Jake’s smugness quickly disappeared as he realized the gravity of his actions. “I… I didn’t mean…” he stammered, looking at me with wide eyes. “Lisa, I didn’t want it to be like this. I just thought—”

“What did you think? That you could ‘upgrade’ me like a project?” My voice remained calm, though the pain was clear. “Marriage isn’t about lists or procedures, Jake. It’s about respect. If you try to ‘fix’ me again, you’ll pay more than what’s on that paper.”

The air grew heavy with silence. Jake sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how stupid it was. Steve made it seem reasonable, but now I see—it’s poisonous.”

I nodded. “Have you even looked at Steve’s life? What makes you think he’s qualified to give marital advice?”

Jake’s face fell. “You’re right. He has no idea what real relationships cost.” He slapped the list. “I’ve been such a fool.”

“Yes, but we can recover. Let’s tear this up and go back to being equals.”

Jake smiled faintly, the tension easing. “Yeah… let’s do that.”

We shredded the list together, and for the first time in weeks, we felt like a team again. Marriage, after all, is about working together, not fixing one another.