The Woman From Hell

Miss Woods thought about it for some time before she shook her head and said, "I gave you the box before this, but I haven't seen it since I came over again. I didn't even see it when I was tidying up the house. Think carefully. Might you have locked it up upstairs?"

"I'll look for it again." I was prepared to go upstairs to carefully look through everything once more.

I remembered that Miss Woods had mentioned within the box was something Grandmother had wanted to give me. She had asked me to only open it when Theo brought up divorce.

I had never thought of using it to save my marriage, so I did not care. I did not even remember where I had kept it after bringing it back.

Theo was quiet as he drank water in the living hall. His gaze was a little dark when he glanced at me, but h e was always like this, so I did not pay much attention to it and simply went back to my bedroom.

I tried looking through the cabinets in my room, but there was nothing. I remembered that I had changed rooms, so I went up to the third floor to look, but it was to no avail again.

Theo came up to me, his face a little pale. I assumed it

was because he was still not fully recovered, so I said," It's getting late, go ahead and rest. I'll look for a while longer."

He did not move. He leaned against the doorframe and stared at me. When he finally spoke, he asked, "Have you ever looked at the contents of the box?"

I shook my head. "When Miss Woods gave it to me, she told me to only take it out when you wanted a divorce.

I had no such plans, so I didn't pay much attention to i t at the time. I presumed it was company shares or something like that, something that could hold you accountable." Property © NôvelDrama.Org.

"Smart alec." Theo scoffed, his tone laced with disdain.

I did not deny it. That really was what I had assumed was inside. It was the only thing that could make Theo no longer consider a divorce.

"Stop looking for it. Since I don’t have any plans to file a divorce, whatever that was inside that box isn’t important to you anymore. It’s just like what you said, i t was just some asset-related things.” When he finished speaking, he went into the room, took out his pajamas, and was about to take a bath.

I stood up and stared at him. "How did you know? You've opened the box?"

He nodded. "It was just some monetary items, nothing of much use to you. I threw the box away.”

I was furious. I bellowed, "What made you think you could open that box? Grandmother gave it to ME, so

it's mine!"

I was seething with rage, not because he had taken whatever was in the box, but because he had not respected me. Just like that incident where he had given my DNA to Petra White, he had now touched my personal belongings without my consent, never mentioning anything to me at all.

If I had not suddenly been reminded of the box, he probably would have never said anything for the rest o f his life.

Theo frowned, his expression darkening as he barked, "I said I wouldn’t divorce you, so you’d never even get the chance to use the box. Why are you so agitated?"

I sighed. "Theo Grant, up till now, you still have no idea why I’m angry, do you?"

He looked at me and did not say anything.

I suppressed the turmoil in my heart as I continued, " I'm not angry because of the box itself, I'm angry because of your attitude. Inside your heart, do you even have an ounce of respect for me? How can you just throw my things away without even asking me first?"

Theo sighed and placed his hands on my shoulders. H e looked at me and said, "I’m sorry for touching it without your permission. I apologize. It won't happen again, I promise."

I sneered, "Even your apology is merely perfunctory. Theo Grant, I know that inside your heart, you think I have no right to demand your respect. You think I have to answer your every beck and call unconditionally. When you said you wanted a divorce, I had to immediately pack up my things and leave. When you said you no longer wanted a divorce, I had t o be a good girl and stay in my place. If this had happened with Cindy, would you disrespect her like this too?"

"Wanda Lane!” He raised his voice, displeasure coloring his face. "It's my bad that I touched your things without consent, and I apologize for that. But we're husband and wife! Could you stop bringing other people in when we're arguing?"

I was dumbfounded. He was right. I was not sure when it had started, but I had become a whiny woman who liked to rake up the past. Every time we argued, I would be sure to mention Cindy Reed.

It was clear that deep down, I was no longer as tolerant as I once had been towards their relationship.

I had finally become someone I despised.

"Theo Grant, are we really still husband and wife?”

I looked at his dangerously dark yet handsome face, and I laughed. "You’ve never treated me like a wife, right? I'm just something Grandmother forced onto you. You don't like me, so you’ve never let me into your heart. You’ve never considered respecting me. That's why you can so casually decide where you want me to be and what you want to do with my things. Right?"