Chapter One - Cracks In The Vase

The union of two souls is supposed to be a harmonious and peaceful time in one's life. However, for Amias Richardson Lee, it had been two years of constant nagging, disapproval, shaming, and alienation. Why? you may ask, simply because of his origins. His family had migrated from Busan, South Korea to America when he was ten years old. Growing up, his mother had worked two jobs, one as a cleaner, and the other as a home hairdresser. His father worked in a convenience store, but suffered from alcohol addiction throughout his childhood. After, years of saving up and sacrificng, his parents were able to put enough money together to send him to Harvard University. In return, he worked hard and managed to graduate both institutions with honors. He recalled those days fondly as he placed the shards of the broken and overly expensive vase he had been cleaning into a dustpan.

The train of thought he was in the middle of died when a tall shadow and malevolent came over him. His wife, Serenity Miller, stood in front of him wearing a pair of black fluffy heels whilst adorning a short, tight and blood red dress that exaggerated her generous chest and hugged her wide hips too hard causing her resemble a tightly packed sausage. There was a frown firmly planted across her foundation caked face as Amias blinked up at her. She skipped any pleasantries and got to the point,

"How did the vase break? You know that my parents are coming over later and if they see shards then they are going to think you are an even bigger clutz than usual." she chastised, acid in her tone.

He nodded refusing to look into her eyes,

"Sorry dear." he muttered.

"You can be sorry all you want, just be careful. Those vases are expensive and it is not like you have to pay for them – or anything else.” she stated, before turning around and strutting off upstairs.

Once the metallic clacking noise of her stilettos seized, he raised his head remaining on his knees, his anger on the verge of exploding. Getting up, he gathered the shards into his hands,  before heading to the kitchen.

Walking the hallways, he could hear echoes of his wife's shrill voice yelling at one of the staff who worked for them. He needed to pause in his tracks, his anger clawed at him, begging for him to release it but he denied it, he wasn't a violent man. Levelling his breath, he took shallow inhales and exhales, his mind wandering to the Eden like garden he created within the hollows of his mind when he needed to escape the most. In an expansive lush garden he towered over the fields of endless flowers, violets, daises, periwinkles, and bluebells which were all swaying placidly in the gentle spring breeze. Inhaling, he could feel the pollen tickling his nose but the picturesque sight in front of him made the discomfort worth it. The fluffy cotton like clouds above him were straight-out of a painting. He allowed himself to be absorbed in the moment until something soft hit his shoulder. With his reverie now shattered he discovered the maid who was spouting an apology, before running off as tears streaked down her reddening face. He tightened the hold he had on the shards as they unzipped his skin causing blood to flow down his palm. His hazel eyes burned with untameable fury as he stomped to the kitchen.

He tossed the now blood-stained white shards into the trash repressing the urge to break something. Preferably, his wife's neck. The harsh treatment she dished out the staff made him hate her that little bit more. He understood that maids anguish a great deal. He worked like a dog, scrubbed every floor, fixed every broken piece of furniture that got destroyed whenever his 'precious' Serenity decided to blow a gasket and take her fury out on either himself, the staff, or the furniture. In the past, he had tried to get her therapy, had tested out different relaxation techniques, and such but she would always quit after, an obstacle popped up or as soon as she made any progress. She had grown into a cold person, nothing like the woman he had met three years ago.

Her smile made him quiver in a pleasurable way the first time he'd seen it during an economics lecture. Other women had never affected him in a such a profound fashion before then. She would sit in the front of his classes, an obedient student and conscientious. The occasional flirtatious gestures she would send him with her eyes and smile drove his senses absolutely crazy. After, weeks of this back and forth, he cornered her outside of their economics class to see what was up. That is when she confessed to having a burning attraction towards him and wanted to be his girlfriend. He gladly returned her affections with a confession of his own. From that day onward, they spent every moment that they could together before, between and after classes. His love for her blossomed gradually into a gut-wrenching need to be with her.

He proposed to her, before they graduated from college. He had a degree in economics, and she majored in business. When she had burst into tears and proclaimed her love for him, he had believed that he was with his true love and that it could only get better from that point onwards but he had been gravely mistaken. The shift in her behaviour had occurred a week after they had returned from the honeymoon when she received a phone call informing her that she had obtained a high ranking position in a fancy, multibillion dollar, tech company. 

She worked late, but what really started putting nails in the casket that held their marriage together was when he had been laid off from his job as a stockbroker. Her attitude along with  her parents attitudes towards him did a one-eighty. Instead, of their beloved son-in-law it was now that useless son-in-law bum who cannot even keep a job.  He had been hurt quite badly the first time they had addressed him like that. Then there was his own parents. They had been against his nuptials from the start. His mother especially, had warned him that Serenity is a devious snake wearing an angel's wings. He brushed it off as his mother being overprotective, but as time passed and the cold shoulder from his wife became pure distain mixed with hatred, he realized that his mother was indeed correct.

Looking back, he realized that she indeed had put up a sweet act in order to obtain what she desired at the time; a handsome piece of man candy to impress mommy and daddy. He felt used by her, he is a uniquely handsome man, over six feet tall, black silky locks, with a sixpack where a crescent moon birthmark sat on the upper half of his left pectoral. His skin had a glass like quality to it and reflected darker objects. He often received stares from other woman when he went out to cater to yet more of his wife's demands. Albeit, he never returned the gestures. The temptation was there, but if he acted on it then he would be no better than his wife. He refused point blank to ever stoop to her level. A ringing sound caught his attention making him groan when he remembered that it was about the time her parents had agreed to come over for dinner.

As he had feared, dinner went as badly as can be expected with Mr and Mrs Miller giving him dirty looks, making snide remarks, and bringing up the empty space where their daughters beloved vase used to sit, and of course Serenity just could not wait to mention the fact that he had broken it, omitting the fact that the vase was already damaged. He found it difficult to finish his meal with nausea stabbing at his throat. He decided to help the cook with the piles of dirty dishes. Any excuse to be as far from his “Family” as possible. They eventually left to his relief, and Serenity had taken a bottle of Sangria up to her private bedroom, before calling it a night. This left him to his own devices, so he decided to clean up. He had been cleaning up the Livingroom, feeling frustrated but also browbeaten when he caught a glimpse of a K-Drama on TV. It was as if the idea had floated down from the heavens themselves. He would go to South Korea, train as an Actor, and then become the most successful as well as wealthy Actor on the planet. Thinking it over, he liked this plan more and more. If he went to Korea to train then he’d be super far from his wife and her obnoxious parents, but it also meant that he’d get to see his other relatives who he had not seen for over a decade. With that in mind he set about enacting his plan as his wife lay drunk, and passed out upstairs.