Chapter 2 — The Son Who Finally Chose His Wife
The silence lasted only a second.
My mother slowly released Anna's hair, as if nothing unusual had happened.
She even smiled.
"Oh, Daniel," she said softly. "Your wife insisted on helping me. She's so dramatic."
Anna lowered her eyes.
She didn't say a word.
Not because it was true.
Because she had learned that speaking only made things worse.
I walked straight past my mother and wrapped a blanket around Anna's trembling shoulders.
Her hands were almost purple from the freezing water.
Her feet were bare against the cold tile floor.
I gently lifted her chin.
"Look at me."
She hesitated before meeting my eyes.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't want you to find out like this."
That sentence broke something inside me.
She thought she had done something wrong.
I turned toward my mother.
"How long?"
"What?"
"How long have you been treating her like this?"
My mother's expression hardened.
"She exaggerates everything."
"I asked how long."
"For months," Anna answered quietly before my mother could speak.
"I cleaned every night after you fell asleep."
"I wasn't allowed to rest during the day."
"If I complained... she said she'd make sure our baby never knew peace."
I couldn't breathe.
Every late night at work.
Every business trip.
Every moment I believed everything was fine...
Anna had been living in fear.
My mother folded her arms.
"I was teaching her discipline."
"No," I replied.
May you like
"You were abusing my wife."
For the first time in my life, I watched confidence disappear from my mother's face.
