My Ex Is My Boss and He Wants Me Back Chapter 13

My Ex Is My Boss and He Wants Me Back Chapter 13

Ever since my husband and his mother found out I had coffee with my colleague, they’ve been treating me differently.

My husband, Brian Cole, slapped a bill against my face.

“Here, take this one hundred to buy groceries. My mother is coming over tonight, and I expect a proper dinner

on the table.”

“There had better be fish and shrimp. And make sure the pork ribs are stewed till tender.”

I pinched the bill between my fingers, my hand shaking.

The supermarket was packed. Shrimp cost thirty-eight a pound, ribs forty-five, and even a small freshwater

fish ran seventeen.

With just a hundred dollars, I couldn’t even afford onions after buying the meat.

He then set me up in the family group chat by “praising” me, thinking it would pressure me into delivering: [My wife is the best at managing the household-a hundred bucks can cover a whole feast.]

His mother, Margaret Cole, sent a voice message, “Don’t let her skim anything. Check the receipts.”

Six o’clock in the evening. Margaret arrived.

In the middle of the table was a bowl of plain boiled pasta without even sauce on it.

Brian slammed the table and shouted, “Where’s the fish? Where’s the meat? Did you give the money to your

lover?”

I ripped off my apron and threw it on the floor, “Expecting a lavish feast for a hundred bucks? This meal is

just right for feeding dogs.”

The veins on Brian’s forehead bulged, his face twisting, “Feeding dogs? Elowen, have you lost your mind?”

He jumped to his feet, arm raised, a slap aimed straight at my face.

I stepped back and stared at him coldly, “Go ahead. Touch me and see what happens.”

His hand froze in midair.

Margaret slammed her fork onto the table and began wailing, “Good lord, what did we do to deserve this? My son went and married a good-for-nothing, wasteful wretch!”

“Showing such disrespect to her husband, and now she has the gall to insult me to my face!”

“My son works himself to the bone to support this family. You flirt outside over coffee, then come home and

won’t even cook a decent meal.”

“This is simply unbearable!”

She cried as she spoke, stealing glances at Brian to gauge his reaction.

All because I had been discussing a project with a male colleague downstairs and she happened to see us.

By the time I got home, it had turned into ironclad proof that I was unfaithful.

“Elowen, I don’t hit women, but you went too far today,” Brian said through clenched teeth, pointing at the

bowl of pasta.

“One hundred bucks can’t buy real food in this city? Do you think we’re idiots?”

“You must have given the money to that other man!”

Margaret egged him on from the sidelines, “Brian, check her accounts. Drag that man out.”

I looked at the absurd pair of them and laughed despite myself.

“One hundred bucks? Brian, do you really not know what things cost now, or are you pretending to be

stupid?”

“Shrimp is thirty-eight, ribs forty-five. Even a slightly bigger fish costs twenty.”

“Do you want me to steal at the market, or go rob someone?”

He froze for a second, then flushed with rage.

“Shut up! How come other men’s wives can manage just fine on a tight budget? Why is it excuses after

excuses with you?”

“It’s because your heart isn’t in this family anymore.”

He stepped over the apron on the floor and closed in on me, reaching for my collar.

“Hand over your phone! I want to see your messages and your transfer records.”

“If you don’t explain where that hundred went today, this isn’t over.”

I slapped his hand away and looked at the man I had once loved, a hollow chill spreading through me.

We had been married three years. To protect his pride, I had never mentioned that I earned five times what he

did.

The mortgage, the car payments, utilities, and all bills were on autopay from my account.

His meager salary, aside from the occasional fruit, all went straight into his mother’s pocket.

And now, over one hundred dollars, he wanted to audit me.

“Brian, are you sure you want to check?” I asked, my voice flat. “You may regret it.”

He sneered, full of contempt, “Regret? What I regret is marrying a two-faced traitor like you!”

“Give him your phone!” Margaret chimed in eagerly. “Make this bitch show her true colors today!”

I took out my phone, unlocked it, and tossed it onto the table. “Go ahead.”

Brian shot me a suspicious look and grabbed it.

Margaret leaned in too, their heads pressed together, fingers flicking rapidly across the screen.