It All Amounts to Nothing

After being married for five years, my husband, Harvey Jepson, brings his first love, Debbie Grayson, home after a six-month business trip.

Debbie is over three months pregnant. Harvey says it's hard for her alone, so she's temporarily living with us. I say no, and Harvey warns me to know my place.

His scornful tone seems to hint that he's forgotten this villa was a wedding gift to me. He and his family have been leeching off me for the past five years. This time, I'm cutting all of them off.

I smile and call my assistant. "Draw up a divorce agreement for me now. To think a live-in husband would have the nerve to bring his mistress home so boldly."

After learning that Harvey Jepson was coming home today, I woke up early in the morning and brought out all the souvenirs and little trinkets from all over the world that I'd bought for him, lining them up neatly on the table to welcome him back.

I also told my housekeeper, Fiona Zeller, to prepare all of his favorite dishes for dinner.

Just then, the front door opened, and Harvey entered the house with his first love and ex-girlfriend, Debbri Grayson.

I was completely shocked. Debbie strode over toward me and greeted me while gently rubbing her belly.

"It's been a while, Belle."

I stared at her belly, slightly protruding now, and felt a rush of anger.

Debbie seemed to have noticed the change in my emotions and hurriedly came over to grab my wrist, saying shyly, "Don't get angry, Belle. Everything is my fault. If you must blame someone, blame it on me. Don't lash out at Harv and hurt him."

That was all that Belle said, but it was enough to ignite the bomb that exploded in my mind.

I hadn't even said a single word, but yet, she had told me everything I needed to know.

Harvey stood to the side, watching my reaction, looking like he was going to rush up to protect Debbie from my wrath at any moment.

I clenched my fists by my sides and glared at Harvey. "Aren't you going to explain anything?"

After that, he just sighed and pulled Debbie toward him. "Come with me to pick out a room that you like. Leave the rest to me."

Harvey's gentle demeanor got me completely stunned. He had never been gentle with me before in our five years of marriage.

He then helped Debbie upstairs while keeping a strict eye on me.

The driver, Tim Cruise, then brought in three huge suitcases. I figured that Debbie had probably brought half of all her belongings with her.

Debbie looked a lot more rosy and healthy than me, but Harvey still kept fussing over her like she was some fragile porcelain doll.

I just fell back onto the couch, waiting for Harvey to settle her down and give me an explanation for all of this.

However, as I heard them laughing and giggling with each other upstairs, I couldn't stand it any longer and was about to rush upstairs when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Harvey's parents, Alex Jepson and Sandra Munster, stormed into the house with a dark look on their faces. They bypassed me as if they never even caught sight of me and headed straight up the stairs.

I went up after them and saw Harvey coming clean to his parents with a sincere look on his face.

"It's not that I'm purposely hiding this from you both. But, Debs' pregnancy is still unstable, and I was worried that something bad or unexpected would happen afterward.

"I hope that you'll both understand me. Debs and I are deeply in love with each other. Also, the baby she's carrying is your grandchild. Please don't put the blame on the baby."

I recalled the past five years of my marriage with Harvey. Whenever I had a disagreement with Sandra, Harvey would always tell me to back off, citing that his mother was getting old and that I should be more patient with her. He had never once taken my side.

I had always thought that Harvey's personality was like that. However, now that I witnessed how protective he was with Debbie, I realized that I had been the family jester all along.

Debbie then pulled on Sandra's hand and said, "I didn't mean to intrude on Harv's marriage. It was never my intention to begin with. But Harv and I love each other, and we're serious about each other. I hope that you and Mr. Jepson can both be more understanding with us."

Sandra's frown gradually eased up when she heard Debbie's words. Then, she glanced at me, who was still standing outside the door.

I knew that she was debating with herself. I had been giving her monthly allowances for the past five years, and anyone could tell that Debbie's financial situation was no match for mine.

I felt my heart plunging into freezing cold water. Harvey was my husband, but he never even bothered to give me a heads-up about this situation. Instead, he chose to put me on the spot to humiliate me.

Was it because he thought that I rarely ever lost my temper, hence I had no self-esteem of my own?

Seeing the situation turn silent, Debbie suddenly started to sob.

"My baby is innocent. I will give birth to it no matter what. You can yell at me or point fingers at me or call me names, but I hope that you won't hurt my baby."

Her fat teardrops began splashing down her face, making her look a pitiful sight.

Harvey felt sorry for her and tried wiping away Debbie's tears. Then, he spoke impatiently. "Mom! Give her an answer! You know that we shouldn't trigger pregnant women because their emotions are unstable!"

Harvey's parents had been asking us for a grandchild ever since we got married, but I hadn't been able to conceive all these years. Of course, I also knew that Alex and Sandra had been gossiping about me behind their backs.

Thinking that this was their way of finally getting the grandchild they wanted, Alex, who'd been silent up until now, finally spoke up.

"Since Debbie is carrying a Jepson heir, everyone should just bear with it and watch our tempers around her."

Just as he was done speaking, suddenly, everyone turned to look at me. They were each looking at me so similarly that I began to think that they were the actual family, and I was the homewrecker instead.

I chuckled coldly and said, "So, is nobody going to ask me for my opinion at all?"

Seeing that I looked displeased, Harvey got mad and shielded Debbie behind him. Then, he started interrogating me. "Belle Sallow, are you deaf? I've already told you everything. What else do you want to know?"

I couldn't stop myself from laughing coldly. My husband, Harvey Jepson, had just returned home from a business trip that lasted well over six months, and this was the surprise he prepared for me. He didn't even bother explaining himself to me but expected that I should accept everything with grace and open arms.

When Debbie saw that I refused to say another thing, she started to sob again. She tugged on Harvey's hand and said in a shaky voice, "Harv, I think Belle is mad at me. Maybe I should leave after all."

Sandra's face fell when she heard that. She immediately said, "No way. You're bearing our grandchild. How could we possibly make you leave?"

Then, Harvey glared at me and said, "Say something! Look at how much you're frightening Debbie!

"The child in Debbie's belly is mine. If you have any opinions about it, you're only allowed to take it out on me. I refuse to let you harm a single hair on her head!"

Then, Debbie grabbed Harvey's wrist and said, "No! Harv, I don't want you to get hurt either. I'll feel terrible if anything bad happens to you!"

Debbie's words somehow brought Harvey to tears.

Meanwhile, Alex and Sandra nodded their heads in approval, seemingly satisfied with Debbie.

I didn't want to listen to another word more and turned to leave.