The tension in the living room only deepened after Celeste's outburst. No one was comfortable — not a single person sitting in that room had recovered from it. The wife who had never pushed back, who had swallowed every indignity in silence, had finally fought.
Kai sat quietly on the floor in his dinosaur pajamas, rolling a plastic toy car back and forth. Every few seconds, the little boy glanced up at the adults around him, his face scrunched in confusion, as though he could feel the weight pressing down on the room even if he couldn't name it.
Derek sat rigid on the couch, his jaw clenched. Celeste caught his eye briefly — a flat, unamused look — then picked Kai up and carried him to Caleb's room. The conversation was about to get worse, and the children didn't need to hear it.
When she came back, she sat down with her spine straight and her hands folded in her lap, like someone bracing for a fight she intended to win. It unsettled Derek. Usually after an argument, Celeste would disappear into the kitchen and busy herself with chores, or simply go quiet and let it blow over. Not tonight. Tonight she sat like a seawall daring the storm to hit.
"Taking care of the house and all the housework — that's a wife's job. Cooking included," Don said, breaking the silence. His eyes drifted toward Diane.
Celeste opened her mouth. Derek held up a hand to stop her. And again, that familiar crushing feeling — her own husband pressing her down, wordlessly insisting she just accept it for the sake of his family.
"Enough — enough!" Diane cut in sharply. She never liked it when Don brought the attention back to her.
"Where's my share?" Her tone was perfectly casual.
The same ritual, every payday. As if the argument that had just cracked open her son's marriage was nothing more than background noise. Even after watching Derek and Celeste's relationship fracture right in front of her, the first thing on her mind was money.
Derek rubbed his face roughly, then pulled several envelopes from his work bag. One brown envelope went to Diane. One to Irene. One to Kenzie.
The monthly ceremony played out the same way it always did. Diane tore hers open immediately, counting bill after bill with fingertips heavy with gold rings.
Irene did the same — afraid it might be short. "Hold on... this doesn't look right," she muttered, counting again. "One, two, three..."
Celeste watched without a word. Not one of them asked whether the household budget was enough. Not one asked whether Derek's children were eating properly. All that mattered was that their cut was complete.
A few seconds later, all three faces brightened. Satisfied smiles bloomed as if they had just won a lottery.
"It's all here," Diane said, relieved.
Celeste lowered her head. Her chest ached — not because of the money, but because tonight she finally saw what she had been to this family all along: invisible.
"Well, I should get going," Irene announced, sliding her envelope into the designer purse she had bought last month.
Celeste stared at that purse for a few seconds. It had cost nearly as much as her entire monthly grocery budget. The irony was suffocating.
"Don't want to be out too late," Irene added.
Irene's house was a fair distance from Derek and Celeste's. Years ago, Celeste had deliberately chosen a home a little farther from her in-laws — still in the same part of town, but far enough to breathe. Then Derek's parents had signed their old house over to Irene after her wedding five years back and bought a new place in a development closer to Derek. And of course, Derek was the one making the monthly payments on it.
"Come on, honey. Let's head home too," Diane said to Don, standing up as casually as if she were leaving a dinner party.
No apology to their hosts. No trace of guilt. They simply walked out.
The front door closed, and the house went dead quiet. Derek let out a long breath and pulled the last envelope from his bag.
"This is your monthly allowance, sweetheart." He set it on the table.
Celeste glanced at it. The envelope was noticeably thinner than usual. She didn't need to count it to know the amount had been slashed.
"It's fifteen hundred a month from now on," Derek said flatly.
Celeste smiled bitterly. "You should keep it."
Derek frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Celeste started ticking items off on her fingers. "Don't forget Caleb's school tuition. The electric bill. The water bill. Kai's formula. Diapers. Groceries. The gas is running out next week. Oh, and I almost forgot — Caleb's school has an extra activity fee this month."
She looked him square in the eye. "And don't forget a full month's worth of groceries."
Derek's face hardened. "Celeste." His voice dropped lower. "I already told you — we're splitting the household costs now. So—"
Celeste laughed softly. It was the kind of laugh that made Derek's stomach turn.
"Those are expenses for your* children." Her gaze was razor-sharp. "And those children are your* responsibility."
The words hit Derek's ego like a sledgehammer. "Fine!" he snapped, shoving himself up from the couch. "Then I'll do the shopping myself!"
Celeste said nothing. She chose silence — and somehow that was more devastating than any scream.
The next morning, the house felt like a stranger's.
Usually by dawn the kitchen was alive with the smell of spices and sizzling oil, the clink of plates and glasses, Celeste moving back and forth between the stove and the table, getting breakfast ready while rousing the boys. But this morning there was nothing. Just silence.
Derek came out of the bedroom in a pressed dress shirt, his tie half-knotted. His steps slowed when he saw the dining table. No eggs. No coffee. No packed lunch for work. Just Kai's bottle of formula sitting alone on the surface.
Celeste stood at the kitchen counter, boiling water. Her expression was perfectly calm.
"Honey," Derek called, frowning. "Where's my breakfast?"
Celeste turned slowly. Their eyes met.
Derek felt a cold distance in his wife's gaze that hadn't been there before.
"If you want me to make you breakfast," Celeste said evenly, "you'll have to pay for it."
Derek stared. "What?"
Celeste turned off the stove. "I thought cooking wasn't real work." Her voice was quiet. "I thought I just sat around the house all day doing nothing."
Her tone stayed level. "So from now on," she continued, leaning back against the kitchen counter, "I won't do a single piece of housework unless I'm paid."
Derek's expression turned hard, his eyes sharp. "So now you want to nickel-and-dime me?"
Celeste smiled faintly. "Weren't you and your family the ones who started keeping score?"
"You're out of line."
"Out of line?" Celeste repeated softly. She stepped closer. "I wake up at four in the morning. Every single day. And I'm the last one to go to sleep. Because I do everything in this house."
Her eyes began to redden. "But none of it has any value to any of you."
The truth was, Celeste had never asked for much. Derek was, in most ways, a decent husband and a loving father to their two boys.
What she could not accept was his compulsion to indulge his family — every demand met, every whim fulfilled, all in the name of filial duty and keeping the peace. The problem was that every member of Derek's family took advantage of him and leaned on him like a crutch.
"They're not keeping score the way you're accusing them of. They just want you to help with the family finances by getting a job," Derek shot back, defending them the way he always did.
"Let me ask you something. What does Irene do for a living? What does your mother do?" Celeste — who usually deferred to her husband without argument — kept pushing back.
"Irene has a little girl she can't just leave. And Mom's too old to work," Derek replied firmly.
"Derek, Daisy is four years old. She can play on her own. Meanwhile, I'm taking care of Kai, who is two. And your mother can't work, but somehow she has the energy to go shopping every day, hit the gym, and do yoga with the ladies in the neighborhood."
For the first time, Derek had no immediate comeback.
Celeste moved closer still. "Do you know why I'm angry?" Her voice had begun to shake. Tears pooled along her lower lashes.
***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***
Updated 89 Episodes
Download
Like this story? Download the app to keep your reading history.
Comments