Chapter 1
PART 1:
“Stop crying and clean it.”
Teresa hurled the dirty pan into the sink so hard the whole kitchen rang.
Brown water splashed up from the basin and hit Emily across the chest.
She flinched.
One hand flew to her eight-month belly.
The other grabbed the edge of the sink before her knees could give out.
Behind Teresa, Ethan’s sisters stood near the island with folded arms and disgusted faces.
Pizza boxes covered the counter.
Half-empty soda cups sat on the table.
Greasy plates were stacked beside bowls of dried sauce and forks crusted with food.
One of the sisters had her phone raised.
Recording.
Emily’s breath came fast.
Her lower back was screaming.
Her swollen ankles trembled beneath her.
But she still tried to stand straight.
“I’m eight months pregnant,” she said, her voice weak but clear.
Teresa laughed.
Not loud.
Worse.
A quiet, cruel little laugh that made the others smile.
“Pregnant women have been cleaning houses since the beginning of time,” Teresa said. “You’re not special.”
Emily blinked through tears and looked around the kitchen.
At the mess she had not made.
At the pizza boxes Ethan’s sisters had left behind.
At the soda spills on the floor.
At the pans Teresa had used and dumped beside the sink.
At the living room beyond the doorway, where blankets, shopping bags, makeup, and dirty laundry covered every chair.
Emily slowly lifted one shaking hand and pointed.
“They made me clean everything.”
That was when a voice came from the kitchen doorway.
“Emily?”
Everyone froze.
Ethan stood there.
His travel bag still hung from one shoulder.
His suit jacket was open.
His face had gone completely still.
Not confused.
Not tired.
Still.
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Like something inside him had shut down to keep from exploding.
👉 But when Emily turned toward him, the pain in her body proved this was no longer just about dishes…
