Chapter 4
For the first time since we got married, Liam had taken on household duties.
He cooked every meal, cleaned, and catered to Clara and Mia’s every whim, utterly oblivious to the rapidly dwindling food supplies.
Mia, being the spoiled child she was, soon began to pout and ask for snacks. When she couldn’t get any, she threw a entire meal Liam had just finished preparing.
knocking
over an
“I hate all of you! I don’t want dinner.
snacks!”
ension
Soup spilled everywhere, mixing with the in the air. Frustrated, Liam’s patience snapped.
He was about to scold her when Clara stepped in, shielding Mia like a fragile flower in the wind.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she whispered, “She has barely had any snacks. It’s my fault. I’m useless… I can’t provide for her. Don’t blame
Mia.”
Over these years, Clara had barely taken care of Mia. That task was basically mine and Liam’s.
Clara’s pale face and trembling lashes made her look every bit the tragic heroine. Liam fell for it instantly.
Liam panicked, wiping his hands on his apron. Instead of cleaning up the mess, he sighed, pulled her into his arms, and comforted her.
“It’s not your fault. None of this is. Mia’s just a kid; she doesn’t know better.“”
Then he added, his tone sharp, “If anyone’s to blame, it’s Jane. She should’ve been more considerate.”
Excuse me?
4
I wasn’t even there, yet somehow, I was the one at fault?
I didn’t like to eat or buy snacks, so Mia hardly liked anything Liam gave to Clara every day.
Liam had no problem taking credit for my efforts when they worked, but the moment something went wrong, I was his go–to scapegoat.
Truly, a match made in heaven. He and Clara deserved each other.
Just when I thought they couldn’t stoop any lower, Liam called me again.
His tone was arrogant and commanding. “Jane, get back here and figure something out! The kid needs snacks!”
Mia wasn’t even my kid. Why should I be worried?
Besides, if she couldn’t behave, just stop giving her food until she could.
I snorted, biting into another popsicle. “Why don’t you handle it yourself? I’m out of state, and it’s hot enough to kill someone out there.”
“Jane!” His voice rose in anger. “You’re so selfish! How can you be this heartless to a child? She’s just a kid, for God’s sake!”
I pulled the phone away from my ear. He was just too noisy.
What a lunatic.
“And you’re just a grown man,” I replied coolly. “Why don’t you go out yourself?”
“Are you crazy? It’s dangerous out there! You’re such a vicious woman!”
He snapped, then fell silent immediately.
Ah, so he did understand the risks.
Yet, in our past life, he hadn’t hesitated to send me out.
And when I returned empty–handed, he shut the door in my face because Clara was “worried about losing the cool air.”
In despair, I tried to go back to the police station for help, but the sun burned me alive before I could arrive.
At that moment, my heart sank to the bottom. I was utterly disappointed in him.
After I hung up, Liam fumed and stomped around the house. But with Mia crying for snacks, he had no choice but to barter with neighbors.
By the seventh day, with another week of heat left, some households had already run out of food.
Paranoia set in. People refused to open their doors to anyone.
Liam finally found one old man willing to trade, but at a steep
Price:
three days‘ worth of food for two bags of chips and a soda.
Left with no choice, Liam gritted his teeth and accepted the deal.
