Mr Manoban's Daring Wife [Jenlisa]

Chapter 2: Utterly Humiliated

Jennie abruptly sat up in her bed, her heart hammering against her ribcage.

She ran a shaky hand through her hair and squeezed her eyes shut. Her lips wobbled as tears pooled behind her eyelids. No matter how much she tried to brush the haunting past away, the pain would always catch up.

Soon, droplets of salty tears fell from her eyes. She struggled to properly breathe, hiccupping for gasps of air.

In the cold, dark, and lonely room, she broke down. She wished it had been just a nightmare and not a memory from the past.

Her heart ached with the painful memories from two years ago. Surrounded by the country's top socialites, she was utterly humiliated and embarrassed. Her heart was torn into pieces, stomped on, and thrown into the ocean like disposable trash.

Jennie still remembered the pain of watching the love of her life choose a woman he's known for less than a year over her. She had stood by his side for twenty-one years, wasting her youth futilely chasing after a man who never spared her a glance.

When he was too fatigued to bother with work, she took a position as Vice President of his company and worked her body to the ground. She expanded the company to its fullest potential.

Jennie did everything she could to support him, and he repaid her by cheating and throwing away their relationship.

She had naively fallen in love with Kai and dedicated her entire life to him. She was willing to run to the opposite side of the world for him, but he wasn't willing to. She was willing to sacrifice her limbs, health, and womb for him, but he would sacrifice everything for someone else.

Collapsing onto her bed, Jennie stared at the bleak and endless darkness.

She had sworn she would forget the past and move on. To some extent, she did. But nightmares, like the one she just experienced, forced her to become aware of the painful past that would forever haunt her.

Krystal... even her name sounded innocent and beautiful. Just like the characters of her name, she was an untouchable dream of a real-life Cinderella. Growing up in a pitiful family whose father left her at a young age, forcing her mother to single-handedly raise her, she had a very sad story. Her mother used to be a janitor in the Kim Corporation and after successfully pulling some strings, Krystal was able to land a job as Kai's private secretary.

By becoming his private secretary, she was with him 24/7.

Kai's interest in her started with a naive and shy smile that seemed to light up the room. Krystal was unaware of her beauty and potential, which sparked his curiosity. Then that spark became a fire that ignited Kai's heart, and soon, Krystal found herself with a priceless diamond ring.

Because the darkness allowed Jennie to reminisce without any distractions, she didn't hear the knocking from her door.

The light knock became harsher and louder. It echoed throughout the hollow, empty room. One knock turned into two, then three, then four, until it became excruciatingly rapid. Without warning, the door slammed open.

A beautiful woman strutted into the room, her hips naturally swaying side to side. Long, slender legs, seductive eyes, perfect body, it wasn't hard to see she was a world-renowned supermodel.

Somi stopped in front of Jennie's bed with a scowl. She crossed her arms and glared down at her like a mother waking up her daughter for school. "It's two in the afternoon, and you're still in bed?!" She tugged and pulled at Jennie's blankets.

"Somi, let me sleep a bit longer..." Jennie mumbled, snuggling into her blankets.

Somi Manoban was the only friend that stood by Jennie's side when Kai practically blacklisted her.

When Jennie's "friends" discovered she had no more power, benefits or the title as the Kim Madam, everyone abandoned her. After many of the socialites realized Krystal's importance to Kai, they immediately flooded to her side.

Jennie wasn't surprised when her friends left her for Krystal. Two years ago, she was supposed to be the vengeful antagonist in Krystal's life. She was supposed to be the woman that tried to frame Krystal for cheating and the horrible person that tried to force the loving couple apart.

Jennie will not deny the fact that she used to be a horrible woman whose very name was supposed to be a sin. She couldn't change the past, but she knew she could change her future, which was why she worked so hard to become a better person.

"Are you daydreaming again? Did you hear what I just said?" Somi fumed when Jennie didn't respond back to her.

"You said it was two in the afternoon, but my room doesn't feel like it. It might be morning— hey!" Jennie yelped when Somi flung the blanket off of her.

"No, it's cold..." Jennie moaned, curling up into a ball.

"Ugh, why are your curtains so thick and dark? There's no natural lighting in this room!" Somi walked to the long curtains that covered the tall windows.

"No, wait! I'm not ready for the light—" Too late. Somi had already pulled the curtains open.

Immediately, the bright rays of the afternoon sun soaked into the room, washing all of the melancholic darkness away.

Because Jennie's condo was on the fifth-highest floor of the tall apartment complex, the sunlight was stronger than ever.

Groaning at the intrusion of light, Jennie buried her head into her pillow. She refused to get up, but she knew Somi would force her out of the bed regardless. "Can't you leave me here to wallow in my sorrow?" Her voice came out muffled.

"A high-class lady such as yourself should not be sleeping until sunset. Now get up!" Somi chided, adjusting the curtain strings.

"A high-class lady without friends, a good reputation, and amazing connections is just a simple woman with money." Jennie huffed.

Somi sat on top of the bed and sighed, running a gentle hand through Jennie's hair. "Did you have the same dream again?" She softly asked, stroking her friend's hair.

After a few seconds of silence, Jennie said a meek "Yes."

Somi's expression grew soft. "Just so you know, I didn't like Kai in the first place; he was utter trash."

Jennie had a small smile on her face. "You only disliked him at first because he stole your pudding on the first day of Kindergarten."

"I have a billion more reasons for hating him. He was such a jerk." Somi retorted. "And for the record, I still hold him accountable for that!" She pouted, crossing her arms like a stubborn child.

Jennie let out a peal of light laughter, the pain in her heart momentarily gone.

"Thank you, Somi... I don't know what I would do without you." Jennie softly whispered. Her voice was quiet and broken, like a lonely child abandoned by the world.

Somi's face became gentle. She reached down and pulled her best friend into a very tight hug. Together, they've experienced so much hardship in this world, there was nothing that could push them apart.

"My dear, I should be saying that, not you." Somi mumbled into Jennie's shoulders.

When Somi was faced with any crisis, Jennie was always there for her. From taking the blame of punching a boy in Kindergarten to the days of high school where Jennie consistently covered for Somi's mischievous deeds. They had seen each other at their worsts, their bests, and everything in between.

"We're reminiscing too much into the past when we should focus on the present and future. Now come on, get up." Somi patted Jennie's head and watched her finally sit up on her bed.

"Hurry up and get dressed, so that we can go eat brunch." Somi hurried Jennie off the bed. With each step Somi took, her silky red dress flowed behind her.

"It's two in the afternoon, brunch has already ended." Jennie, the pessimist, grumbled to her friend who laughed.

"Alright, party-pooper, we can get lunch then." Somi mused, pushing Jennie into the bathroom.

When Jennie began her morning routine, Somi sat in the corner with a hidden, and mischievous smile.