Chapter 35: Worldview Shattered!

Chapter 35: Worldview Shattered!

I had a wonderful dream of making love to my new wife, Hana Lee. Not only did we get legally married, but she wanted my child, which is honestly the ultimate form of love a woman can ask from a man.

A faint sensation against my skin woke me up. I felt my chest being gently scratched, and my eyes slowly fluttered open to see the clean, white ceiling of Hana's—no, our master bedroom.

"Good morning, dear. You slept in a bit, but sadly you need to get up and help Mary move your things over from the old apartment," Hana murmured softly, leaning over me with a warm, affectionate gaze. "I have to work till later tonight, so just see me off before you go. Oh, and you worked incredibly hard last night. Good boy, fufu."

I pulled her down to kiss her gently before looking up from the pillows.

"Only day two of marriage and I already have a full honey-do list!" I joked, stretching out my muscles. "Alright, let's get started."

We decided to skip our standard morning workout routine entirely, mostly because we had already worked out plenty during the night. I headed straight to the kitchen to whip up a light breakfast for us and packed a nice bagged lunch for Hana to take along before she officially left for the hospital. The second the front door closed, I pulled out my phone and dialed Mary.

"Good morning, Mary. Are you ready for the day?"

[ Yeah, I just got up, ] Mary answered over the speaker line, her voice still a little thick with sleep. [ But I packed everything into boxes last night so I am just about to take a shower. When you get over here, I will be completely done. ]

"Oh? Well, if you're taking a shower right now, then I should probably wait an hour to even leave the house to come get the stuff?"

[ If you're not standing inside this apartment the exact second I get out of the bathroom, you are sleeping in the exercise room tonight, Rick! Click... do, do, do... ]

I stared at the screen and chuckled. Teasing her never gets old, but I do have to constantly remind myself: dealing with early pregnant hormones is definitely not good for a husband's overall life expectancy.

I grabbed the keys to our old BMW and headed out to meet Mary. My tactical plan was to leave this specific car parked at the apartment lot permanently, keeping it as a backup vehicle alongside the apartment itself. Once everything was loaded, I would drive the heavy Hummer back to the house while she drove her police patrol car over after her shift.

Flash-forward to an hour later...

As I walked into the old apartment, the place felt strange and hollow. I saw about ten heavy boxes neatly packed and taped shut, with things like [ Mary's clothes ], [ Rick's clothes ], and [ Mom and Dad's things ] clearly written on the sides in thick black marker.

I decided to wait on loading the heavy boxes down to the lot until Mary was completely finished with her morning routine, but I walked over to stand near the open bathroom door to chat with her while she finished up.

"Morning, sleepyhead," I called out over the sound of running water. "Oh, by the way, I went ahead and ordered you a brand-new, King-sized bed along with matching dressers and whatever other bedroom furniture you will need for your space. The delivery truck should be arriving at the house around noon."

"Did you actually pick out things you like for both of our rooms?" Mary asked, her voice raising slightly over the rushing water. "You don't technically have your own designated bedroom up there, after all."

"Most of my daily clothing will be stored inside your room," I explained, leaning against the doorframe. "But I did find a separate dresser that perfectly matches Hana's furniture layout in her master room as well. And as for a room of my own... actually, if you both ever decide to kick me out of the upper house, I went ahead and set up a crash room on the garage level in a small den down there. Plus, it lets me keep my guns and covert things locked away safely in a secure spot."

The water shut off, and Mary stepped out of the stall completely naked. I had a warm, plush towel ready for her, taking it in my hands to gently dry her damp skin off from the water. Just as she finished wiping down and went to pull on her underwear, it happened without warning.

Blarg! Blarg! Blarg!

Yeah, Mary suddenly bent straight over the porcelain toilet bowl, letting out a violent wave of morning sickness while I quickly knelt beside her, gently rubbing her back and doing my best to comfort her through the dry heaves.

Looking down at her, we had absolutely zero doubt now. She was most definitely pregnant with my child. Plus, she had officially missed her period this week.

"Mary, dear, look on the bright side," I murmured softly, trying to lighten the heavy mood. "At least it happened before we sat down for a big breakfast."

Mary lifted her head, wiping her mouth as she shot a sharp stink-eye straight toward my smiling face.

"Rick, I am incredibly happy about the baby, but your smug face right now makes me want to punch you in the jaw... oh no, wait... Blarg!"

I quickly reached over and flushed the toilet once it looked like the wave was finally over. Not much of anything had really come out of her stomach, making the whole ordeal look more like a raw, physical bodily reaction to the new life growing inside her.

"Well, if it turns out to be a girl, your morning sickness will typically be a lot harder," I noted, helping her stand. "But if it's a boy, you might have significantly less trouble. Plus, the books say this phase will only last for about three months or so, he-he."

