Chapter 4The Price of Your Devotion

Early the next morning, I was jarred awake by aggressive pounding on the front door.

"Open the damn door! Ethan, you lazy brat, get off your ass and open up!"

That grating, screeching voice belonged to none other than my mother-in-law, Martha.

A groggy Ethan stumbled over to unlock the door, and a chaotic stampede of heavy footsteps barged right in.

It wasn't just Martha. Ethan's older brother, his sister-in-law Brenda, and their bratty son Leo had all marched inside.

The entire pack invaded my living room like a crew of looters sacking a store.

Martha slammed herself onto the sofa, propping her mud-caked sneakers right up on my glass coffee table.

"Mom, what are you all doing here?" I asked, emerging from the hallway.

"What? I can't visit my own son's place?" Martha snapped, her beady eyes narrowing as she glared at me with undisguised contempt.

"I heard the house is selling today! I'm here to see if the wire transfer cleared."

They were here to divide the loot.

Leaning against the doorframe, I watched the family circus with cold eyes.

"Mom, the house hasn't sold yet. We ran into a snag yesterday," Ethan quickly explained.

"It didn't sell?" Brenda shrieked instantly. "Why the hell not?! My Leo is waiting on that money for his wedding deposit! His fiancée's family made it crystal clear—no cash this week, the wedding is off!"

Leo, the bleached-blonde punk, was already rummaging through my refrigerator.

He cracked open a can of imported soda, took one sip, and spat it directly onto my hardwood floor.

"Uncle Ethan, what is this garbage? Tastes like crap. Hurry up and hand over the cash, I need to buy my new car."

Staring at the sticky puddle on the floor, my fists clenched tight.

"This is my home. Show some basic decency," I said coldly.

"Oh, your home?" Martha jumped up, pointing a crooked finger right in my face. "You married into our family and couldn't even drop an egg, and you dare call this your house? So what if your dead parents left it to you? You belong to my son now, which means everything you own belongs to us!"

"Exactly!" Brenda chimed in, sneering. "Listen to me, sister-in-law, don't be so damn selfish. Since your broken body can't give Ethan a child, hand the equity over to Leo. When Leo has a son down the line, we'll let you foster one to look after you when you're old. Isn't that doing you a favor?"

A bitter laugh escaped my throat.

Pure, unadulterated parasitism.

They didn't just want my money; they wanted to drain every drop of my blood to feed their lazy brood.

Foster his kid?

Who the hell would want a bastard raised by that delinquent?

Standing to the side, Ethan made no move to defend me. Instead, he put on a deeply troubled expression and looked at me pleadingly.

"Babe, look, my brother's family is in a real bind. How about we just sign the closing papers today and hand over the buyer's earnest deposit to help Leo out first?"

The moment Ethan opened his mouth, I knew the real trap had been sprung.

He wanted to use his family's mob mentality to bully me into submission.

If I refused, I was the ungrateful, cruel wife destroying family harmony.

He had pulled this trick countless times before, and every time, I had backed down to keep the peace.

Not today. Not ever again!

"Sure," I smiled, beaming brightly.

Everyone in the room froze, utterly stunned by my instant compliance.

Ethan looked ecstatic. "Babe, you really mean it?!"

"Of course." I walked calmly to the coffee table, picked up the glass mug sitting on it, and smashed it violently onto the floor.

Shattered shards exploded everywhere, making Martha yank her feet back with a terrified yelp.

"Since none of you have an ounce of shame left, this marriage is officially over!"

I whipped out my phone, pulled up our family group chat, and hit the mention-all tag.