Chapter 2After my sister got pregnant before marriage, she cried and asked me to accept my husband's child. Don't blame me for not remembering the old feelings.

As I thought this, a fierce glint slowly appeared in my eyes.

Skylar, seeing that I hadn't come to coax her and wasn’t making any moves, peeked at me from the corner of her eye, trying to gauge my reaction. After all, ever since we were children, whenever our opinions differed, I was always the one to humble myself, coax her, and agree to all her unreasonable demands.

She clearly thought I hadn't heard her properly, so she slowly raised her voice and repeated, "Aria, you're not still clinging to those old-fashioned, outdated ideas, are you? Only the unloved one is the third party! *You* should be the one to leave!"

"You're not worthy of my Brandon!"

Honestly, right then, I really wanted to crack open her little head and see what kind of sludge was sloshing around in there. I never thought the phrase "What the hell is this?" would actually come out of my mouth.

I lunged forward, grabbing handfuls of Skylar’s long, dark hair and tugging with all my might. No matter who tried to pull me off, they couldn't separate me from her. Skylar probably never expected me to snap so violently; she hadn't put up any defenses, leaving her completely blindsided. She could only let me unleash all the pent-up anguish of the past few days on her.

I sat up, tears welling in my eyes, and yelled at her, "From childhood until now, tell me, what have I ever done to wrong you? I always let you have the best food, the best toys first."

"Do you know how terrified I was when I got that call from your college at three-thirty in the morning, telling me you were pregnant?!"

"I took the earliest flight that very night to pick you up, barely sleeping a wink. I was so afraid you’d be too upset, so I climbed countless flights of stairs just to get your leave of absence sorted!"

"I worried about you getting tired, so while you were nesting at my house, I wouldn't let you lift a finger. All you had to do was lie in bed, extend your hand for food, open your mouth to eat, and enjoy everything I did for you!"

"I daresay I've done more for you than your own parents, haven't I? How dare you do this to me!"

It was only then that a hint of panic appeared on Skylar’s delicate face. Seeing that I was genuinely furious, she started cursing at the onlookers, shouting, "What are you all staring at?! Pull this crazy woman off me! Why are you just standing there?! She’s insane!"

Everyone around tried to tell me, "It's not worth it, it's not worth it," but they were too afraid of getting hurt themselves to get close. It wasn't until a familiar figure appeared in my line of sight that I slowly loosened my grip, giving Skylar a chance to scramble out of my grasp.

I smoothed down my wild hair, trying to maintain some semblance of dignity, forcing a stiff smile. "Mom, what are you doing here? I–"

But before I could finish, Mrs. Stone’s hand swung, landing squarely across my face. The force of the slap made me stagger before I managed to regain my balance. I clutched my stinging, swollen cheek, staring in disbelief at Skylar, who had taken refuge behind Mrs. Stone. My voice trembled uncontrollably. "Mom, you knew about this all along too?"

Mrs. Stone’s face lit up with a smile. She tenderly brushed a few strands of sweat-soaked hair from Skylar’s forehead, gently asking if I had scared her.

Then, clearing her throat, she placed her hands on her hips and spoke to me with an air of superiority. "It’s your fault for not being able to keep your man in check. He just made a mistake that all men make! If you won’t have children, there are plenty of women eager to bear a child for my son."

"You’ve been married to Brandon for three years, and you couldn't even give him a child. Whose fault is that? Let me tell you, a barren hen like you has no right to hog my Brandon’s nest!"

"This is outrageous! What kind of woman is as heartless as you? You just don’t want my Brandon's family to thrive! Are you wishing my son would be the end of our family line?!"

Mrs. Stone made no effort to hide the disdain in her eyes. Her face, swollen with anger, was a mass of jiggling flesh, and not a drop of her spittle was wasted; it all landed on my face. But I was in no mood to wipe it off.

Brandon and I had been married for three years, and Mrs. Stone had tormented me for just as long. I knew from the start that she never approved of me. After all, I had neither a degree nor exceptional looks.

Not just Mrs. Stone, but everyone around us said I was punching above my weight with Brandon. So, I walked on eggshells in that house, terrified that any wrong move would displease her.

But even so, my inability to give Brandon a child in our three years of marriage remained Mrs. Stone's biggest grievance, and she'd pick fights with me every other day.

Yet, no matter what indignity I suffered at their hands, I endured it in silence. I was terrified of putting my husband in a difficult position between his mother and me.

But now, I didn't know what all my sacrifices for this family had been for. I felt utterly pathetic, still trembling in fear after Mrs. Stone’s dismissive words.