Chapter 1: The Backup Option
My sister kept jokingly calling my husband "her backup option" — until he finally put her in her place during a family dinner.
After my sister, Eliza, divorced her husband, she rented a house in my neighborhood, just a ten-minute walk from mine.
She started coming over almost every day for a cup of tea.
Tearful and completely broken, she was constantly telling me how hard the divorce had been for her.
I never minded.
I wanted to support my sister in any way I could.
My husband, Andrew, didn't mind that Eliza spent several hours at our house almost every day either.
One day, while Eliza and I were seated in the kitchen, Andrew came in, politely asked if he'd be bothering us, and then made lunch for all three of us.
Eliza smiled and said:
"God, Andrew is such a perfect husband!
I wish I had someone like him."
At the time, I didn't think much of it.
It didn't seem like a big deal.
The next day, Eliza came over again.
Usually, she showed up looking like she'd been crying, without makeup and in something close to loungewear.
I understood.
She was going through a lot of stress, so who could expect her to dress up?
But this time, she arrived in a beautiful fitted dress with her makeup done.
I even asked if she was heading to some kind of party after leaving my place.
She laughed and said:
"Oh, I just felt like dressing up a little.
Maybe I wanted Andrew to notice me, too."
My eyes nearly popped out of my head.
"Eliza, what are you talking about?"
She just giggled and said:
"Oh, come on, it's just a joke!
If something ever happened to you, I'd take Andrew for myself."
I nearly dropped my cup of tea.
"How dare you say something like that?
Andrew is my husband!"
She just shrugged and said:
"Oh, stop getting so upset.
Just think of Andrew as my backup option in case something ever goes wrong between you two.
I'm only joking."
Well, I didn't like that at all.
I asked Eliza to stop talking about Andrew that way because it made me uncomfortable.
I was trying to keep the peace in the family.
But it kept happening.
Every time she stopped by, she'd laugh right in front of Andrew and say things like:
"You'd be such a perfect husband for me."
Or:
"It's such a shame I didn't meet you first."
I kept trying to explain to Eliza that she needed to stop talking like that.
But yesterday, we had a family dinner.
Our whole family gathered at our house.
Andrew was carrying dishes to the table and helping me while I finished up dessert in the kitchen.
Since we have an open-plan kitchen and living room, I could hear Eliza shamelessly flirting with Andrew right in front of everyone.
She said:
"Oh, Andrew, these dishes look amazing.
Would you cook for me like this too if we were married?"
I could feel my face turning red with anger.
I was already walking toward her, ready to tell her exactly what I thought in front of everyone.
But Andrew smiled and said:
"You know, Eliza, there's actually something I'd like to bring out for you.
Right now.
A special dish just for you."
I had no idea what was going on, but Andrew stepped away for about five minutes.
When he came back, Eliza suddenly screamed:
"No!
How could you do this to me?"
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May you like
What did Andrew bring out that made Eliza scream like that?
Comment **"NEXT"** if you want Part 2 — it's in the comments below.
