"Honey, I know you're good to me and the baby, but someone in this house clearly doesn't want us here. Maybe I should just leave."
James held Meryl securely in his arms. He didn't challenge me right away.
Instead, he put on the act of a dutiful son caught in the middle, carefully pleading with me to accept his wife and child.
"Mom, I know Meryl's background isn't great and you think she's not good enough for me, but we're in love. You have to learn to respect her. Give her a proper bride price so I can marry her with some dignity."
When something was so absurd it defied words, all you could do was laugh.
"I've said it before. When it comes to a daughter-in-law for the Sullivan family, I don't care about background, looks, or education. But there's one thing I won't compromise on: basic decency."
I glanced at Meryl and shook my head.
"Take a good look at what you brought home. Every other word out of her mouth is about money."
Meryl's eyes went wide the second she heard that. James tried to hold her back, but there was no stopping her. She flipped the table and jabbed a finger at my face, screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Pearl Abbott! No wonder you were widowed so young. God was punishing you! No man will ever want you for the rest of your miserable life. And your daughter's going to end up just like you, an old maid begging some deadbeat to take her in!"
"That's enough, Meryl. No matter what, she's still an elder. Watch your mouth."
James pulled her behind him, trying to figure out how to play peacemaker.
But before he could get a word out, I picked up a half-full bowl of hot soup from the wreckage on the floor and threw it straight in his face without blinking.
"Consider that a reminder. Bring trash into this house, and nobody's going to coddle you."
The greasy broth slid down James's fair skin, dripping one drop at a time onto his expensive tailored suit.
Even Meryl, who had been baring her teeth just moments ago, stood frozen with her hand clamped over her mouth, barely daring to breathe.
James forced down the rage boiling inside him and wiped the grease from his face, bit by bit.
Then he turned to me with an ingratiating smile.
But I was the only one who knew that beneath that smile, he was ice-cold to the bone.
"Mom, I can't help it if you don't like Meryl. But she's already my wife. We got our marriage license this morning. If hitting me and yelling at me makes you feel better, then your son will take it."
"The baby in Meryl's belly is your grandchild. Once the baby's born, I don't believe for a second you won't adore it."
"When that day comes, you'll be the one bending over backward to make nice with Meryl, apologizing to her. So why make things this ugly now?"
I sat with my arms wrapped around my knees and studied the man standing before me, so full of righteous conviction.
"Since you're married, that means you've started your own household. From now on, you'll support your wife and child with your own money."
"Butler, pack up the young master's belongings. And call the finance department at the company. Freeze every bank account under his name. He gets a hundred thousand dollars as a settling-in allowance. That's it."
Ever since James met Meryl, he had poured every ounce of himself into her.
At first, I had supported his freedom to love whoever he chose.
I had even taken the share transfer documents I'd prepared for him out of the safe before this meeting.
But Meryl, emboldened by her out-of-wedlock pregnancy, had walked through my door and immediately tried to lord it over me.
Well then. A daughter-in-law like that was more than I cared to deal with.
And the ungrateful son who'd turned his back on his own family? I was done with him too.
The next day, sunlight poured through the windows, and the house felt spacious again.
Madge and I headed to an antique restoration shop to pick up the Heirloom Locket that had been there for repairs the past two weeks.
"My sweet girl, you'll be heading overseas for school soon. Keep this gold locket with you at all times. Your grandmother left it for you. It'll keep you safe."
