Receipt for a 50-50 Marriage

I begged my husband for weeks before he finally agreed to come with me to my prenatal appointment.

The whole time, he just stood there with his hands buried in his pockets, watching me coldly as I handled everything on my ownpaying the bills, checking in at the front desk, running around like crazy until I was completely overwhelmed.

The second I walked into the exam room, he vanished into thin air.

And to top it off, he took off in my car, leaving me to take the bus home by myself.

As soon as I got on the bus, my phone buzzed.

He'd sent me a screenshot of a receipt:

[Companionship fee: 50 dollars]

[Round-trip gas: 7 dollars]

[Total: 57 dollars]

There was also a voice message attached.

"Our marriage is strictly fifty-fifty. What does your pregnancy checkup have to do with me? Why should I give up my day off to go to the hospital with you?"

Listening to that icy message, I suddenly remembered the way he once got down on his knees in front of me, begging me to help pay for his education.

I was so angry, I just started laughing.

Fine then. If this was a fifty-fifty marriage, it was time to settle the score!

Chapter 1

I didnt hesitate. I sent Desmond Connerty the moneyexactly 57 dollars, not a penny more, not a penny less.

The second he got it, he fired back an I love you sticker.

Without changing my expression, I tucked my phone into my pocket and rested my head against the bus window.

Outside, the streets were bright and crowded with people going about their lives.

But inside, I just felt colder and colder.

By the time night fell, I finally made it homeexhausted, hungry, and frozen from the ride.

The moment I opened the door, the warm, rich smell of food hit me.

In the dining room, Desmond and his cousin Janet Connerty were eating steak off my gold-trimmed dinner plates and drinking my treasured bottle of Lafite.

The second Janet saw me, she quickly grabbed a plate of burnt stir-fried vegetables and said sweetly,

Amy, come try the dish I made for you! I know you cant handle greasy food while youre pregnant, so I made you something light.

Desmond immediately chimed in, all gentle and caring, Yeah, come on, try it. Janet made this herself. Even I dont get treated like this.

I ignored her completely and didnt bother hiding my eye roll.

Then I noticed the shattered pieces of embossed porcelain scattered next to the sink.

One look and my heart stopped.

Ignoring my eight-month pregnant belly, I rushed over to see what had happened.

The second Janet saw where I was looking, her face went pale. She hurried to explain, Amy, Im so sorry! I just thought it was so pretty and wanted to use it to serve you. I never meant to break it.

That was my handcrafted, gold-inlaid embossed porcelain platea collectors item worth over a thousand dollars.

And she just smashed it like that?

My heart sank looking at the pieces.

But Desmond immediately stepped in front of her and snapped at me, Its just a plate! Do you really have to make such a big scene over it? Janet almost burned her precious hair cooking for you, and thats all you care about?

Janet conveniently ducked behind him.

Watching the way he guarded her like she was something precious, I just laughed.

You left your pregnant wife alone at the doctors office and made me take the bus home in the cold, hungry and exhausted.

"You two stayed here eating steak and drinking wine, and the only thing you left me was a plate of burned vegetables.

And now youve broken my collectible worth over a thousand dollars. How exactly do you expect me to react?

Desmond froze. Clearly, he had no idea the plate was worth that much.

Peeking out from behind him, Janet spoke in a shaky voice. "Amy, please don't get upsetyou'll hurt yourself and the baby. I had no idea it was so expensive. I'll get a job tomorrow and pay you back."

As she spoke, tears started streaming down her face like she was the one who'd been wronged.

That was all it took for Desmond to soften. He put his arm around her shoulder, shot me a dirty look, and snapped, "That's enough. She's still in college. How's she supposed to actually go out and work? Remember last time she tried washing dishes and hurt her hands? Don't be unreasonable."

Oh, I remembered.

Last time she got a part-time job, she washed exactly two plates before "spraining" her wrist.

I was the one who covered her medical bills.

Watching the two of them like that made me sick to my stomach.

I couldn't take another second of it.

Without a word, I turned and went back to my room, slamming the door behind me.

Almost instantly, Janet's loud crying started up from the other side.

"Desmond, is Amy going to hate me forever? I really didn't mean to. I was only trying to cook her a meal."

Then came Desmond's soft, soothing voice.

"Don't cry, Janet. I'm here for you. I'll pay for it. Amy is just in a bad mood because of the pregnancy. You are loved by everyone. No normal person could ever dislike you."

