“I got a raise,” she said calmly. “And I got a new card.”
Alex stared at her as if she had just announced she was an alien.
“A raise? What raise?”
“I was appointed key account manager. I now earn thirty percent more.”
For a moment, Alex froze, processing the information. Then his eyes narrowed.
“And you kept quiet. Hid it on purpose.”
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Lily lied, rocking Cheryl, who was beginning to calm down. “I wanted to make us all happy.”
“A surprise.” Alex took a step toward her. “Then why couldn’t Mom withdraw the money? Why is the card blocked?”
“I got a new one,” Lily repeated. “The old one doesn’t work anymore.”
“Where’s the new card?” Alex demanded. “Give it here.”
“Mom’s already getting ready to go shopping. Her friends are waiting.”
Lily put the now-sleeping Cheryl back in the crib and firmly closed the nursery door. Then she turned to her husband.
“I have a new card and I’m not going to give it to you.”
Alex stared at her as if she had suddenly started speaking a foreign language.
“What do you mean you’re not going to give it? Are you out of your mind?”
“We’ve always done it this way. Mom used to allocate your salary for the family’s needs.”
“For the family’s needs,” Lily repeated quietly.
“Alex, let’s be honest. Your mom spends my money on herself.”
“New cream, dinners with her friends, clothes—all of that is for her, not for us.”
“I wear hand-me-downs and can’t even buy myself new shoes because I never have any money left.”
“Mom takes care of us,” Alex objected.
“She cooks, cleans, and so do I,” Lily interrupted.
“I work full-time, cook, clean, and take care of the child. But somehow my salary counts as family money, and your earnings are just yours.”
“You never account for where you spend your money.”
Alex’s face turned even redder.
“I’m a man. I provide for the family.”
“No, Alex.” Lily felt a strange calmness. “I provide for the family. My salary is higher than yours.”
“We pay the rent, buy groceries, and clothes with my money.”
“And your money? I don’t even know what you spend it on.”
“That’s audacity.”
Alex exploded and jumped up close to her.
“You’ve forgotten your place, Lily. Give me the card immediately.”
“No.”
This simple answer seemed to shock both of them. Lily herself hadn’t expected to be able to stand so firmly against her husband. Something had changed in her over these six months of fighting for a raise. She was no longer the quiet, submissive woman who obediently handed her salary to her mother-in-law.
Alex wasn’t used to resistance. His face twisted with rage.
He grabbed Lily by the hair and yanked sharply.
“Where’s the card?” he growled.
Pain shot through her head, but Lily didn’t scream. She silently wrenched free from his grip, leaving a few strands of hair in his hand.
“Don’t you dare touch me,” she ground out through her teeth. “Never again.”
Her voice was so cold and decisive that Alex froze for a moment. Taking advantage of his hesitation, Lily quickly went into the bathroom and locked the door.
Her heart was pounding like crazy.
What had she done? What would happen now?
Outside the door, Alex pounded his fists on the wall and shouted, “Come out immediately. You will give me the card anyway. Mom is waiting.”
Lily remained silent.
She took out her phone and opened her banking app. She transferred part of the money she had just received to a new account she had recently opened at another bank—just in case her intuition hadn’t failed her.
Gradually, Alex’s shouting quieted. Lily heard the front door slam. He had left. Probably to explain himself to his mother.
She had a little time to think.
Gloria paced around her apartment like a caged tigress.
“Can you imagine?” she stumbled, searching for a harsher word. “That sly girl hid her raise from us. Got a new card.”
“This is outrageous.”
Alex sat on the couch, his hands on his head.
“She’s changed, Mom. She used to be so obedient, and now she said she won’t give the card.”
“And you let her talk to you like that?” Gloria waved her hands. “I didn’t raise you like that.”
“A man should be the head of the family.”
“I tried,” Alex replied grimly. “She locked herself in the bathroom.”
Gloria snorted.
“Barely out of diapers and already thinking she can boss everyone around.”
“And it’s me, by the way, who sits with Cheryl while she’s stuck at work. I wash, cook, clean, and now what? I can’t even buy a new cream.”
Alex raised a tired look at his mother.
“Maybe she’s a little right,” he said hesitantly. “We really never ask what she needs to buy. Maybe we should allocate the money differently.”
Gloria froze midstep.
“What am I hearing? You’ve taken her side.”
Her voice trembled with outrage.
“After everything I’ve done for you, I devoted my whole life to you. When your father abandoned us, who took care of you? Who stayed up at night when you were sick?”
“And now some upstart is turning you against your own mother.”
