Chapter 3I’m Inferior to My Sister-in-Law in Every Way

After Mark's older brother passed away, Mark brought a pregnant Claire to live with us.

With two daughters-in-law expecting at the same time, the grief in the house was momentarily overshadowed. My in-laws treated us with a semblance of equality.

But the moment Claire gave birth to a son, the scales began to tip.

And when I held my newborn daughter in my arms and heard their quiet sighs of disappointment, I knew the fragile peace I had fought so hard to maintain was about to shatter.

My daughter and I were their family too. Didn't I deserve a basic level of respect?

But what power does a woman with no income and no support system really have?

I tried crying. I tried screaming.

All it did was cement my reputation as a shrew. My desperation at his coldness was framed as me being crazy, and my "craziness" became his justification for pushing me further away.

They relied on me for every practical need while emotionally exiling me.

I became the family maid.

It escalated to the point where Mark had Claire attend our daughter's parent-teacher conferences.

Because Claire had a job, dressed well, and looked more "presentable" than I did.

They burdened me with endless chores with one hand and condemned my disheveled appearance with the other.

The constant psychological pressure wore me down until their rare praise became my only goal in life.

And in the end, I still had nothing.

No one saw my exhaustion. No one cared.

So, let it end.

I shook Claire's hand off my arm.

"The range hood in the kitchen is broken. Remember to call a repairman."

"And Mark's suits should be kept with matching ties. It makes it easier for him in the morning."

"Since you all agree I can't compare to Claire, I guess these things are her responsibility now."

A flicker of triumph flashed in Claire's eyes.

I felt a strange sense of release.

"You don't need to look so smug about 'winning.' You're just the 'nice guy' who swoops in after every fight we have. But when a real problem comes up, you're never the first one to solve it."

"Doesn't it get exhausting, being like that?"

Looking at this family of hypocrites, I realized that fighting with them was a complete waste of my life.

I stormed over to my father-in-law and smashed the radio on the ground.

I had bought it for him. He was so picky that I had scoured half the city to find one that met his ridiculous standards.

Then, I marched over to my mother-in-law.

I yanked the gold bracelet off her wrist and put it on my own.

She gasped, reaching for it. "That's my bracelet!"

I deftly dodged her.

"This was part of my dowry. You just liked it so much you decided to wear it yourself."

Next, I pulled the jacket off Mark's shoulders and threw it into a puddle.

It was his last birthday present from me.

He was furious. "You shrew! You're being completely unreasonable!"

"I bought all of these things."

"Well, didn't I..." Mark started, then clamped his mouth shut.

What could he say?

In all our years of marriage, he had never once given me a gift. The few pieces of jewelry I owned were all from my family, from before the wedding.