I bought a box of cherries, and my boyfriend exploded at me.
"Eat your damn cherries, why don't you just gorge yourself to death!"
"Cherries now, but after we're married, you'll get bird's nest soup and abalone."
"Don't come to my place this weekend. Go reflect on yourself."
But this box of cherries... I was planning to give it to his mom this weekend.
...
On the way back from shopping with Pierce Fletcher, we passed by a fruit store.
Since I was going to meet his mom this weekend and didn’t have many gifts prepared, I decided to pick out a few fruits.
There were kiwis, blueberries, and some other ones.
Before leaving, I grabbed a box of strawberries and cherries as well.
When we got to the checkout, I noticed Pierce's face darken visibly.
"Buying all this? Are you even going to eat it all?"
He frowned, looking me up and down, eyeing the gift boxes in my hands with suspicion.
"I’ll eat it all."
I remembered him saying that his mom had never had cherries before.
I wanted to surprise her.
So, I didn't say much and quickly paid.
On the way home, Pierce walked quickly with a stern expression.
"Why are you walking so fast?"
I was holding a bunch of fruit and struggling to catch up with him.
He didn’t respond, his eyes coldly scanning the fruit, and he quickened his pace.
When we got home, he slammed the door so hard it made me jump.
I had no idea what was going on.
Everything was fine just a moment ago, and now, after a quick trip to buy fruit, his mood had completely changed.
Noticing the fruit I had bought, I cautiously asked,
"Why the bad mood? How about… I wash some fruit for you to eat?"
"Eat your damn fruit!"
He was seething, his face dark with anger.
"Cherries over three hundred a box, and strawberries over a hundred! Just bought them without asking me—where do you think I am in all this?"
"Mara Hollis, have I spoiled you too much?"
"Over three hundred a box, not thirty. This is enough to feed me for a month in the cafeteria."
The more he talked, the angrier he got.
Grinding his teeth, he snatched the cherries from my hands and threw them on the floor.
Still not satisfied, he grabbed a box of blueberries and viciously threw it at me.
"Now you can eat cherries, but after we’re married, you’ll be eating bird’s nest soup and abalone."
"What kind of family can afford you wasting like this?"
"How can we live like this in the future if you’re so reckless?"
He looked at me coldly, his face set in stone.
"Don’t come see my mom this weekend. Stay at home and reflect on yourself."
With that, he left, slamming the door behind him.
The blueberries he threw at me rolled across the floor, scattering around my feet.
I stood there, staring at my red wrist from where he had grabbed me, my mind blank.
I couldn’t understand.
I make over seven thousand a month. I don’t have any debts, and I’m careful with my money.
I occasionally buy cherries, using my own money.
How did this become such a huge crime?
By the time the weekend came, I returned with breakfast only to find two extra people at home.
Pierce and his mother, Verna, were sitting on the couch, chatting with my mom, seemingly having a pleasant conversation.
When they saw me, Verna got up, enthusiastically took my hand, and smiled warmly.
"Mara, you're back?"
I was stunned, awkwardly pulling my hand away.
"Auntie, what brings you here?"
Earlier, because of the cherries, Pierce had gotten angry and stormed off.
He hadn’t come back for several days after that.
We lived in a company apartment that had been provided to us.
When we had been dating for a year, he begged me to move in with him.
I softened and agreed.
But now, he wasn't living there anymore, so I had returned to my own place.
