“Help your sister who’s struggling,” their mother reminded them after the divorce.
“Don’t you want to aid your sister? She’s in trouble after the split,” she scolded.
The two sisters sat at their mother’s round table, receiving her complaints.
“Your Jules is a real spoiled kid!” Madame Dupont declared bluntly. “He works temporary jobs, yet he brings home only a pittance!”
“Mom, three thousand euros isn’t enough for you?” the younger, Chloé, snapped.
“It matters little to me. The point is that he should be able to meet your needs,” the mother retorted, pursing her lips.
“He does,” the young woman muttered, frowning.
“I don’t see it! Just yesterday you borrowed two hundred euros from me,” Madame Dupont reminded. “If he can’t feed you, get a divorce! Find someone better! Besides, he seems a bit dim.”
“Mom, I think you’re overstepping,” Charlotte interjected, defending her sister for the first time.
“I’m only stating facts! He’s a little redhead and even stutters,” Madame Dupont scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Honestly, Chloé, you deserve better. Before it’s too late, you need to end the marriage,” she added, turning to the youngest.
“Mom, Jules has golden hands. And it’s not about looks,” Charlotte replied, noticing her mother’s pressure on Chloé. “If you measure everything in money, he has an apartment, a car, and he loves Chloé. That’s evident!”
Madame Dupont eyed her eldest with contempt, thinking she was meddling where she didn’t belong.
“You’re alone and nearing forty; stop giving advice,” the mother snapped, pushing Charlotte away. “At forty you’ll take whatever comes…”
Chloé listened in silence, watching her mother and sister with indifference.
“You’re bragging about him… a studio in an old building, a car with no prestigenothing impressive!” Madame Dupont said disdainfully.
“Chloé, what do you think?” Charlotte asked her quiet sister. “Got an opinion?”
“I’m not suremaybe Mom’s right,” the young woman whispered, who had initially defended her husband but was now leaning toward her mother’s view. “He recently told me I should look for a job…”
“See!” Madame Dupont crossed her arms. “We’re already there. It’s frightening to imagine what’s next!”
“And why shouldn’t Chloé work? Few can afford to do nothing. I’m surprised Jules hasn’t pushed her to work earlier,” Charlotte retorted.
“Why are you defending her like that?” the mother asked her daughter.
“Because I’m afraid that by pressuring you, you’ll ruin my sister’s life,” the young woman explained calmly.
“That’s none of your business,” Madame Dupont roared at the elder. “You give advice, but Chloé deserves better. If Jules truly loved her, he’d do everything for her happiness. Lacking good looks, he has neither money…”
Chloé, mouth agape, was spellbound by her mother’s words.
Madame Dupont’s accusations worked. Soon Chloé began to criticize Jules.
“Are you happy with your salary?” she asked her husband.
“It’s fine, why?”
“I don’t think so,” Chloé shook her head. “You should look for another job.”
“Another? I’m fine where I am,” he replied, nonchalantly but slightly uneasy.
“Not for me!” she declared. “A tiny flat, a modest car nothing I can brag about to the neighbors.”
“That’s odd; it used to suit you,” Jules said thoughtfully. “What changed?”
“Nothing, but my perspective shifted. Love once blinded me; now I see clearly,” Chloé justified.
“Fine,” he replied indifferently, hoping she’d stop.
Under Madame Dupont’s relentless influence, Chloé kept harassing Jules.
“Listen, your dissatisfaction is getting on my nerves,” he growled, teeth clenched. “I’ve heard you, but I can’t change anything.”
“I want a husband who grows, not one who stagnates,” she said harshly.
“Sorry I’m not meeting your expectations!” Jules replied coldly, heading toward the bedroom. “Pack your bags!”
“Where am I supposed to go?” Chloé asked, raising an eyebrow.
“To a place with a nice apartment and a luxury car,” he answered bluntly. “I’d never forgive myself if I spent my life with a good-for-nothing like me. I’m sure you’ll find someone who can shower you with gold and diamonds. I can’t…”
Madame Dupont was the first to hear that Jules had kicked Chloé out.
“What a scoundrel! Who would’ve thought he could do that? You shouldn’t have married him,” the mother fumed, hurling curses at her soninlaw.
“I only asked him to improve and earn more,” Chloé sobbed.
“Anyway, you can’t expect anything good from a brute. Don’t worry; you’ll find someone better, and Jules will eventually regret it and beg you back,” Madame Dupont reassured her daughter.
Homeless and without a husband, Chloé moved into her mother’s former bedroom.
“What will you do now?” asked Charlotte, answering their mother’s call.
“Nothing,” Chloé replied, staring at her phone.
“About finding a jobare you even thinking about it?” Charlotte hinted.
“No. I see no point. I’ll find a man richer than Jules,” Chloé answered confidently.
“Why bother your sister? She needs rest after everything she’s been through,” Madame Dupont intervened, defending her younger daughter.
For nearly two months, she supported her daughter who was confined to the couch.
Soon she realized she couldn’t manage alone and called Charlotte for help.
After work, Charlotte visited her mother, sensing an emergency.
“You don’t want to help your sister?” Madame Dupont asked sharply.
“With what?”
“Not with what, but how,” her mother corrected. “Financially. It’s tough for both of us.”
“Who forced you to brainwash Chloé with divorce talk?” Charlotte challenged. “Without your meddling, everything would’ve been fine.”
“Oh!” Madame Dupont exclaimed, clutching her heart. “How dare you say that? Jules is an idiot, a coward! He couldn’t handle someone like Chloé and left. I want you to leave; I don’t want to see you anymore! Instead of helping, you criticize us!”
At that moment Chloé appeared, confronting her sister.
“You’re defending the one who betrayed me and kicked me out?”
“You’re the cause! Stop listening to Mom…”
“You think you can teach me about life? You’re still single?” Chloé snapped.
Charlotte shook her head, hearing the turmoil between her sister and mother, and walked toward the door.
She no longer wanted to talk to them, just as Chloé and Madame Dupont no longer sought contact with her.
