Don't Do What I Did....

Meet Katherine- and Darren

The alarm buzzes at half past eight as Bryan’s memories come to a halt. He realizes that it is time for work. Reluctantly, he gets up and dresses up as he goes to work at the newspaper office.

At the office, Bryan learns that his previous boss is resigning from his post. His old boss reveals the new boss of the company, Darren Spooner. Darren Spooner is a 32-year old man and he has a wife named Katherine Cazden who is three years younger than him. Darren is welcomed by all of the employees at the office, including Bryan. As Bryan introduces himself to Darren and Katherine, he realizes that Katherine is very insecure, but fails to make the connection.

Darren is a really good boss and treats his employees very well, including Bryan. When he learns about Vanessa’s recent death, he sympathizes with Bryan and decides to treat him lunch. Bryan and Darren become very close friends as a result. Furthermore, Darren spends long hours in the office and rarely goes home.

However, Bryan realizes that the reason Darren is doing so is because he wants to avoid Katherine. He does some background checks and realizes that Darren and Katherine are always fighting. Darren has a different attitude with Katherine. The condition has gotten so bad that they cannot even talk to each other without fighting. Bryan decides to step in and asks Darren whether he and Katherine can come to dinner outside. The both of them accept his invitation.

At the dinner, Bryan begins to ask friendly questions to the both of them.

“So how did you guys meet? Was it a nice event that brought you both together?” asked Bryan.

“Yes, it was, to be honest,” said Katherine, “It was nice meeting him.”

“Yeah, I remember it like it was just yesterday,” said Darren, “But too bad the old times have changed.”

“Darren,” said Bryan, “You have to appreciate the new times and leave the past behind.”

“It’s easy for you to say,” replied Darren, “You don’t have a wife.”

Darren’s remark was quite insulting. Katherine could already see that Bryan was going to boil and stepped in.

“Guys, let’s just enjoy a nice peaceful dinner.”

“Shut up Katherine, I wasn’t talking to you!” exclaimed Darren.

“Don’t talk to me like that, you psycho! I’m not your whore that you can just shout at!”

“Whoa,” said Bryan, “Guys let’s not make a scene here.”

However, Darren ignored Bryan’s remark.

“Katherine,” said Darren slowly, “Why can’t you accept that I am older than you and therefore, I have slightly more say in this marriage. And as your husband, I request for you to be quiet so that we can enjoy the dinner.”

Katherine simmered down and the three of them had dinner. Tensions between the couple simmered for a few days, but it was only a matter of time before unfortunate incidents would cause them to fight again.

Their worst fight occured in Darren's office, where Bryan and Darren were discussing about a client. Katherine arrived with lunch for her husband, something that she would not usually do but did it on Bryan's insistence.

"Katherine... What are you doing here?" asked Darren.

"Well honey, I've decided to bring you lunch. After a long time," replied Katherine.

"Oh so now you decide to bring me lunch after a hundred times I tell you to do so?" yelled Darren.

"Darren, stop yelling at me! I've brought your favourite lunch and instead of being thankful, you're yelling at me!"

"Guys, stop fighting please! This is an office for god damn's sake!" Unfortunately, Bryan's pleas was not noticed by the couple.

"Why do you keep on treating me so badly? This is the same thing I told you a few days ago at dinner!"

"Katherine... please...."

"Oh to hell with you, bastard! I'm sick of you treating me this way! All you care about doing is treating me with shit and disrespect!"

"Darren, Katherine, please stop fighting!"

"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!" yelled Darren, "I've had it with you Katherine! If you're so unhappy with this marriage, then be unhappy! I am divorcing you from today! I WILL NOT HAVE A WIFE LIKE YOU AGAIN!"

This piece of news was completely shocking to both Katherine and Bryan. Without saying a word, Katherine, who was in tears, rushed out of the office.

"Darren, why did you need to treat her so badly? You shouldn't have shouted at her like that you know," said Bryan.

"You wouldn't understand Bryan," said Darren, "You didn't have a wife like Katherine."

"Believe me Darren, Katherine isn't stubborn or bad. I made the same mistake as you do. And I didn't realize it until after she was gone forever."

*********************************************************

Meanwhile, Katherine was lost in the city. She had nowhere to go to, with her belongings all with her. Knowing that she could only trust one person, she decided to give him a call.

"Hello... Bryan?"

"Katherine! Where are you? Darren's been looking for you!"

"I know that," said Katherine, "But I am not going home. I need a place to stay for a few days. Can I stay at your place?"

"You're most welcome to," replied Bryan, "Just let me know when you arrive there."

************************************************************

"Now you know how Darren treats me? I still can't tolerate his nonsense, Bryan."

It was half-past nine as Katherine and Bryan were discussing about Darren's behaviour.

"Why does he treat you like that? Was there any event that triggered this?"

"Well his family is the root of the problem."

"What do you mean?"

"When I met Darren, our hearts were with each other. But his family had to come in the way of everything. Every single damn thing!" exclaimed Katherine as she recalled how she met Darren.