thunderous expression shut down for a second.
After a long time, Marshall asked with a forced laugh, “I only ever hit you?”
Katherine had on an even colder expression on her face. “Leave, please. I don’t want to see your face
right now.”
Marshall nodded slowly. “Fine, fine, I’ll leave. But before I do, I’ve got a question for you, and I want you
to answer me honestly.” Pointing a finger at Hector, he asked, “Did this guy stay here for the night last
night?”
Katherine was so angry that she laughed out loud. “Why do you even bother to ask when you’ve
witnessed everything with your own eyes? Yes, he did.”
Marshall pursed his lips for a while before he laughed, his face turning even more impossibly manic.
“My bad. Looks like something is seriously wrong with me.”
Hector, standing upright on the side, dabbed off the blood at the corner of his mouth and was sporting
an extremely serious expression – a wholly different look from his usual image of a gracefully-
mannered gentleman. Looking at Marshall, he said, “Mr. Grant, I’m afraid you’ve crossed a line there.
See, you should understand that you and Kathy are now divorced, and that Kathy is with me now.”
After that, Hector turned around with a sigh to help Katherine take care of her hair, looking worried
about her. “Don’t be scared. Get changed now and we’ll grab breakfast later.”
Katherine, long-faced, gave Marshall a quick scan out of the corner of her eye and hesitated to do
Hector’s bidding.
Hector pushed her gently. “Don’t worry, Kathy. It’s going to be fine. You go get changed, and I’ll talk to
him.”
But Katherine was not to trust Marshall after what’d just happened. “You can’t take him.”
Marshall turned around. “Yes, don’t worry, Kathy. I won’t lay a finger on your sweetheart.”
Marshall could be a rash guy, but he always kept his promise. Accordingly, Katherine, though her lips
were still pursed, turned to walk away after asking Hector to be careful.
When she walked into her room, she took a quick glance to find Marshall and Hector exactly where
they were, standing very still.
Katherine locked the door from the inside and got changed quickly. After that, she didn’t get out
immediately, but decided to sit down on the bed.
What the hell was her life.
Upset, Katherine bent down and ran her fingers through her hair. How did she end up drinking all the
beer, so much so that she didn’t even realize it when Hector came in?
She didn’t think Hector did it on purpose, because after all, nothing had happened. It was probably
because Hector, also drunk himself, saw an open door and decided to invite himself in.
Katherine remained sitting like that for a while before Hector finally came knocking on her door. “Kathy,
let’s go get breakfast now.”
Katherine let out a breath and went over to open the door. In the hallway, Hector was the only one
there.
Katherine checked out the staircase as she asked, “Is Marshall gone?”
“Yes,” said Hector.
Katherine bit her lips, unsure whether she should be sad or relieved.
In the end, she went out with Hector with no makeup on.
Marshall, however, didn’t actually leave. Having parked his car nearby, Marshall was staring at the front
gate of Katherine’s residence from there.
He caught sight of Katherine and Hector the minute they walked out the door. Katherine said
something, which made Hector lean over to brush on her hair for her. They were standing quite close to
each other, and the way they interacted with each other looked pretty close, too.
Marshall gritted his teeth. “I must be really crazy, Katherine, to allow you the opportunity of humiliating
me like this.”
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