The revelation

Valeria saw her husband, Mark, walking by after she delivered the second soul to the after life at the Zen Soul Headquarters (yes, she is never going to call it by its real name), so she followed Mark. He went into an alleyway to the back entrance of a posh restaurant where he stood there as if waiting for someone. A petite pretty blonde young woman came out from the restaurant. She called his name and giggled happily before hugging him.

Mark hugged her close to him and then they kissed passionately. Mark even pushed the woman against the wall and carried her up so that she straddled his hips. His hands went inside the woman's blouse, obviously to grope at her chest as they kissed. Valeria could even hear them moaning in their kiss.

Although she was already half expecting it, her heart plummeted at the sight. So, here is her evidence of Mark cheating on her. She moved away and leaned against the wall. She can't watch anymore. Her heart felt as if it is being shredded into a million pieces.

She had given Mark 15 years of her life, her body and her youth. This is what he does when he's outside? He cheats on her? With a young woman too. A woman who looks like she's in her 20s. Almost half her age.

A tear slid down her cheek and she swiped it away. She took out the soul reaping scarf from her pocket. She is so tempted to use it now. On the adulterous couple!

How could Mark cheat on her? After all that she did for him? She left her job for him. She became a housewife because it is what he wanted. She cooked and cleaned for him, his mother and sisters. She did everything they asked for, not even once did she went against them. Even though he is rarely home and has not touched her for a long time, she still harboured the hope that he still love her. That maybe he was just busy with work. That maybe he will come around and be the loving husband he initially was in the first few years of their marriage.

"Sounds like you're the fool here and NO, you cannot use the soul reaping instrument on them, they are not on the list!" Ari said. He is lounging casually on the wall next to her.

She turned around and aimed a kick at the annoying reaper demon. Surprisingly her foot connected to his shin and Ari exclaimed a loud 'Owwwww'. He started hopping about in pain.

"What the fuck was that for???" he gasped, stopping suddenly to clutch at his wound. "Are you trying to get my wound to open up and bleed again?"

"That's for being annoying…but honestly I didn't know I can even kick you, well, serve you right!" Valeria hissed at him. She can now hear more moaning sounds and a rhythmic thwacking sound coming from the alleyway.

The woman is calling out Mark's name repeatedly in between moans and Mark is grunting. Valeria doesn't need to look to know what Mark is doing with the woman. Out in the open. In an alleyway. In broad daylight too!

"Wow. That's some stud there, great strength there too, except the person he's fucking isn't you although, in retrospect, your life with him is so fucked up," Ari noted after peeking into the alleyway. Valeria scowled at him.

"Shuddup you annoying demon," she snarled at him. She turned away, tucked the reaping scarf back into her tote bag and started walking back to her car. She has seen and heard enough.

"Hey, hey, don't you want to take a picture? You know, maybe you can get some tips on what he likes and try it at home," Ari suggested, dogging her footsteps. She ignored him.

She took out her phone to check if there are any messages from the monster-in-law. There was none. Not yet anyway. Ari suddenly snatched her phone from her hands and ran back to the alleyway. He snapped a few photos and even took a video for good measure while she watched aghast.

What in the fish sticks is he doing? She didn't want to walk back there. She didn't want to listen to the sickening sounds of her husband having sex with a young woman in some alleyway.

Ari came sauntering back and handed her phone back to her. "Here, you will thank me later, just keep it and don't delete it," he said mysteriously.

"Why would I want photos and videos of my husband with another woman? Do you think I'm some sick pervert who likes to look at such things???" she snapped at him. She kept her phone in her tote bag. She has no intention of looking at the photos and the video. She will find time to delete it later.

"I told you, keep it, don't delete it," Ari said.

"Shuddup demon, I am not talking to you," she snapped at him. They reached her car and got in.

Valeria drove back home trying to control her tears from falling, the sounds of her husband having sex with another woman playing on repeat in her mind.

She had stayed in that marriage even when her monster-in-law started physically abusing her and Mark did not notice and did not care. She had stayed on even when Mark missed her birthdays and their anniversaries. She had stayed on for so many years, always hoping that Mark will one day again look at her with love shining in his eyes like how he used to look at her when they first started dating.

That hope is now gone. She has nothing left. No love. No children. No career. No family. No money. She has nothing.

"Well, you have a substitute job as a reaper, there's that to look forward to," Ari interjected casually.

She sniffed. "I don't even get paid doing this stupid substitute reaper job," she said.

"You get your soul back, that's payment enough, no?" he pointed out.

"Whatever," she sniffed. "You can reap my soul now, I don't have anything to stay behind for, not like Jane McLean," she said.

They have reached the luxurious Brinstrone mansion. She parked the car and went inside, waiting for Ari to enter before closing the front door.

Their housekeeper, Penny Carre, came bustling to Valeria.

"Mrs Brinstrone has been throwing a fit, asking for you," she whispered to Valeria. "She's in the library,"

"What about the twins? Are they home?" she asked. She sighed. Looks like she is in for another round of beating and kicking. God only knows what the monster-in-law is all worked up about.

"The twins went shopping," Penny Carre said.

Valeria nodded resignedly. Penny Carre squeezed her hands and gave her a sympathetic look. She and the other servants have witnessed the beatings many times and dared not say a single word. None of them wanted to risk losing their jobs.

Valeria trudged to the library.

"You know, you can always stand up to her, it's not as if you are weaker than her," Ari suggested as he walked with her.

She ignored him. What does he know?

"I know to never let anyone beat me up for no reason," he said. "You are taller than her, bigger than her, stronger than her, why are you letting her get the upper hand?"

She is still my mother-in-law, regardless, she thought back.

Ari sighed. "I don't understand this human thing about respecting your mother-in-law, father or mother at all times, no matter who it is, no one has the right to abuse you that way, NO ONE," he said.

She went inside the library and just as she wanted to close the door, Ari managed to slide in. She glared at him and then turned around with a bright smile.

"Yes, Erin, you wanted to see me?" she asked. The monster-in-law is sitting on one of the stuffed armchairs in the library. She is flipping through one of the magazines Valeria bought last night. She looked up when Valeria entered.

She stood up, took a stack of photographs and threw it at Valeria's face.

"Explain this you whore!" she screamed. Then she slapped Valeria even before Valeria could respond.

"I want you to pack and leave right now, I will tell Mark to get his lawyers to draw up the divorce documents immediately," Erin said coldly. She walked back to the armchair and continued flipping through the magazine, ignoring Valeria completely.

Valeria picked up the photos Erin had thrown at her. Her eyes widened at the images she saw. There was one of her talking to Ari in her car. Another one of Ari pulling her in for a kiss. A third one of them kissing. It was not even a passionate kiss. It was just a peck on the lips when Ari transferred all the reaper information to her.

How the fish sticks did Erin get these?

"It's a good thing I hired a private investigator to track your every move, otherwise my poor Mark won't know his barren useless wife is cheating on him behind his back," Erin said, while still flipping through her magazine.

"Dang, my hair was all messed up in this photo, bad angle, I look like death!" Ari, who was peeking from behind her, suddenly said.

"This, he, this is not what it looked like! I was just helping him, he was injured," Valeria tried to explain.

Erin looked up from her magazine and fixed her with a cold penetrating glare.

"I don't care. I have these photos to prove your infidelity, Mark can easily divorce you and you will not get even a single cent in alimony," Erin said.

"Leave now," she ordered.