Chapter 1

Ever since I married Polly Barnes, her younger brother made a habit of dropping by to help himself to whatever he wanted from my home.

In half a month, he came ten times.

Every time he took what he pleased without a shred of guilt, and the total came to more than two hundred thousand dollars.

With the household budget stretched to breaking, I couldn't hold it in any longer. I went to where Samuel worked and asked him, to his face, to stop.

I never expected him to spit at me in front of everyone, his mouth full of filth.

"Eric Graves, what kind of man are you? You can't see past the smallest thing. How are you ever going to make my sister happy?"

My wife stood there with her head down and said nothing.

I swallowed the humiliation and turned to leave.

A week later, I was promoted to Head of Surgery, and I threw a banquet for all my friends and relatives.

During it, Samuel took the fish out of the foam cooler beside me and cooked it up himself.

What he didn't know was that the fish was a tiger pufferfish, and it was deadly poisonous.

...

Samuel Barnes spat in my face, and the air around us froze in an instant. You could have heard a pin drop.

Everyone stood there sizing me up, settling in for a show.

And yet my wife, Polly Barnes, kept her head down and said nothing, as if none of it had anything to do with her.

I lifted my eyes to the pair of them, brother and sister, and couldn't help thinking they really were cut from the same cloth.

Behind me, Samuel wasn't finished. "My sister let you sleep with her for five years, and you nickel-and-dime us over a few things we take. I really don't know what she ever saw in you."

I didn't answer.

On the way home, I bought a bottle of water at a convenience store, poured it over my face, and scrubbed hard.

Just then a text came in: my promotion to Head of Surgery.

Inside me, a vast net began to take shape.

My eyes went steady as I pulled out my phone and sent two messages.

"Melvin Greer, order me a tiger pufferfish."

"And book the whole Fresh Breeze Grand for a full day."

Only when the reply came back did I feel the weight lift off my chest.

At the entryway, I heard my mother-in-law's complaints rising and falling.

"Polly, I'm not just running my mouth, but you really need to have a serious talk with Eric."

"How could he dress Samuel down in public today like that, making him lose face?"

"We're all family. Why be so petty? It's not like it's anything big."

Samuel was right there beside her, pouring fuel on the fire. "Sis, your taste is genuinely terrible. How did you end up settling for a hopeless case like him? After all these years, he's still just an ordinary resident."

Polly said, worn down, "I don't have a job, after all. The bills are mostly on him."

My mother-in-law's face soured instantly.

"So what if you don't have a job?"

"What capable man doesn't provide for his wife, spoil his wife? A man who lets his wife worry about money is just useless."

"And so what if Samuel borrows a few things from you two? That's all it is, borrowing. Once he makes it big, he'll pay you back."

"If the marriage works, stay in it. If it doesn't, get out. With my daughter's looks, the next man will be ten thousand times better than Eric Graves."

Polly didn't dare cross her mother, and answered under her breath, "I understand."

The words had barely left her mouth when I pushed the door open.

They shot me resentful looks. I ignored them.

I walked straight to the bedroom, dragged out my suitcase, and started packing my clothes.

Polly looked puzzled, and demanded, "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

I snapped the suitcase shut, stared at her, and said coldly, "There's been a serious traffic accident in Millbrook recently. The hospital is short on medical staff. I'm going to stay at the hospital so I can be on call around the clock."

Polly took out her phone, found no trace of the accident I'd described, and said furiously, "Eric Graves, so this is the pathetic excuse you're using to run away from this family."

"My brother does some things wrong, sure, but you're his brother-in-law. You should show him a little more patience."

"And my mother isn't wrong either. If you had even a shred of ability, I wouldn't be caught in the middle like this."

My fist tightened, just slightly.

Then I lifted my eyes, face blank, and said calmly, "Say whatever you want."

With that, I pulled up the handle and walked toward the entryway.

Behind me, Polly caught up and grabbed my hand. Before she could get a word out, her mother cut in. "Polly, let go of him."

"This isn't a house he can walk out of and walk back into whenever he pleases. If he leaves, he doesn't come back."

Samuel stood off to the side, stirring the pot. "Sis, a man like this needs a lesson before it'll sink in. With his little salary, he can't do a thing. Give it a week and he'll come crawling back."

My mother-in-law's and Samuel's jeers echoed in my head as I stepped firmly out the front door.

And then I moved into the hospital staff housing.

I lay on the bed, feeling a satisfaction I'd never known before.

A ping. I quickly checked my phone, and when I saw the message, the corner of my mouth curved into a smile.