The Marriage Auction

He was trying to hawk my new ride at a steal, thinking he could line his pockets and play me for a fool. I seethed inwardly.

I bit back my fury, gave my workers the nod, and we started to head out.

However, Harold clamped onto me, oozing arrogance. "Jim, you really want to cross me? One word from me, and my sister will dump you. You'll be left a lonely old man no one wants."

With that, he spat right in my face; A clear insult.

The workers inhaled sharply, scrambling to hand me tissues. I wiped the vile spit away, again and again, but it just would not come clean. All I could do was wrench away from Harold's grip and grit out, "Go on, call Ella now. Let's hear what she has to say."

…

When he saw the anger on my face, Harold froze for a moment. Then he glanced at the bespectacled man beside him, who was clearly enjoying the show, and immediately straightened up and began lecturing me as if he were completely in the right.

"I just think a small business owner like you has no business driving a car that expensive. It's a waste. You might as well sell it and buy gold for my sister. At least that'll go up in value.

"Why are you getting so worked up? Can't you talk like a civilized person? Or have you forgotten I'm your brother-in-law?"

Back when my wife and I were dating, she told me her brother was more than ten years older than her.

Harold was like a father to her, raising her all on his own after their parents passed away. It was not easy.

Up until today, I always looked up to Harold, a man known for his solid honesty and good nature.

So when my wife suggested we bring him on as our driver, I did not think twice before saying yes.

I never expected it to lead to that kind of baseless headache.

Trying to keep my cool for my wife's sake, I tried to reason with him, "I've always treated Ella right, never missed a single holiday gift."

"Driving a car like this is pretty modest for our crowd. Ella will tell you the same."

However, my words just set Harold off.

"Talk back? While your mom's got my sister slaving away like a maid, and you turn a blind eye? And you want me to ask her?"

As he spat out lies about my parents, he shoved me around, hurling insults.

"You lowlife, flaunting your fancy car, acting all high and mighty, thinking you can cheat on us Jamisons because we're down on our luck, huh?

"I'm warning you, you won't get away with it, not on my watch."

His spit was flying, and his breath was rank.

I backed away, fighting nausea and fury, until I bumped into Ella, who came running.

She jumped right in, all blame and no questions, "Jim, what the heck did you do to set my brother off like this? He's got a heart condition, he can't afford to get worked up."

"Apologize to him, now!"

I could hardly believe it. I was just about to set the record straight when Harold, smirking with satisfaction, beat me to the punch.

"In our family, the women handle the finances. You better transfer everything to my sister in the next thirty minutes, or I'll air your dirty laundry for all to see."

His booming voice drew a crowd, all eyes and ears on us.

Ella turned on me.

"What dirty laundry, brother? Don't tell me he's actually got a mistress on the side?"

Her eagerness for drama was a far cry from the gentle wife I thought I knew.

Humiliation washed over me, and I spun on my heel, ready to bolt home and clear things up later. However, before I could escape, Harold's fist came out of nowhere, slamming into my eye.

A sharp cry escaped me as I crumpled to the ground, the world turning into a blur of darkness.

He yanked my hair, his voice a venomous whisper in my ear, "You see what happens when you cross me about that clunker? From now on, I'm the one calling the shots in your family. You don't get a word in, understand?"

Ella, indifferent to my agony, stood smugly with her arms folded.

"Big bro's always looking out for me, knows how to settle scores. That's what you get for crossing me. Serves you right, just deal with it."

The workers sensed trouble and rushed over to break it up.