My sister-in-law and I married into this family on the same day, but from the moment we walked through the door, my mother-in-law favored me. She cooked me king crab for every meal and prepared exquisite, handmade green pastries for me daily, while my sister-in-law, Christina, never got a single bite. I tried talking to her about it again. “Mom, this isn’t fair to Christina. It’s going to cause problems in the family.” And it had. Christina had gotten into a huge fight with her over it, smashing half the things in the living room. My mother-in-law just scoffed. “I don’t care about her! Someone like her wouldn’t even get a scrap from my table if she was starving!” She never changed. Every meal, the best food was always mine. But what was strange was that Christina stopped complaining. In fact, she started acting as if her mother-in-law was her own mother. Then, one day, I overheard their conversation. I realized they had formed an alliance, a united front against a common enemy. And that enemy was me. 1 “Honey, time to eat!” My mother-in-law, all smiles, brought a tray of fragrant dishes into my room. “Mom, I don’t want any more crab. I’d rather just eat downstairs with everyone else. It’s not right, getting special treatment like this.” Ever since I got married, she had served every single one of my meals in my room, treating me like a princess and herself like a handmaiden. I’d told her countless times she didn’t have to, but she never listened. “No, no, you eat here,” she insisted, her smile never wavering. “The dining room downstairs is damp and gloomy. Your room gets the best light.” “The dampness is bad for a woman’s health. And it’s not king crab today, I made you something different. I guarantee you’ll love it!” She was right. My room was the sunniest in the house. Christina had thrown a massive fit over this very room when we first moved in. “Why do they get the biggest, sunniest room? You’re so biased! I guess you won’t be needing us to take care of you when you’re old!” Christina had sobbed, her eyes swollen and red. My mother-in-law, far from placating her, had scolded her right back. “Is that any way for an older sister to behave? You’re the elder, she’s the younger. Did your teachers not teach you about sharing? This is my house! You have no right to demand anything!” “You have no manners at all!” That had been the last straw for Christina. She had lunged at my mother-in-law, and in the ensuing scuffle, she’d knocked out one of her teeth. I had suggested to my husband, Patrick, that we move out to ease the tension, but my mother-in-law had cried so hysterically that we couldn’t bring ourselves to leave. My relationship with Christina was, to put it mildly, strained. To protect the bond between my husband and his brother, I had constantly urged Patrick to help his brother out at work. Snapping back to the present, I looked at the food she’d brought. Stuffed green peppers, sautéed greens, and fish. No king crab, finally. But after one bite of the stuffed pepper, my sensitive palate detected it immediately. It wasn’t ground meat inside. It was crabmeat. She had tried to mask the taste with a mountain of spices, but I could still tell. I flushed the entire meal down the toilet. When she came to collect the dishes and saw the empty plates, she was beaming. “Good girl, my sweet girl. It’s good that you ate. My most important job right now is taking care of you.” Everyone said my mother-in-law favored me because my family was wealthy. She was sucking up to me, afraid I’d leave. I thought so too, at first. But then I realized that her kindness was a velvet glove hiding an iron fist. Her motives were far from what they seemed on the surface. 2 That evening, when I got home from work, Christina happily announced that she was pregnant. My brother-in-law, Andrew, was ecstatic. “Mom, Christina’s pregnant! You have to take good care of her now!” For once, my mother-in-law looked genuinely pleased. “Of course, don’t worry. You’re both my daughters-in-law. I’ll dote on both of you.” Just then, Christina caught the scent of durian. “Mom, I’m craving durian,” she said, her eyes lighting up. Without a word, my mother-in-law went and got the fruit, pried it open, and handed the largest, most succulent piece to me. “Honey, fruit is good for you. You said you wanted durian yesterday, so I went out and bought it especially for you. Here, eat up!” I glanced at Christina, expecting an explosion. The old Christina would have flipped the table and started screaming. But this new Christina just smiled sweetly. “You have the big piece, Nina. I just need a little bite to satisfy my craving.” I didn’t take the fruit. I gave my mother-in-law a faint smile. “I don’t feel like it, Mom. I don’t have much of an appetite. I think I’ll just go upstairs and rest.” A few minutes later, she came up to my room, trying to coax me. “Honey, are you upset? Don’t worry, in my heart, you’re the most important one!” “Even if she’s pregnant, she can’t compare to a single finger of yours! From now on, you’re my real daughter!” I forced a smile and said nothing. An hour later, I went downstairs for a glass of water and overheard my mother-in-law whispering to Christina in her room. “Christina, my dear, I’m sorry you have to put up with this. I have no choice. Nina was spoiled rotten growing up.” “We have to think about the bigger picture. Just remember, you and Andrew are the ones who truly matter to me.” “For the sake of our family’s future, for your little family, we have to stick