03: I Won't Leave My Husband

→ Agatha←

I came down for breakfast and found everyone already seated at the table. My father in-law, William sat at the head like always, his wife Celeste to his right, Oscar across from the empty chair that was mine, and Theodore next to his mom.

“Good morning, Father,” I said.

William gave a short nod without looking up from his plate.

“Good morning, mother.”

“Good morning, Agatha.” She offered me a small smile that barely reached her eyes.

I took my seat beside Oscar. Theodore glanced at me over the rim of his coffee cup.

“Don’t I deserve a good morning too?” he asked.

I was older than him. He was Oscar’s little brother, barely out of his early twenties, yet he always spoke like the world owed him attention. Like I owed him attention. Still, I kept my tone polite.

“Good morning, Theo.”

“Theodore. You don’t get to shorten my name.” He frowned.

“I’m sorry, Theodore.”

I reached for the serving dish and slowly put food on my plate. The silence at the table felt stronger than usual. It's as if everyone was avoiding saying something to piss the other off.

I started eating even though I didn’t have much of an appetite. Every sound…the clink of cutlery, the soft scrape of a chair, it all felt too loud.

William set his fork down.

“The quality control problem is getting out of hand,” he said, looking straight at Oscar. “That last shipment was an embarrassment. Do you understand what it means when clients start questioning the Devereaux name?”

Oscar kept his eyes on his plate for a second before answering. “I’m handling it, Father. I’ve already spoken to the department heads. It won’t happen again.”

“You’ve been saying that for weeks.” William’s voice rose. “I didn’t build this company so my son could sit around making flimsy excuses. Results, Oscar. That is what I want.”

“I’m doing everything I can,” Oscar said, frustration evident in his voice. “I have it under control.”

“Oscar is right. We’re on it, Father and the team is working overtime. We’ll fix the distribution issues before the next batch goes out.” Theodore leaned forward, looking at his father.

William looked between the two of them. “You had better. I will not tolerate failure. Not from the company employees, and certainly not from my own sons.”

No one spoke after that. Celeste kept her gaze lowered, cutting her food into smaller and smaller pieces without eating much of it. I watched her for a moment and wondered, not for the first time, how long she had been sitting through mornings like this.

William wiped his mouth with the napkin, pushed his chair back, and stood.

“I’m leaving. I expect better news by the end of the week.”

Celeste stood and carefully took William’s jacket from the back of his chair. She held it open for him and helped him slide his arms into the sleeves, then stepped in front of him to fix his tie.

Her fingers moved quickly, straightening the knot and checking the buttons of his suit like she had done it a thousand times before.

William let out an impatient breath and shoved her hands away. The push was hard enough that Celeste stumbled and her palms landed flat on the dining table to stop herself from falling.

I slowly looked at her.

The way William treated his wife was etched in my memory. He spoke to her like she was furniture, useful only when he needed something and easily pushed aside when she wasn’t.

I bit my lip and told myself that every marriage had its own way of working. Some people just showed love differently. That was what I kept repeating in my head.

William walked out without another word.

Theodore leaned back in his chair and looked at Oscar. “We should go for drinks this evening, brother. It’s been a while.”

Oscar gave a small nod. I reached under the table and found his hand, holding it gently.

“Maybe I could come too,” I said, keeping my voice light. “It’s been a long time since we spent time together. Just the two of us… or even with Theodore. I miss that.”

Oscar pulled his hand away like my touch burned and wiped his mouth with the napkin.

“Sure, Theo. I’ll text you once I’m done for the day at the factory.”

He stood and walked out without even glancing at me.

Theodore’s smile disappeared the second the door closed. He turned to me with a look that made my heart beat faster.

“It’s already bad enough that you’re married to my brother. Now you want to tag along whenever we want to hang out? How greedy can you get?”

I opened my mouth. “I wasn’t trying to–”

“Save it.”

“Theodore, you know you're not supposed to speak to your brother’s wife that way.” Celeste said gently.

He rolled his eyes, picked up his plate, and left the dining room without another word.

Celeste looked at me for a long moment, then spoke in a voice low enough that only I could hear.

“This kind of marriage isn’t worth it, Agatha. Leave before you become as trapped as I am.”

The words rang like a bell in my brains. I stared at her, waiting for her to say that she's joking.

Leave my marriage?

Who the hell does that? I can't leave my husband!

“I can’t believe you’re saying this about your own son, Mother. I love Oscar. Right now our marriage is just going through a rough phase. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me.”

“I’m just…”

“Please, Mother. I get that you’re worried about me, but I love Oscar very much and nothing is ever going to make me leave him.”

I didn’t mean to sound rude, but that was the truth. I loved him. I had built my whole life around him. Walking away wasn’t something I could even let myself think about.