Chapter 603:
âThatâs fine by me. Iâm single now, after all,â Eileen responded casually. âBut thereâs no need to get Phoebe any toy boys. Youâre still her husband, right?â
Phoebe scoffed. âHeâs clearly a husband with something wrong with his head. Otherwise, why would he want to get me toy boys?â
Caught off guard, Jacob sensed a trap. He paused and then gently tugged at Phoebeâs sleeve, pleading, âHoney, if youâre mad at me, just go home. Let me handle everything. Please, just donât turn me over to Eileen!â
âYouâll have to resolve the mess you made on your own. Donât try to drive a wedge between Eileen and me.â Phoebe knew that Eileenâs invitation today was primarily to confront Jacob. Determined not to strain her friendship with Eileen, Phoebe decided to side with her.
She turned to face Eileen and urged, âTell me how weâre going to do this, Eileen. I canât wait any longer.â
Eileen gestured toward the durian peel next to Jacob and laid out his options. âKneel on what we prepared or drink. If you donât kneel, youâll have to drink. Either way, youâre here for the next three or four hours tonight.â
This implied that if Jacob chose not to kneel, he would have to drink an excessive amountâlikely more than what was available on the table now.
Confused by Eileenâs motives, Jacob weighed his options. Finally, he chose to kneel and awkwardly settled onto the pile of instant noodles.
No sooner had he taken his place than a crisp sound echoed.
âIt must be broken. Now, itâs your turn to drink. Iâll make it easy on you, just three glasses to start.â Eileen slid three glasses of wine toward Jacob.
Jacob said, âEven if Gabriela were here kneeling on instant noodles, theyâd still break. You set this up!â
Fresh updates available at galnoνeâsâ¤cøm âSince you know it, why do you still ask?â Eileen countered, a playful edge to her voice. âIf you canât bear it, just drink.â
She leaned back on the sofa, watching Jacob with a faint smile. Jacobâs face flushed with embarrassment as he looked desperately at Phoebe for support.
Phoebe, however, continued to fill the empty glasses. âFor the sake of my friendship with Eileen, you should drink. Donât worry, Iâll make sure you get home safely if youâve had too much.â
With a grimace, Jacob downed the three glasses of strong liquor in one swift motion. Kneeling on the washboard, the pain in his knees worsened after just five minutes. He downed three more glasses after that. He barely managed a minute on the durian peel.
Less than an hour later, Jacob slumped against the sofa, clutching Phoebeâs leg, and began to plead, âHoney, why would you take Eileenâs side over mine? My legs are killing me. Thereâs no way I can have sex using your favorite position tonight!â
âGet lost!â A flush crept over Phoebeâs face as she shoved Jacob away.
âYou need to be kinder. You canât be as harsh as Eileen. Bryan is such a decent guy, yet she tormented him and forced him to come back.â Resting his head on Phoebeâs knees, Jacob continued, âBryan really is a good guy, but look at the mess heâs in now. Iâm unable to help himâ¦â Tears welled up in his eyes as he spoke.
Phoebe glanced at Eileen and cautioned, âIf you push him for answers, he might just spill everything. But remember, the way Jacob and Josue have covered it up and trapped Bryan suggests a truth you might not want to face. Are you sure youâre ready for that?â
âWhat could possibly be worse than Bryan being dead?â Eileen asked, a bitter smile curving her lips. âHe insists on handling everything alone, leaving me completely out of the loop. Am I truly his wife, or merely a puppet he manipulates at will?â
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