Disobedience and Consequences

Lucy’s whole body went still. Did he just ask her to make breakfast after everything she had told him?

“Did you hear me?” Marcus pressed.

“How can you ask me to make breakfast?” Lucy replied, her voice weak. “I just told you I was locked up all night in a cold, dark room. My body is exhausted.”

“Who’s going to make it then?” Marcus asked, sounding genuinely annoyed.

“Anyone can make it. You, your mother, or your precious Clara.”

“You don’t expect my mother to enter the kitchen, right? You know I can’t cook, and Clara’s body is still weak from giving birth,” Marcus said, his voice hard. “You’re the one who fired all the maids. Now you don’t want to take responsibility.”

“I only fired them because your mother forced me to,” Lucy shot back. She hadn’t wanted to let the maids go. After she became a full-time housewife, Stella had pressured her into dismissing them so she could “learn how to be a good mother and wife.”

After arguing with her for a long time, Marcus finally left the room. Grateful for the solitude, Lucy curled up under the sheets and drifted off into a deep sleep. When she woke up again, it was already afternoon. Her stomach rumbled loudly, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since the previous day.

She freshened up and headed downstairs. The house was unusually quiet. She checked the kitchen but found no prepared meals. She called out to one of the guards and asked where everyone had gone. The guard told her they had all left earlier, but he had no idea where.

Too tired to care, Lucy prepared a simple bowl of noodles and ate quickly. Her phone rang shortly after. It was Ashley.

“Lucy, how are you doing?”

She wasn’t fine, but she lied anyway. “I’m good. What’s up?”

“I’m going shopping. Do you want to come with me? You can shop for your baby’s clothes too.”

The thought of her baby brought a spark of joy to her heart. “Ashley, the baby isn’t even two months along yet.”

“Who cares? You can shop for your baby anytime you want.”

“But I don’t even know the gender yet.”

“There are other things to buy apart from baby clothes.”

After talking for a while, Lucy agreed to meet her at the shopping mall. She changed into fresh clothes and left the house. She and Ashley met at the entrance and headed straight to the kids’ section.

After picking out everything they wanted, they pushed their carts to the checkout. Ashley paid first. When it was Lucy’s turn, she swiped her card, but it declined. She tried three more times, growing more confused with each failure.

Ashley suggested she call the bank. Sweat beaded on Lucy’s forehead as the customer service representative informed her that the card had been blocked. No one had access to her account except Marcus.

She quickly dialed his number while Ashley offered to pay for her items. Marcus finally picked up when they were outside the mall.

“What is it?” His voice was impatient. “Speak fast. I’m really busy right now.”

“Did you block my bank card?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why did you—”

“Lucy, your behavior is getting out of hand,” he cut her off. “I just wanted to remind you that without me, you’re nothing.”

Tears stung Lucy’s eyes as his words sank in. “What exactly did I do wrong?”

“I asked you to make breakfast, but you decided to go against me. This is what you get for disobeying me.” With that, he hung up on her.