Chapter 296 - Where Do We Go From Here?

Mike sighed and looked at his wife. "Where do we go from here?" he asked her in a dispirited voice, feeling devastated by her confession.

Caroline sighed heavily. "Don't worry... he is just my fling. Our relationship is not serious. He and I agreed not to contact each other. How about you? Can you give up that woman?" she asked him point-blank.

"I already ended our relationship since yesterday," he confessed.

"Good! We will start all over again. Only the two of us and the children," Caroline concluded.

"Okay," Mike replied in agreement. He stood up. "I'm going out. I will be meeting my brother outside," he informed her.

She looked at him. "A-are you going to tell your brother that I had an affair as well?" she asked him in a cold voice.

Mike raised his brow. "What's the matter? You told your sister that I was having an affair with another woman. You told them first! Are you afraid that they will know that you are not as innocent as you claimed to be?" he said in a mocking voice.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Fine! Whatever! You can even announce my infidelity to the whole world. I don't give a shit!" she dismissed him and shifted her attention back to her babies.

Mike was trying to control the anger boiling inside him. "Why are you so angry about?"

Caroline glared at him. "Because of you, I become a sinner! Because of you, I have become a s.l.u.t! You made me do it! And I hate you for that!" she said into his face.

Mike looked at his wife seething in anger. "Whaaat? You are f.u.c.k.i.n.g that guy on your own accord! You willingly offered yourself to him. I didn't even order you to do it! Don't put the entire blame on me! You are a disgusting piece of shit!"

"You are disgusting as well! From now on, don't sleep here in the room! Find another room to sleep!" she yelled at him.

"Fine! I will sleep in the other room!" Mike said indignantly and left the bedroom.

Tears flooded Caroline's face. She's feeling annoyed, angry, and upset with her husband. Now they were both disgusted with one another. How can they continue living under one roof if the situation is always like this?

They will be throwing each other's dirt on their faces every chance they got.

Their marital life will plunge into toxicity. Every day is like living in hell with him!

She groaned in dismay. She was looking forward to having a peaceful reconciliation with her husband. She didn't expect something ugly like this could happen in their reunion.

Damn! Her nightmare has just begun!

She buried her tear-stained face in her daughter's arms. She allowed her eyes to dump more tears in her face. She let the tears washed away her pain... maybe tomorrow, the pain will go away.

She looked at her son and daughter's innocent faces. Good thing, they are too young to know that their mother was suffering right now. She doesn't want to cry in front of her infant children but somehow they provided strength to her weakening resolve.

For her babies' sake, she will endure her husband's wrath and ridicule just to give them a complete family. She was just hoping that in the days to come, her husband will cooperate with her in providing a happy and peaceful home for their children despite the breakdown of their relationship as husband and wife.

~o0o~

Meanwhile, at the MGR Building.

Mike and John arrived in the parking lot just a few minutes apart from each other. They agreed to meet in the Maverick Bar.

Inside the private room.

"How's it's going, bro? How's your wife?" John asked his brother excitedly even though he was wearing a scowl on his face.

Mike sighed. "It's our first day of reconciliation but we're already quarreling. It's not good, bro!" he admitted sadly.

John patted his brother's shoulder. "It's okay... it's normal. In any given situation...the first step...or the first day is always the hardest...but things will return to normal once the awkwardness between you and your wife will subside," he said calmly trying to soothe his brother's troubled demeanor.

Mike was shaking his head vigorously. "I dunno, bro. I have a feeling that Caroline and I can no longer go back to the way we are. There's too much pain, distrust, and hatred between us," he explained.

John's brows furrowed. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Mike was shaking his head in dismay. "I dunno... it seemed the woman that return to me today is no longer my wife. She is a complete change woman...she looks fierce, braver, and shameless!" he said. "And he admitted to my face that she also had a lover. My suspicion was right all along, that Alex on the painting was her lover!"

John's eyes widened in shock. "Oh, no! A-are you sure?"

"Yes! She confessed to me that Alex was her lover!" Mike repeated furiously.

'Damn! Things are getting complicated now for the couple,' John told himself. He released a deep sigh. He was at a loss of words on what to say to his brother at this moment.

Silence descended between them for a moment.

John cleared his throat. "So...what does your wife say?"

"She told me that Alex is just a fling, they don't have a serious relationship. And they agreed to no longer have any communication starting today," Mike answered.

"And how about you? What is your status with that woman of yours?" John asked him.

"I already set Althea free. I also cut ties with her for good because I want my wife and me to fix our marriage for the sake of our twins," Mike said thoughtfully.

John was relieved. "That's good! You and your wife have to start all over again. You have to forgive each other, cooperate, and compromise and make the marriage work the second time around," he stated.

Mike sighed heavily. "Bro, you make it sound so easy..." he protested.

John sighed. "You both made mistakes...so endure it like a man," he encourages him.

Mike scratches his head in a frustrated manner. "You got a point bro... since I also sinned against her in the first place," he admitted his mistake.

"Since both of you betrayed each other with other people then you must forgive each other. You guys have to avoid quarreling, hurting, and insulting each other for your marriage to work the second time around. A peaceful and harmonious marriage can only work when the couple has love, trust, and respect for each other," John said calmly.

Mike was still reeling from the pain and shock of seeing a new woman in his house. His old wife was gone! The woman that replaced her was not someone he knows so well. The new Caroline is not something that he likes dealing with every day. She got that quality of fierceness and coldness in her eyes that unsettled him.

Or maybe, the hatred she feels for him after discovering his betrayal was too hard for her to accept, it wiped away the old her. Maybe she was right, he made her do things against her will because he unknowingly pushes her to do it.

Now the damage has been done and it's very hard to repair the fractured relationship between them. It's difficult to pick up the pieces again now that they were both harboring dark shadows in their hearts and mind.

Oh my God! What had he done to his marriage!?

Mike was truly devastated by the outcome of his reconciliation with his wife. The first day ended in bickering and insults. He was feeling horrified just thinking about it.

Minutes passed by.

The brothers finished drinking six bottles of beer before they finally decided to go home and went their separate ways.