I had been gone for five days, but nothing prepared me for what I saw when I opened the door: my wife juggling dinner and our sick toddler, while my mother and sister sat nearby on their phones.

Melissa actually laughed once like she thought he was joking.

“Excuse me?” Patricia demanded.

“You heard me.”

“Ethan…” Lauren whispered nervously.

But he never looked away from his mother.

“You sat here while my wife carried this entire house by herself with a sick child in her arms,” he said coldly. “Leave.”

Patricia slowly stood.

“I am your mother.”

“And she is my wife.”

The words landed like a slap.

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Melissa scoffed loudly. “Wow. Gone for five days and suddenly you’re husband of the year?”

Ethan turned toward her immediately.