"My dad died when I was young. My mom remarried and left. I've been on my own ever since. Marrying into your family is a good thing for me. I won't be alone anymore."
"And since I'm marrying in, of course the kids will take your name. Don't worry about it."
Who could have predicted that the delivery room would turn into this nightmare?
My father patted my arm to calm me, then dropped the gentle expression. His voice went low and serious.
"Jim, we had a deal. The children take the Galloway name. How could you break your promise? That's not right."
Jim's face was ashen. He looked at his mother, helpless and lost.
"I... Mom..."
Amelia raised a hand, cutting him off. Her tone turned heavy, almost solemn.
"Don't blame him. This was my decision. My son had nothing to do with it."
"You think my son and I are just after your money? That we're making trouble because we're greedy?"
"No. I'm fighting for my son's dignity."
"No self-respecting man would choose to marry into his wife's family. You made my son do it, and he can barely hold his head up in front of his colleagues." She pressed a hand to her chest. "I've been here for the birth these past few days, and I've seen how much he's suffered because of this arrangement. It breaks my heart."
Tears glistened in Amelia's eyes.
"I was never there for my son. Now that I see how hard his life is, wanting to fight for a little compensation on his behalf—is that really so wrong?"
"Either let my son have at least one child carrying his name—Darlene Galloway can have more kids later and give them hers—or give my son a house to make up for it!"
The moment those words left her mouth, Jim's eyes reddened. He gazed at his mother with raw, overwhelming gratitude.
But...
All I felt was a knot of resentment burning in my chest.
These past few years, I had done everything I could to make things up to Jim.
When we got married, my family didn't ask for a single dollar in bride price. On top of that, they gave him a dowry worth a million dollars.
I bought him a Mercedes E-Class so he could keep up appearances.
I even told everyone that I was the one marrying out, terrified he might feel emasculated.
How was that not enough?
When we found out it was twins, I was the one who brought it up first.
"How about one takes your last name and one takes mine?"
And he'd said, "No need. I married into your family. They should both be Galloways."