Chapter 18 Friends

<Mia>

Ethan thanked my friend before we left the house. I couldn't say anything to Lorena because I was hurt, but I knew she understood me.

"Be good to her," Lorena said, and those were the last words I heard before Ethan drove me away. I saw pain in Lorena's eyes. What was that for?

During the journey, I remained silent, feeling confused and exhausted. My mind was tired of overthinking everything. I wanted to rest.

Meanwhile, Ethan didn't let go of my hand as he drove. He held my hand with one of his and kept glancing at me. His face showed concern, yet there was anger in his eyes.

His jaws have been clenched for a while now.

I knew he desperately wanted to know what had happened earlier.

"Ethan, please help me..." I pleaded to him as we entered our room. He carried me here.

"Who the fuck made you cry? I'll kill that bastard!" He angrily said, clenching his fist.

"Ethan..." I begged him, he was the only one who could do something and the only one who could help me. He was the key to getting back together with Yunnie.

"Help me..." I pleaded to him.

"Fuck! What happened, wife? You're making me feel worried!"

"Ethan, Yunnie broke up with me." I cried to him.

His face turned into confusion.

"Who's Yunnie?" He asked in a deep voice.

"Yunnie, my girlfriend. She broke up with me! She doesn't want me anymore! She left me!" I said to him like a mad person. I lost control, feeling like I was going crazy.

"Your friend? That's okay, love, I'm here." He reassured me, wiping away my tears. I cried even more at his response.

"You don't understand!" I shouted in frustration at him, "We're in a relationship! And it's because of you that she left me!" I yelled at him in anger, "This is your fault! It's your fault for agreeing to marry me!" I blamed him while crying.

"What?" He asked in disbelief, pinching his straight nose.

"Ethan, please convince Dad to let me be with Yunnie! Let's get a divorce!" I didn't know what was coming out of my mouth anymore because at this moment, all I wanted was to reconcile with Yunnie and fix our relationship.

"What the fuck?! What the hell are you saying, Mia?! And shit, I won't divorce you!" He shouted in anger. He stepped back slightly. He didn't like what I said.

"And what the fuck are you saying, huh?" He was furious. He was yelling. He wasn't pleased with what I said, "There won't be any divorce happening." He said while tightly clenching his fists, his jaw clenched and his anger intensifying. He stared at me sharply, and I continued crying.

"Are you in a relationship with someone, huh?! Are you cheating on me, Mia?" There was a threatening tone in his voice.

He was seething with anger.

"I was in a relationship with Yunnie. We were together for seven years. My dad found out about my relationship with a woman, so they forced me to marry you..." I sobbed as I remembered our wedding day, which was a nightmare to me.

He became even angrier at what I said, and he clenched his fist tighter. The way he looked at me made it seem like he wanted to kill me.

"So, you've been cheating on me all this time, huh?!" He snapped.

I flinched at his shouting.

"You're in a relationship with someone while we're married!" He exclaimed in disbelief. "That's why you're not always going home! And I ended up worrying to death and thinking, where the shit are you!" He ran his hand over his face.

"You cheated on me, Mia." He said, his voice filled with resentment.

"I love Yunnie." I said, sounding like a fool.

"Since when?" He asked me.

"Huh?" I didn't understand his question.

"Since when have you been cheating on me, huh?!"

He was really angry. I had no one on my side.

"Since we got married." I admitted.

He cursed loudly.

"What the actual shit!" He couldn't believe his reaction.

"I'm trusting you, and I didn't know that you were already cheating on me." He said in disbelief.

"Ethan, please help me!" I pleaded with him.

I saw his eyes turning red.

"This is bullshit!" He angrily exclaimed and left the room. I was scared when he forcefully slammed the door shut.

He left me.

I cried even more because I felt alone, and he didn't want to help me. Nobody wanted to help me. They turned their backs on me.

It's all my dad's fault.

If he hadn't made this decision, none of this would have happened.

I grabbed my phone and called someone. I made several attempts before they finally answered.

"I messed up!" I blurted out to them, trying to speak clearly so they could understand.

"I need a distraction!... I'm coming over." I told them and didn't wait for them to respond.

They also had their own problems, and we might as well be together. We're both going through a tough time, so we can support each other tonight.

I didn't want to be alone because I was scared. I wanted company.

~

<Third Person>

Ethan's fist was tightly clenched, while his other hand held a glass of alcohol.

He stared at the bottle of alcohol with intensity.

"Oh, don't kill the alcohol with your anger. Poor bottle of alcohol, getting caught up in your anger," Moonraker commented with a laugh and poured himself a drink.

"Shit! Mia is too beautiful to be a lesbian. That's why she acts tough, bro," Thunderball made a teasing remark.

"Idiot! You're so old, and you still don't know the difference between a lesbian and a bisexual. You're so dumb," Moonraker mocked his friend Thunder. They were sitting together on a long couch.

"What's the difference then?" Thunder asked and sipped his favorite milk tea.