After thoroughly rinsing her mouth out with water and using a heavy splash of mouthwash, she glared at me again, completely ignoring my medical breakdown. She cutely pushed me right out of the way as she stomped past me to leave the bathroom.

Now that she was fully dressed and feeling a bit better, I went to work moving every single packed box down to the Hummer. Fortunately, the massive vehicle had more than enough raw cargo space to hold our entire lives, which meant only one single trip would be necessary to clear the place out.

On my way back across the city, I made a quick stop at the local Big Burger fast-food joint, hitting the drive-thru to pick up twenty value cheeseburgers to serve as our fuel for lunch. A short drive later, I pulled into the driveway of our new home together.

The basic physical layout of Hana's sprawling, two-story house was structured like this...

Ground floor: A massive four-car garage, a large finished den, a small bathroom equipped with a shower only, and a heavy storage room. This entire lower level was essentially structured like a mini-apartment, originally meant for household servants or a private driver to live in, but naturally, Hana had left the space completely empty and unused. There was also a private staircase tucked away down here that led straight up to the back section of the upper house.

Upper house: One massive master bedroom, four standard bedrooms that each featured a small shower-tub bathroom combination, and one shared bathroom situated between the large living room and the home gym. The kitchen layout was absolutely massive, looking more like something you would see inside a small professional restaurant—which was highly ironic for a woman who couldn't cook to save her life.

Out back: A large brick patio equipped with an outdoor fire pit and a massive commercial-grade grill. Right past the patio sat an Olympic-sized swimming pool meant for swimming continuous laps, all surrounded by a beautifully landscaped flower garden.

With this specific setup, Hana's and my main bedroom was the master bedroom, where Mary could easily sleep with us whenever she wanted—not the awesome type of sleep, but a comfortable arrangement. Mary also had one of the standard smaller bedrooms completely to herself, giving her a private space for when she wanted to sleep alone or when it was my designated night with Hana. But she explicitly insisted that I keep most of my daily wardrobe stored inside her room to mathematically guarantee I would spend plenty of time there. One of the remaining three bedrooms was set up as a guest room just in case, while the final two bedrooms were being left completely vacant to serve as kids' rooms going forward.

My only true 'Rick-only' space was that finished downstairs den. This was the exact spot where I intended to house most of my bodyguard gear and run my covert monitoring activities—or a place to crash whenever I inevitably found myself in the doghouse with both wives at once. I was under no illusions; as a total romance noob, that would definitely happen down the line. To ensure the girls wouldn't have to constantly run up and down the stairs to find me, I had a digital intercom system hooked up to contact me down in the Rick-Cave.

After Mary and I thoroughly completed our cheeseburger massacre at the kitchen counter, the delivery truck carrying the new furniture finally arrived.

Thankfully, I had made a massive amount of cold, hard cash doing that high-stakes contract work for the Feng family, so buying all of this high-end mahogany wood didn't even dent my finances. Working with the Fengs had also hooked me up with some less than legal tactical tools for my growing private collection.

Down in my den, I began taking stock of the gear. They had procured the newest professional suppressor for my Beretta M9A4 handgun, along with ten extended eighteen-round magazines for it. They even hooked me up with a high-end laser sight and a durable mounting rail for the underbore. As an added tactical bonus, the crate contained five military-grade flashbang grenades and ten heavy-duty tear gas canisters. Right next to the ordnance sat a set of professional thieves' tools and lockpicks, compiled in both compact and full-sized kits.

The Feng family—well, specifically Tina's mother—had arranged all of this for me with absolutely zero questions asked. I knew her trained eye could easily tell I was a professional assassin who was actively preparing for any future troubles that might track me down.

While I was mentally logging the inventory, the movers finished placing the heavy bed frame and dressers upstairs. I handed them a solid cash tip, and they left us alone.

While Mary stayed upstairs to unpack her clothing and clean up the rooms, I took the heavy cardboard box labeled [ Mom and Dad's things ] and carried it straight down to my den. I hadn't opened or looked through the contents of this box in years, and apparently, neither had Mary. Nobody likes to open old, painful wounds, but looking around my new space, I felt like I was finally ready to face it due to my dream and my new memories.

I started pulling out items. There were many old, framed pictures of me, Mary, and our parents, every single one of them filling the room with a deep wave of nostalgia. I took a hammer and began hanging them neatly along the wall of my cave to remind me of where I came from, and exactly what kind of future I wanted to build.

Deep in the box, my fingers brushed against a piece of paper. I pulled out my mom and dad's old wedding license from when I was a little kid. They had been so incredibly happy together back then. I missed them both terribly, but life is just like that sometimes.

The very next photo I pulled from the bottom of the stack made me freeze. It was a picture of a beautiful woman with long, flowing blonde hair, possessing the exact same striking blue eyes that I see in the mirror every day. This was my biological mother, Sally Lee. My dad had been married to her for a couple of years before I was born. She was absolutely gorgeous, carrying the exact same type of radiant aura as my Hana.

