Chapter 2
"Francis, almost all of that 420 thousand dollars came from me," I said.
"Actually, out of that 420 thousand dollars, 419 thousand dollars was what I managed to save over the past five years.
"Only 1,000 dollars was the extra bit from your year-end bonus last year," I added.
"Everything else? Every single penny was my hard-earned money."
I picked up the bowl of chicken he'd barely touched and turned to head for the open kitchen.
He grabbed my wrist from behind, his grip so tight it felt like he was trying to crush my bones.
"Sirena Glisson!" Francis growled through clenched teeth. "Do you really have to nitpick with me about all this?"
"Karen is my sister! How could I just stand by and let something happen to her?
"It was chaos back then. She was on her knees, crying like her world was ending. How could I just stand there and do nothing?"
I slowly turned around, my cold gaze landing on his face. His eyes were bloodshot—I couldn't tell if it was from stress or anger.
"She was kneeling and crying, and you pitied her so much you were ready to drain everything we had for her.
"And what about me?" I asked, my voice barely audible, completely devoid of emotion.
"Last winter, I was driving out to meet a client and got rear-ended. My forehead slammed into the steering wheel, and blood just kept pouring out. I called you, asking you to take me to the hospital.
"And what did you say? You told me you had an important presentation the next day, so I should just take a cab and not disturb your sleep.
"I was alone in the ER, got three stitches, on an IV drip all night until morning. You didn't even check in once."
Francis's grip on my hand loosened a bit, almost without him realizing it.
"That's... that's a whole different thing!" he insisted, trying to defend himself. "Karen owed money to those online loan sharks! Those collectors are ruthless—they're not afraid to get violent.
"Your accident was just a little fender bender. You could've just dealt with it yourself, right?" he added.
I nodded, as if I agreed with him.
"Yes, they're two separate things," I said.
"Your sister's trouble? That's a huge deal. Something that could cost a life.
"My issue? Just a trivial thing. Nothing fatal.
"So, for her, you can just take 420 thousand dollars out without even asking me first.
"But if I want to spend what's left in our account, I have to check with you first?"
I shook off his hand and walked into the kitchen, turned on the faucet, and let cold water rush over the bowl.
I put the bowl in the sink, squeezed some dish soap, and washed it.
Francis followed me in, leaning against the doorframe like a wall. He took a few deep breaths, trying to keep his anger in check.
"Fine, even if you wanted to spend money," Francis said, his words squeezed out through clenched teeth. "But what exactly did you do with over 900 thousand dollars?
"If you're going to move that much from our account, you could at least let me know, right?" he added.
"I'm your husband. Don't I have the right to know what's going on with our family's finances?"
I kept my back to him as I washed the dishes, the sound of running water and clinking dishes filling the silence.
"Did you ever bother to explain to me when you took 420 thousand dollars ten days ago?" I asked.
"You just tossed out a casual line before leaving, 'I'm going to the bank. Karen needs money urgently.'"
"I asked how much, and you said it was none of my business.
"Then you just walked out without so much as a glance back.
"Francis, did you ever actually give me this so-called right to know?"
The kitchen went quiet again, with nothing but the sound of water running.
"That's different!" Francis finally yelled, his voice booming in the empty kitchen. "That was an emergency! Someone's life was on the line!"
"So blowing through over 900 thousand dollars in ten days—was that some kind of emergency too? Seriously?" I retorted.
"What did you even buy? Where did all that money go?" Francis demanded.
I turned off the faucet, dried my hands with a towel, and turned to face him.
"I spent that money enrolling in some classes for myself—and taking care of a few things I needed."
"What kind of classes cost over 900 thousand dollars?" Francis sneered. "What, you signing up for some elite MBA at Ivy now?"
"I paid the full retainer for a divorce team and set up a plan to protect my assets.
"I also brought in a top financial advisor to go over our family finances from the past five years.
"And I prepaid for a year of therapy at a private clinic.
"Oh, and I got myself a new foldable phone—7,000 dollars.
"The rest went straight to my mom's account."
Francis just stood there, mouth hanging open, like he couldn't even process what I was saying.
"What... what are you even talking about?" he stammered.
"Divorce? Assets?" Francis stared at me, totally dumbfounded.
"Sirena, are you out of your mind?" he blurted out.
"I'm not crazy," I said as I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. I pulled a stack of papers from the coffee table drawer and handed them to Francis.