Chapter 4

I thought I'd be happy after I finally let myself indulge in a shopping spree, but I was wrong. If anything, I felt a little dejected.

Ron hugged his new Spider-Man plushie tightly and rubbed his cheek against the back of my hand in gratitude.

"I'm never gonna ask Dad for a present ever again," he declared. "I don't care what he might give me!"

I couldn't bear to tell him that his father would never buy him anything again because we were getting a divorce.

…

Adam didn't return home until late that night.

"How could I have forgotten my own son's birthday?" he announced with a rare show of cordiality.

He probably thought that was enough to make up for what had happened earlier that day.

"I even bought him a present," he added.

I eyed the bootleg, shoddily made Transformers figurine he placed on the table. It looked like something he could have pulled from a dumpster, yet he somehow thought it was good enough.

Ron was already fast asleep after having his cake. Lucky for him, too, because he would have made his dislike known immediately.

Then, without warning, Adam pulled out the ledger again. "The cost of this toy will be deducted from your allowance next month.

"Also, I thought about it, and fine. I'll add 50 dollars to your monthly allowance starting next month. That's perfectly reasonable, don't you think? So don't go telling people I've been a miser!"

He chuckled and walked into the bedroom.

A few seconds later, he stormed back out in a rage, dragging my shopping bags behind him.

"What the hell, Stephanie? You've been wasting money all day, haven't you? What did you buy all these clothes for?

"You already have enough clothes in your closet! Are those just not good enough for you now?

"And these lotions and cosmetics! You already have plenty on your dresser, don't you? What, you're too good to use them now?!

"I've told you over and over that we have to be smart with our money! We need to save it! Use it properly!" he thundered.

I scoffed. "How about you practice what you preach for once, Adam? I didn't see you being smart with your money when you financed Yolanda's shopping spree!

"Every time that idiot brother of hers gets into a fight and loses, you have to pay off the people he's offended. I'm sure you've spent at least 80,000 dollars saving his ass.

"And that's not even counting how much you've poured into Yolanda's rent and clothes! You're supposed to be her boss, but my God, you're more considerate and generous than some people's boyfriends!

"So maybe you should learn a thing or two about being more frugal before you lecture me about money!"

I threw myself back onto the couch as if the outburst had drained the last of my strength. I'd wanted to say those words for a very long time, but I'd always bitten my tongue at the last second to avoid hurting his feelings.

Now that I had finally let them out, a tremendous weight had lifted from my chest.

Adam stared at me with wide eyes. He couldn't believe I'd said such a thing. I'd always been a reasonable, cordial, docile wife. I'd never been the type to argue with him, not even when I asked for more money.

The first time I talked back to him sent him into a fury.

"You're so jealous, petty, and small-minded that it makes me sad. Yol is my junior, and she only joined the company recently! What's wrong with giving her a little help every now and then?

"You know what company rules are like. Interns aren't paid. If I don't help her out, how is she gonna survive?" he roared.

I didn't even have the strength to debate him anymore. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. Nothing I said could stop him from taking his secretary's side.

Silence enveloped the living room.

Adam began checking the price tag on every item in the bags and recording each amount in his ledger.

"You spent 4,500 dollars on clothes and 1,500 on cosmetics. That's 6,000 dollars in total," he declared. "By my estimate, you've already spent at least two years' worth of your monthly allowance. You may only ask for money again after you've cleared this debt."

I didn't argue. I simply dragged myself into my bedroom and picked up a steel pen. For the rest of the night, the soft scratch of its nib against paper filled the room.

I didn't sleep a wink that night.

…

The funeral home informed me that today was the day. Once again, Adam couldn't be reached by phone.

I had no more time to waste on him. All I could spare was a text message.

[Your mom will be laid to rest today. If you still have a heart, you'll come say goodbye.]

I chose a good plot for my mother-in-law, then stood beside my son and watched as they lowered her coffin into the grave.

Once the burial was over, I went straight to a law firm and had a divorce agreement drafted. It was time to end this.

-

Adam could feel a migraine coming on.

Zack, as it turned out, had gotten himself into yet another fight. Adam would have to pay Zack's victim to drop the charges, as well as cover Zack's hospital bills.

"This is the last time I'm going to help your brother, Yol," he grumbled. "I won't help him again if Zack gets himself into another fight!"

Yolanda took his hand to calm him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Locke! I promise this isn't gonna happen again! But please don't turn your back on Zack. He's just a kid!"

Adam sighed and wired some money to Zack's latest victim before leaving the ward in a foul mood. He stopped beside an open window and lit a cigarette.

"Life for rich people really is different from ours. You can beat people up without getting punished because you have enough money to buy someone's silence," he overheard a nurse say.

Her friend replied sadly, "And if you don't have the money... you could die. There was a patient here a few days ago. She got into a car accident and could've been saved. But because her son wouldn't pay for her treatment, she died in agony!

"I don't remember the patient's name, but I remember her daughter-in-law. I think it was Stephanie Locke or something."

Adam spun toward them. His cigarette slipped from his fingers and hit the floor butt first.

He rushed over and grabbed the nurse's hand. "Where is that patient you mentioned? The one who was in a car accident?!"

The nurse yanked her hand away, visibly annoyed. "Where else could she be? It's already been a few days. She's probably been laid to rest by now."

Adam suddenly remembered the text message and bolted out of the hospital.