Chapter 2 - The Plate on the Floor
Ryan arrived home angry.
He complained that the chicken was cold, the potatoes were dry, and Chloe had taken the seat he preferred. Emma initially assumed he had experienced a difficult day at work.
Then he looked at her and said, “A wife should know how to make her husband comfortable.”
Emma placed her fork down.
“A husband can also reheat his own dinner.”
Chloe stopped eating.
Ryan’s expression became dangerously calm.
He asked Chloe to leave the room, but she remained seated.
“I said leave.”
Chloe immediately stood.
Emma looked between them.
“She hasn’t finished eating.”
Ryan ignored her. He reached for Chloe’s plate and pushed it across the counter. The plate struck a glass, spilling food and water across the marble.
Emma rose from her chair.
“That was unnecessary.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“You embarrassed me at my office today.”
Emma remembered the brief conversation. One of Ryan’s colleagues had asked how they met, and Emma had jokingly corrected Ryan when he changed part of the story.
“That was a joke,” she said.
“You made me look like a liar.”
“You were telling the story incorrectly.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Ryan’s hand moved.
Emma did not fall, but the shock silenced the room.
Ryan stared at her as though she had caused it.
“Look what you made me do.”
Chloe began crying.
Ryan ordered Emma to clean the kitchen and prepare another plate for his sister. He spoke as if nothing important had happened.
That coldness broke something inside Emma.
She picked up the dinner plate, slid it across the island, and watched it crack against the edge.
“I didn’t make you do anything.”
For the first time, Ryan seemed to understand that she was not going to apologize.
May you like
Emma reached for her phone.
Chloe reached it first.