Then his voice suddenly got louder.

"Unless that thing isn't human!"

A second later, my phone buzzed again.

Desmond had sent me 500 dollars.

Underneath it, a message: [Janet meant well. This is my sharesince we're splitting everything fifty-fifty. Take the money and buy yourself a new one.]

A fresh wave of nausea hit me, and I leaned over to throw up in the trash can.

Outside the door, Janet actually had the nerve to knock on my bedroom door.

"Amy, this is all my fault. But you're pregnantyou can't just not eat anything. Please come out and have a little something."

Just thinking about that plate of burnt vegetables made me feel even worse.

Fighting back the nausea, I shouted, "I'm not eating!"

Immediately, Desmond's voice boomed from the other side. "Eat or not, who cares? You're seriously pushing your luck!"

Then, his voice dropped back down to that soft, coaxing tone as he turned to Janet. "Come on, Janet. Just ignore her. Let her stay in there and sulk. Your cooking is delicious. Some people just don't know how to appreciate kindness."

Lying on the bed, listening to them through the door, I felt my heart turn even colder.

Desmond and I grew up together.

His family was always broke, and I used my own allowance to buy him better food more times than I could count.

When his family couldn't afford his college tuition, he actually got down on his knees in front of me and swore he'd treat me right for the rest of my life if I would just help pay for school.

And now? Less than a year into our marriage, he'd turned into someone I barely recognized.

Chapter 2

Right after we got married, Desmond proposed that we have a fifty-fifty marriage, where we went Dutch for all expenses.

At the time, I actually thought he was trying to make things easier on melike he didn't want me bearing the full financial burden.

But little by little, I started noticing how he'd constantly sweet-talk me into paying for everything.

"Honey, the house and the car are both in your name. I don't want people thinking I'm after your assets, so I'm afraid you'll have to cover those yourself.

"I know we're supposed to split everything evenly, but I really feel bad for you. How about we go half on the renovation costs and gas?"

He was always playing the victim while borrowing money from mefor his mother's surgery, for Janet's tuition, for their living expenses

But not once did he ever pay me back.

What was I supposed to think? That marrying him was my personal contribution to poverty relief for his whole family?

I was so angry I couldn't sleep the entire night.

Even the baby in my belly kept tossing and turning restlessly.

By the next morning, dark circles had formed under my eyes.

The moment I opened the bedroom door, Desmond rushed over to help me. The rich smell of beef noodle soup filled the whole house.

I was starving. For a second, I almost forgot how furious I'd been the day beforelulled by his gentle act and the delicious smell of the noodles.

Then he opened his mouth.

"Honey, the noodles cost a dollar, the beef eight dollars, scallions 10 cents, and I'll count the gas and water as a dollar. As for labor, let's just say 2.50 dollars."

"That's 12.60 dollars total. Don't forget to Venmo me."

I stared at him in disbelief, my grip tightening on the spoon in my hand.

And yet he kept going, laying out his twisted logic like it was the most reasonable thing in the world.

"Makes perfect sense, doesn't it? It took me a long time to cook this. I can't exactly work for free."

The longer I looked at him, the more like a stranger he became.

How had I never noticed before how completely shameless he was?

Furious, I threw the spoon straight at his face. It knocked his glasses right off and onto the floor.

"Desmond, do you seriously think I'm some kind of idiot you can take advantage of however you want?"

Humiliated and livid, he slammed his hand down on the table.

"What the hell are you talking about? How is this taking advantage?"

Cool as could be, I picked up a napkin, dabbed the corner of my mouth, and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh really? Then when exactly do you plan to pay me back for last yearthe tuition, the living expenses for you and your cousin, and your mother's surgery? The total comes to 260,000 dollars."

Desmond's eyes went wide. His face flushed bright red as he snapped, "What are you trying to pull, Amy? We're married. Do we really need to nickel-and-dime everything like this?"

"But you said we were to split everything 50-50," I replied slowly, enunciating every word. "Each person handles their own income and expenses. Isn't that what you said?"

Then I mimicked his usual innocent, pitiful tone.

"Besides, honey, what does your mom being sick have to do with me? Why should I be the one paying for her surgery?"

His face cycled through shades of green and pale with rage.

"You're being completely out of line."

With that, he stormed into the home office and started whispering with Janet behind the closed door.

"She's getting more and more out of control lately. She actually wants me to pay her back."

