"How many times do I need to remind you that you can't use my card anytime you want!" Mr. Stewart angrily screamed at his face as soon as he stepped into the living room.
He was stunned at their sudden reaction, holding the shopping bags firm as we walked to the center.
He was Drew Chestnut, the good-for-nothing son-in-law of the Stewart family. He was dressed in a roughly patched jean trousers, worn out t-shirt with his unkempt hair oozing a displeasing scent.
"Well… my wife wanted the latest handbag in the first row of DREAM MALL. I don't have enough money to afford it, so I had to use the family funds." Drew explained to them meticulously and Mrs. Stewart immediately jumped off her seat.
"How bold!" She yelled at his face.
"Do you think you have that right?" She hissed in disgust and faced her husband.
"Take a look at this fool that we picked and groomed, he now have a voice?" She commented rhetorically.
"I'm sorry…" that was the only statement that escaped from his mouth.
"No, don't be. Don't be sorry because my $100 million has a purpose. Before my mother's seventieth birthday, you must provide both that money and a reasonable gift, else the punishment that will befall you, will be more than you think!" Mr. Stewart threatened him in fury, giving him a dirty look before storming to his room.
Drew's face was buried on the floor. He couldn't tell the wrong thing he had done. Did they expect someone like him - who had no job to tend to their flashy daughter's needs?
When they got married, things were a bit fair but after he lost his job and was framed for theft, he had nothing to do, no company could accept him because he had no good recommendation.
He advanced to the stairs when his mother-in-law called his attention.
"Where do you think you are heading to, you goose?" She asked, darting her eyes at him.
"I… I wanted to drop this in my wife's room and check if she's back." He muttered.
"Finally lost your voice, huh?" She asked, wiggling a brow filled with mockery.
She crossed her arms, still staring at him. "Well, Diane isn't as jobless as you are to stay home all day!" She added curtly.
"Mother, I don't know how I offended you but if I did, please I'm sorry." He had to apologize because he couldn't tell where the cold shoulders were coming from.
Just one year ago, he lost his job and their attitude changed towards him. He had tried his best to please them but they ended up giving him unfair treatment.
"I'm not and will never be your godforsaken mother." She rolled her eyes.
"Before I get confused, get into the kitchen and wash those dishes. I don't want to see you out until that kitchen is squeaky clean." She instructed him arrogantly and he scoffed, looking confused.
"What about the maids?" He asked, raising an anxious brow.
"Are you any different from them? C'mon, move along," with that, she headed to the master bedroom.
Drew looked at the shopping bags in his hands and back at the stairs, with a deep sigh, he went to the kitchen.
They might starve him and he didn't want to risk that.
Sitting on the bed in the luxurious bedroom, Diane smiled over the phone and cleaned her nails. She was a bit closer to the vanity table so she leaned on it. It was their matrimonial bedroom. Just then, Drew walked in with a tray of fruits and juice in his hands.
"Let me call you back, sweetie. Some junk is beside me and I don't want it to stink around us." Diane and the caller laughed as the call ran into a beep.
Still wondering if he was the one she was referring to as a "junk," his eyes dropped at her phone screen - only to see the name of the caller. "My love" with some romantic emojis around it.
Diane had never saved his name this lovely before, maybe in their first year of marriage, she did but when the money stopped coming frequently as it did, her manner of approach and everything changed.
"What are you doing here?" Her uninterested and disgusting voice filled the room as she gave him a boring stare.
He cleared his throat nervously, no doubt, he still loved her.
"I…I heard you had a rough day so I brought you some fruit and juice." He said.
"Is that the problem at hand?" She turned to him properly. "When do you intend to get a job, fool? I mean it's already a year plus or so. Do you intend to keep eating my parents' money?" She asked him, already infuriated.
"I already told you my predicament, babe. Until I get a recommendation letter from your father, I .. I don't think I can get a job." He reminded her politely and she rolled her eyes at him from his head to his toes.
"And why should he recommend you when you are a good-for-nothing? What can you even do other than serving people and being under us?" Her words were aching his heart but he tried to repel it and took it as an aggression because of their current status quo.
"Diane…" He trailed off.
"Believe me, you disgust me and I really don't think I can continue being with you." Her voice came up again.
"Is it because of money?" He asked anxiously.
"No, you look dirty and believe me, tonight, I can't share the bed with you." She stood firm in her statement.
"Not just tonight, this has been going on since I lost my job, Diane, what do you want from me?" He was frustrated.
"Get these fruits and yourself out of this room, you useless man. Why do you always want to remind me of my miserable life?" She raised her voice in anger, pushing the tray away from her side.
The tray fell on the floor, spilling the fruits around while the plates broke into pieces.
"What the fuck is going on here?" The cold masculine voice of a familiar figure filtered in the room as Drew shivered in shock.
He was another nightmare for Drew…