Chapter 5

Olivia jumped in right away. "I'm talking about those postpartum meals I sent over. Didn't you say your wife couldn't eat much?

"I thought Claire couldn't finish all of it, so I brought some to you guys."

Eric let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, those. Mom said your fridge was too full and the food was going bad, so she wanted us to help finish it off."

I loosened my grip on the edge of the table.

Judging by the way Eric answered, it really didn't seem like he knew anything about it at first.

But then Eric chimed in again, "Arthur, don't get so worked up about it. Pregnant women eat something.

"Claire has already given birth, so skipping a couple of bowls of soup isn't a big deal."

Just as I started to relax, that breath got stuck in my chest again.

Arthur asked, "Do you even know she had a C-section seven days ago?"

Eric went quiet.

Arthur pressed on, "Do you know her mom spent an entire week making those soups, to nourish her and help her heal?

"Do you realize that for the past seven days, she's mostly been living on oatmeal?"

Eric sounded subdued. "I didn't know. Mom never told me."

Olivia got flustered. "Don't let Arthur make it sound so dramatic. It's not as serious as he's saying. Claire's fine. Look, she's sitting here fine, isn't she?"

Arthur said, "Eric, anything you haven't touched, send it all back.

"And for what you already ate, compensate Claire's mom for the cost of the ingredients and her labor."

Eric immediately got annoyed. "Come on, Arthur, that's a bit much. We're family, and you want to charge us for a few boxes of soup and even for the labor?

"Just because you're doing well now, you think you're better than us?"

Arthur didn't let Eric's words get under his skin.

"I'm not asking you to pay me back," he said. "I want you to pay the person who actually made those soups.

"Those weren't some family free-for-all. Those were life-saving meals a mother cooked for her own daughter, to help her heal."

As those words landed, the living room fell into a heavy silence.

I lowered my head, and my tears finally spilled onto the back of my hand.

Olivia saw it, but her expression stayed hard as stone.

She glared at me with pure resentment, as if I'd exposed her in front of everyone.

A woman's voice came through from Eric's side. "Who's that? Is that you, Arthur?

"Who's that?" she asked.

"There are still two boxes of soup left in the fridge. Didn't Mom say Claire wasn't into it?"

My fingers went stiff.

Olivia's face twisted all of a sudden.

Arthur's voice grew even colder. "Audrey, you're there too?"

Sounds like Audrey picked up the phone on the other end. "Arthur, it's me. I honestly had no idea those soups were made by Claire's mom.

"Mom told me Claire thought they tasted too fishy and wouldn't even take a sip.

"She also said they were taking up space in your fridge, and it'd be a waste to throw them out."

Olivia snapped, "Stop making things up."

Audrey was getting worked up on the other end. "Mom, I'm not making this up.

"You even said Claire was just being spoiled, and that eating oatmeal was plenty for her.

"You said as long as I ate those soups, they wouldn't go to waste."

The atmosphere in the living room froze solid.

I looked at Olivia. She was speechless, her lips trembling as she struggled to say anything.

Olivia was speechless, her lips trembling as she struggled to say anything.

Arthur's voice came through the phone. "Audrey, leave the last two boxes alone. Just send them back now.

"And for what you've already finished, I'll send Eric the bill."

Eric raised his voice. "Arthur, are you done yet? Are you seriously going to turn this into a feud between our families over a couple of boxes of soup?"

Arthur said, "I'm not the one making enemies here. It's the people who take what's not theirs and act like it's nothing."

Eric was so stunned, he couldn't get a word out for ages.

Olivia suddenly lunged at me, trying to snatch the phone.

I instinctively recoiled, and the chair legs screeched across the floor. A sharp pain shot through my incision.

Everything went dark for a moment. I pressed my hand to my stomach and almost collapsed to the side.

Arthur's voice came through the phone, suddenly urgent. "Claire."

Before I could say anything, I was already out of it.

At that moment, Sophia started crying in the bedroom.

I leaned on the dining table to keep myself steady, cold sweat trickling down my back.

Olivia's hand froze in midair. She must've been startled by how pale I looked.

But she still wouldn't back down. "I didn't touch you. Quit making it sound so serious."

Arthur's voice came through the phone, sharp and urgent. "Mom, keep your distance from her right now."

Olivia's face kept shifting between pale and furious red. "You're actually taking her side against me?"

Arthur replied, "I'm not yelling at you. "You're actually taking her side against me?"

I gritted my teeth and said, "Arthur, Sophia's crying."

Arthur's voice immediately softened. "Don't move. Let Mom bring Sophia over, or let her cry for a bit. You can't risk falling again right now."

Olivia stood there, not moving an inch. She looked like she was waiting for me to back down.

Sophia's cries grew more desperate. Every cry felt like little needles pricking at my heart.

Still holding onto the table for support, I tried to stand up.

Arthur's voice was tight with anger on the phone. "Olivia. If you want to keep your place in this family, go take care of the baby right now."

Olivia was so furious that tears welled up in her eyes. "Keep my place in this family? This is my son's house."

Arthur said, "The house is under both my name and Claire's. We're the ones covering the mortgage every month.

"You're my mom, and we respect you. But you have no right to bully my wife in our home."

Olivia looked like she'd been slapped in the face.