"I knew something was off about the Welch family. It's the holidays and they don't even turn on the lights."
"That girl's so sick, and they still make her do housework."
"Didn't Derek sell a kidney to save his wife? Why's she being treated like this?"
Derek rushed out. When he saw the scene, his face turned green.
His "devoted husband" image was his only asset at work. If word got out that he abused his sick wife, he'd be finished.
"It's all a misunderstanding!" He forced a smile. "My mom didn't mean it!"
"A misunderstanding?" Mrs. Lambert sneered. "Then explain the slop on the floor."
Derek's face cycled through blue and white.
He spun around and, in front of everyone, slapped his mother across the face.
"Mom! How could you treat Lexi like this!"
The crack echoed through the hallway.
His mother clutched her cheek, staring at him in disbelief.
"You… you hit me?"
"Lexi's health is fragile—how could you feed her garbage!"
Derek's voice was harsh. "Never again!"
She collapsed to the floor, thrashing and wailing.
"I raised you for thirty years, and you hit me for some woman!"
"I won't live anymore!"
Once they'd gotten their fill of the show, the neighbors dispersed.
Derek helped me up and gently patted my back.
"Lexi, I'm sorry. I didn't keep my mom in line."
"Tomorrow I'll take you shopping for new jewelry. Help you feel better."
I shrank into his arms, trembling.
But out of the corner of my eye, I caught my mother-in-law's venomous glare.
That night, she locked herself in her room and cried for hours.
Derek chain-smoked in the dark, one cigarette after another.
I lay on the bed, listening to the mother and son argue through the door.
"What exactly do you want me to do!" My mother-in-law's voice cracked between sobs and shouts. "She's a jinx! She got your dad killed, and now she's here to drag you down too!"
"Mom, can you calm down!" Derek lowered his voice. "The insurance thing still isn't done—don't make extra trouble!"
"I think you've been bewitched by her!"
"I'm doing it for the money!" He ground his teeth. "Once I get the payout, I'll be the first to send her to the afterlife!"
I closed my eyes, heart full of mockery.
Early the next morning, Derek actually took me to the mall. He picked out a gold necklace—eight thousand dollars. When it came time to pay, I watched his face twitch with pain.
"Do you like it?" He forced a smile.
"I like it." I nodded obediently. "Thank you, honey."