WIFE SERIES: THE BATTERED WIFE (ENGLISH VERSION)
Chapter 2: LILY

"I'm so sorry, Miss. I didn't mean to hurt you," said the man who bumped into me.

I'm currently doing some shopping in the market when I bumped into this lad-a 30 or so perhaps with a prominent eyebrow, which was the first I noticed to him. My eyebrows furrowed when we met our gaze. I won't deny that the man in front of me is handsome, just like my future husband.

The only difference between the two is that this man has clean-cut hair while Tranz has long and wavy hair, making the latter more attractive.

"Miss, are you all right?" The man held my hand, so I snapped out. I removed the hand of the man who touched my hand.

"Watch where you're heading next time, okay? And please, don't normalize holding a stranger's hand," I hissed before leaving him and walked into the parking lot.

I'm here at the market because I bought a condiment for the steak for our dinner. It's a day before my wedding, so I'm making the most of the day with my family, especially Tranz and I will live in Manila.

Although it is sad to think that I will not be able to be with my parents right after the wedding, I am sure that they will be fine even without me.

What Tranz said about the surprise yesterday, I found out early this morning. The surprise is actually for my parents. The materials that Tranz bought for our house renovation arrived.

I called him earlier this morning. We only talked through the phone, which only lasted for how many minutes because he said he was going somewhere. He and his family are still in Manila, and they will arrive later because the wedding will be held here in our village.

Some of the villagers still raised their eyebrows when they see me, but I chose not to entertain their bad behavior because I didn't do anything terrible to them.

I even heard them saying that the only reason why I wanted to marry Tranz here is to boast that I'll be able to marry a rich man.

Yes. It's my choice to be married in this town not because of what they think, but because I dream of getting married in a place that witnessed my suffering and happiness even when I was young.

And I was too glad when Tranz agreed to it.

The thing is, it's not a big deal for Tranz to get married here, but for me, he gave a big part of my dream fulfillment.

"My gas! Daydreaming inside the sun?"

Inside?

Even though I didn't look behind my back, I knew that Lily was behind me because of her English.

"Oh, you're here too?" I asked. "Where are you going?"

She was carrying an empty backpack while carrying an umbrella in one hand. Behind her were the whistling men who followed her.

Some of them are saying awful words towards her, but she doesn't care about them.

"Well, I'm planning to buy some vegetables for my dinner, but." She rolled her eyes. "I would be the first to rot in here because of these dickheads behind me. That's very stupid of them!" She rolled her eyes again before glaring at my hand with her distasteful looks.

"There are vegetables in our yard, only if you want to. You can harvest some."

"Really?"

"Of course. That's not a big deal with my mother. I'm on my way home, so, want to come along?"

"Why? Do you have a car with you?"

"No. Let's ride a tricycle."

She nodded and looked at me from head to toe. "You have a wealthy future husband, but you don't have a car? Gosh!"

"You're the one who said that the rich one is my boyfriend. My boyfriend is rich and not me."

"Sus, you're still humble, eh. Oh, can I have dinner with your family tonight? Your dinner looks delicious."

She looked at my hand again before he grabbed the plastic I was carrying.

Lily has a life that no one would want to experience. She's been alone for quite some time. Fortunately, this woman is strong, so even though life is hard, she did not give up.

I turned to her because she's silent. It's very unusual of her because Lily is a talkative one.

"Are you okay?"

She turned to me, and since I was already staring at her, I saw how her sad face enlightened.

"Of course, I'm wonderful. I am happy every day. Why are you asking?"

"You look so sad."

"Me? Sad? Is it obvious?" She sighed. "I just don't like how those guys treated me. Duh? What are they thinking of me? Even though I'm working at the bar, I also have a dream!" I was glad for what she said. I'm too pleased that she has a dream. "Tse! Don't smile like you saw Santa Claus wearing a T-back!"

"It's not like that." She took something from the bag he was carrying. It's bottled water, and she gave me one.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"So, what's your dream?" I smiled as I opened the plastic bottle.

"I dream of being a mistress." Because of her answer and I was drinking the water she gave me, I almost blew the water inside my mouth into her.

"What?!" I asked in a loud voice.

"Tss! Shocked?"

"I thought you didn't want to be a hooker? You just said that yesterday, ah?"

"Duh? Can't my dream change? I know that I'm beautiful, but I'm only human, so my ambition changes."

I can't believe what she said, but I can't believe the determination in her voice as if the decision she made in life is final.

"What? You have a strange ambition. Is there nothing more in your life?" I couldn't hide the sarcasm in my voice.

"Duh? I'm Magdalena, so it means I'm wings are low. Don't worry, okay, because I have no intention of hooking your boyfriend."

I was just nodded and decided not to speak.

Who am I to judge her?

Maybe she was just kidding.

When we got home, I immediately prepared our dinner. I arrived home with Lily. She even helped me cook the pasta and beefsteak.

It was exactly seven o'clock when we finished cooking.

I was about to call my father when Lily held my hand.

"Where's your ring, Mina?"

I was instantly shocked by her question because the truth is, I lost the ring this morning.

I looked for it, but I couldn't replace it.

"You lost it, right?"

I didn't know what to say.

Though the cold night breeze entered our hut, I found myself sweating.

I don't want anyone to know that the ring was missing because I don't wish Tranz to know about it. I didn't even tell my parents.

Lily reached into her pocket and placed in my palm the ring I had been looking for!

"W-where did you replace it?"

"In your yard early this morning. I came here before I went to the market. You are lucky that I was the one who saw it-" She didn't finish what she was going to say when I hugged her.

"Thank you, Lily. I don't know what to do if it wasn't for you."

"Duh? It's okay, no? What am I going to do with that, anyway?" She patted me on the back. "Don't be too close because we might change faces." I heard her tsked. "Hey, Mina, if you'd be able to remove your cunt, you might have lost that too!"