Janet lowered her voice too.

"Desmond, don't be too upset. Amy is just hormonal because of the pregnancy. How about I apologize and try to smooth things over?"

"Smooth what over?" Desmond shot back. "She's pregnant, not a queen."

The moment I heard that, my heart sank and a sharp pain twisted through my stomach.

Suddenly, I remembered the IOUs I'd kept in the bedroom.

Back then, Desmond had signed thempretending to keep his dignity while being flat broke.

But after searching the entire bedroom, I couldn't find them anywhere.

Just as I was about to go confront them, I realized they'd already left the house.

Not wanting to waste any time, I quickly got dressed and rushed over to Desmond's office to confront him.

"Tell me the truth. Did you take those IOUs?"

A flash of guilt flickered across his face, but he stubbornly refused to admit it.

I didn't bother arguing with him anymore.

Instead, I grabbed his phone and called Janet.

"Janet, let me ask you something. Did you go through my things in my room?"

Hearing how harsh my voice was, she immediately started sniffling again.

"No, Amy. I never go into your room. You don't allow it."

"You don't allow it?" I laughed coldly. "Since when have you ever cared about what I allow?"

Desmond shoved me aside and snatched his phone back.

"Amy, that's enough! Interrogating Janet like this in front of everyone at my officewhat are people supposed to think of her?"

My back slammed into the sharp corner of a desk behind me. Pain shot through my body so hard I gasped.

Watching him defend Janet like that made bitterness rise in my throat.

"Fine! You two are one happy family! And I'm just the outsider standing in your way!"

With that, I turned and walked away.

But I'd only made it a few steps when my legs suddenly gave out beneath me, and everything went black.

When I woke up again, I saw the IV needle taped to the back of my hand.

Weakly, I looked around the room.

Desmond was nowhere to be found.

One of his coworkers told me he'd already finished up his work and would be there soon.

So even his job came before me.

Tears slid silently from the corners of my eyes.

Just then, Desmond hurried into the room, plastering a concerned look on his face.

"Babe? Babe, what's wrong?"

When I refused to look at him, he immediately grabbed my arm and started shaking me hard.

The nurse quickly stepped in to stop him.

I opened my eyes and stared at him.

"I'll ask you one last time. Where are my IOUs?"

His face twisted with impatience.

"I told youI don't know! I don't know! I don't know! Why do you keep asking? You're so damn annoying!"

At that moment, Janet rushed in too, her voice dripping with fake sweetness.

"Amy, are you okay?"

The second I saw the LV bag hanging from her shoulderidentical to minea wave of hurt crashed over me.

"What IOUs?" I yelled. "The IOUs for all the money you borrowed from me to live the high life! The IOUs for the tuition you scammed out of me just to buy designer bags!"

Janet's face went pale instantly, and she guiltily hid the bag behind her back.

Without those IOUs, I really had become nothing but a fool throwing money away left and right.

Acting on pure instinct, I lunged at her, desperate to tear off that fake innocent mask she wore.

But Desmond stepped protectively in front of her.

"What the hell are you doing now? You're pregnant and still acting like a rabid dog, snapping at everyone!"

I had never seen such cruelty in him before.

In that moment, all the strength drained out of my body, and I collapsed back onto the bed.

Right before they wheeled me into the operating room, I vaguely saw Desmond holding Janet in his arms, softly comforting her.

"You've had a rough day. After she has the baby, I'll buy you another Herms."

"But Desmond, isn't it wrong to keep making Amy use fake stuff?"

"It's fine. She's old and used up by now. Why would she deserve something that nice?"

"Desmond, you're so good to me."

So every gift my loving husband had ever given me was fake.

But the ones he gave his cousin were real.

And he still expected me to go halfsies with him on the authentic price tags.

The grief was so overwhelming I felt like my heart might stop.

Chapter 3

When I opened my eyes again, my daughter was sleeping peacefully in the bassinet next to my bed.

Desmond crept quietly into the room.

"Babe, I was wrong. Can you forgive me?"

Then he grabbed my hand.

"Look, you gave us such a beautiful little girl! How about I treat you to a real Herms bag?"

Even now, he was still trying to manipulate me.

I coldly pulled my hand away.

"Desmond, I want a divorce."

But he refused to let it go.

"You want a divorce over something this small? We have a daughter now! What about her?"

His voice got louder and woke the sleeping baby.

