Alex was silent, standing and staring at his wife as she dressed up. Helena powdered her face to match her fair skin. Not forgetting to wear a nude lipstick that gives a calm impression on the lips.

"Hey, nerd, why have you been silent all this time?!" Helena snapped.

Alex's appearance was very out of date. Wearing a shirt buttoned up to the neck, wearing glasses, and having a haircut like a middle bowl. Alex approached his wife.

"Every day, you look more and more insane! I'll go crazy if I see you like this!"

Alex is used to getting this kind of scorn from his wife. Not only Helena, but his mother in-law and sisters-in-law were like that too. As if marrying Helena was a big mistake.

"Remember, don't forget to wash my clothes! Just watch out if you forget! The house is also clean, don't be lazy here!"

"Yes, Hel."

Understandably, Alex was only staying at Helena's house. However, he had not been treated well in the past six months. Every day he only received scorn, insults, and punishment if he made the slightest mistake. Is this the kind of bad luck he had to endure?

"Don't say yes. But do it!" Helena then brought a sling bag and put it on immediately. "I'm leaving."

"Where are you going, Hel? I'm coming with you."

"Huh? Didn't I hear you wrong? You want to come with me? Don't dream!"

"If you participate, you'll just be embarrassed!" Helena continued and sneered.

Alex could only try to be patient with his wife's treatment. He was used to this. As a husband, he was not respected at all by Helena. In fact, the woman often left the house and came home late at night. Alex didn't dare to scold Helena or even reprimand her.

Bruk!

Helena deliberately nudged Alex's shoulder and made him tagger a little. However, he was silent as he looked down. Helena had already left the room. In fact, Alex couldn't even experience the joy of their first night as husband and wife because Helena had gone off with another man. Heartache? That's for sure.

He headed out of the room. There he met his mother-in-law, Mrs. Sandra. The woman, who was about forty years old, looked young. However, his mother-in-law didn't like him either.

"Lex, please get Mom's pentofel shoes from the room. Be careful not to scratch it! They're my favorite shoes and they're expensive. Don't play around! Do the right thing if you want to hold it!" said Mrs. Sandra.

"Yes, Mom."

Alex only obeyed his mother-in-law's orders. He could not resist at all. He didn't have any effort. He went straight to Mrs. Sandra's room.

His eyes looked around for the pentofel shoes in question. He opened the small teak cabinets there, but still couldn't find them. Then, he walked to a transparent glass cabinet and that's where the pentofel shoes were. He immediately brought the pair of shoes to Mrs. Sandra.

"Alex, my goodness!" Mrs. Sandra yelled. "Why are you carrying those shoes! I told you to be careful when holding it!"

"So-sorry, Mom," said Alex while handing the pentofel shoes to Mrs. Sandra, then he adjusted the location of his glasses.

"You're useless, huh, having a son-in-law like you! Already geeky, not agile, not smart anymore! The complete package."

Alex kept his head down without looking at Ms. Sandra's face. Hearing all that, of course, made him hurt. However, he couldn't be angry with Ms. Sandra.

"Sorry, Mom."

"Sorry, sorry is all you can say! Already there, you better do your homework. Sweeping, mopping, washing clothes, and others. Also cook lunch later!"

Mrs. Sandra kept telling him endlessly. He was like a robot that could not get tired. Even though he is only an ordinary human being who has feelings.

"Yes, Mom"

And, what made him shocked was when Ms. Sandra hit his head quite hard and was accompanied by a sharp look in her eyes. Again, he could only surrender to being treated like this. Many times, his mother-in-law wanted him to separate from Helena. However, he found it difficult to divorce the woman of his heart.

Really, being in this house made him feel difficult. He couldn't bear to separate, but even surviving was difficult. Alex adjusted his glasses which were slightly down. Then, he started doing his homework as quickly as possible.

***

The mother-in-law and his sister-in-law were already fast asleep in their respective rooms. However, he still couldn't rest because Helena hadn't come home from this morning. Like any other night, he had to wait in the living room for his wife to arrive. It was already half past twelve at night.

"Huuaa ...."

Alex was starting to get sleepy. How much longer would he have to wait here? His eyes were already watery and red from having to endure his sleepiness.

Finally, Alex could no longer endure this sleepiness. He decided to take a short nap on the sofa.

***

Byur!

The water was quite heavy, pouring down his face until it was soaked. The clothes he was wearing were also wet. His eyes blinked and he found the figures of Mrs. Sandra and Helena who had come.

"How good are you sleeping! Until you didn't open the door for me!" snapped Helena.

"What a useless son-in-law!"

"You're home already, Hel? Who opened the door?"

Mrs. Sandra answered her question. His mother-in-law and wife looked furious at him. He really couldn't resist his sleepiness and decided to sleep.

Was it wrong for a husband like him to ask Helena, because he wanted to know about his wife? Helena and his mother-in-law were both furious.

"I'm tired of living with you, you geeky guy! Never mind, I'm going to my room!"

Helena left him in the living room. She told him to sleep in the living room and not in the room. How broken Alex's heart was at this moment.

"Did you hear what Helena said earlier? You should sleep outside, not in your room!"

Alex nodded quickly. He understood and wouldn't dare argue. If Helena had said that, then it could not be broken anymore. So, how long will his life be like this?

Finally, Ms. Sandra stepped into the room and was alone in the living room. In a state of wet clothes, he did not dare to go into the room to change clothes. Alex didn't want to make his wife even angrier.