Chapter 4 · A Husband by Appointment

The first thing my father asked when he woke was about the folder.

"The papers aren't lost, are they?" he asked.

I handed him the papers I'd organized.

I handed him the pages I'd sorted back into order. He flipped through them and let out a breath. "Good. This is all evidence."

My mother sat by the bed peeling an apple, and the knife stalled. "Frank, stop thinking about driving. Get your health back first."

My father smiled. "If I don't drive, how does Emily pay for the IVF?"

The apple peel snapped.

My mother kept her head down, her eyes rimming red. "She's not doing it anymore."

My father went still.

I sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand. "Dad, I'm not doing it."

The room fell so quiet that the only sound was the IV drip.

He studied me for a long moment, then panicked. "Did Edward turn on you? Emily, don't fight with him out of spite. Men's families care about children. I'm fine, and the money can be earned again. Don't ruin your life over me."

The more he fretted, the more it hurt.

All this time, I thought my endurance was holding the marriage together. Now I saw that the people crushed first under it were the ones who loved me.

At noon, Edward came to the hospital.

He carried a fruit basket in expensive wrapping, but the fruit inside was cold to the touch, like something grabbed last-minute from the shop downstairs.

Amanda followed behind him. She frowned the moment she walked in. "It reeks in this room."

My father hurried to sit up. "I'm so sorry you had to come all this way."

Amanda ignored him and looked at me. "Edward told me about last night. You have a temper, and I can understand that. Childless women are under a lot of pressure."

My mother's face changed. "Who's under pressure? My daughter is perfectly fine."

Amanda smiled with contempt. "Fine, after three years of marriage with nothing to show? The Bennett family has given her chances."

Edward set the fruit basket on the nightstand. "Mom, that's enough."

He finally spoke, but not for me.

"Emily, step outside with me," he said.

There was a window at the end of the hallway, the wind billowing the curtain.

Edward stood beside it, his tone softer than yesterday. "Your dad's case. I can have an assistant take a look."

He can have an assistant take a look.

Every word landed like charity.

"Why not you?" I asked.

He pressed his fingers to his brow. "I'm busy. I can't personally handle every small case."

"That 80,000 isn't a small case to my dad," I shot back.

"That doesn't change what the case is worth."

Sunlight fell across his face, handsome as a magazine cover. The city's top lawyer, a man who fought for strangers in court, could only calculate value when it came to my father.

"Edward, do you remember the first suit my dad bought you?" I asked.

He faltered.

The year he graduated, he had a law firm interview and nothing decent to wear. My father made two trips to the wholesale market and bought himself a navy suit.

It cost 290 dollars. My father made 900 a month back then.

Edward wore that suit to land his first job. At dinner afterward, he drank too much and hugged my father.

"Dad, once I make something of myself, I'll take care of you. I promise," he said.

Someone passed by in the hallway, and discomfort flickered across his face.

"Why dig up ancient history?" he snapped.

"Because you forgot."

"Emily." His patience wore through. "You just want me to bow my head, don't you? Fine, I apologize. I was harsh yesterday, but be reasonable. Chloe's new and doesn't know anything. You humiliated her in public, and she cried all night."

I stared at him. "She cried, and you ache for her. My dad was down on the floor picking up his papers. Did you even see him?"

He said nothing. After a few seconds, he said, "She's an intern. Why stoop to her level?"

He'd said the same thing too many times.

When Chloe ordered a mango cake for our anniversary, he said she was fresh out of school and didn't know better.

When Chloe texted him late one night saying she was scared at the office, he left my bedside while I ran a fever because a young girl alone wasn't safe.

When Chloe dumped my mother's homemade chicken soup in the trash and complained about the smell, he said my mom shouldn't have brought food to the firm.

Every time, he told me to let it go.

My life had been ground into ash, one let-it-go at a time.

From the other end of the hallway, Amanda's voice shot up. "What do you mean she's not doing the IVF? The Bennett family paid the engagement gifts. We let you live in our house. You think you can quit whenever you please?"

I rushed back to the room.

My mother stood blocking the bed, and my father's face was ghost white.

Amanda slammed a stack of papers onto the blanket. "Look for yourselves. It's written right on Emily's test results. Declining ovarian reserve. If she doesn't act now, who takes responsibility later? With my son's prospects, women are lining up to marry him."

My father bent to gather the papers, his hands shaking badly. "She's not well. We'll treat it slowly."

"Slowly?" Amanda's voice went shrill. "Of course, your family's in no rush. You get to drag it out while my son supports all of you. You needed Edward for a wage case, for God's sake. Do you think the Bennetts are your lifeline?"

My mother could barely stay on her feet. "We have never taken a cent from your family."

Amanda sneered. "Never? Emily lives and eats for free. Isn't the IVF money? And her father's driving money wasn't that earmarked for a Bennett grandchild? Let's be honest. You're all hoping a baby will chain my son down."

A crowd had gathered at the door.

My father's face flushed red, then purple, his lips trembling. He reached for the wage documents on the nightstand.

"We're not chaining anyone. I won't ask Edward for help. I'll find my own lawyer, and Emily doesn't owe you a thing, she..."

He never finished. His whole body pitched forward.

The monitor shrieked. The apple rolled across the floor.

My mother screamed his name. I lunged for the call button, missing it twice before my finger found it.

