Besides, that so-called company of his. It only burns money and never makes profit. Truly, it’s better off going bankrupt sooner rather than later.
Before I could even get a word in, Leon hung up on me with a loud click.
That evening, back in the tiny rental apartment, I was putting my baby to sleep while trying to figure out if this marriage was even worth holding on to anymore.
Leon and I have had our fair share of fights over the years, plenty of yelling and arguing—but he never laid a hand on me. Until today. He hit me. In public.
Everyone says, if it happens once, it’ll happen again. Moreover, when someone like Gwendolynwas constantly whispering poison in his ear…
As I was lost in thought, Casey reached out her tiny hands, seemingly asking for his dad. Looking at her innocent little face, I just couldn’t bring myself to make any decisions. Not yet.
So the day changed. Soon as I got to work, something felt really, really, off.
I noticed coworkers whispering behind my back. The moment I got close, they scattered. The way they looked at me—like I was some kind of walking headline.
Just then, a familiar voice burst into tears in the manager’s office. "Please, you’ve got to help me! My daughter-in-law hasn’t come home in three days! She has all our money—we don’t have a cent left at home!"
"I know I was wrong. Let her yell at me, hit me, kill me even—just please, don’t punish my son like this..." and so the sobbing continued.
I could hear our manager in the office trying to calm my mother in-law down in between sobs.
Outside, my coworkers were murmuring among themselves. My mind went completely blank, a loud ringing in my ears as the whispers grew louder.
Then, Gwendolyn saw me. She rushed over—and with a loud thud, dropped to her knees right in front of me.
Without much pause, she started banging her head on the floor, over and over again. The sound alone made the crowd of onlookers shrink back in shock.
“Carol!” she cried out, “I’m begging you! I’ll get on my knees if that’s what it takes—just forgive me, please!”
“It’s my fault for not raising Leo right. Yell at me, hit me if you want, but please, don’t make my son suffer like this!”
“We don’t even have money for food anymore! Leo and I haven’t eaten all day. I’m begging you—have some mercy and give the money back to Leo!”
The crowd broke into a frenzy of whispers.
“Oh my god… I always thought Carolyn was so kind and quiet.”
“Yeah, can you believe it? Won’t even give her in-law money for food and she's helping her raise her kid? Wow, never thought she’d be that kind of person…”
I stood frozen, staring at Gwendolyn groveling at my feet, her forehead red from all the bowing, the office now filled with murmurs and side-eyes.
Fury welled up in my chest, but I couldn’t say a word to defend myself. For one, I’d never talked about my personal life at work. No one here had the faintest idea what really went on behind closed doors.
Second, never in my imagination Gwendolyn would show up at my working place, out of nowhere, flipping the truth on its head and turning me into the villain in front of everyone.
“Carol,” my manager walked over, frowning. “Is your in-law telling the truth? And, you really shouldn’t be so hard on your husband too, you know. Just give your mother the money, alright? This scene is making everyone uncomfortable.”
I bit down hard on my lip, trying to hold back the mix of anger and helplessness that was threatening to spill out as tears.
“I don’t have any money left,” I said through gritted teeth.
After paying the rent and the nanny’s wages, what did they think I had left?
Honestly, there’s food at home—rice, vegetables. There’s no way they’re actually going hungry.
Still, the whispering around me didn’t stop.
“Seriously? Carolyn makes more than I do. And didn’t her mother just say her son gave all his money to her?”
“Unbelievable… that old woman'’s literally bleeding from her forehead and Carolyn still won’t give her a dime. How cold-hearted.”
Gwendolyn didn’t say more, she continued knocking her forehead on the floor and cried like her whole world had fallen apart. She looked so pitiful, anyone passing by would've thought I was the villain in some family tragedy.
In the end, my manager sighed, pulled a thousand dollars from his own wallet and handed it to her. Then he turned to accounting and said, “Deduct it from Carolyn’s paycheck next month.”
After we finally got Gwendolyn out of the office, I was still seething inside. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t calm down.
I called Leon the second I stepped outside. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I snapped. “You let your mother show up at my job and cause a scene like that? Do you realize how badly that affected me at work? What were you thinking?”
Leon let out a cold laugh. “She’s got legs—how was I supposed to stop her?” he said casually. “Besides, you’re the one making money and not giving us any. Whether you lose that job or not—it doesn’t affect me at all.”
