Chapter 2

After finishing his meal, Mr. Adams tossed his fork aside, stood up, and went straight to the living room to watch TV.

Lucas got up and vanished into the bathroom. That left only Mrs. Adams and me at the table.

Just as I stood up, Mrs. Adams spoke up. "Chloe, sweetie, could you give me a hand? I threw my back out yesterday..."

Since it was my first time visiting my boyfriend's family, I figured I should show some goodwill. I nodded politely.

"Why don't you go rest on the sofa? I'll take care of it."

Her face lit up instantly. She thanked me repeatedly and walked off to the couch without looking back once.

I sighed, cleared the table, and washed the dishes.

Just as I finished, Mrs. Adams stepped into the kitchen, sighing theatrically.

"Oh, I feel so bad making you work the moment you arrived. It's just that my back..."

Before she finished her sentence, she saw that I had scraped the leftover scraps from yesterday into the trash. She let out a piercing shriek.

"Why did you throw that away?! That food was still good! Good heavens, girl, what a terrible waste!"

Lucas came out of the bathroom just in time to hear the commotion and hurried over.

When he heard that I had dumped last night's leftovers without asking, an irritated scowl flashed across his face, though he quickly masked it. "Mom, don't eat that stuff. It's old."

Mrs. Adams bristled like a cat with its tail stepped on.

"Listen to you, acting like a big shot! What's wrong with leftovers? You grew up on leftovers!"

"You live in the city for a couple of years and suddenly you're too fancy for overnight food?"

"Our family isn't like those rich city folks who throw food away after one day."

As she spoke, she threw pointed, sideways glances at me.

The air grew suffocatingly awkward. Lucas shot me an annoyed look.

"Chloe, you could have at least asked my mom before tossing it. Now she's going to be upset about it for days."

Two tiny bowls of scraps, barely a few bites left, and she was going to be upset for days?

What was his problem?

I didn't want to ruin the trip on day one, so I swallowed my pride and apologized.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Adams. I didn't know. I won't do it again."

The second I apologized, Mrs. Adams dropped her sour face and beamed.

"Oh, Chloe, I'd never stay mad at you! It's fine, totally fine!"

With that, she dragged me back to the sofa just as warmly as before.

The living room had a tiny three-seater couch and two single armchairs.

Mr. Adams was glued to the TV from one armchair. Mrs. Adams pulled me down onto the three-seater, and Lucas took a seat next to his father.

I pulled out my phone and sent Lucas a text on SnapChat: [What about the marriage fund? Aren't you going to bring it up?]

I hadn't told my parents about the pregnancy yet. My plan had been to come here with Lucas, see their stance, and find out what kind of wedding contribution they were offering before talking to my parents.

Lucas glanced at his phone, then turned his eyes right back to the TV screen.

I was getting anxious. This was the whole reason I had agreed to come here. Why was he acting like a mute?

I sent him two more messages. This time, he didn't even bother unlocking his phone.

Losing my patience, I finally addressed his mother directly.

"Mrs. Adams, if Lucas and I are getting married, how much are you planning to put down for the traditional marriage fund?"