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…

Something, somewhere, was fundamentally wrong. I just didn’t know it yet.

Chapter 2: The Silent House

I decided to amplify the surprise. Instead of heading straight for the bus stop, I detoured through the affluent commercial district, my boots heavy against the shimmering pavement. I navigated into a specialty grocer where the air conditioning hit continue reading …