Mrs. Lopez wanted to fulfill the wishes of his husband on time. She took Austin to Mr. Lewis the following day with the marriage agreement, which Anthony signed.
Mr. Lewis felt betrayed. He had been expecting Ethan from the old Mrs. Lopez, because most girls in his family love to be with him.
When every beautiful girl in the Lewis family refused to marry Austin, Mr. Lewis chose Loretta to marry him.
Loretta wasn't that ugly, but her father, Benjamin, was a gambler. Benjamin became poor because he gambled a lot and didn't have much money to take care of his family.
Benjamin had been planning how to make his daughter marry a rich guy. He was not pleased because old Mr. Lewis picked his daughter for Austin.
But Loretta likes Austin.
She likes Austin because of his gentle face and because there were no signs of pride in him, like the other sons-in-law.
Benjamin told Austin not to kiss or touch his daughter. Who knows, another rich guy may later come to marry her.
Austin accepted and became son-in-law in the house of Benjamin, working like a slave.
One day, when Benjamin sent Austin to market to buy foodstuffs, the car that belonged to Loretta's aunt' husband parked beside him.
"Nancy, is that not Austin?" Kelvin came down from the car with Nancy.
"Our humble son-in-law," Kelvin said, and Austin looked back.
Everyone there was greeting Kelvin because he was the son of a famous and rich man.
"Afternoon," Austin said.
"Is that how you should greet me?"
Austin knew Kelvin wanted to humiliate him publicly, so he concentrated on the beef and vegetables he wanted to buy.
"At least you will bow your head to me. He is acting as if I am not talking to him." Kelvin held and pressed Austin's ear. "I am talking to you."
Anger arose in Austin, but he ignored it and pushed Kevin's hand away.
"You are full of pride. Didn't Benjamin tell you how I fed his family for several months?" Kelvin said and grinned as he noticed everyone was giving him attention.
"You can see how everyone was greeting me. Why can't you greet me well?"
"He didn't deserve a wife in our family. His body is irritating me. Let's just leave him alone," Nancy said.
Kelvin laughed, and spat to the other side to show people that Austin was smelling.
"How much were the foodstuffs you bought?" Kelvin asked, but Austin ignored him like a wrong number.
"Don't you hear me? I want to pay for everything you buy today."
"Don't worry. Thanks," Austin said, and pulled out money from his pocket, counting it before the beef seller.
"You don't want my money, right? I will then call Benjamin," Kelvin said and took out his phone, dialing Benjamin's phone number.
Once Benjamin picked up the call at the first ring, Kelvin put the phone on speaker so that everyone could hear and then told him Austin refused to accept him to pay for foodstuffs.
"Is he insane?" Benjamin boomed through his wrath, making everyone except Austin laugh hysterically.
"I think he is full of pride. You can't believe he didn't greet me well. We're at the market."
"I am sorry on his behalf. He will never do that again," Benjamin said.
"He offends me, and I need to discipline him. I will come to your house soon. And he must bow down before me in the presence of his wife," Kelvin said.
"Very good. Please come. I am expecting you. You're our best son-in-law. And please, I am not correcting you. I've already told him he has no wife here. He is just living in my house as a slave."
Kevin laughed and hung up the call. He then looked at Austin, who was putting the vegetables in the bag.
"Austin, your father-in-law called you a slave. Are you that useless?"
Nancy and some people who supported Kelvin laughed and made fun of him. Austin swiftly left there and took a cab home while Kelvin and Nancy followed him home in their car.
"Who the fuck did you call yourself? You can't even tell him to be sorry before he called my phone. Do you know how many times he pays for the food you're eating in this house? He is doing your responsibility, and still you did not give him respect." Benjamin shouted as Austin stared at the floor.
"I don't believe he didn't give Kelvin respect. Kelvin lie," Loretta said.
"I will slap you." Benjamin boomed at Loretta. "Are you supporting him?"
Kelvin pulled the door open and entered with his wife. He looked at Loretta with lust eyes before slapping Austin.
"Knee down and bow to him," Benjamin shouted at Austin again.
"Austin, don't," Loretta said with fury in her eyes. She knew the reason Kelvin was humiliating Austin. It was because she refused to be Kevin's one-night stand.
"Warn yourself, Loretta," Benjamin said while Kelvin smiled before Austin.
Austin didn't want them to slap his wife because he might end up beating Kelvin to death, which could make them know he was the heir of the richest Lopez family. He swiftly knelt before Kelvin and bowed three times before him.
"He is very sorry for everything. I will not give him food this afternoon and in the evening. Please accept his apology, Kelvin," Benjamin said.
"Text me the amount he spent in the market today. I will send it to your account," Kelvin said and walked out with Nancy.
"Don't repeat what you did today again. Okay?" Benjamin pointed his hand at Austin.
"Okay, sir." Austin walked into his room with anger boiling underneath.
Loretta secretly brought him food in the afternoon and in the evening. She hated that she couldn't do anything to stop Kelvin and his wife from humiliating her husband in her presence, and she then told Austin the truth.
"I know why Kelvin is acting weird. He wanted me to be his one-night stand last week, but I refused. It is my fault that all this happened to you. I'm very sorry," Loretta said and hugged Austin.
"It is not your fault. You did the right thing. I will take you away from this house once I get enough money," Austin said.
"This is not your first time promising me something that cannot happen. Where do you want to get money from?"
Austin then brought out the necklace he had taken from his Gemstone Oasis store and put it around Loretta's neck.
"Wow. Where did you get it?"
"Mrs. Lopez gave it to me."
"Wow. I will never allow my dad to see it. He loves gambling. He can sell it for gambling."
Austin smiled as he watched Loretta keep the necklace under her skirt. He remembered how Kelvin slapped him and how Loretta told him the reason.
He took his phone and texted Ethan to bankrupt Kelvin and beat him without mercy, for he slapped him and made him bow before him.
Austin received a reply from Ethan immediately.
"I will make sure he bows down before you too."
Not long after Loretta went out to answer Benjamin, Austin received a call from his childhood friend.
"Are you available tomorrow?" Sandra asked.
"Why?"
"Someone is very sick. All the doctors we have been calling can't do it. I can't say everything now. Are you available tomorrow?"
"Yes. I will come."