Ryan shook his head, his heart sinking. He could already feel where this was going.
“She found her car filthy! Covered in dirt and grime because of *you!*” Gloria screamed, her face red with rage. “How dare you get into her car with your disgusting clothes, your *disgusting* body, and ruin it?! She’s going to be late because you can’t even have the decency to keep yourself clean!”
Ryan opened his mouth to apologize, but before he could get a word out, Gloria grabbed him by the collar and shoved him backward. He stumbled, barely keeping his balance as she continued her tirade.
“You are worthless, Ryan! Absolutely worthless! You don’t even deserve to breathe the same air as Amanda! She should never have married you, and I’ve told her as much a hundred times!” Her voice was growing louder, sharper, each word cutting deeper than the last. “You’re just a leech, sucking the life out of her, out of this family! What kind of a man can’t even take care of his wife’s car?”
Ryan’s eyes stung, but he blinked back the tears. He didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of seeing him break, though he felt close to it every time she attacked him like this. Gloria had always despised him, but after Amanda started pulling away, her mother’s hatred grew more vicious. Every little thing he did, or didn’t do, was ammunition for her verbal assaults.
“You’ve never been good enough for Amanda,” Gloria continued, her words like poison seeping into his skin. “I don’t know why she ever wasted her time on you, and frankly, neither does she! Do you think she doesn’t tell me what a mistake you are? How much she regrets being stuck with you?”
Ryan gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the sharp pain her words caused, but it was impossible. He knew that Amanda no longer looked at him the way she used to. The warmth in her eyes had faded long ago, replaced by cold indifference. Still, hearing it confirmed by Gloria was like twisting a knife in an already open wound.
“Look at yourself,” Gloria sneered, eyeing him from head to toe as if he were some kind of vermin. “You’re a mess, a pathetic excuse for a man. You think you’re worth something, but you’re not. You never were.”
Ryan clenched his fists at his sides, fighting the urge to lash out, to defend himself, but he knew it would be pointless. Arguing with Gloria was like screaming into the void—there was no reasoning with her, no winning. She’d already made up her mind about him, and nothing he said or did would ever change that.
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“You should be grateful,” Gloria added with a cruel smile. “Grateful that Amanda even lets you live here. If it were up to me, I would have kicked you out ages ago. But you know what? Maybe it’s time. Maybe I’ll tell her to get rid of you once and for all. You’re nothing but a stain on her life, and it’s time she washes you away.”
Ryan bit the inside of his cheek, his chest tight with frustration and hurt. He had heard it all before, over and over again, but it didn’t make it any easier to endure. Every insult, every belittling remark chipped away at him, making it harder and harder to keep himself together. He tried not to let it get to him, to stay strong, but no matter how hard he tried, it always did.
Gloria leaned in close, her voice low and dripping with malice. “You don’t belong here, Ryan. And sooner or later, Amanda is going to realize that. And when she does, you’ll be nothing. Just a memory of a bad decision.”
With one final glare, she turned and stormed out of the room, leaving Ryan standing there, his body trembling with a mix of anger, shame, and despair.
As the door slammed shut behind her, Ryan let out a shaky breath, pressing his hand against the wall to steady himself. He felt broken, like a man with no identity, no purpose, no worth. Every day, the weight of their cruelty grew heavier, and every day, it became harder to carry.
He wanted to believe that he was stronger than this, that he could withstand the abuse, but deep down, he knew that it was breaking him, piece by piece. No matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, it still hurt every time.
Ryan sighed as he made his way outside, rubbing his sore cheek where his mother-in-law’s slap still burned. The cool morning air did little to soothe the sting of her words, but at least out here, he could escape the suffocating atmosphere of the house for a moment.
He walked toward Amanda’s car, still smeared with dirt from the previous day. The faint sunrise cast a soft light over the driveway, but it didn’t bring him any peace. As he reached the car, he saw the hose and bucket already laid out, waiting for him. It was routine by now—wake up early, clean, and try to avoid another confrontation with Gloria or Amanda. There were hardly any maids in the house anymore; they’d been let go one by one, and Amanda’s father had made it clear that Ryan could take their place.
“You’re not worth a damn thing around here,” her father had said, his voice full of disdain. “No money, no name, no identity. So, if you’re going to live in this house, you might as well make yourself useful.”
Ryan bent down to fill the bucket with water, the weight of his situation pressing down on him. He was nothing in this household, not even a person in their eyes. Just another servant, a maid. Even the butler held a higher position in the family than he did. He had no title, no status. He was an invisible figure who only existed to serve.
He scrubbed the car’s surface, the cold water splashing onto his hands, but he didn’t mind. It was better to be here, doing this, than inside where he’d be reminded of his failures. No matter how hard he worked, no matter what he did, it would never be enough for them.
Every stroke of the sponge felt like another reminder of how far he had fallen. He tried to push the thoughts away, but they lingered, gnawing at him. He had once believed in a future with Amanda, a life where they could build something together. Now, he was nothing more than a servant, cleaning her car while she prepared for her glamorous life without him.
