Chapter 5 Threats

• The next few days were pure torture for Becca. Determined to save her marriage and ignore her husband’s appalling behavior, she sat down and tried very hard to wrack her brain to try to guess what was causing him to act this way, but drew a blank. There was nothing she could think of that would make him behave this way, but she was beginning to be hopeful. At least she had not heard anything from her brother regarding Ryan’s threat to stop sponsoring him. So Ryan was probably just trying to bully her into accepting the divorce quietly like a sheep. Well, she was not about to be bullied.
• As though on cue, her phone rang and she sprang for it, hoping that it was Ryan who was calling her. He had been ignoring her calls ever since he left and the only time she had heard from him was three nights ago when he had called to complain that she hadn’t signed the papers, and had threatened her some more. To her greatest disappointment, however, it wasn’t Ryan who was calling, but it was her brother, Toby. Becca took the call, her heart beating slightly faster.
• “Toby.” She said into the phone.
• “Big sis. What’s up?”
• “I’m fine and you?”
• “I’m fine as well. Is everything alright?” Becca asked. She did not want to beat around the bush.
• “Well, I was calling to ask you the same thing.”
• “What do you mean by that?”
• “Well, the last time you called me, was it yesterday, or the day before, you didn’t sound quite like yourself, so I was wondering if something was wrong.” He told her, causing her to heave a sigh of relief. He was only calling because he was worried about her.
• “Um…everything’s fine. You just focus on your studies, okay?”
• “Okay. Did you get the notice though?” Toby asked.
• “What notice?”
• “The one that says Ryan is no longer sponsoring me. Did you guys fight or something? Come on, big sis. You can talk to me, you know.” Toby said. Becca burst into tears immediately at the worry in his voice. So much for the hope that had blossomed in her chest.
• “He’s asking for a divorce, Toby. I don't know what on earth happened, but we were fine when he left for his business trip about a week ago. We even talked on the phone as usual and he sounded normal, so I don’t know why he’s doing this all of a sudden. But don’t you worry, I’ve got you covered. I have enough money to see you through school. Besides I plan to get a job soon too. Sitting at home thinking is only going to drive me crazy.” She finished, wiping at her eyes.
• “I'm so sorry to hear that, big sis. Have you tried talking to him?”
• “I have … several times. He never wants to listen to me. He has even stopped picking up my calls. I don’t think I can’t live without him, Toby. I’m so scared.” Becca cried, trying to get herself under control so that she would not scare her poor brother.
• “Do you want me to come over and keep you company? I’m not too busy this period. I can also try to talk to him if you want.” Toby said, sadness creeping into his voice. Becca was his big sister, but for all intents and purposes, she could as well be his mother. Their mother had died giving birth to a younger sister who had also died shortly after that, and their father had drunk himself to death three years later when Toby was only six years old and Becca was fourteen. Their very aged grandparents had taken them in and had raised them, but they were too old and ailing and it had fallen to Becca to take care of her brother. She had done so remarkably well, as far as Toby was concerned, and later on, she had even had to start caring for his grandparents too, who had become too old to take care of themselves and had to be placed in a nursing home.
• “No, no. I’m not sure Ryan is going to listen to my nineteen year old brother, but thanks anyway. It’s fine. I’ll be fine. Just take care of yourself for me, okay? And let me know the minute you need anything. I have to go now. I love you.” Becca said, pulling herself together.
• “Alright, big sis. I love you too. Take care of yourself.”
• “I will.”
• They hung up and Becca fixed herself dinner, wondering what her next line of action should be. She could not even bring herself to touch the food in front of her, no matter how hard she tried. Since Ryan left the house, that had mostly been the case with her. He did not have another house in this city as far as she knew, but she guessed that he had purchased one just so he could be as far away from her as soon as possible. The thought hurt more than she cared to admit, but she decided not to dwell on that.
• She had just finished washing the dishes that she had used in eating and was wondering if she should begin filling out applications for a job when her phone dinged, signaling that she had a new email. After she had had a miscarriage early in their marriage, Ryan had insisted that she stop working so that she could recover, and somehow, she had not gone back to working or even thought about it…until now. After all, she had had more than enough money at her disposal, but yesterday, she found out that Ryan had blocked her access to the account he had given her from which she could withdraw money anytime she needed.
• Becca was thankful that she had saved up some money in her old account, the one that bore her maiden name. She would get a job which she would use to get by in the meantime, and then reserve the money in her old account for her brother’s fees, in case Ryan continued to behave this way and she had to sign the papers. If it turned out that they settled their differences, she would keep her job no matter what happened and never make the mistake that she had made earlier, she decided.
• Feeling good about this decision, she wiped her hands and checked her mail, the good feeling she had been having less than a second ago evaporating immediately. The mail was from the nursing home in which her grandparents lived. Apparently, Ryan had informed them that he would no longer be paying the bills for her grandparents and that she would be the one who would pay them.
• “Okay. This is getting too far.” Becca thought to herself, not fully processing the implications of what she had just read in the mail yet. Well, enough was enough. Ryan was going to tell her what all of this was about whether he liked it or not. He knew very well that she could not afford to pay the bills of the luxurious nursing home in which her grandparents were living. He had been the one who had suggested moving them there when she newly got married to him, despite her protests, saying he would foot the bill until the end. Now, he wanted to uproot them from the place after they had gotten used to the place?
• She picked up her phone and put a call across to Margie to ask for his new address. At first, Margie was reluctant to give her the address, knowing that doing so would probably get her in trouble, but Becca prevailed upon her to reveal the address to her at last. Ryan was going to have a surprise visitor the next day, and he was going to tell Becca what she wanted to know, whether he liked it or not.