Flash Marriage: Shrewd Wife, Devious Husband
Chapter 243: The Talk

Chapter 243: The Talk

"How are you doing?" Beth asked.

Marcella wanted to laugh. The nerve on her to ask her that.

"I am as usual. The kids had their breakfast just now and I..." She got the glass of wine Tony poured for her. "Thank you, dear," she smooched his lips, loudly, for Beth to hear.

"Is that your husband, Mars?" Beth asked, her voice shaking. She must be shocked to know that the couple she tried to break up were still on good terms with each other.

"Who else will I have in my kitchen this early in the morning?" Marcella said in a casual tone.

"Yeah... get ready, dear," Marcella made the smooching noise even though Tony was sitting beside her with his bowl of roasted peanuts.

She wanted to give Beth the false impression that Tony was not in the room so that she would start her performance.

And she did just that.

"I am sorry about everything, Mars..." Beth’s voice shook and she started to sniff. "I wanted to come to you first. I was not planning on talking about it at all in the interview. Everyone’s mad at me for that. My manager almost slapped me. I don’t know what came over me... I don’t know... Maybe it was that news about the crown prince I read in the morning... I wondered if I would feel liberated like him too..."

"I’m so sorry it was so hard on you, Beth," Marcella said with a deep sigh.

Beth was doing what Beth always did—talking about herself. She created this mess and she managed to turn it into something that affected her.

"Thank you. You are a very understanding friend, Mars," Beth didn’t get Marcella’s sarcasm and answered.

"Ah, right! I was about to talk to you about something else," Beth said as if she was suddenly remembering.

"Ah... the reporters at our gate are causing a fuzz. I couldn’t send my kids to school today," Marcella plugged in her problem.

"I didn’t think it would come this far, Mars," Beth said. "I should have talked to you rather than going public like that."

"Well, it happened. Now we have to deal with it. So... what is that happened between you and Tony?" Marcella asked.

It appeared that Beth was never going to come to the point unless she asked her point blank and so Marcella asked. She didn’t want to hear Beth’s grating voice for long.

"Ah, yes. It was on and off but it happened for a long time, Beth. I should have come cleaner to you sooner but I..."

"That’s fine," Marcella said, empathetically; at least she pretended to be empathetic.

"How do you want to go forward?" Marcella asked.

"He... Don’t blame him. I fell for him first. He refused me for a long time but... Time... It changed things, you know. You were pregnant for almost four years and... He’s a man who needed comfort..."

Beth went on and Marcella fisted her hands. Tony saw darkness spreading on Marcella’s face and held her hand. He hadn’t seen this side of hers in a long time. She was enraged.

He wanted to run away but then he was curious about what that actress was saying. More than that, he was concerned for Marcella. She was acting weird for a couple of days and he wanted to stay by her side in case she needed him for support.

"It was that day, in the restaurant when he saved me from Daniel Schmidt... I fell for him that night. I knew it. I haven’t felt like that for any other man after that. I... I am not sorry for that, you know. It was... amazing. I will never regret that."

"Of course, why would you care that he had a wife and kids, right?" Marcella couldn’t keep calm anymore and revealed her anger.

That woman was trash! Tony judged her rightly at their first meeting. She should have listened to him.

"Mars?" Beth questioned. She was not sure whether she heard Marcella’s tone properly. Surely, she was not blaming her, right?

"Nothing. Are you going to continue...?" Marcella asked in a gentle tone, hiding her anger.

"I don’t know, Mars... What can we do? He’s rumored to run for senate and..."

"You think this might affect his chances?" Marcella asked since there was no sound from the other side for a long time. It appeared that Beth wanted to pull words out of Marcella’s mouth.

"No! No! That wouldn’t happen. We are from a country where the mistress sang a sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday, Mr. President". She didn’t care for anything except for giving him a good time. It was not like he had an ugly wife, but still, he couldn’t help it. She was not the only one either. It did nothing to his reputation. He is a man. He can do anything and not be blamed," Beth said in a dismissing tone.

Marcella smirked. "Didn’t they find the mistress naked and dead on her bed not so long after that?" she asked.

Beth must have been truly affected by Marcella’s answer. She didn’t say anything for a long time.

"You are a mobster’s daughter," Beth said. This time her voice trembled too, but the fear in her voice was more apparent as if it came out of her gut.

"I am glad you forgot about that," Marcella said. "That means I must have been that convincing. Or, did your narcissism blind your eyes?"

"Mars...Marcella... I didn’t lie. It is the truth. We truly... I have proof. I know when and where we met and where we stayed. I remember everything he said before taking me to bed. And you also know how many men I had to please for his sake! You know! Do not tell me you didn’t know. Why else would I sleep with fat old men for nothing? I did it for him. I did it because they wanted his mistress. I..." Beth paused.

Marcella crossed her legs sitting on the counter and slowly sipped the wine.

"You... You, nasty b*tch!" Beth shouted.

Marcella chuckled. "Me?"

She couldn’t stop laughing. She was glad Beth got it. Yes, she knew Beth was sleeping around with Tony’s supporters who needed something in return, for free. Some of those men expected her to "adjust" so they gave their unwavering support to her husband. That was why she let the rumors spread and those men were okay with sleeping with an actress who was also Tony’s mistress.

Marcella stopped laughing. She knew what she did was wrong. She did regret it, but only a little. Beth fell in that trap all by herself by vying for her husband.

"I know my husband didn’t touch you. He is irked by even the thought of you. I am the one who kept you close to protect me from men like those you slept with willingly. Too bad you had ruined it now. I would have loved your services for the upcoming elections too. It’s fine. Go, Beth. Do what you got to do. I can handle it. I am not letting my family break. Bye!"