He Let Assistant Manage My Wealth, I Left Him

Chapter 2

"Mr. Renshaw, your wife's home!

"Oh, what's that she's holding? Don't tell me it's another bill she's gone over budget on..."

Annika covered her mouth, pretending she'd let something slip, and swallowed the rest.

Frowning, Griffith walked slowly toward the door.

The instant he saw me, disgust flickered in his eyes, so quickly I almost missed it.

"Odette, are you trying to embarrass me on purpose?

"Because Annika accidentally entered 0.3 dollars instead of 3,000?

"Because I was late transferring the money?"

His voice was hoarse. He covered his mouth and dry-heaved twice.

"Mr. Renshaw, are you all right?

"Mrs. Renshaw, he closed a big deal at a business dinner tonight. They made him drink quite a lot.

"Please don't take it to heart. This is all my fault!"

Annika hurried to support him, straightening his tie and tugging at his cuffs with practiced familiarity.

I watched coldly, a sudden pain twisting through my heart.

I was just about to step inside.

Annika's expression changed, and she sharply blocked my way.

"Mrs. Renshaw, put today's ledger and all your receipts in the safe before you come in."

My raised foot stopped in midair.

I turned to Griffith.

His expression was cold. He had no intention of saying a word in my defense.

"Odette, we're doing this for your own good. Stop making excuses. You can't even run a household properly. You're my wife, and you don't have even the most basic planning skills? Are you determined to let every relative know I married a woman who can't manage a home?"

Every word landed like a blow to the chest.

My lips moved. I pushed the divorce agreement deeper into my bag.

"Fine."

My agreement came out in a rasp.

I was about to put the ledger I'd stayed up late organizing into the safe. Then Annika found another way to make trouble.

"Mrs. Renshaw, did you attach the receipts for today's groceries? Mr. Renshaw mentioned you used to fudge the numbers and round off the odd amounts. From now on, every expense needs proof."

My hand stiffened around the book. I took every receipt out of my bag.

"I spent 43.8 dollars on groceries this morning.

"A bunch of green onions, two tomatoes, and 0.55 pounds of eggs.

"The receipts are all here."

Annika took them and made a show of checking each one.

"Mrs. Renshaw, do you think you're feeding beggars?

"Mr. Renshaw gives you 3,000 dollars a month, not 300.

"Is this what you'd serve if we had guests?"

She didn't bother to hide the contempt in her voice.

I looked at Griffith.

There wasn't a trace of warmth in his face.

Something inside me went cold. Without another word, I slipped past them into the house.

After running around all day, my throat was burning with thirst.

I went to get water and found the water dispenser unplugged.

"Mrs. Renshaw, I forgot to tell you.

"The first rule of decluttering is controlling things at the source.

"Mr. Renshaw says you're always wasting water and electricity, so we've put both on timers.

"They'll shut off automatically from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m."

Annika followed me over and explained it all at her leisure.

Then she took out several sheets of paper.

"I had a financial adviser draw up this household budget especially for you. Please stick strictly to these limits from now on."

I took it. The pages were packed with rules and restrictions.

Even the brand of pads I could use and the price of my shampoo had been set.

"I won't agree to this! Griffith, my mom is still at the rehab facility. I visit her every week. The round-trip fare and her medications..."

I crumpled the pages into a ball.

Then I looked up and met his eyes.

He frowned and started reaching for the pages to read them.

Annika cut in. "Mr. Renshaw, you put me in charge of supervising your wife. You have to trust me. Rideshares are expensive. Can't she take the bus? Mrs. Renshaw, stop making excuses! If you keep finding ways around this, you'll never learn to manage a household!"

Griffith withdrew his half-extended hand.

Just then, his phone rang. He answered and walked away, leaving me with one parting remark.

"Odette, Annika's right. And don't forget who's paying every cent of your mother's rehab."