On Christmas Eve, my husband, Jonathan Perez, and I fought because of his brother’s wife, Stella Perez. Stella had bought his mom a gold necklace, but I didn’t prepare anything. Jonathan felt I made him lose face in front of his family. I didn’t cut him any slack and retorted, “You never gave me an engagement gift!” My words totally shut him up. My husband, Jonathan Perez, and I were college classmates. When we were planning to get married, and my family asked for an engagement gift worth one hundred and eighty thousand dollars, Jonathan got annoyed right away. He said, “No way. Your parents are selling you. I don’t have the money, and I’m not about to ask my parents for such a huge sum. They’ve saved up their money with so much trouble. If I take it all, I’ll be a total jerk. If you want it, I’ll borrow the money, and we’ll pay it back together later.” He kept trying to convince me that we shouldn’t use our parents’ savings and said he couldn’t bring himself to use his parents’ life savings to marry me. Finally, he came up with what he thought was a brilliant idea: that we could adopt a two-sided marriage, in which the couple maintained close ties with their respective families of origin after marriage, without being forced to fully integrate into each other’s families, and there were no engagement gifts, no wedding gifts, and an equal sharing of household chores. At that time, I just thought Jonathan was so filial and sensible. Without thinking twice, I agreed. At first, things were nice. We kept our finances separate and shared the housework equally. But a few months later, conflicts started. It all began when my mother, Penelope Bennett’s birthday was approaching. I asked Jonathan what gift he was planning to give Penelope. For some reason, that question set him off, and he yelled, “Emilia Bennett, have you forgotten? We have a two-sided marriage. We agreed to take care of our own parents. Now, you’re trying to get money out of me again. Is your family that broke? You’re always eyeing other people’s wallets.” Jonathan’s words were so mean that my face turned red with anger. “Why are you being so nasty? You married me, so my parents are your parents, too. Can’t you do something on their birthdays?” To be honest, I had no clue what a two-sided marriage really was. At first, I thought it was just like a bare-bones marriage. After being scolded by Jonathan, I was completely dazed. He said, “I can do something willingly, but you can’t ask for that. Besides, with our two-sided marriage, we agreed to handle our own relatives. It’s not my duty to give gifts. If I do, it’s just out of kindness.” Seeing my unhappy face, Jonathan finally softened his tone a bit. “Sorry. I know I was a bit harsh, but I made it clear before we got married. You can’t break the rules.” Seeing how sure of himself Jonathan looked, I finally realized something was off. “Are you saying that with our two-sided marriage, I don’t have to do anything for your parents on their birthdays or during holidays?” “Of course. We agreed to take care of our own parents. I’m not going to break the rules,” Jonathan said, raising his chin, looking all cocky. “Then why didn’t you say anything when I bought your mom clothes and supplements on Mother’s Day?” I asked. Jonathan blushed under my gaze. After a while, he tried to argue, saying, “That was just your kindness to my mom. After all, you’re my wife.” “Well, you’re my husband. Aren’t you going to show your kindness on my mom’s birthday?” I was so angry that I shouted. “I already told you. I can do it willingly, but you can’t ask for that. I was going to. But since you asked, I won’t. Figure out what to do for your mom’s birthday by yourself. I won’t show up that day,” Jonathan said with a cold face, trying to intimidate me.
I didn’t want to bother with him and just said, “Suit yourself.” Sure enough, on Penelope’s birthday, Jonathan didn’t show up. He didn’t even send a WhatsApp message to wish her a happy birthday. To keep Penelope’s birthday party from being spoiled, I muddled through with vague excuses. After all the relatives had left, I told my parents the whole story. At first, I could tell it calmly. But as I went on, my tears streamed down. I shouted, “Mom, Dad, I had no idea a two-sided marriage was like this before. I thought it just meant no engagement gift or wedding gift. The last time his family came over, I did everything, from booking the hotel to showing them around. I never thought that when it came to our family matters, he’d just say I couldn’t ask him to do something. He’s such a jerk!” That night, the more I talked, the angrier I got, cussing like crazy. I thought my parents would angrily side with me against Jonathan. But to my surprise, they were much calmer than I expected. Penelope said, “Don’t cry. Isn’t this a good thing? From now on, you don’t have to worry about what to give Jonathan’s parents during the holidays. Let him handle his family’s affairs. That’s pretty great, isn’t it?” I never thought my parents would be so open-minded. They broke it down for me, and I suddenly saw the light.
