The Woman He Married

05. Serious Talk

Mae woke up pretty late the following day. She jumped out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up quickly and changed into a pair of sweats. She paced out and entered the kitchen to find Zane having salad for breakfast. It seemed that he had woken up early that morning.

"Mae?" He called, sending chills down her spine. She looked at him nervously, and he scoffed. "Oh, sorry. You're Kate now?"

"What do you mean?" Mae asked, heading to the sink to see where she should start her chores for the day.

"You said you're Mae Westbrook last night," Zane shrugged, "You probably don't remember because you were wasted."

Mae tried to recall what happened as she fixed her gaze on him. She remembered slapping a guy, and then recalled that he spawned out of nowhere and punched the guy. She had no recollection of calling herself Mae Westbrook. Mae gulped and took a deep breath, "I am so sorry, Mr. Williams. I was definitely drunk..."

"You also called me Zane, which is rather impolite to me."

"...and I didn't mean to be rude to you," Mae added in the same breath. She pursed her lips, "Mr. Williams."

"Right," Zane rubbed his fist, which Mae recalled he had used to punch the guy.

"Are you hurt, in any way?" Mae asked. She was unsure if he had engaged in a brawl with the guy or if he got it done and over with one punch.

He looked at his hands, then pointed to his head, "My brain hurts from getting involved in problems that are not mine."

Mae gaped at him. Did she call him? She's pretty sure they never exchanged contacts. She doesn't have his number.

"Also," Zane cleared his throat, fixing his posture a little. He looked at her, "You wore my wife's ring last night."

Mae felt her breath got caught in her throat. She nodded, "Yes."

"I assume you have something to explain about that?" Zane frowned. "You know, a wedding ring is not just any ring. You could have faked your status with any other ring, but you chose Mae Westbrook's ring. A ring I put on her finger during our wedding."

"Right," Mae had several excuses in her head, but she was rendered speechless by his sudden preach. She didn't expect him to address it in a serious manner, because the marriage felt rather insignificant. At least that's how Mae thought he felt about it, too.

"Right," he echoed her response. Zane's disappointment was apparent at that moment, and Mae felt like she just made a grave mistake. It was just a ring, at least until a few minutes ago.

"I apologize, Mr. Williams. I didn't-- It never crossed my mind to steal it or anything. I meant to borrow it for a while."

"And what if you lose it?"

Mae lowered her gaze, "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"It shouldn't," Zane told her, getting up and putting on his suit jacket, ready to leave for work. Mae felt ashamed of herself at that moment, although she despised the fact that it was actually her ring. She's the woman he married, the owner of the ring herself.

And it felt unfair that be brought up the significance of a marriage and wedding rings, when he ditched her at the aisle on their wedding day.

The conversation was short, but Mae was bothered by it for the entire day as she was doing the chores around the house. At one point, she stood outside after watering the plants and just stared at the house. It was a good house, but it was never a home for her. She wondered if she will ever find a new home. She felt homeless since her father got ill, because she spent most of her time at the hospital taking care of him. When she came home, Ellie would be there to torment her with unjustified hatred.