The son-in-law's visit

The son-in-law's visit
  "Alice..." her mother touched her face, but the girl wouldn't wake up. "Alice!"
  "Mom!" she opened her eyes exaggeratedly, a little alarmed by the way her mother was waking her up. Immediately, the woman opened her wardrobe and began to look for clothes for her. "There's nothing in there that fits me anymore, everything is too big. What's going on, mom? It's so early."
  "Your husband is here!" her alarmed voice caused the same reaction in Alice, fearing the worst.
  She looked at the time on the wall clock and grew more afraid.
  It was very early! What was Robert doing there at that time of the morning?
  "What? Why is Robert here?!"
  "He's talking to your father and they've been at it for more than half an hour."
  "Damn it!"
  "Alice!"
  "I'm nervous! I don't want him trying to keep the marriage going, I don't want that! And if he tries... he'll see! How can he be so selfish?! He doesn't love me or want to be married to me either."
  "He's losing a lot, it's normal for him to take the risk, Alice."
  "I don't care what he loses, mom! This marriage isn't going to work." Alice felt anxious, she wanted to run to them, interrupt their conversation, and get Robert out of there, but her mother said they'd been talking for more than half an hour, so surely Robert had already told him about what he saw the day before and could use that to stop the divorce, which deeply disturbed Alice.
  She couldn't allow it.
  She ran to the door and her mother shouted at her.
  "Where do you think you're going?! If you think you can interrupt their talk, you're sorely mistaken, Alice Taylor. Get dressed! You're not going out in your pajamas."
  "Mom! I can't let Robert make his move. I'll be free soon! I'm just one step away from it and his damn egocentrism won't stop me."
  "You're still his wife, he's still your husband, remember that. Whatever he's discussing with your father is very important. He was received early and they're not done yet. There are some of your clothes in Mary's room, go and dress. They'll fit you." Alice quietly left the room; she might not interrupt them, it could be catastrophic, especially if her father already knew about Jared, but she would speak to Robert one way or another.
  As she looked at her sister's exaggerated clothes, so typical of her, Alice began to cry, fearing what Robert might tell her father; she knew she should have talked to him yesterday and not just let him go, but it was too late. He was talking to her father.
  "Damn clothes!" she roared in annoyance when she saw herself in the mirror. It would have been better to stay in pajamas because those denim trousers were too tight for her thighs and the fabric too small for her breasts. She looked for shoes in the closet, they were all heels! Too much for that time of the morning. She took off all that clothing and sat on the bed, anxious and angry, punching the bed while silently cursing Robert.
  She looked again in the wardrobe, searching more thoroughly for something decent to wear that morning, but there was nothing.
  Her mother opened the door to Mary's room and threw two hangers on the bed.
  "They're Sofia's, I think they might fit you. I'll wait for you downstairs, I don't think they'll be much longer." her mother withdrew, giving one last look at her daughter. "And no scenes," she requested.
  Alice dressed calmly, she had no other choice. The outfit fit well. Sofia always looked more discreet, but those clothes were very old there, from when she was more daring, so the plaid skirt was above her knees, showing off her thighs and the top exposed her navel, but she put on the jacket and buttoned it to cover her belly.
  She went to the bathroom and combed her hair, tying it at the crown to somewhat hide it.
  She left the room with silent footsteps. She carefully went down the stairs, approaching the door to see if she could hear anything from what her husband was saying to her father.
  Suddenly footsteps approached and the door opened before Alice could stop eavesdropping, Robert's face came into view with a huge smile that faded as he saw Alice in front of him.
  Alice looked over Robert's shoulder at her father's face behind him, Henry's expression was beyond anger, so she looked back at Robert, assuming she would have to stay married to him and that Robert had told about Jared.
  Alice's hand rose forcefully and slapped Robert's face hard, and she repeated the action on the same side of the face, hitting him twice in a row.
  "Slap! Slap!"
  "What did you do?! What did you do?!" she approached to hit his chest, angry, shouting, burning with rage at what her mind imagined, she hated the idea of continuing to be married to Robert Graham, she hated that he got his way. "How could you?! How can you be so cruel?! I hate you! I hate everything about you!"
  "I know, Alice," he said calmly, holding his wife's hands when they hit his arm wounded by the blow his father had given him with the cane the night before.
  "Alice," her father's strong and deep voice calmed her down instantly. "If you have something to discuss with Robert, please do so in a civilized manner." He walked past them, stopping by the door outside. "Come in, you'll want to talk."
  "I'd rather do it outside," Alice grumbled, moving ahead to leave. Robert followed her silently, and Mr. Taylor went to his wife. "Damn jerk! What did you do?! If you think I'm going to stay married to you... you're crazy! I don't love you."
  "You love Jared, I know that," he whispered. "And why does everyone think I want to stay married to you? I didn't come here for that, Alice."
  "W-What?" she turned around, her back to him, passed her hands over her face, drying the tears that had already fallen. "What are you doing here so early, Robert? What was so urgent that you had to talk to my father? I thought..."
"It's no longer your concern, dear wife. Your father will send the divorce papers when they're ready. And don't fret, it will be very quick."
"About yesterday... I... we... we were going to tell you, it didn't have to happen that way."
"I believe you had an entire year to tell me, didn't you? At least he did." He opened the car door, and in a few seconds, he was gone.
Alice wondered if Robert came to try and maintain their marriage, what was he there for? What was he doing there?
As Alice was heading back to the house, her father was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.
Looking at him, she realized that Robert indeed told her father something, as he looked at her angrily.
Mr. Taylor stepped down from the stair he was waiting on and approached his daughter.
When was the last time he raised his hand against one of his daughters?
Maybe during one of his biggest fits of rage, when Sofia burned down the house that Simon had gifted her for her birthday.
Her mother, who was upstairs, noticed her father's intentions.
"Henry Taylor! Don't you dare!" she shouted like a lioness. She ran down the stairs and positioned herself between the two. "What did Robert tell you?" she demanded to know.
"I need to speak with Alice about Jared Sinclair," growled Mr. Taylor. His wife turned around, taken aback.
That was the man her daughter was in love with.
Now her parents knew.