But she wanted me to turn grief into cash so she could go have fun.
I took the bag straight to Larry.
“This is your father’s stuff,” I said, voice shaking. “Your sister wants to sell it.”
Larry’s face went blank.
He didn’t fight. He didn’t question her.
He took the bag and muttered, “I’ll handle it.”
He didn’t handle anything.
He never handled anything.
He only avoided.
And around the same time…
I found out he was probably seeing someone else.
A friend from another agency saw him downtown on a weekend—arm in arm with a young woman dressed like she belonged in a nightlife commercial.
I confronted him the second he walked in.
“I work all week,” I snapped. “I work weekends. I do everything in this house, and you’re out with someone else?”
Larry’s face flushed.
“It’s not like that,” he muttered. “She’s just… from a massage place.”
I stared at him.
“How is that better?”
Kelly laughed hysterically from the couch, like my pain was entertainment.
Olivia didn’t even look surprised.
Instead, she looked irritated—at me.
“If a husband goes looking elsewhere,” she said sharply, “it’s because the wife isn’t devoted enough.”
My mouth fell open.
“A wife should forgive,” Olivia continued, as if she were quoting scripture. “A man’s appetites are normal.”
I felt my whole body shake.
That wasn’t “old-fashioned.”
That wasn’t “strict.”
That was sickness.
And I realized something terrifying:
They didn’t see me as a human being.
They saw me as a resource.
A cook. A cleaner. A paycheck.
A shield that kept Larry comfortable while he lived however he wanted.
And that was when my plan began.
Not revenge.
Not drama.
Escape.
But it wasn’t easy.
Because Olivia was smart.
She knew I cared about reputation. She knew my boss, Richard, valued “stability.” She knew I didn’t want anything that looked like chaos.
So she weaponized it.
“If you embarrass this family,” she would hiss, “I’ll tell your boss what kind of woman you are.”
Extortion wrapped in a motherly smile.
For a while, all I could do was endure.
Until Larry’s affair became undeniable.
My friend sent me proof.
And in my chest, the last bit of love finally died.
A month later, Kelly spread a housing catalog across the dinner table like she was making a business proposal.
“What’s this?” Olivia asked, suddenly interested.
Kelly grinned. “Julie’s been looking at houses.”
I froze.
My blood went hot.
“Did you go through my bag?” I demanded.
Kelly shrugged. “You left it out.”
The nerve.