Doctors and nurses rushed in.

Edward stood in the doorway, and his face finally changed. He tried to enter, but a nurse blocked him. "Family members out."

In the chaos, Amanda was still muttering. "He was sick to begin with. Don't blame everything on us."

I turned and walked up to Edward.

He looked at me as if, for the first time, he didn't know what to say. "Emily, my mom didn't mean it."

Meant or not, the result was the same.

The light over the emergency room switched on. I stood under its red glow, cold to the bone.

Edward reached out to touch my shoulder.

I stepped back, raised my hand, and pulled the wedding ring off my finger.

"Edward, let's get a divorce," I said.

Chapter 4

The first thing my father asked when he woke was about the folder.

"The papers aren't lost, are they?" he asked.

I handed him the papers I'd organized.

I handed him the pages I'd sorted back into order. He flipped through them and let out a breath. "Good. This is all evidence."

My mother sat by the bed peeling an apple, and the knife stalled. "Frank, stop thinking about driving. Get your health back first."

My father smiled. "If I don't drive, how does Emily pay for the IVF?"

The apple peel snapped.

My mother kept her head down, her eyes rimming red. "She's not doing it anymore."

My father went still.

I sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand. "Dad, I'm not doing it."

The room fell so quiet that the only sound was the IV drip.

The more he fretted, the more it hurt.

All this time, I thought my endurance was holding the marriage together. Now I saw that the people crushed first under it were the ones who loved me.

At noon, Edward came to the hospital.

He carried a fruit basket in expensive wrapping, but the fruit inside was cold to the touch, like something grabbed last-minute from the shop downstairs.

Amanda followed behind him. She frowned the moment she walked in. "It reeks in this room."

My father hurried to sit up. "I'm so sorry you had to come all this way."

Amanda ignored him and looked at me. "Edward told me about last night. You have a temper, and I can understand that. Childless women are under a lot of pressure."

My mother's face changed. "Who's under pressure? My daughter is perfectly fine."

Amanda smiled with contempt. "Fine, after three years of marriage with nothing to show? The Bennett family has given her chances."

Edward set the fruit basket on the nightstand. "Mom, that's enough."

He finally spoke, but not for me.

"Emily, step outside with me," he said.

There was a window at the end of the hallway, the wind billowing the curtain.

Edward stood beside it, his tone softer than yesterday. "Your dad's case. I can have an assistant take a look."

He can have an assistant take a look.

Every word landed like charity.

"Why not you?" I asked.

He pressed his fingers to his brow. "I'm busy. I can't personally handle every small case."

"That 80,000 isn't a small case to my dad," I shot back.

"That doesn't change what the case is worth."

Sunlight fell across his face, handsome as a magazine cover. The city's top lawyer, a man who fought for strangers in court, could only calculate value when it came to my father.

"Edward, do you remember the first suit my dad bought you?" I asked.

He faltered.

The year he graduated, he had a law firm interview and nothing decent to wear. My father made two trips to the wholesale market and bought himself a navy suit.

It cost 290 dollars. My father made 900 a month back then.

Edward wore that suit to land his first job. At dinner afterward, he drank too much and hugged my father.

"Dad, once I make something of myself, I'll take care of you. I promise," he said.

Someone passed by in the hallway, and discomfort flickered across his face.

"Why dig up ancient history?" he snapped.

"Because you forgot."

I stared at him. "She cried, and you ache for her. My dad was down on the floor picking up his papers. Did you even see him?"

He said nothing. After a few seconds, he said, "She's an intern. Why stoop to her level?"

He'd said the same thing too many times.

When Chloe ordered a mango cake for our anniversary, he said she was fresh out of school and didn't know better.

When Chloe texted him late one night saying she was scared at the office, he left my bedside while I ran a fever because a young girl alone wasn't safe.

When Chloe dumped my mother's homemade chicken soup in the trash and complained about the smell, he said my mom shouldn't have brought food to the firm.

Every time, he told me to let it go.

My life had been ground into ash, one let-it-go at a time.

I rushed back to the room.

My mother stood blocking the bed, and my father's face was ghost white.

My father bent to gather the papers, his hands shaking badly. "She's not well. We'll treat it slowly."

My mother could barely stay on her feet. "We have never taken a cent from your family."

A crowd had gathered at the door.

My father's face flushed red, then purple, his lips trembling. He reached for the wage documents on the nightstand.

"We're not chaining anyone. I won't ask Edward for help. I'll find my own lawyer, and Emily doesn't owe you a thing, she..."

He never finished. His whole body pitched forward.

The monitor shrieked. The apple rolled across the floor.

My mother screamed his name. I lunged for the call button, missing it twice before my finger found it.

Doctors and nurses rushed in.

Edward stood in the doorway, and his face finally changed. He tried to enter, but a nurse blocked him. "Family members out."

In the chaos, Amanda was still muttering. "He was sick to begin with. Don't blame everything on us."

I turned and walked up to Edward.

He looked at me as if, for the first time, he didn't know what to say. "Emily, my mom didn't mean it."

Meant or not, the result was the same.

The light over the emergency room switched on. I stood under its red glow, cold to the bone.

Edward reached out to touch my shoulder.

I stepped back, raised my hand, and pulled the wedding ring off my finger.

"Edward, let's get a divorce," I said.