Chapter 1
My husband kept a ledger dedicated to tracking every penny I cost him.
When relatives got married and we gave cash gifts, he would dig up exactly how much cash they had given us years ago.
He also insisted on going grocery shopping right before the supermarket closed, because that was when the vegetables were cheapest.
I always thought he was just scarred by poverty and accustomed to being frugal.
Until I had uterine surgery, and the doctor explicitly said no s*x for six months.
That night, he sent me a video, telling me to learn to use my hands instead. "It cost 80,000 dollars to marry you. I can't just waste half a year because we can't do it, right? Twice a week, eight times a month, 96 times a year. At that rate, each time is still over 800 dollars. Actually, that's still pretty expensive."
I was shaking with rage.
Just then, as luck would have it, I found a notebook he had left at the hospital.
From the very first day of our marriage, he had been recording a two-year countdown in it.
The last page read: The bet is almost over. I'll get your kiss soon!
That was when it hit me.
Our marriage was nothing more than a bet between him and his dream woman.
As long as he stayed married to me for two full years, he'd get a kiss from her.
And I was nothing but a living doll he had bought for 80,000 dollars, a sunk cost he couldn't bear to waste!
I dialed my brother Rhys's number.
"Rhys, help me set this up. I want in on this bet."
"What are you betting on?"
"His life!"
*****
I had just finished surgery, and my wound throbbed with pain.
Before I could even come to my senses, Pierce Parker's messages came pinging through.
Pierce: The hospital really is something. Don't they know you need to fast right after surgery? Why did they give you a meal tray? If you can't finish it, don't throw it away. Save it for me; I'll come eat it later.
Maren: What???
So I had just finished surgery and the anesthesia hadn't even worn off, yet he sent me this?
Pierce: If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. The day after tomorrow is my aunt's baby's christening. Let's both go.
I clutched my chest, about to explode.
Maren: I just had freaking surgery!
Pierce: That's the day after tomorrow, isn't it? There's still time. What are you so worked up about?
He then started to brreak it down for me.
Pierce: Aunt's family has eight people. Every time they come to our house for a meal, they only give a 1,000-dollar cash gift. If I go alone, wouldn't that be a loss?
Pierce: Besides, after your surgery you need to recuperate anyway. Going to eat a meal, wouldn't that be perfect?
I clenched my hands, my insides churning violently.
There it was again.
He was always like this, calculating the cost of everything.
Even buying groceries was like this. He was already starving when he got home from work, yet he insisted on rushing in right before the supermarket closed.
"This way everything we buy is discounted. It's the same stuff, but the price is more than half off. What a bargain."
At home, leftovers were never thrown out, just reheated again and again.
We'd be right at the store entrance, but if the coupon wasn't valid yet, he absolutely wouldn't step inside.
He called it precise cost calculation, his life philosophy.
But then I didn't want to hear another word.
I just pulled out my IV and walked out.
"Rhys, come pick me up."
Exhausted, I slumped into Rhys's car. He took one look at my face, white as a sheet, and freaked out.
"How'd you do this to yourself?"
I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open, but Pierce's messages were still blowing up my phone.
Pierce: The hospital called and said you checked out?
I thought maybe he'd grown a conscience and was finally checking in on me.
But I was wrong.
Pierce: A hospital bed costs 200 dollars a day. Why check out so early? Even if you were going to check out, you should've waited until noon. That way, I could come by and rest at noon too.
Pierce: Don't you know how expensive electricity is these days? Get all the free AC you can while you're still there.
I was completely done.
Maren: I've already gone home.
He didn't get it. He thought I meant our place.
Pierce: Then crash early when you get home. No need for lights, save the electricity.
Rhys was even more pissed than I was.
"You... what the hell kind of guy did you marry?"
I had no idea either.
Back then, I just thought the way Pierce counted every penny set him apart from the rest.
He came after me hard, so I fell for him.
Looking back, I guess I'd never tasted garbage before, so I took a big bite.
Sure enough, I grossed myself out!
