Chapter 3: Two Choices

"K-kuya Jarx..." Shanty cried out

These two aren't strangers to each other and they were even close. As such, seeing Shanty crying, Jarx opened his arms

Shanty buried her crying face into Jarx's chest, drenching the man's suit with her warm tears

Jarx doesn't mind that though as he started rubbing and patting Shanty's back to stop her from crying

"Ssshhh, what happened? Why are you crying?" Jarx asks worriedly but the woman was unable to answer him

As a result, Jarx shot Zesther a glare

"What have you done? Why did you make Shanty cry?" He questioned as he tried to calm the young woman

"What did I do? No, you're wrong. The question should be, what did Shanty do?" Zesther retorted as he rested his back in his chair, showing a cool and casual demeanor

Those words confused Jarx as he glanced at the woman crying in his chest

"Shanty, what's wrong?"

"K-kuya Jarx... i-it was me... I-I accidentally leaked t-the photo of your m-marriage certificate. I-I promise that I d-didn't mean to do that..."

After he got his answer, Jarx covered his eyes with his palm in frustration

"Shanty..." Jarx spoke in a scolding tone as if he doesn't know whether to cry or get angry. His tone also contains a hint of frustration

"Huhuhuhu... I-I didn't mean to do it! I'm sorry..."

Jarx let out a long exasperated breath while trying to calm himself

He had Shanty sit in the chair again as he recollected himself

After regaining enough calmness, only then did Jarx face his ex-husband again

Zesther... after a few years, he has become even more handsome. His facial features matured but not to the point that he looks old

However, one thing doesn't change and that is the natural coldness and aloofness that this man has

'Damn him, that kind of face shouldn't have been given to someone like him' Jarx thought frustratedly as he straightened his suit

"So...? How are you going to clean this matter?" Jarx questioned

Solving the problem at hand is the most important thing to do right now. After it was solved, Jarx has no need to meet this hateful man ever again

"Why are you asking me? I was not the one that leaked it"

Jarx can feel his nerves on the brink of explosion, he clenched his hands tightly, turning the tip of his fingers red

"The leak came from your side, it was your negligence. You should take responsibility"

Zesther shook his head at that. "This incident doesn't affect me much. Why should I go through the trouble? Besides, we are indeed married before. Are you so ashamed of it that you don't want people to know about it?"

"Yes, Zesther, I am ashamed of it. That marriage... that marriage was the greatest humiliation and insult in my past" Jarx replied affirmatively. His words containing potent venom

Zesther's eyes lightly trembled and darkened, his nose twitching as if he was trying to inhale air into his lungs to prevent himself from exploding

"Ha... I see, I see. So it was a humiliation for you, huh? Great, continue to be humiliated"

This time, Zesther's words also contained the same level of venom that Jarx's words have

Their eyes met yet again as they stared at each other. No one was willing to back down causing the atmosphere to turn even more oppressive

"Your face is still as thick as before. You sound offended when you are the one that turned that shitty marriage into a humiliating knife that stabbed me years ago!"

"I don't know what you are talking about but I guess, in your mind, you once again created a heart-wrenching dramatic plot that would only happen in fiction. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case"

Bang!

Jarx slammed his palm on the table, it hurts him a bit but the pain is nothing compared to his furious emotions

"How dare you act as if you don't know what you did!"

"That is because I don't know what went through to your head to end a perfectly good marriage!"

Hearing that, Jarx stepped back while laughing. His hand combing his head in frustration. The pain and the humiliation of the past flashed in his mind

"You know what? Forget it. Someone as perfect as you are would do all things in your own way and expect everyone else to calmly accept it. What I want to know is how you will take responsibility for this problem"

"Shanty is the one that leaked it, deal with the problem with her" Zesther said while pointing at the shrinking woman in the chair

"Shanty didn't mean to do that. Cut her some slack!"

Zesther scoffed at that as if he cannot believe the words he just heard

"When you thought that I was the one that leaked the photo, you almost acted as if you would kill me. But now, after knowing that another person did it, you want me to cut some slack? You're still as unbelievable as always"

Jarx's cheeks heat up at that. He knew that Zesther is right but humans are really just creatures that are biased

If a person you like did something wrong, most of the time, you would be angry but not explode on the spot

However, if the wrongdoer was replaced by the person you hate or considered an enemy, the fury that you would have felt will reach the skies

"She's just 18, and you are already an adult. Why are you trying to put her on the spot?" Jarx said to justify himself and he saw Zesther sneering at him

"Eighteen... that means that she is already an adult. She should clean the problems that she created herself"

Jarx went in front of his ex-husband again with a cold look on his face

"Deal with this problem" he demanded and Zesther raised his right brow

"No" he refused flatly

"Zesther..."

"Get out, I will not deal with this. You think that the marriage is an insult then go get insulted!"

"Zesther, I am asking you to solve this problem!"

"And I am refusing. What is so hard to understand from that?"

The two stared at each other's eyes once again

One of them was forcing the other to solve their problem while the other was blatantly refusing

They stared at each other for quite a long time and in the end, Zesther buried his back in his chair. His index and middle finger rubbing the side of his forehead

"Fine, go on, speak. How do you want me to deal with this?"

"I-I don't know... you have your PR team, ask for their help"

"No, that's now what I am asking. Do you want me to deny our marriage or acknowledge it and say that we are now separated?"

Jarx opened his mouth to speak but in the next second, he closes it. He tried to find an answer but the only thing he could mutter was some incomprehensible words

"So you came here, demanding me to solve this but you don't know which direction should I go. Great, typical Jarx Elrod Ni—, typical you, charging straight without any plan in mind. Just how did you survive in the entertainment industry when you are this tactless" Zesther shook his head in frustration, making Jarx feel greatly humiliated

Indeed, Zesther was right. Jarx came here expecting his ex-husband as the source of the leaked marriage certificate and planned on demanding him to deal with the problem. But aside from that, he doesn't have any other plan in mind

"Should I deny or acknowledge our marriage? You literally only have two choices and it should be easy to choose one, it's not rocket science" Zesther spoke casually as he stared at Jarx as if he was impatiently waiting for an answer

"T-that..." Jarx bit his lip

Denying the marriage mean that they would be lying and every lie in this world has a chance of being discovered

As for acknowledging the marriage, Jarx is unwilling to do that. He doesn't want to acknowledge such a sham marriage. No, not again

This put him in a great dilemma, unable to choose one of the two choices

Seeing that Jarx is not answering, Zesther's jaw tightened. His chest moved faster than normal as his eyes trembled lightly. He raised his hand as he stretched and played with his fingers. His tongue suddenly tasted something bitter

All these abnormal actions and reactions only lasted for a moment as Zesther's eyes instantly cleared up

"If you can't answer, the door is still there, please excuse yourself"

"No... I don't want to..."

Without a warning, the short fuse of Zesther's patience suddenly exploded. He rose from his seat while banging his fist on the table

"Then what do you want?! Jarx, I don't have time for this nonsense. You can choose to deny our marriage then okay or you can acknowledge that at one point in our life, we were together which isn't a hard thing to do. Fucking make your choice!"