Chapter 14
Anastasia headed down to the local grocery store, while Herman had been bumming around the whole day. His assistant had called him several times, there were documents waiting for his review and approval. Herman hit the study to get down to business and called a video meeting with some of the top dogs.
An hour flew by before Herman knew it. He walked out of his study, two dishes were already on the table, and Anastasia was bustling around the kitchen. Seeing Anastasia’s busy figure and the piping hot food on the table, Herman felt a hint of homey warmth. That was life for the average couple. The wife took care of the house chores, cooked, kept everything shipshape at home, while the hubby brought home the bacon, each fulfilling their roles.
“You’re finally done “Anastasia came out with soup, smiling. “Everything is ready now. You must be starving.”
Anastasia had just gotten back from grocery shopping when she heard Herman holding an online video meeting in his study. She didn’t want to bother him. Working at a company like that must have had him swamped. He had spent the whole day with her, thinking of this, she felt a bit quilty.
Anastasia served the food, and they sat down to have dinner. Herman looked at the meat dish, veggie dish, and soup on the table, and complimented, “Not bad.”
“You must be busy with work, I’ll take care of the meals at home. Do you need a packed lunch for tomorrow? I’ll make it in the morning, then you can take it to work,” Anastasia said. 7 see many people bring their own lunch. It’s clean and saves money”
Herman didn’t want Anastasia to work so hard. He said, “No need, we have a cafeteria at work, we don’t pay for meals.”
“Oh, I see.” Anastasia nodded, took out the bank card Herman gave her earlier and said, “Here, you should keep this. It’s your money”
Anastasia had accepted the card in front of Salma to avoid hurting Herman’s feelings. This was the money Herman had earned through hard work. They had only known each other for a short time, and she felt a bit embarrassed to accept it.
Herman didn’t expect Anastasia to give it back, he said, “This is the family fund, there are many expenses in the future. You just bought a car, you probably don’t have much money left. A husband providing for his family is a given. Keep it, you need money to buy groceries and daily necessities. I’ll have my salary deposited into this account every month.”
Anastasia was indeed running low on cash, but she wasn’t used to spending the money of others. “Then I’ll keep a record of our expenditures every day. I have a budgeting app, so we can see what every penny is spent on. We agreed on splitting costs 50/50 before, whatever we spend each month, I’ll pay half, and I’ll deduct the other half from this card.” Anastasia was principled, she insisted on sticking to the 50/50 cost–splitting agreement they had set before.
Herman sighed helplessly. “Whatever you say.”
Only by splitting costs could Anastasia alleviate some of the pressure she felt.
Anastasia felt relieved. “Then it’s settled. By the way, how much is the rent here each month?”
Herman wasn’t quite sure, he estimated. “About 8500 a month.”
A three–bedroom apartment in Riverdale for a little over 8500 a month, that’s not too bad.
Anastasia nodded. “Then I’ll pay 3000 for the rent in the future.” If she paid half, she probably wouldn’t have money for food. Looked like, she needed to increase her income
Herman frowned, looking at Anastasia he said, “Anastasia, when I married you, it wasn’t so you could share the burden. I also don’t want you to feel financial pressure after marrying me. I earn more, I can afford the rent, you don’t need to worry.”
This time, Herman decided not to back down. This girl cared too much about small things, always wanting to share everything. If she paid the rent and the living expenses, what would be left?
Herman said, “Anastasia, marriage needs nurturing, not nitpicking. There’s no fair line when it comes to responsibilities. For example, when we have a baby in the future, I can’t help you bear the hardship of pregnancy”
Hearing the words “having a baby” Anastasia was at a loss.
“Alright.” Anastasia felt Herman was getting annoyed, so she didn’t say anything more. “Let’s eat.”
Although Anastasia wasn’t a professional chef, her cooking was pretty good. The two of them finished both dishes. Seeing the empty plates, Anastasia quietly said, should cook more next time.”
Herman stood up to collect the dishes. Anastasia said, “I’ll do it.”
“I got it.” Herman took the dishes, saying. “You said we should share everything. You cook, and I wash dishes. That’s fair”
Since they were splitting the costs, they should also split the chores. Anastasia felt guilty thinking about how she didn’t contribute to buying the house, so she wanted to do more. She was also worried that being too nitpicky would hurt Herman’s pride.
In the end, it was still Herman who washed the dishes. Anastasia sneakily peeked at Herman washing dishes. Seeing a man do housework was quite charming. She realized living with Herman wasn’t too bad.
If the employees and executives at Elysian Technologies saw Herman, such a big shot, living in a small house with his newlywed wife, washing dishes, they would probably be taken aback.
Anastasia looked away, her phone rang, and it was Monica Anastasia answered the phone. “Monica, what’s up?”
“There’s a class reunion on Friday, Ms. Sherry will be there too. She just called me and asked about you. I think she wants to see you.”
Hearing this, Anastasia hesitated
Ms. Sherry was Anastasia’s high school teacher, who was very kind to her and was her mentor. If her mentor wanted to see her, she had to go to the reunion. But if she went, she would run into Cason.
