PART 2
It was nearly midnight when I crept downstairs for a glass of water.
The pain in my side had woken me, deep and burning, the kind that makes you hold your breath with every step.
The kitchen was dim, lit only by the small light above the stove. I filled my glass slowly, leaning against the counter.
I never heard her come in.
“So this is what you do at night,” Agnes said.
I turned.
She stood in the doorway in her robe, arms folded, her face hard in the half-light.
“I’m just getting water,” I said.
“Is that all?” Her eyes narrowed. “Or are you sneaking around texting my son behind our backs?”
My stomach dropped.
“I haven’t been texting him about anything.”
“Liar.” Her voice rose. “He called me yesterday. He said you sounded off. What have you been telling him?”
“Nothing. I told him I was fine.”
“You’ve been trying to turn him against us since the day we moved in.”
I stared at her.
“Agnes, I almost died. I just want to rest.”
Behind her, Chloe appeared from the living room, holding her phone, a lazy smile on her lips. She settled onto the sofa like she was about to watch a show.
“Here we go,” she muttered.
Agnes stepped closer. “You are selfish and ungrateful. We gave up everything to come here and help this family, and you lie around like a queen.”
“You haven’t helped me with anything,” I whispered. “You didn’t even visit me in the hospital.”
The words had barely left my mouth when I saw something change in her face.
Her eyes went hard and flat.
“How dare you talk to me like that in front of my daughter,” she hissed.
And she raised her hand.
I froze.
My back hit the counter. My hand flew to my side, protecting the stitches, my heart hammering against my ribs.
“Agnes, don’t—”
“I’ll teach you some gratitude,” she said.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
And then a voice cut through the dark.
“Mom.”
Just one word.
Low. Cold. Shaking with anger.
My eyes flew open.
Leo stood in the kitchen doorway, still wearing his travel coat, his suitcase abandoned somewhere behind him. His chest rose and fell like he had run all the way from the airport.
Agnes’s raised hand began to tremble.
She lowered it slowly, her eyes wide with shock. Chloe sat frozen on the sofa, her phone forgotten in her lap.
“Leo,” Agnes stammered, trying to pull herself together. “It’s not what it looks like. She’s just causing trouble.”
Leo ignored her, his attention fixed entirely on me.
He crossed the room in three long strides and rested a gentle hand on my shoulder, his eyes full of concern.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
I nodded, though I was nowhere near okay.
The pain in my side throbbed with every breath, a harsh reminder of how fragile I felt.
He turned back to his mother, his face hardening.
“I heard everything. I can’t believe you tried to hurt her.”
I would learn later that he had been standing in the hallway for almost ten minutes before he said a word.
Agnes pressed her lips together.
“She’s been trying to turn you against us, Leo. She’s selfish and ungrateful. We needed her here.”
Chloe, finding her voice, chimed in, “Yeah, she’s always acting like she’s the victim.”
Leo shook his head, disbelief written across his face.
“She just had surgery because she almost died, and neither of you even checked on her. I thought you were here to help, not make things worse.”
Agnes opened her mouth to protest, but Leo silenced her with a raised hand.
“I’ve been blind,” he admitted, turning back to me. “I’m sorry for not realizing sooner.”
I managed a weak smile, grateful he was finally seeing the situation for what it was.
“It’s not your fault, Leo.”
He drew a deep breath and faced his family again.
“I think it’s time for some changes around here,” he said firmly. “Starting with you both finding somewhere else to live.”
Chloe’s mouth fell open.
“What? You can’t be serious!”
Agnes’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re choosing her over your own family?”
Leo nodded, unyielding.
“Yes. Because she’s my wife and she deserves better than this.”
For a moment the room went silent, tension crackling in the air like electricity.
Agnes and Chloe exchanged a glance, then turned back to Leo, anger and betrayal mixed on their faces.
“This isn’t over,” Agnes warned, her voice low.
Leo met her gaze without flinching.
“It is for me.”
He turned back to me, his expression softening.
“Let’s go pack your things.”
With his arm around me, a new strength filled my body.
Together we climbed the stairs, leaving Agnes and Chloe standing in the wreckage of their own making.
Behind us, no one said a word.
