The Revenge of the Mute Wife by Melanie Paulson

The outing lifted Deborah's spirits. Caroline bought her a birthday present and they had a meal at a restaurant before returning to Deborah's apartment because Caroline insisted on not leaving her alone. But their pleasant mood vanished upon arriving at Deborah's door, where an older woman was banging and shouting. "Open up, you mute b*tch!" screamed the older woman with platinum blonde hair, pounding on the door. When she saw them, she snapped, "Who do you think you are? Why aren't you at home? My poor son suffers because of you."

"Mrs. Peterson, this is an apartment building and your shouting is disturbing everyone," Caroline retorted.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

"Shut up, you beggar," Mrs. Peterson shot back before turning to Deborah, demanding she open the door.

Deborah reluctantly opened the door, and the older woman shoved her aside as she entered. Caroline protested, but Deborah gave her a reassuring smile, trying to avoid a confrontation.

Inside, Mrs. Peterson began criticizing the apartment's cleanliness, throwing things around to make it look messy. Caroline, irritated, called the older woman out for her behavior.

"You wretched beggar!" Mrs. Peterson tried to hit Caroline, but the latter caught the older woman's wrist and held it firmly.

"I'm calling the police," the older woman threatened just as there was a knock at the door. Deborah opened it to find two police officers.

"Good morning, ma'am. Did you call us?" one officer asked.

"Officers, arrest this woman!" Mrs. Peterson pointed at Caroline. "She hurt me."

[That's a lie.] Deborah frowned.

"She's just being dramatic," Caroline stated plainly.

"Officers, can't you see... she's intimidating me. So please, arrest her and get her out of my house."

[This is my house.] Deborah signed and frowned even more.

"This is not your house," Caroline spoke up.

"Actually," the first officer began to say, "we were called over because several neighbors have complained about you, ma'am." "HOW DARE YOU! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"

"You're the crazy lady banging on my neighbor's door, keeping me from sleeping," a blond man said, stepping into view.

Mrs. Peterson was furious but fell silent upon recognizing the man.

[Jayden...] Deborah mouthed, surprised.

"Ma'am, save it. Officers, please take her away. She's always harassing my neighbor. I have the evidence for it too," Jayden requested.

"Darling, if your husband won't protect you from his mother, I will, because neither you nor I are here to endure her shouting," he said, smiling at Deborah.

Mrs. Peterson became hysterical. "Let go of me! I'm Isabelle Peterson. You can't do this to me!"

But the officers moved to restrain her. "Ma'am, please stop resisting and-"

Just then, Roger stormed in, furious.

"Let my mother go!" Roger demanded.

"Sir, we're arresting her as we've received multiple complaints about her," the other officer explained.

"Who complained?" Roger asked angrily.

"I did, Peterson," Jayden said coolly.

"Cooper..." Roger glared at him.

"Yes, so stop your drama and tell your mother that it's not fair for her to come and yell at your wife just like that.

"That's none of your business," Roger retorted, turning his back. "Mom, come sit on the sofa," he said, helping the older woman to walk.

"It is my business because, in case you forgot, this apartment building is mine and I hate noise disturbances on my property," Jayden said to Roger. "So if you can't control your mother, I will. This is my building, and I won't tolerate such disturbances." Roger clenched his jaw, knowing he couldn't retaliate against the powerful Cooper family.

"Son, thank you for saving me. That mute and her friend insulted me." Mrs. Peterson tried to play the victim with her crocodile tears.

"Oh god... poor woman... a mute said rude things to her. Oh... such suffering," Jayden mocked the older woman's theatrics. "Cooper, get out of my house," Roger ordered.

"I can show you the video of how your mother has been bothering this unit for a while just because they wouldn't open the door."

"If the noise bothered you so much, you should have come out and helped my mother."

"Helped with what? I think anyone knows that if time passes and the door isn't opened, it's because no one's home. Or are you going to tell me your wife doesn't have the right to leave the house once in a while?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"..." Roger was furious because if he answered that question, it was evidence of domestic abuse, and with the two officers present, he could risk his reputation.

Fortunately, he noticed Fabian had arrived so he approached the officers to resolve the matter. "Officers, thank you for coming, but we'll take care of this family matter."

Jayden and the officers saw Roger's assistant extending his hands while holding an envelope, standing next to his boss. It was the signal for them to leave.

Jayden sighed. "Let's hope this fixes things, Fabian, because I'll be watching." As he was about to leave, Jayden looked Deborah in the eyes and smiled at her before disappearing out the door and back to his apartment. Meanwhile, the officers took the bribe and left.

"You, leave too, Caroline," Roger ordered, glaring at the raven-haired woman. "You know you're not welcome in my house."

"What? So you can beat my friend because of something your mother caused?" Caroline challenged.

[Carrie...] Deborah pleaded.

"Oh... you insolent..." Isabelle was furious and stood up to slap the girl.

Unfortunately, Isabelle's actions didn't come to fruition because Fabian intervened. "Miss, please leave."

Caroline reluctantly left, urging Deborah to call her if she needed help. Once alone, Roger turned his anger on Deborah, accusing her of the mess his mother made and threatening her. Fabian intervened, reminding Roger that Jayden was likely still watching. As Roger's assistant, Fabian knew Jayden wasn't joking.

Deborah defended herself, only to face further insults from Mrs. Peterson who claimed Deborah manipulated her way into the family. Deborah insisted she never did such things, but the accusations kept coming. Mrs. Peterson even went as far as saying she couldn't stand the idea of having 'defective grandchildren.'

"Don't worry, Mom. I'd never have kids with this useless woman," Roger assured her, glaring at Deborah.

Deborah clenched her fists, pained by their words. It was clear now: she would never tell Roger about her pregnancy and was determined to leave them for good.