“This is ridiculous.”
“Stay there.”
Vanessa stared at him.
They had been married for two years.
In those two years, Ethan had raised his voice to her perhaps three times.
He was not a loud man.
He negotiated for a living.
He had learned long ago that the most powerful person in a room was often the one who did not need to shout.
Vanessa knew his moods.
She knew when he was annoyed.
She knew when he was frustrated.
But she had never seen him like this.
Ethan looked at Lily’s hands.
The skin around her fingers was red.
There were dark streaks of shoe polish beneath her nails.
“How long have you been doing this today?”
“I don’t know.”
“Since after lunch,” Lily whispered.
Ethan checked his watch.
Three twenty-four.
“Did you eat lunch?”
Lily hesitated.
Vanessa answered.
“She refused.”
Lily shook her head.
“She said I couldn’t.”
Ethan slowly turned.
Vanessa threw both hands up.
“She was supposed to finish her chores first.”
“She’s seven.”
“And seven-year-olds can have responsibilities.”
“Cleaning sixty pairs of your shoes?”
“It isn’t sixty.”
Lily whispered, “Seventy-two.”
Vanessa looked at her.
“Lily.”
Ethan’s eyes hardened.
“How does she know exactly how many shoes?”
Nobody answered.
“Vanessa.”
“She counted them.”
“No.”
Ethan pointed toward the shelves.
“She knows because you told her how many she had to clean.”
Vanessa looked away.
Ethan felt Lily shivering.
He unbuttoned his burgundy suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.
It nearly swallowed her.
“Come on.”
He took her hand.
Vanessa moved toward the doorway.
“Where are you going?”
“Away from you.”
“Oh, please.”
Ethan stopped.
Vanessa continued.
“You walk in here after being gone for nine days and suddenly you’re Father of the Year?”
Lily flinched.
Ethan noticed.
He looked at Vanessa for several seconds.
“You need to leave.”
Her expression changed.
“What?”
“Pack a bag.”
“This is my house.”
“No.”
Ethan’s voice remained calm.
“This is a house you live in because I trusted you with my family.”
Vanessa laughed in disbelief.
“You’re throwing me out over a punishment?”
“I’m asking you to leave because my daughter is afraid of you.”
“She is not afraid of me.”
Lily pressed herself against Ethan’s side.
Vanessa saw it.
For the first time, uncertainty appeared on her face.
“Lily, tell him.”
Ethan moved his daughter behind him.
“I told you not to speak to her.”
Vanessa stared at him.
“You seriously believe a seven-year-old over your wife?”
The question landed differently than she intended.
Ethan looked down at Lily.
Her face was wet.
Her eyes were swollen.
She was wearing a maid uniform in a room full of shoes.
Then he looked at Vanessa.
“Yes.”
One word.
Nothing more.
Vanessa’s mouth opened.
Ethan pointed toward the bedroom.
“You have thirty minutes.”
“You cannot be serious.”
“Twenty-nine.”
She laughed again.
But this time there was fear beneath it.
“Ethan, you don’t understand what she’s been like.”
“Then explain it to your attorney.”
Vanessa’s face went pale.
“Attorney?”
“Yes.”
“You’re talking about divorce because I gave Lily chores?”
Ethan looked toward the black-and-white uniform.
“I haven’t even decided what I’m talking about yet.”
He took Lily’s hand.
“But I’m going to find out.”