My brother-in-law My husband
Chapter 4

No, he wasn't afraid of what was waiting for him at the motel. He is not the type of person who seeks luxury. As long as he had a normal family that was comfortable and complete, he would be very happy.

He was just worried about his daughter. Since Amanda is used to living in their luxury home, living in a shabby motel might be stressful for her.

…

"'I have to let her stay at Mother's house for a while, at least until I can find a permanent residence for us" Catherine told herself, then he walked into the lobby of the motel.

Catherine unlocked the door of her motel and sat on the bed for a while, staring at the wall. He turned his head to the left and saw his reflection in the high mirror several inches away.

He stood up and pressed his great shirt to accentuate his waist while continuously checking himself in the mirror.

She is not fat — well, she used to be 4 years after she got pregnant. That's largely due to pregnancy and difficulty controlling her weight after giving birth.

Caring for Amanda's baby is no easy task either. Combined with Marcell's disgust at the sight of his body, he lost all his desire to lose weight.

However, as Amanda grew up and her marriage was on the verge of collapse, three years of depression drained Catherine's weight.Catherine chuckled impassively, "What's the point of returning to my original form when Marcell still refused to touch me? He didn't even want to see me before."

It had been a long time since Catherine had noticed herself in the mirror. Previously, Marcell continued to denigrate him as a dirty woman (perhaps worse than dirty), who did not deserve to be his wife.

So, he did not dare to look at his shadow any further, afraid that he would hate his appearance even more.

He walked closer to the mirror.

He looked at her face and saw a trace of sadness, pouchy eyes, and a somewhat downcast face. He tried to lift his lips, hoping that it would brighten his face a little.

"It's been a long time since I've seen myself smile…." Catherine muttered. She may not be the most beautiful woman on Earth, but she is not ugly at all.

He was simply burdened with a lot of grief in his life, which made him seem unkempt. Catherine sighed as she wondered about her future. Even though he hated it, Marcell was right. She was just a housewife for almost 10 years straight, and without her and her money, nothing would happen to her.

He was able to get a job when he was 24 and graduated from university. But Marcell proposed to her right after she graduated with him, "And stupidly I said yes. That's tragic, Catherine. You can do your dream job as a teacher."

He's talking to himself.

…

"By the way, I can't stay like this for too long. I need to get a job for me and Amanda's future. Hopefully the bastard signs the papers so I can move on. Since I'm not going to take a penny from him, I guess the court process will be quicker" Catherine said. "Right, it's time to check on Amanda."

He pulled his phone out of his handbag and called his mother. It was the latest phone model, which was expensive, more than he could afford. The phone beeped twice before her mother picked up the call:

—

"Catherine?"

"Hi mom. Is Amanda still at your house?"

"Slowly, Honey. You sound worried. Is something wrong?" Ask Anna, Catherine's mother.

Catherine paused for a moment, thinking that she should not tell such a shocking incident to her mother too soon as it could affect her declining health.

"It's okay mom, I just need a breath, that's all"

"So that's it."

"Mom, Amanda's still with you, right? Can you let him stay? I can't take him home. I have a little problem now" said Catherine.

"Ah, Marcell picked her up about 10 minutes ago," Anna replied.

"I thought you were the one who asked Marcell to pick her up. Said they were going to the mall to buy Amanda a present."

"Geez!" anna said, surprised.

"Why are you so surprised? Marcell also apologized to Amanda because she was too busy working" Anna added. "You have a good husband, you know?"

Catherine's eyes widened due to reflexes. She never thought Marcell would pick Amanda up from her mother's house. It was very surprising because he thought Marcell no longer knew about Amanda's current whereabouts. The booze and sex she's been doing all this time messed with her brain, but now she's acting like she cares….

She has no idea what caused Marcell to suddenly behave like this, bringing Amanda to the mall to appreciate her achievements, and she becomes worried.

Anna noticed a long silence and asked, "Catherine, what's wrong?"

“Ah... it's okay, Ma'am,” Catherine replied with a lie. "I just had trouble on the road. I'll call you later, bye."

Bippp.

Catherine ended her call with her mother. He didn't like having to hide things, but what choice did he have? He clenched his phone for a moment, unable to contain his anger. Bad thoughts started swirling in his head, as he was afraid that Marcell would do something to his daughter to vent his anger.

He hated to call that bastard right after he left, but he had no choice.

He dialed Marcell's number, and only after one beep had Marcell picked him up.

—

"Yes?" Marcell asked as if there was nothing wrong between them a few hours ago.

"Where's my daughter?" catherine asked in a sharp tone, unable to hide her panic and anger.

"You mean our daughter, Amanda?" Marcell looked to his left and grinned, "He still chooses whatever toy he wants for his birthday. We're at the toy store."

"Give her a call, NOW!"

"Sure," Marcell gave Amanda a phone call and told her about it.

"Hi, Mum!" Amanda sounded so jolly because her father hadn't forgotten her. "Where are you now, Mom? I thought you were gonna pick me up at Grandma's."

"Ah, M—Amanda, are you okay there?"

"Yup! I'm with Dad! Why aren't you here? I want to celebrate with Mom and Dad!"

"Ah— Uh... Mom there's a little problem on the way. You have to have fun with your father first, buy whatever you want there," Catherine tried to act like nothing was wrong. So, Amanda won't notice any difference.

Amanda may be six years old, but she is smart and often asks too many questions that Catherine cannot answer.

"Darling, would you give me the phone back?"

"okay!"

Amanda returned the phone to her father, Marcell, and then went on to choose the new toy she wanted.

"So, what else do you need?" Marcell asked, his light tone angering Catherine. This man really has no conscience. Even after she had gathered her courage to sign the divorce papers and revealed her angry voice, Marcell acted as if nothing bad had ever happened.

They were just two souls entangled in a cold relationship. After all, it's been like that for almost the last 7 years.

"What do you want, Marcell?" Catherine asked, full of suspicion.

"Whatchu mean? I missed Amanda's dinner because I was busy. Of course, I have to keep my promise to him" replied Marcell.

"Do you think it's just that you leave, so you can get me out of my daughter's life? I'm not stupid, Catherine. If we get divorced, I'm sure you'll do anything to prevent me from seeing Amanda, unless I send child support, right?"

"Haha. And I'm sure it'll happen sooner than you think. You have to remember that you need me if you want the best for yourself and Amanda. If not, you're nothing."