3
The words had barely left my mouth when Cassandra shoved me, her face contorted with rage. My lower back slammed into the
sharp corner of the dining table, and a jolt of white–hot pain made me break out in a cold sweat.
“Daniel, what the hell do you think you’re saying?” she hissed. “I ask you to make one meal, and you give me this attitude?”
I clenched my jaw against the pain, saying nothing. In her eyes, my silence was defiance.
Scott chimed in from the couch, his voice dripping with venom. “See, Cassie? I told you. Daniel can’t stand me. Every time you ask him to do something for me, he throws a fit. If he were really my brother–in–law, you’d probably have to kick me out of the house.”
At that, something in Cassandra snapped. Her eyes blazed. She grabbed my arm and dragged me into the kitchen, throwing me against the counter. Her face was a cold, merciless mask.
“If you don’t cook what Scott wants to eat tonight, you can spend the night in here.”
Slam.
The kitchen door shut.
it was already bruising, and where my elbow had hit the corner of the stove, the skin had broken. I could see b
blood welling
My wrist
up
A moment later, I heard Scott’s delighted laughter from the other room.
Cassandra came back in. Seeing me standing motionless, her brow furrowed. “Daniel, are you deliberately trying to defy me? You’re his brother–in–law! What’s the big deal about making him a meal?
I straightened up slowly, lifting my head to meet her gaze, a sneer playing on my lips. “Did you forget? We’re divorced. That title doesn’t apply to me anymore.”
A flicker of embarrassment crossed her face. She cleared her throat, then softened, wrapping her arms around me in a gentle hug. Her voice was a low, soothing murmur. “I lost my temper just now. But I told you, this is just temporary. As soon as Scott’s feeling better, we can get remarried anytime. Don’t be angry over such a small thing.”
She pressed a piece of paper into my hand–a list of dishes. Her expression turned serious, a subtle warning in her eyes.
“I’m giving you a chance here. If you can make Scott happy, we can get remarried that much faster. Just be good, Daniel. Please.”
She left, closing the kitchen door behind her..
A wave of desolation washed over me. When had our marriage, our life, become such a “small thing” in her eyes?
And she wanted me to please Scott?
I’m sorry. I couldn’t do it
I’d rather sleep on the cold kitchen floor.
I sank to the ground, leaning my back against the cabinets, and closed my eyes. I must have dozed off, because the next thing I
knew, an icy shock jolted me awake.
I opened my eyes to see Scott standing over me, a wicked grin on his face, an empty basin in his hand. A puddle of freezing water
was spreading across my clothes and the floor.
“Scott, are you insane?
He tossed 1
the plastic basin at me. The rim caught me squarely on the forehead.
“I asked you to cook, not to take a nap, Daniel! You think a pathetic loser like you deserves to marry Cassandra? Dream on
Rage, pure and hot, surged through me. I grabbed the basin he’d thrown and hurled it back at him with all my strength.
Scott shrieked. He dodged the basin itself, but the remaining water splashed all over him..
Hearing the commotion, Cassandra burst in She took one look at the soaked and sputtering Scott and, without a second thought, grabbed me by the collar.
“Daniel, have you lost your mind? Who gave you the nerve to hurt Scott?”
She was pulling so hard, her face a mask of fury, that I thought she would rip the fabric. I had to rise onto my toes just to breathe, craning my neck to get the words out.
“He threw water on me first! He hit me with the-”
1100
My words were cut off as her eyes widened, flashing with a cold, brutal light.
“You deserved it!” she snarled. 1 asked you to do one simple thing–make dinner–and you defy me? You’re lucky Scott was merciful enough to only throw cold water on you. If it were me, I’d have thrown you out on the street!”
