Elara slipped into the baby’s room and felt a surge of warmth when she saw the little girl clutching her favorite blue blanket. She adjusted Maya’s diaper and lingered for a moment, finding the only peace she had known all day in that quiet room.
When she returned to the living room, she spoke softly. “I’m home, Dante.”
Dante didn’t even shift his gaze from the screen. “My mother says you were late again, and she couldn’t buy her groceries today.”
“I told you, tomorrow is the big day at the agency,” Elara replied.
“I know all about your presentation,” he interrupted with a sneer. “But listen, tomorrow is Friday, and we have priorities.”
Elara felt a familiar knot tighten in her stomach because she knew exactly what that meant. Every Friday, Martha took Elara’s debit card to the bank and withdrew nearly her entire paycheck under the guise of “household management.”
They usually left her with barely twenty dollars for gas and a cheap lunch, while Martha bought expensive skin serums and went to fancy brunches with her church friends.
“What do you need this time?” Elara asked, her voice flat.