“Well, do not give up,” Mr. Tucsons said, his tone teetering on the edge of condescension. “Sometimes, you just have to accept opportunities that are not ideal to get back on your feet.”“Thank you for the advice,” Justin said through gritted teeth, his appetite gone in an instant.Lilly reached for his hand under the table, but he pulled his hand away, standing up abruptly. “Excuse me,” he muttered, leaving the room.Lilly watched him leave, then turned her gaze to her parents who gave her this look of indifference. She could not hold herself back anymore and stood up to follow Justin.Her parents just looked at each other and continued their meal.Lilly found him in the guest room few minutes later, he was pacing back and forth.“What was that?” she asked, her voice was quite sharp.“I can not take it anymore, Lilly” Justin said as he ran a hand through his hair. “Every day, it is the same thing. The jabs, the pity, the reminders that I am not enough.”“They are not trying to ma

“They do not understand,” Lilly said, reaching for his hand. “But I do. I know how hard you’ are trying your best darling.”Her words brought a small measure of comfort, but they could not erase the sting of the Tucsons’ dismissive attitudes.Taking a deep breath, Justin nodded at her and stood up from the chair to hug her, before falling on the mattress with her.The next day, he woke early and headed out for another job. This time, he worked at a construction site, helping to carry materials and clean up debris. The work was tiring, but Justin found a strange solace in the physical labor. It was straightforward, free of the complicated dynamics that plagued his life at home.When the foreman handed him his pay at the end of the day, it was a crisp seventy-five dollars. He felt a fleeting sense of accomplishment. It was not much as usual, but it was something.If he had known, he would have swallowed his pride from the get go and take on jobs like this to survive and provide for hi

Lilly glanced at him as her heart fell as she noticed the sight of frustration in his eyes. She wanted to defend him, but she could not say any words. When they completed supper, Justin walked back inside to their room out saying to anybody.Lilly went after him a few minutes later and found him sitting on the bed, cradling his head in his hands. “I am sorry, Darling” she whispered, as she slammed the door behind her. “It is not your fault, really,” Justin said, his voice was low, while his head was still in his hands.“I just…I can not keep doing this, Lilly. Living here, feeling like a failure every single day.”“You are not a failure,” Lilly said quickly, sitting beside him.“Then why does it feel like everyone sees me that way?” He asked, his voice breaking in the process.Lilly did not know how to answer him. She reached for his hand, but he pulled away almost immediately, standing up from the bed and started pacing around the small room.“I am trying my best, Lilly,” he said,

Mr. Tucsons stood slowly, his towering stature commanding attention. “If you are so unhappy here, Justin, no one is forcing you to stay.” Justin’s eyes burned with unshed tears of frustration. “Maybe you are right,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. “Maybe I should not stay.” Without further word, he turned and went out, the front door slamming shut behind him. Lilly stood frozen, the room’s suffocating silence crushing down on her.Her mother was the first to speak, her voice tinged with fake worry.“Lilly, you need to think about what is best for you.”Lilly rounded on her, her eyes blazing. “Stop it, Mom. You have done nothing but undermine Justin since the day we moved in. Both of you have!”Mrs. Tucsons raised her hands defensively. “We have only ever wanted what is best for you, Lilly.”“By tearing him down every chance you get?” Lilly shot back. “Do you even understand what that has done to him? To us?”Her father walked forward, his demeanour harsh.“Lilly,

Her eyes welled up with tears, but she fought them back. “I am not the enemy here, Justin. I am on your side. You know that.” “Are you?” he questioned, his voice softer now but laden with scepticism. “Because it does not feel like it. It feels like you are stuck between me and them, and I am the one losing.” The words exchange, although on a soft tone hit a raw nerve with Lilly. Even with the tears, she had to bury her head in her hands as they flow. She could not look at Justin nor give him a reply. It was if he finally saw through her and her actions.Justin, too was not finding it comfortable but he could not keep on like this without voicing out his mind to his wife, if at all he could not do that to his parents in laws.The silence that engulfed them was so suffocating that Justin had to excuse himself and focused on the laptop screen while Lilly sniffled in between her tears.The days blended together, each one defined by the same pattern of failed job seeking and suffocating