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Then I heard him talking in the study.
Our house was not bought, we hired workers and built it from scratch.
My parents covered the down payment.
I had wanted top-tier materials for renovations—what we would call home for the rest of our lives deserved the best things.
We could afford the remaining payments.
But when I showed James my detailed plans,he refused.
"That's a lot of money.A house is just a place to live in.Why bother?We split costs—I'm not paying extra."
It ended up in a fight, and we didn’t speak to each other for a long time afterwards.
Later he came to soothe me,saying his frugality was for our future.
I believed him.
Now,with me pregnant,he wouldn't even pay for me checkups.
The cheap materials meant poor soundproofing.
I heard him in the study,on the phone.
Holding my breath,I listened.
After a pause,he said,"Mom,give me$20,000.I need to take my wife for a checkup."
His mother roared,audible even to me."Money for what?You agreed to split costs!That's her problem, not yours!"
James sounded helpless."I know,but she's on maternity leave with no pay.Trust me,she'll pay you backonce she's back at work."
They bickered some more before hanging up.
My mind was a mess.
Partly because,James decided just now without even consulting me that I'd return to work immediately after birth,denying me recovery time.
And also because,he'd given all his money to his mother!
Our joint assets were now just my savings.
If we divorced,I'd get none of his money.
I thought his cost-splitting was for our future.
Now I saw he'd been scheming against me.
No more mercy.
Trembling,I transferred all my savings to my mother.
Five minutes later,she called."Lily,what's wrong?Why send so much money to me all of a sudden?"
Her concern brought tears into my eyes.
My parents had opposed my marriage to James but they never interfered.
At holidays,they refused gifts,wanting me to have more money for myself.
Holding back tears,I hid the truth to spare their worry.
"I'm bad at saving.Can you hold it for me?I'll need it for the kid's school later."
She didn't suspect anything,we chatted warmly for a while,and hung up.
I knew James would fight me over this.
But I didn't expect the fight to happen so soon.
The next morning,still half-asleep,his call woke me.
"Lily,where's all the money in your account?"he roared.
