When Obedience Becomes Enslavement

., my usual time for a run before heading to the architecture firm. But at

kes up before her husband to make breakfast!

olled over. "Just ignore her

ouder and more impatient. "I know yo

s my house, my morning, my life, and she was invading eve

inally. I was about to use my key. Now, hurry up. I want a proper

sking, she w

latly. "I'm go

set to get my running clothes. I coul

's place is in the home, taking care of her family. No

out, to breathe air that she hadn't filled with her poi

s house until you have m

ed. "He can make his own breakfast. Or you c

taller than her, and I used it, looking down at her with all the defiance I

step was a declaration of war. When I returned an hour later, sweaty and f

fumbling at the stove, trying to make eggs, a pathetic,

his is what happens when a wife shirks her d

t upstairs to shower. I decided then and there that I would not engage in her petty ga

hungry. I was looking forward to making myself a simple salad. When I opened the fridge, all the fresh

om the living room. "It's good, healt

ontrol every aspect of my life, down to what I put in m

u going now?"

o get some dinne

ste of money

stew," I said. "I

t card, a small act of rebellion that felt incredibly satisfying. I was using my own mo

from the living room. She was talking to Mark, her tone h

to be a good wife, and she just throws it back in my face. She's so disrespectful. She went out and wasted money

ng. She was a master manipulator, twistin

out into the hallway. He s

" he hissed. "You m

Mark. She's tw

he said, his voice full of disappointment. "Is th

profound sense of pity and disgust. He was completely blind, a puppet on his mother's strings

I said, my voice weary. "She's cont

but it was quickly extinguished, repla

e said, as if that e

asn't a partnership between two people. It wa

ore. I waved my hand dismissively, a gesture that was meant for him, fo

a community library. I focused on the clean lines, the logical flow of space, the solid foundation. Here, in my work, I had control. Here, I