Chapter 4
“I thought you had died somewhere,” Phillip muttered angrily.
I didn’t bother to argue with him. I had to prepare for my new job starting tomorrow.
Seeing that I wasn’t responding, he lost his temper instantly. “Blanca, look at what you’ve done! The house is a mess. I work hard to support this family so you can take care of things at home. But you can’t even do that well. What good are you?”
His words were accusatory, belittling me as if I were nothing. “Greta has been playing on her phone since she got home from school. Her eyes will be damaged. And she hasn’t written a single word of her homework! How does she expect to get into a prestigious middle school?”
Phillip threw a blank worksheet at me, visibly agitated.
Watching him panting and fuming, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Phillip’s face turned even colder. “What are you laughing at?”
“I thought you didn’t know! Huh, you do realize that staring at a phone hurts her eyes, and not doing homework will affect her grades?” ! sneered.
Phillip frowned, clearly not expecting such a direct rebuttal. He awkwardly scratched his nose. “Don’t give me that nonsense. You can’t just let Greta behave like this. You’re her mother. Don’t you feel guilty watching her fall apart? She means the world to you. You’ve vented your anger. Now it’s time to take responsibility”
With that, he plopped back onto the sofa, picked up his phone, and started scrolling through short videos, as if his words were an order to me.
I pulled out the agreement I had signed in the afternoon. “I’ve signed the agreement, and I intend to keep my word. Shouldn’t we set a good example for our daughter? Besides, if you care so much about her, why don’t you step in and manage her education?”
In my previous life, Phillip had always played the good cop to take all the credit when it came to disciplining Greta and left me to be the bad
guy.
Phillip snorted, “I’m exhausted from working every day. Can’t you handle things at home and educate her well?”
I slapped my job application in front of him. “Sorry, but I’ve gotten a job now.” And the salary was higher than Phillip’s.
Phillip was stunned, reading the application three times before accepting the reality that I had found a job. But he still wasn’t ready to give up. “Why do you need to go out and work? Don’t I earn enough to support the family?”
He had gotten some nerve to say that! He only gave me 2,000 dollars a month for living expenses, which included utilities, food, and even medical bills for his parents. It was already a blessing that I didn’t have to subsidize him every month.
I turned to question Phillip, “Would you be willing to stay home if I gave you 2,000 dollars a month?”
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Phillip smacked his lips. “Are you serious? How can a man quit his job to become a househusband? People would laugh at me. Besides, if you
go to work, who’s going to take care of Greta’s studies? She’s about to enter middle school, and this is a crucial time for her. Can you bear to see
her fail because of your absence?”
5:53 AM
<
He knew full well that Greta was my soft spot, but he didn’t realize how much I had changed. Now, disappointed and sober, I was determined to put myself first.
I pushed open Greta’s bedroom door. “Greta, you can ace your exams without my help, right?”
She didn’t even shift her gaze from her game. “I get top grades on my own merit. Whether you help me or not makes no difference. My teachers say I’m a genius. I’m definitely going to get into a prestigious middle school.”
Looking at her smug face, I almost burst out laughing. She was so naive and arrogant, and I couldn’t help but wonder where she got those
traits from.