After that, I completely changed my attitude toward Jonathan’s family. No more gifts and no more greetings; I even left their family group chat. The moment I left, Jonathan got upset. “Emilia, why’d you leave the group chat? What if my parents need to reach you?” Jonathan burst through the door after work, demanding answers. I retorted, “Why would they need me? They have you, don’t they? We agreed on a two-sided marriage with no interference. Besides, you never joined my family’s group chat.” Jonathan was completely stumped by my logic, unable to come up with a response for quite a while. Finally, he gave me a long look before disappearing into the study to make a call. I didn’t know what he said, but he stopped bugging me about the group chat after that. Once I stopped dealing with Jonathan’s family affairs, I felt relaxed. After work, I’d cook if I was in a good mood or just order takeout if I wasn’t. One day, Jonathan came home to find I’d ordered Fish and Chips. His face immediately became serious. “Takeout again? That’s so unhealthy. My doctor just told me I have liver issues and shouldn’t eat such food. Can’t you think about me for once?” “Then don’t eat it! The kitchen’s right there. Cook something yourself!” I snapped, rolling my eyes. Hearing that, Jonathan completely got angry. “I’m already exhausted from work, and now I have to cook? Can’t you be like other wives, handling things at home and giving me a comfortable place to come back to?” Hearing Jonathan’s demands, I rolled my eyes and sneered, “Please, dude. Other men’s wives got fancy engagement gifts, so naturally, they went the extra mile. You never gave me anything. We have a two-sided marriage. You can’t just have everything you want.” Jonathan’s face turned ashen again, completely stunned by my comeback. Finally, he slammed the door and left.
After that, Jonathan and I pretty much ignored each other. But right before Christmas, Jonathan finally gave in and sent me five hundred dollars. I was shocked when I saw the notification. “Why did you send me money?” During the three months we were married, we kept our finances super clear. So, honestly, after getting such a big transfer out of nowhere, my first thought wasn’t joy but suspicion. I thought, “What’s he planning now?” “My year-end bonus came in. Can’t I send you some money?” Jonathan rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed. His words made my suspicion just now seem petty. I felt a bit embarrassed and awkwardly scratched my head. That transfer was the start of us warming up again, like before we got married. But that didn’t last long. A week later, new problems cropped up. One night, just as I was about to fall asleep, Jonathan suddenly whispered in my ear, “Honey, how about spending Christmas with my family this year? Next year, we can go to yours. How’s that sound?” He sounded so careful like he was worried I’d say no. Honestly, I didn’t care where we spent Christmas. My parents’ place was just a neighborhood away, and I often went there for meals. However, with the tension between Jonathan and me, I hadn’t thought about getting along with his family. Now, going there for Christmas… My expression was a bit mixed. Jonathan noticed my hesitation and quickly added, “Honey, even though I said we’d do our own thing for Christmas, this is our first year married. If you don’t come with me, my parents will feel embarrassed in the village.” Jonathan sounded so pitiful that I couldn’t help but agree, “Alright, we’ll go to your place this year. But remember, it’s my turn next year. After Christmas, I’m heading back home. You have to come with me, and don’t even think about backing out.” Jonathan nodded eagerly, patting his chest to promise he wouldn’t. Jonathan’s place wasn’t too far from where we worked, just about 40 miles away. It would take around an hour to drive there. Since it was not that far, I didn’t bring much. But I didn’t expect Jonathan to look so annoyed when he saw me getting into the car with just one bag. “Only one bag?” Jonathan circled me a few times before hitting me with the question. “What? Your place isn’t that far. What’s wrong with just one set of clothes?” I asked back. He shouted anxiously, “I saw you buying a bunch of stuff yesterday, like fish oil, high-end red wine, and lobster. Where are those? Are you planning to let them rot at home?”
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