Chapter 3

By the time I got home from the mall, it was late at night.

I washed my face, but my eyes were still swollen and red.

When I pushed the door open, Ethan was sitting on the sofa, giving me a probing look.

"Rhi, where did you go today? You didn't even sign the check-in sheet."

"And I was too busy this afternoon to reply to your message."

My lips twitched. I wanted to confront him right then and there, but the words died in my throat. It felt completely pointless now.

"It's fine. Deduct my pay," I said dryly.

Honestly, this marriage was no longer worth saving anyway.

He froze for a second, then reached out to play with my hair affectionately.

"Rhi, you promised me you’d follow the rules."

"We've only been married for three years. Are you giving up already?"

I flinched and ducked away from his touch.

Ethan’s brow furrowed, and his voice dropped.

"Rhiannon, my patience is limited. If you keep acting like this, your allowance is gone."

For three years, as a typical housewife, I had lived on his measly $300 monthly allowance.

This money was barely a fraction of the interest sitting in my personal bank accounts.

Seeing my silence, his tone grew even colder.

"Rhi, you agreed to these terms yourself. If you acted like this in my company, you’d be fired for insubordination."

"I'll give you three seconds to explain why you went out without submitting a request."

"Three... two... one..."

As he counted down, his face grew darker by the second.

But I remained silent.

"I'll give you one more chance. Ten seconds."

If this were before, I would have immediately rushed into his arms, begging for his forgiveness for my "little mistake."

But now, I just found it hilarious.

I looked at him and asked, "Where were you this afternoon, Ethan?"

A flash of panic crossed his eyes, but he quickly recovered his composure.

"Where else would I be? The office, of course."

"Rhi, stop suffocating me. Can you give me some space?"

"Besides, I'm working hard to support this family. Why can't you be more understanding, like Chloe?"

My heart sank into a cold abyss.

Understanding?

My throat burned with unshed tears.

Had I not been understanding enough?

During our three years of marriage, because he was an extreme perfectionist who insisted on "corporate structure" at home to set a good example, I let him run our house like a business.

To maintain his perfect family image, I changed my entire wardrobe. I stopped wearing comfortable, casual clothes.

Our entire life revolved around his work schedule. I had to sign in when I woke up and sign out when I went to sleep. If I failed, he docked my money.

I even had to submit a "sick leave request" when I was ill, and I wasn't allowed to invite friends over without his written permission.

Our home had become a subsidiary of his company.

And I, his wife, was nothing but an unpaid employee.

Thinking about it now, I was a complete joke.

"Ethan, let's get a divorce."

"You can live however you want, and sleep with Chloe however you want. I'm done."

At the mention of Chloe, his eyes flickered, but then rage took over.

"Rhiannon! What nonsense are you talking about? She’s just my assistant. We are completely professional!"

"Just because I docked your allowance, you're using this to threaten me? Don't come crying back to me later."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Just this once. Don't let it happen again."

With that, he grabbed his laptop and stormed out.

I didn't care where he went.

I was just exhausted. I wanted to sleep.

Before closing my eyes, I sent a Snapchat message to my grandfather.

"I lost. I’ll marry Julian."