Vanessa dismissed his concern.
“I said people deserved to know how hard I work.”
“Then why did you tell Ben I never help you?”
“Ben asked me why I was treating Vanessa like a maid,” Ethan said.
That was when I understood Vanessa had already begun spreading the accusations she’d threatened to make.
“What did you tell Ben?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“Why not?”
Ethan rubbed his tired eyes.
“Because I felt ridiculous. I thought I’d sound like a man complaining because his girlfriend wanted help with dinner.”
He glanced toward the bare refrigerator.
“So I kept paying.”
Vanessa muttered, “Nobody made you.”
“Every time I said I wanted to leave, you reminded me what you’d tell everyone.”
“Couples argue!”
“I know.”
His voice faltered.
“But I was afraid to break up with you.”
Margaret covered her mouth. Shame wasn’t the only thing keeping him quiet; he feared that people would doubt him.
