She does not get to decide what my life was worth.

I do.” Then she set her terms, plainly and without apology, and I agreed to every one of them without hesitation: a fixed schedule she could count on, a proper written contract that spelled out her standing in black and white, and full authority over the running of the household, with no future partner of mine ever permitted to interfere with it or with her again.

She did not ask for these things timidly, as favors.

She stated them as conditions, the way a person states conditions when they finally understand their own worth, and it was one of the best things I have ever been asked to sign.