The One Condition
James smirked, thinking he had won. “One condition? Alright, what is it?”
I leaned forward, matching his smug expression. “Since we’re splitting everything 50/50, that includes household responsibilities too.”
His smirk faded slightly. “What do you mean?”
I smiled sweetly. “I mean, from now on, we’ll divide all housework and childcare equally. We’ll each do half of the cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and school runs. Oh, and since I’ll need to go back to full-time work to keep up with these new expenses, we’ll also split sick days and daycare pickups. Sound fair?”
James shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Claire, that’s not the same thing.”
“Oh, but it is,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “You decided we were a traditional family when it suited you—when it meant I sacrificed my career. Now that you’re making more money, you suddenly want things to be ‘equal’—but only in a way that benefits you. If we’re doing this, we do it properly. Fifty-fifty. In everything.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it.
I stood up and stretched. “You can let me know if you’re still interested in this arrangement. But if not, I expect things to stay exactly as they were before—where we contribute according to what we actually can contribute, not just what looks good on paper.”
James didn’t answer right away. But the next morning, I woke up to the smell of coffee and found him making breakfast—a rare sight. He glanced up, looking sheepish.
“Maybe… we should talk about this again,” he muttered.
I smiled, taking a sip of my coffee. “I thought so.”