Alex sighed. He knew this song by heart. His mother sang it every time she wanted to get her way, and it usually worked.
“No, Mom. I’m not taking her side,” he said quietly. “I just thought—”
“That’s exactly it. Just thought.” Gloria cut him off. “You think too simply. I told you from the start this marriage won’t last. Mark my words.”
“She’ll leave you, take the child, and start demanding alimony.”
“Come on, Mom. It won’t come to that.” Alex grimaced.
“Oh, it will.” Gloria snorted. “Face the truth. She earns more than you.”
“She’s already started hiding her income. What’s next? She’ll get a lover or maybe she already has.”
Alex lifted his head.
“What makes you say that?”
“Why would she hide money?” Gloria squinted slightly. “Maybe she’s involved with someone from her workplace. That’s where the raise came from.”
This idea, casually dropped by his mother, instantly took root in Alex’s mind with poisonous roots. He remembered how often Lily stayed late at work, how enthusiastically she spoke about some projects.
“What if Mom’s right? I need to check her phone,” he said decisively, “and find out what she plans to spend that money on.”
Gloria nodded approvingly.
“That’s more like a man.”
“You were whining before. Maybe she’s right. You shouldn’t indulge your whims. We’re family and money should be shared. Go home and put her in her place.”
Alex got up from the sofa. A plan had already formed in his head. He would return home, wait for Lily to fall asleep, and check her phone and bag. The card should be in there somewhere.
And if he found proof of infidelity—
Gloria escorted her son to the door and hugged him tightly in farewell.
“Don’t forget who has always come first for you,” she said meaningfully, “and who will always be by your side no matter what happens.”
When Alex left, Lily finally came out of the bathroom. The apartment was quiet. She peeked into the nursery. Cheryl was sleeping peacefully, snoring softly in her sleep.
Lily ran her hand over her daughter’s soft hair and whispered quietly, “Everything will be all right, little one. Mommy will fix it.”
She went to the kitchen and put the kettle on. Her hands were still trembling from the stress she had endured.
What to do now?
Alex had raised his hand against her for the first time. And what if next time it was worse?
Lily touched the spot where Alex had yanked her hair. The pain was sharp. She looked at her hands—slender fingers, well-kept, but without a manicure.
The money for manicures usually went to Gloria.
How did I let it come to this? Lily thought.
When did I let my mother-in-law control my money? When did I accept being a cash cow for this family?
It probably all started after Cheryl was born. That’s when Gloria skillfully took the reins.
“You, darling, rest after childbirth, and I’ll take care of everything.”
And indeed, she did. She organized everything so that all financial flows went through her.
Lily took her phone out of her pocket and turned it over in her hands thoughtfully.
Maybe call her mother.
But what would she say?
“Mom, my husband pulled my hair because I didn’t give him my salary.”
It sounded ridiculously absurd and shameful—especially remembering what her mother had warned her before the wedding.
“Alex is too attached to his mother. That could be a problem.”
Back then, Lily had brushed it off. She was in love and confident she could build a happy family. That Gloria would eventually accept her, love her like a daughter.
Naive.
The kettle boiled, but Lily didn’t make tea. Instead, she sat at the kitchen table and opened her laptop. It was time to deal with what she had been putting off for too long. It was time to learn the truth.
She started with the simplest step, typing her mother-in-law’s name into a search engine: Gloria Cooper.
There weren’t many results, but one caught her attention—lists of recipients of survivor’s pensions in their area.
How could this be?
Gloria’s husband was alive. He had simply abandoned them and Alex many years ago and moved to another city.
Lily made a few calls, spoke with an old friend who worked at the pension fund and uncovered some details. It turned out that Gloria wasn’t just receiving a survivor’s pension. She was also hiding income from selling alcohol that she distilled at the summer house and sold through a neighbor.
On top of that, she was officially unemployed and receiving the corresponding benefits.
Lily shook her head.
What a twist.
And what about Alex?
She knew that besides his main job, her husband occasionally fixed computers for acquaintances. But all those side gigs he recorded as friendly help—getting paid in cash, never declaring it anywhere.
With each new detail, Lily felt a cold determination growing inside her. This family had been using her for years, draining her finances, and she had tolerated it, believing in some kind of family values.
The lock clicked.
Alex had returned.
Lily quickly closed her laptop.
“We need to talk,” her husband said from the doorway. His voice sounded deceptively calm.
“Yes, we do,” Lily agreed. “I was just about to tell you something.”
Alex looked at her intently.
“I’m listening.”
Lily took a deep breath. She hadn’t yet fully decided what to do with all the information she had uncovered. But one thing was clear.