"The parent-child field day is something your daddy should go to with you. If your uncle goes instead, your daddy will be upset!"
Silas immediately shot me a look of disgust.
"I don't want him there. He only makes ten thousand dollars a year. When my classmates ask, I'm too embarrassed to even say it!"
So in my own son's eyes, my job was nothing but a source of shame.
My mother-in-law chimed in:
"You graduated from a top university and you work at a bank. If you go to the field day for Silas, even his teachers will think more highly of him. Just go. Lucas won't mind!"
I turned to look at Leona, sitting motionless on the couch.
Her son and her mother were talking about me like this. As my wife, shouldn't she stand up and say something on my behalf?
If she would just speak up for me, then I...
Leona stood and walked over to me. She cupped my face, her voice soft:
"Come on, stop making a scene."
"See? It's not just me who thinks you can't measure up to Herman. Children are the most honest people there are. You should believe what your own son says, right?"
"But don't worry, we're not looking down on you. As long as you treat Herman better from now on and stop picking fights with him, we can still forgive you!"
Words dressed up as grace, but every syllable cut like a dull blade dragged across my heart.
Something inside me snapped. I shoved Leona away and slammed the divorce papers into her arms.
"This marriage is over!"
The force of my push sent Leona stumbling back a step, straight into my father-in-law's fish tank.
A deafening crash.
The tank shattered on impact.
The golden arowana inside, the fish my father-in-law pampered like a firstborn son, flopped onto the floor.
It thrashed twice out of the water, then went still, suffocating on open air.
My father-in-law had been mid-feeding when it happened. The look on his face was pure anguish.
His palm cracked across my face before I could say a word.
"All this because Herman ate your damn fruit the other day? You come out here first thing in the morning looking for a fight!"
"And now you've killed my fish! Do you need every single person in this family to be miserable before you're satisfied?"
"You want a divorce? Fine! Let's see if a man in his thirties with nothing to his name can find anyone willing to marry him after my daughter!"
I hit the floor. My palms landed on broken glass, and blood ran between my fingers.
Amy had already pulled Silas and Herman behind her, shielding them, keeping them as far from me as possible.
Leona's back had struck the tank frame hard; her brows were drawn tight with pain.
Every one of them looked at me like I was the lunatic. Like I was the one being unreasonable.
Ten years of marriage, and in that moment the whole thing struck me as nothing but a grotesque joke. I clenched my jaw, glaring at all of them through the blood and the broken glass.
Amy was the first to soften. She stepped forward, brushed my arm, and spoke in that gentle, coaxing tone she saved for moments like this:
"Honestly, what's gotten into you? It was just a piece of fruit. Was it really worth all this?"
"You're an orphan, Lucas. No parents, no family of your own. If you leave us, where would you even go?"
"You've been married to Leona for ten years now. She's about to be promoted to department manager. Even if she said the wrong thing, is that really worth blowing up your whole marriage over?"
"Here, let's say it was my fault. I didn't raise my daughter right. I'm apologizing to you. I'm sorry. Is that enough?"
She even bowed toward me as she said it.
But before her head had dipped more than an inch, Leona caught her by the shoulders and pulled her upright.
"Mom, don't you dare bow to him. If he wants a divorce, let him have it!"
That was when Herman stepped forward too.
"Lucas, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have eaten the fruit you bought last time."
"Please don't fight with my sister anymore. As long as the three of you stay together as a family, I'll move out and rent my own place!"