My dad had only ever shown this specific photo to me a couple of times when I was growing up, keeping it locked away in his desk drawer afterward.

He never talked about her to me willingly, only ever whispering that she had been his entire universe. Seeing the deep, lingering pain in his eyes back then, I had never pressed him for details. But now that I was staring at her face again as a grown man, one strange thought instantly popped into my head.

"Did I subconsciously fall for Hana because she looks so much like my real mother? Nah, it doesn't matter anyway."

I carefully placed the frame against the drywall, hanging her picture right next to the photo of the parents who raised me, ensuring I would always remember the woman who had died to bring me into this world.

I decided to take a break from setting up my man-cave. I headed upstairs to fix a quick meal to feed Mary and put her to bed so she could get some solid rest before heading out for her night shift later this evening. She was acting extra loving and attached now that her pregnancy was officially confirmed, and she carried a charming, soft glow that I couldn't tear my eyes away from.

As I was saying an early good night to her at the edge of the mattress, she looked up, her tone shifting as she told me rather than asked.

"When you finally get back inside late tonight after your street race is over, you come straight into this bed and hold me tightly, alright?!"

"Will do, boss lady," I replied, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Now get lots of sleep. You have to take much better care of yourself from now on. Good night."

After leaving Mary's new room, I look at the clock and see it's only 5 pm. Hana will not be home till around 8 pm, so now is the time for me to go down and do my espionage of last night's event and any current movements of my black-book targets.

Grabbing a beer and cold pizza from my new mini-fridge in the man-cave, I began my parsing of events from the audio files on my screen.

The most noticeable things I learned are from the direct telemetry of the microphones.

["Dad, why did you shame me in front of that little bastard?"]

["I know what you have been doing and you have gone past reconciliation, Scott."]

So his dad knows absolutely everything about the warehouse ambush, but he doesn't approve of the methods?

["Are you talking about that little bastard Rick Lee, ha-ha! No, I know who he is, I have since middle-school. He is trash and no Tiger."]

Huh? So Linda was not the real reason he hates me so violently? There is something else deep in our past.

["You knowingly doing it is even worse, now I can't tell others, tigers don't eat their own, sigh."]

What the hell does he mean by tigers not eating their own? It is a highly specific phrasing for a family patriarch to use.

["So you and Rick Lee are childhood rivals, no I meant enemies?"]

So Chris Honda actively came to Scott looking for a friendly blade to deal with me? The pieces are connecting.

["Yeah, but that trash has changed and has been fucking faking being a pig to lower my guard, and now he is making my life awful."]

No, ass-fuck, I was not anything special back then thanks to your family constantly suppressing my development and metrics. But what do I care about his perspective anyway?

["That's his sister he married, and as for that Hana woman... They are now married and she is now Dr. Hana Lee. Her father came to us and confirmed their wedding already happened, sorry man she is off the market and spreading her legs for Rick."]

Honda came looking for operational help and just got pushed back away from me completely empty-handed. Well, at least you are good for one thing, Scott.

["It's only been a few weeks, how? She must be lying! I will be back..."]

Now I know exactly why the doctor was panting in sheer anger near the pavilion. I will definitely make a private trip to his home this week; my Cat Burglar skill needs some real-world work anyway.

["I see, a borrowed knife again?"]

Hearing the cadence, I can easily tell that's Nichole speaking and not Nadia right there.

["If Little Dick Rick has a good life, then mine will be bad, so yes using this idiot to cause trouble is perfect. Also why are you not drinking wine? And why are you two still not letting me sleep with you again? You're my wife!"]

Because they did not sleep with you a single time on the wedding night, stupid. What an absolute moron.

["You know damn well my sister and I hate men, even you. Our agreement was to marry you and give you Tang babies for you. We are most definitely pregnant, so our deal is done. I am not drinking wine, because I don't want the baby in my belly to come out as dumb as you."]

Pregnant?! How the hell is that possible when they are on the birth control pill?! Wait, what if this is just another one of Nichole's elaborate schemes to avoid sleeping with him ever again? No, they must be intentionally waiting for the other two black-haired girls to announce they have Scott's babies to cover the timeline.

["Marriage is not about love, idiot. It was to buy the Ning's loyalty to the Tang, so don't forget it. Plus I have helped you make Rick Lee miserable, right?"]

Not so much, you definitely ended up helping me way more, hmm. Good memories of that night.

["That's right! Rick Lee signed up for the same computer course as you and Nadia. Make sure to make him miserable. Sabotage his work for me."]

["Nadia will not do it for free, you know how much she loves money, so..."]

Yeah, miser Nadia wants to sleep on a giant pile of cold cash. Actually, I find her greed kind of adorable.

