Chapter 9

MAY. "Your grandmother called me while I was out," I say to Ethan after a while of eating in uncomfortable silence. Ethan looks up from his plate, forking pausing halfway. "Why? "She wants me to meet the rest of your family. A family gathering," I say, voice a little shaky as I drop my fork. "I had no idea you had other family apart from your grandma." Ethan pauses, noting the sharp edge to my voice, and very slowly, he lowers his fork to his plate. "You didn't ask and--" "Do I have to ask before you tell me the basic things about you? I know this marriage is for formalities, but...how can I not know my husband has other relatives?" "My--" "I understand if you don't want to share your life with—" "May," Ethan says, and I pause, meeting his dark gaze. "My grandmother is the most important person in the world to me. The rest of my relatives are distant. I didn't speak about them because they're barely around and rarely ever reach out." Oh. I'd been thinking about it, coupled with this morning and last night, and I ended up jumping to conclusions again. "Sorry for snapping," I mutter, staring down at my plate with shame. "I'm not usually this quick to lash out." Ethan nods, though I feel his gaze burning into my skin. I'm crankier than usual today, and he's on the receiving end of it. I wonder if he's frustrated or tired of me. "Would it be alright if I invited my sister and her husband to the gathering? They're the only family I have." Again with that silent nod. He leans back in his chair and suddenly pulls out a white envelope, extending it to me. My brows furrow as I take it from him. "What is this?" "Credit card. I will make deposits regularly into it to cover for your living expenses." I push the envelope back. "I don't need an allowance from you. I'm not a child. I told you I'd work and take care of my needs. You don't have to worry about me." Ethan's response is calm and collected. Soft as well. "I understand your need to do that, but you are my wife now, and I will not be comfortable letting you step out the door unless I'm sure you have everything you need." Chewing on my bottom lip, I think about it. Hard. Letting him send me an allowance. Admittedly, I'd needed it today for the house. But I can't let him do this for me. It feels wrong to let someone else bear my burdens. I've been doing it for so long that it doesn't sit right with me to relinquish that burden of paying my own bills. I'm still thinking hard when Ethan adds, "I'll be needing a very detailed record of your spending. You should take account of every expense." I go still in my chair, and confusion takes over. "What? Every time I make a transaction, I'm supposed to send you the proof of what I'm purchasing?" Ethan tilts his head slightly. "Yes." I laugh. "Pass. You can have your card. I'll pay my own damn bills. You don't need to insult me by implying that I can't be trusted with whatever amount you've got in that card." Ethan says nothing in response and my heart only constricts further. What does he think? That I'll...steal from him? I'll have him know that though I have nothing, everywhere I have worked and stayed at, I'm known for my honesty. It didn't matter if Anna and I were hungry. We would never steal from people. Our parents instilled that in us before they died and we would never insult their memory. I dump my plate in the sink and after washing it, I turn to leave. Ethan's by the door, looking like he's been stung by a bee. "What?" "I'm sorry. I hurt your feelings. That's not what I meant," he mutters, looking at everywhere but my face. I ignore him, stepping around him to leave the kitchen. He grabs my wrist lightly, tugging gently and my insides squeeze from the contact. "I'm sorry. My words came out wrong, and it's been that way every time I try to speak with you. I say the wrong things and hurt your feelings in the process. This is new for me and I'm messing it up. I'm really sorry, May." Ethan's eyes plead with me and I let out a sigh. "Alright." He raises the envelope again. "Take it, May. It's the least I can do for you. I can't let you handle the expenses alone. I was trying to make you feel a little more comfortable with the card, but I ruined that. I'm sorry." My gaze drops to the card in the envelope, and I take it. **** The cab pulls up in the driveway and I step out, shoving my freezing hands in my pocket. I'm rehashing the words I'll say to Sean as I invite him over for the gathering. I know Anna will attend. She's been wanting to meet Ethan and his family. I could do without Sean, but it'd look like I was being petty. Just as I reach the door, I hear the sound of glass shattering and Anna's surprised yelp. "It's always one thing or the other with you, An! I'll be freakin' late for work. The least you could do was make something! I can't even blame you, because all you're good at making is excuses anyway." My heart starts to race and my fingers tremble with anger. *Who does that cheapskate thing he's talking to like that?* I consider walking in but Anna would feel conscious and uncomfortable the entire time, knowing that I now understand the extent to which Sean can be violent. It's never been this bad, though he was usually passive-aggressive. However subtle it was. "You know Finn was sick through the night! I had no choice but to stay up all night, caring for him. You know I couldn't get even a wink of sleep. Why are you acting like this, Sean? It's the first time I forgot to make you breakfast. This is not enough to have you breaking things!" Anna cries and a few passersby look toward the house with worried looks. "Excuses! I don't care. You should've prepared something. It is your duty to care for Finn and I. You have no job. You bring absolutely nothing to the table, and yet, you can't even do the little things a wife should!" Sean yells, and my heart breaks when I hear Anna sob. "Don't insult me, Sean. I left my job for you. To build a family with you, I left everything I'd worked so hard to get. You told me you didn't want me working. You promised me you had everything under control and would take care of me. You told me I didn't need to lift a finger. You made me feel like crap every time I went to work. You made me quit, told me it made you feel like less of a man. Don't you dare insult me!" I had always questioned it; her decision to stop working and take care of the family as a full housewife. But Anna was someone who once her mind was made, there was no changing it. I jerk as another glass shatters. "I won't be home tonight," Sean announces, voice thick with malice. "Don't wait up. Don't cook for me. Don't do anything, as usual. Stay home with Finn and clean up this mess. It's the only thing you know how to do these days anyway." Tears prick my eyes as Anna cries. "Sean? Sean! Come here, Sean. You can't leave in the middle of an argument. Sean!" The doorknob twists and Sean pauses in the doorway when he sees me, eyes stormy and his muscles are so tense, you could see his veins nearly popping. "You're an ungrateful bastard," I whisper, so Anna doesn't hear me. "You have no right to treat her that way." Sean peers at me and his eyes are filled with disdain. "Says the one who's whoring herself to a stranger--" My fingers grip his collar and I yank down hard. "I'm not Anna, and the only reason I'm not breaking your damned nose is because I respect her. You talk about me or my husband again and I will forget Anna is my sister." He smacks my hand off his collar and shoves me aside while muttering under his breath about how the women in his life were crazy. I'd always known he was a jerk. I just didn't know how much of it he was. When I walk into the house, Anna is sobbing as she gathers the broken pieces of glass, hurting her fingers. My boots crunch on the glass and she looks up. Upon seeing me, she wipes her cheeks swiftly, smearing a bit of red on her skin as she plasters a smile on her face. "May? I didn't know you were coming over. I ...dropped the glass and--" A tear slides down my cheek. "I was outside. You don't have to lie to me, Ann." She blinks, and then her face crumples as she runs into my waiting arms, sobbing into my chest.