"Why didn't you look after them better?" He turned his cold gaze toward me.
"Me? I'm the one at fault?"
Unbelievable. I did nothing, yet I'm being dragged into this. Be reasonable, Minister!
"If I hadn't run into them at the mall myself, were you even planning to tell me what they were up to?" His tone was incredibly cold and distant, treating them as if they weren't even his own flesh and blood. What happened to the 'polite' man I spoke to this morning?
"Well, I—"
"Don't talk back." He cut me off before turning his fury toward the twins. "I'm paying for your education. If you don't want to learn, should I just pull you out and make you work? I'm not going to waste my money on you."
"Hey! Watch your tone," I cut in. "They might be in the wrong, but there's no need to be so harsh. I've been lecturing them all the way home until their ears are numb. The last thing they need is a father acting like a monster. They've already promised me it won't happen again. Right, Jao Peem? Jao Pat?"
I gave the twins, who were flanking me, a sharp pinch on their waists. "Right, boys?"
These two little devils didn't even try to play along. They just stared back, challenging their father with their eyes.
"..."
"Right, sweeties?" I gritted my teeth and spoke with the sweetest voice I could muster while doubling the pressure of my pinch. Both of them finally nodded.
"I didn't bring you here to spoil them. They will be punished regardless. I'm seizing your motorbikes for three months."
"But... Dad..." Jao Pat finally reacted. That hit a nerve, didn't it? These boys love their bikes more than anything. If they aren't playing guitar, they're busy polishing their precious 'Big Boys.' They even yelled at me once just for touching them!
"Don't argue. If you do it again, I'll sell them."
"You have no right to touch our things! Great-Grandma bought those bikes for us. You didn't contribute a single cent," Jao Peem snapped back.
The storm that had been brewing finally broke. Jao Peem is like that—force against force. A total tornado.
"But they are in my house. I can do whatever I want with them."
"Then go ahead, sir. Do whatever you want. Exercise your power however you like. We'll be happy to be the 'buffaloes' you lead around by the nose," Jao Peem said coldly before getting up and walking out. His younger brother followed close behind.
And here I was... the next one in line to face the music.
Great. Best Stepmother of the Year award goes to me.
"Dammit!" He snatched the throw pillow from behind him and hurled it to the floor. As if I was going to stay here just to be his punching bag.
"Where do you think you're going!?"
"I'm not in the mood to be your emotional doormat, Minister. I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my mouth shut like Jao Peem," I retorted.
"Sit down, right now! You don't go anywhere unless I tell you to!" His voice was booming—and incredibly intense. We're sitting right next to each other, sir. There's no need to shout.
"I was trying to stay calm, but what the hell is your problem? Why do you keep pushing my buttons?" Not even my parents have ever yelled at me like this. He might be my husband, but that doesn't give him the right to act like he owns me.
"You have no right to take that tone with me."
"And you do? You think you can do whatever you want, but the second someone else does it, it's a crime? Do you think you're the center of the universe or something? Like everyone has to bow down and cater to your every whim? Well, let me tell you something—I am not that kind of woman. I'm not the type to stroke your ego, I'm not sweet, and I don't live in a fantasy world. If that's what you're looking for, then go find it somewhere else, sir!"
"You're so—"
"Shut up! Don't even start with me!" I cut him off before he could argue. "Am I wrong? Did you bring your bossy office habits home with you? Let me remind you, I'm your wife, not your employee. Even at my parents' house, I was never bossed around like this. You're just my husband, not the master of my life!"
I didn't wait for a comeback. I'd already said enough to sting. I stormed up to my room, my blood absolutely boiling. I've never felt this angry in my entire life. I don't care what he thinks anymore. I have my dignity, and I am every bit his equal.