I looked at my husband.
“You knew about this?”
Nathan hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.Marriage
“You knew?”
“I knew Mom was angry.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
He looked away.
My chest tightened.
“You knew she was going to do this?”
“She said she wanted to teach you a lesson.”
“A lesson?”Pregnancy & Maternity
I could barely speak.
“She attacked me in my sleep.”
Nathan sighed.
“Don’t make it sound worse than it was.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“It was hair, Sofia.”
My mouth fell open.
He actually said it.How-To, DIY & Expert Content
“It was hair.”
I slowly looked down at the pieces covering my bed.
Three years.
That was how long I had been married to this man.
Three years of cooking meals I was too tired to eat.
Three years of working late.
Three years of paying bills.
Three years of listening to his mother criticize everything from the way I folded towels to the way I dressed for work.Hair Care
And now he was standing there telling me it was only hair.
Margaret folded her arms.
“Tomorrow, you’re going to your manager and handing in your resignation.”Pregnancy & Maternity
I thought I had misheard her.
“You want me to quit my job?”
“Yes.”
“My job?”
“The job that has poisoned this marriage.”Marriage
I almost laughed.
“My job has poisoned this marriage?”
“You are never home.”Hair Care
“I work.”
“You come home late.”
“Because I’m building a career.”
“A wife shouldn’t need a career more than she needs her husband.”
I looked at Nathan.
“Do you agree with her?”
He was silent.
“Nathan.”Marriage
He sighed.
“You’ve changed since the promotion.”
My heart sank.
“What promotion?”
“You know what promotion.”
“No. Say it.”
He looked uncomfortable.
“The director position.”
I swallowed.
“The position you were supposed to congratulate me for?”
Nathan looked at me.
“Congratulations.”
His voice was flat.
Something inside me went completely still.
Only hours earlier, I had been sitting beneath warm restaurant lights in downtown Seattle, surrounded by my coworkers.
Everyone had raised their glasses.
Everyone had smiled.
My boss had stood and announced that I had been promoted to Regional Sales Director.
The room had erupted.
People had hugged me.
Someone had ordered champagne.
My hands had trembled when I received the news.
I had worked for that promotion for years.
Long days.
Early mornings.
Weekend calls.
Airports.
Presentations.
Deals that almost collapsed.
Clients who demanded impossible things.
I had done everything.
And when I finally earned it, the first person I wanted to tell was Nathan.
I had imagined walking through the front door and finding him waiting for me.
I imagined him pulling me into his arms.
I imagined saying, “We did it.”
Because I had always believed my success belonged to both of us.
