"I'm laughing because you're so sure of yourself. You think Mom will come crawling back. But what if she doesn't? What if it's you begging her to come home?"

"Impossible."

My dad didn't even hesitate.

"Your mother isn't that important. She's just a housewife. It's not like we can't live without her."

"Then let's make a bet."

He scoffed. "A bet on what?"

I found a pen and paper, then spoke slowly and deliberately.

"We bet that within three months, Mom won't come back. And she'll be doing better than ever."

"If she does come back, we'll apologize, and we'll even—"

"An apology isn't enough."

Grandma cut in.

"If you two come crawling back, you hand over half your paycheck to your brother and his wife every month. Help them with their mortgage."

"Fine by me."

I didn't argue. I wrote it down.

"But if Mom doesn't come back within three months, and one of you goes begging her to return, then you divorce Mom. Clean break. No harassment."

My dad didn't seem to think losing was even a possibility. He reached for the pen immediately.

But my brother grabbed it first.

"Dad, if she's betting that big, three months isn't enough. That's too short. They could easily tough it out for three months."

"We want it changed to six months."

"If you and Mom can hold out for six months, then you win. Same rules apply to us."

The extra three months didn't bother me.

If anything, it worked in my favor.

"Deal."

As my dad signed, I adjusted the action camera clipped to my chest.

Everything that had happened today was on tape.

If any of them tried to go back on their word, I'd drop the footage in the family group chat, blast it on social media, and let the whole world watch them humiliate themselves.

The agreement was signed. Two copies.

We took ours and turned to leave. That's when my dad called out to my mom.

"Lauren, I'm giving you one last chance. Apologize, and we'll void the bet. I'll act like none of this ever happened."

Mom didn't turn around. She just tossed one line over her shoulder.

"No need. Because the only one who's going to lose is you."