I send my mother 1.5 million pesos monthly for my postpartum wife. Coming home early, I found my wife eating spoiled rice with fish heads. Furious, I confronted my mom, who sneered, “She doesn’t deserve better.” Then, I checked the family safe and found…

the basin.

Ding-dong.

The chime of the front doorbell sliced through the domestic peace like a razor blade.

I froze, my hands buried in soapy water. We were not expecting anyone. Delivery men didn’t operate on Sundays in our district.

I wiped my hands on a towel, my heart suddenly hammering a frantic, violent rhythm against my ribs. I walked down the hallway,continue reading …