["Fine, I will give you two an extra 100000 dollars to make him miserable in university, just to make sure he is unhappy."]

Fuck, if he only knew how broke he is becoming over time because of them, this is good stuff. They will completely nickel-and-dime his account to zero.

["Good husband, I will make him very uncomfortable, and we will screw him over, fufu."]

No, I know that specific tone of voice all too well. It is the exact same voice she used when she tricked me into bed with them. Oh, fuck me! She even calls me Mr. Blackmailer in private, but she is a Master Manipulator and I fell right into her game. Well, I thoroughly liked the outcome though.

["Your two guards were found beaten unconscious in the bathroom and are currently in the hospital tending their wounds. And my wife, I will ask you only one time, so think about your answer honestly. If you lie I will know. Did you tell Scott about Rick? Lie and I will divorce you..."]

Is Scott's mom personally responsible for my years of systematic bullying? And what exactly does she know about me?

["I was drunk the night I let it slip by accident."]

["Then the Tang family will not get involved with the fight between Scott and Rick. Even if they kill each-other, you are on your own son. That's what a grown up does, takes responsibility."]

What?! He is completely severing the clan's physical protection from his own son?

["No you can't abandon your own son to a bastard! I won't tolerate it, just step on him, he has no one."]

Why the fuck does this older woman have such a massive, unhinged hate-boner for me? I need to add her name to my black-book index immediately.

["You think Rick has no one, huh? This is why you and your stupid mouth are ignorant. You spoiled Scott and now you two made a mess I can't fix for you two idiots. No, Rick is not alone, but I can't even tell you two idiots."]

What does he know about my backing? Why does he say I am not alone? Is he referencing my contract work for the Feng family?

["Your older sister, Helen, is the next Head not you. You're a spare who thinks he is the next head of the family. You attacked Rick because he is not a Tang officially and it was for your own insecurity and your Mothers vanity. I hope you and Rick can come to terms, but I doubt you can see the big picture of the Tang."]

What the fuck?! Part of the Tang family officially...

For some deep reason, hearing his words completely sank my heart into my stomach.

["No, he and I can't walk the same path. He is a stain to the Tang and should never have been born."]

Slap!

What the hell is going on here?! I am not a Tang, my name is Rick Lee...

I remember Anthony Tang having distinct blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. Then my eyes slowly drift across the desk to the old photo of my biological mother, Sally Lee, who possessed the exact same facial features and striking coloration as Scott's dad. No, it can't be right... right?

I immediately activate my computer skills, bypassing several local security firewalls to run a deep background check on the name Sally Lee. Only ten minutes later, the dark web databases return a mountain of historical information that makes my heart break.

Sally Lee, formally registered as Sally Tang. She was completely disowned by the main house, exactly like my father was, for getting married outside the noble circles. She was one year older than Scott's dad, and she was the original designated next Head of the entire Tang dynasty, until her father, enraged by her defiance, kicked her out of the clan permanently for marrying my dad. Fuck.

"Fuck me, Anthony Tang is my goddamn biological uncle," I muttered, staring at the screen in absolute disbelief. "And worse, that little backstabbing piece of shit Scott is my actual blood cousin?! Oh, what a fantastic cousin to almost beat your own family to death in an alley. That's the tiger rule his father meant."

I grab a couple of extra beers to thoroughly numb my brain, and while I drink the cold alcohol, I think about everything uncovered by the files.

"No, Anthony said he would not get involved even if we killed each other, but I don't believe that for a second. It is still his flesh-and-blood son, even if the kid is pure trash. But as long as I don't explicitly kill him, I can easily toy with his mind and finances until he begs for mercy. Ha-ha, thanks, Head Tang, I think I will do exactly that. I was being way too soft on you, Scott. Let's make you cry."

In my heavy agitation and emotional exhaustion, I hadn't noticed that the few drinks I took were one too many while upset, and my eyes grew heavy until I fell fast asleep right there on the den couch.

A short while later, a pair of sexy, long legs dressed in a sharp miniskirt came walking down the private staircase, looking for me in the dark.

Hana had gotten completely ready for our scheduled race-night, but when she stepped into the den and saw the cluster of empty beer bottles and my passed-out form, she walked over to see if I was fine. Her eyes drifted to the open laptop screen, taking in the detailed files regarding Sally Tang. She let out a quiet, sympathetic sigh, realizing I had finally found out the dark truth about my lineage and drank myself silly to cope with it.

Hana gently took off my leather shoes, pulled a warm blanket up over my shoulders, and leaned down to kiss my cheek before turning off the desk lamps, letting me sleep the alcohol off in peace.

"Night, dear," Hana whispered into the quiet room. "We will postpone our race-night activities until you feel better. Now to let Mary know."

Upstairs, the two women sat together, having a long, quiet talk on exactly how to make their husband feel better in the morning.