2
Mark turned red and didn’t say a word.
I was already fuming, and her performance
just made it worse. I ripped my hand away
from her like it was covered in leeches.
“Brenda, you know why we’re fighting, don’t play dumb. Mark, my husband, sent his sister–in–law $52,000 on Valentine’s Day, and
his wife got 52 cents, does that sound right
to you?”
Before Brenda could even open her mouth, Mark grabbed my wrist, his eyes wide and
<
voice a little too loud.
“Don’t talk to Brenda like that! Apologize to
her!”
My wrist hurt like hell, which only made me
even more pissed.
“Mark, Brenda, you two are unbelievable! Do I need to teach you both about boundaries?”
“SMACK-”
My head snapped to the side.
Mark had slapped me. Hard.
<
It was the first time he’d ever laid a hand on
- me.
I stared at him, my eyes wide and filled with disbelief. His face was beet red, and he was pointing a trembling finger at me.
“Heidi, I didn’t… I didn’t mean to hit you, but you were disrespecting Brenda, I… I’m saying it one last time, apologize to Brenda!”
Brenda saw her chance and went for it. She grabbed Mark’s hand and clutched it to her chest, rubbing it like she was polishing
silverware.
L
<
She talked to Mark, but her eyes were glued
to me.
“Mark, you shouldn’t hit Heidi, it’s your fault,
you know you love me, but you can’t just give
Heidi 52 cents! Even a hotdog costs more
than that!”
She stuck her tongue out at me, then
continued,
“You should have sent her flowers just like
last year, even if that cherry blossom bouquet
was originally for me, because I was eating
too much of the cherry you bought me and
my iron levels were through the roof. You
<
took me to buy a bag at the store to make it
up for it. This morning as well, you sent me money right away because you were afraid I didn’t have enough, when will you put that
energy into your wife?”
As much as she denied it, she was showing off. I saw through Brenda’s BS.
My head was still spinning from the slap. I grabbed the stack of receipts I had collected over the years and threw it at Mark.
“Don’t forget, everything you have is because of me. Either pay me back, or you two get
out!”
<
Mark’s face twisted. He grabbed Brenda’s
hand and stormed out of the house, leaving
me with a curt,
“Heidi, you’re too dramatic. I’ll come back
when you apologize to Brenda!”
The door slammed behind them. I collapsed
on the floor.
I’d gone against everyone’s advice and married Mark, who came from a small town
with nothing, because I thought he was a
decent, honest guy.
After we started dating, I got him a job at my dad’s company. He worked hard, stayed late
く
every night. I felt bad for him, so I pulled
some strings and got him transferred to an
easier department.
For the first year of our marriage, we were inseparable. Then, we spent Christmas with his family in his hometown, and I knew
something was off.
We drove back on Christmas Eve, and his
family had a big dinner prepared.
After the dinner, I was chatting with his aunts
in the kitchen.
One of his aunts held my hand and said,
“Mark is so lucky to have you, he is a good
boy, just too close with his sister in law,
people in the town are saying things…”
Another aunt elbowed her and quickly
supported her.
“His Aunt is drunk, we should go and rest.”
Everyone around me had similar looks on
their faces.
I was confused.