Hearing the commotion, a nurse hurried in and picked up my crying daughter.

"No shouting in the recovery room. The baby needs to go for her checkup now."

Desmond shifted uncomfortably next to my bed.

"Amy, you're really divorcing me over such a little thing?"

I replied slowly, emphasizing every word. "A debt must be paid. That's just basic decency."

He immediately exploded like someone who'd been caught red-handed.

"We're family! Why do you always have to nickel-and-dime everything? You just look down on me for being poor, don't you? You money-hungry gold digger!"

I laughed, so angry I could barely speak.

"Me? A gold digger? I supported you. I even supported your precious cousin!"

At that moment, Janet crept timidly through the doorway.

"Desmond Amy If you two are getting divorced because of me, I'll pay back the 260,000 dollars."

I shot her a cold look.

"With what? The real LV bags you stole from me?"

That shut her up instantly. Her eyes filled with tears.

And just like always, Desmond immediately stepped in front of her.

"Since when did you get so nasty? Picking on a young girl like thisyou should be ashamed of yourself!"

I was too exhausted to keep watching their disgusting little act.

I grabbed my IV pole and chased them both right out of the room.

But not long after, Desmond came back carrying a bag of cheap baby formula and diapers.

"Babe, don't divorce me. From now on, I'll pay for the baby's formula and diapers myself. No more splitting it with you. Consider it my punishment, okay?"

I grabbed the bag of junkworth maybe forty bucksand hurled it at him, screaming at him to get out.

He jumped back so fast not a speck of formula even touched him.

By then, a crowd had gathered outside the room, pointing and whispering.

He rushed back in and grabbed my hand tightly.

"Amy, what do you even want from me?"

I struggled with everything I had but couldn't break free from his grip. My face twisted in pain.

"What do I want?"

"I already told youI want a divorce, and I want my money back!"

"260,000 dollars, Amy!" he shouted. "Even if you sold me, I wouldn't be worth that much!"

"Then go sell yourself!" I screamed back. "I don't care how you get the money. Sell a kidney, sell your liver, become a gigolo for all I care!"

Desmond completely lost it.

He raised his hand like he was about to hit me.

I immediately shoved my face toward him and sneered.

"Go ahead. Hit me. Let's see if you have the guts."

We stayed locked like that for nearly thirty seconds.

Finally, he slowly lowered his hand.

"Please, Amy. At least think about our daughter."

I cut him off immediately.

"What do you mean our daughter? She's my daughter. You didn't spend a single cent or lift a single finger."

Just as he opened his mouth to argue back, my phone started ringing nonstop.

It was the police.

"Hello, are you a family member of George Patterson and Celeste Wilburn?"

"Yes."

"They were involved in a traffic accident at an intersection. They're currently being transported to Geolser Hospital."

My mind went blank with a deafening buzz.

Geolser Hospitalthe same hospital I was already in.

I ran out like a woman possessed.

Desmond froze for a second, then ran after me.

By the time we got to the emergency room, my parents were still in surgery.

The officer told me a driver had run a red light and slammed straight into their car.

My whole body turned ice cold. I collapsed weakly onto the floor.

Desmond carried me to a bench.

For once, he didn't mention splitting costs or going fifty-fifty.

He just silently patted my back.

Leaning against his shoulder, I actually felt a flicker of warmth.

Nobody knew how much time passed before the doctor finally came out and shook his head at us.

"I'm so sorry. We did everything we could."

My vision went black. I hit the floor again and lost consciousness.

When I woke up again, I was back in the hospital room.

Desmond was sitting by my bedside. He immediately stood up.

"Babe, you're awake."

I stared blankly at the ceiling.

I wanted to speak, but my throat was so raw I couldn't make a sound.

"I've already taken care of your parents' funeral arrangements."

I closed my eyes and weakly squeezed his hand, desperate for even the smallest bit of comfort.

Over the next few days, Desmond pushed me around in a wheelchair while I said goodbye to my parents one last time.

Janet stayed busy the whole time too, helping out wherever she could and acting incredibly sweet and devoted.

The day after the funeral, Desmond handed me an itemized bill.

"Amy, this is the cost of your parents' surgery and all the funeral expenses. The total comes to 25,200 dollars. I'm not charging you for my own time, but you should give Janet 750 dollars for hers."

My heart clenched so hard I could barely breathe. My whole body shook with rage.

Fine. Then let's settle every single account. Once and for all.