"A lesbian is only attracted to other women. While a bisexual is attracted to both genders, men and women. Go back to college, bro." Moonraker insulted his friend, but Thunder didn't take it seriously.

"I need to talk to her father," Ethan said angrily. His temper was rising, so he left Mia for now. He wanted to think deeply and process what he had discovered. Mia was too honest, even admitting to the wrongdoing she had been involved in.

He trusted her too much, unaware that he was being deceived behind his back.

"Just chillax," Moonraker said with a joking calmness.

"Your twin is taking forever!" he complained irritably.

"Oh, there he is," Tor said as they all turned their attention to Ethan's twin brother approaching their table.

They did a bro fist bump before Nathan took his seat.

"Don't joke around with me right now. I'm not in the mood," Moonraker informed them, but no one seemed to care.

Nathan sat next to his twin brother.

"What's your problem?" Nathan asked his brother and reached for the bottle of alcohol but stopped midway. He returned the bottle and called a waitress, asking for a bottle of water. Everyone's gaze was on him, but no one dared to speak.

Moon and Tor exchanged suspicious looks and eventually smiled mischievously. Tor shook his head while smiling widely.

"Nothing," Ethan replied seriously to his brother and took another sip from his glass.

"His wife, your twin;s wife, had an affair, but they've already broken up with the other person," Tor said, revealing the truth, which earned him a glare from Ethan. He took the lead.

"What?!" Nathan asked in surprise, his face now filled with anger.

"It's true, Ethan?" Nathan asked with a furrowed brow, looking angry.

"Yes!" Tor answered again, "She was crying, and they had been together for a long time. His wife was the one who confessed. Maybe her conscience couldn't take it." Tor started making up stories.

"Stop making stories," Ethan told him.

"This is just a misunderstanding, bro," Ethan assured his brother.

"Your wife is so beautiful, bro. It's not unlikely for someone to be attracted to her."

Ethan frowned at Moon's comment.

"Are you simping for my wife?" Ethan asked his friend dangerously. Even though they were friends, he was ready to confront him.

"I'm not into bisexual men!" Moon replied, raising both hands as if surrendering.

"Just focus on self-love, bro. All women are cheaters. They'll just take your money, hurt you, and string you along. Self-love is better than loving someone who's not sure about you." Tor made a deep statement.

"Enough with your drama," Moon commented.

Nathan was listening intently to their conversation while drinking water.

"Have you seen his girlfriend? Show me, maybe I can try to woo her." Tor immediately made a teasing remark.

"And you were talking about self-love earlier. Now you want to pursue someone who's involved with his wife?" Moon said.

"Self-love can be postponed," Tor replied mischievously.

"What the fuck are you saying?!" Nathan interrupted them. He didn't understand a single thing. He let go of the water he was drinking. He was in a serious mood because he was stressed and had his own problems to deal with.

"What are you talking about?! Whose girlfriend and mistress are you referring to, huh!" Nathan shouted at them, pinching his nose in frustration.

"Woah! Getting angry so quickly! Did your underage girlfriend misbehave again, that's why you're being so grumpy?" Moon teased him.

Thunder laughed at Moon's craziness.

"She's not underage!" Nathan argued.

His friends just laughed at him because he was being too obvious.

"And how did you know that I have someone with me?" Nathan asked them, and they just laughed at him.

"For your information, 'jowa' came from the word 'shota,' which is short for 'short-term' in English. So 'jowa' means 'short-term'." Thunder provided them with information.

"We don't care," Tor replied, laughing.

"I'm leaving, you guys are useless to talk to," Thunder said annoyed and left them.

"Hey! These twins are even crazier," Moonraker whispered.

"I heard that," Ethan said.

"Huh? Which part?" Moon pretended as if he didn't say anything.

Ethan rolled his eyes at him.

Tor brought back their previous conversation, "Hey, bro. Do you have a picture of her girlfriend? I want to have a girlfriend too."

"I haven't seen her, and I have no idea," Ethan answered shortly. Tor has been pestering him about his wife's girlfriend.

"I bet your wife's girlfriend is beautiful, just like your wife," commented Moonraker.

"What?" Ethan didn't seem to like what his friend said. "Do you have a crush on my wife?" he asked in a serious tone without changing his facial expression.

"Woah! You're putting up fences! I don't have a crush on her, okay! I like girls who are more demure, not tomboys!" Moonraker replied, laughing out loud.

"My wife is not a lesbian!" Ethan defended.

"Oh, chill bro. You're getting all heated up!" Moonraker said, trying to calm him down with a laugh. "Here, have a drink." He mischievously handed Ethan the glass of alcohol.

Ethan shook his head and declined the drink from Moonraker.

Nathan asked them, "Are you talking about something that I didn't know?"

"Guess," Tor replied nonchalantly.

"Uhh, yes!"

Ethan sighed.

"Well, Mia has a lover. Can you believe it? She's bisexual and has a long-term girlfriend, but they just broke up earlier," Moonraker, who is talkative, spilled the beans.

"What?!" Nathan exclaimed in surprise.