together against the outsider!” I’d heard this exact speech a few days ago. The initial shock had worn off. It had even made me wonder if my own husband, Patrick, wasn’t her biological son. That would explain her two-faced behavior. But Patrick and his brother looked like they were cast from the same mold, and they both strongly resembled their late father. Still, to be certain, I decided to secretly arrange a DNA test for Patrick and his mother. The next day, Andrew had a sudden relapse of an old illness and was hospitalized. He’d had leukemia as a child but had made a full recovery after timely treatment. Now, it was back, and he needed a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Patrick, without a second thought, offered to be the donor. The series of tests that followed confirmed what I already suspected: my husband and Andrew were full biological brothers. The surgery was a success. My mother-in-law cried until her eyes were nearly swollen shut. She only started to recover after both brothers were discharged. She clasped my hand and Patrick’s, her voice thick with gratitude. “You are good children. You saved your brother’s life. I was right to favor you all along.” I didn’t expose her charade. I wanted to see how long she could keep up the act. As I was leaving, she reminded me, “Honey, don’t forget to take your vitamins. I’m just waiting for you to get pregnant, too. I’ll take care of the baby for you.” I glanced at the bottle of vitamins on my nightstand. She had bought them for me, making a point to tell me she had picked the most expensive brand. Patrick wrapped his arms around me, beaming. “See? It’s love for me, overflowing to you. She’s always favored me, and now she favors you. And now that I’ve saved my brother, Christina shouldn’t have any more issues with us.” I gave a weak smile and didn’t reply. 3 My mother-in-law’s blatant favoritism continued. Late in Christina’s pregnancy, my mother-in-law came down with a high fever. Even then, she ordered Christina to cook for me. “Christina, make Nina something she likes. And fry up some celery for her.” Christina, heavily pregnant, could barely move. Even walking a few steps left her breathless. “Mom,” she pleaded, “how about I just order some takeout for Nina? I’m so heavy now, and I can’t stand the smell of cooking oil.” My mother-in-law considered this for a moment. “Fine. But order her something expensive.” Christina sighed in relief and pulled out her phone. That’s when I spoke up. “I don’t like takeout. I prefer home-cooked meals. They’re cleaner.” Christina shot me a look of resentment, but she bit her tongue. She looked helplessly at my mother-in-law. “Mom…” My mother-in-law was too sick to get out of bed. “Christina, just go cook for her. Takeout really isn’t clean.” So, Christina had no choice but to drag her swollen body into the kitchen. Cooking was an ordeal for her. The smell of oil had made her sick throughout her pregnancy. Just a whiff of it could send her into a fit of violent retching. I secretly watched as my mother-in-law listened to Christina’s agonizing vomiting, her eyes filling with tears of pity. When Patrick came home and found out, he was furious with me. “Nina, what’s gotten into you? Christina is about to give birth! How could you make her cook?” But it was Christina, the same woman who used to despise me, who came to my defense. “Patrick, don’t blame Nina. A little exercise is good for a pregnant woman.” My mother-in-law chimed in as well. “You dare raise your voice to Nina? Don’t you dare bully my sweet girl!” Patrick just muttered that the whole family was spoiling me rotten. Only I knew the truth. They were trying to kill me with kindness. Christina eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy. My mother-in-law was overjoyed, setting off firecrackers for three days straight. Patrick gave his nephew a $50,000 gift. “Your uncle is the one who loves you the most,” Christina cooed. Patrick was far more successful than his brother. Andrew was just a regular employee making $6,000 a month. But Patrick was a general manager at his company, with an annual salary of over half a million dollars, and he owned his own house and car, fully paid off. Over the years, he had helped Andrew out in countless ways, both seen and unseen. After the baby was born, my mother-in-law and Christina became even nicer to me. They took turns bringing my meals to my room. One day, Christina’s baby was crying inconsolably, and it was getting on my nerves. “Can’t someone just shut him up?” I grumbled. “It’s driving me crazy.” To my horror, my mother-in-law actually took a piece of tape and sealed the baby’s mouth. Right in front of me, she scolded the infant. “I told you to be quiet! What are you crying for? If you dare disturb your aunt again, I’ll beat you, even if you are my grandson!” “In this house, no one is more important than your aunt!” I was stunned. I had just been venting, and she had taken it to this extreme. Patrick rushed over and ripped the tape off the baby’s mouth. The infant’s face, red as a balloon about to pop, contorted as he let out a raw, hoarse scream. He turned on me. “What’s your problem, arguing with a baby? The whole family spoils you, and you take it for granted. Nina, can’t you stop being so entitled?” Before I could say a word, my mother-in-law slapped Patrick across the face. “Don’t you dare talk to Nina like that!” she warned him sternly. Patrick, furious, stormed out of the house. My mother-in-law immediately started apologizing to me, begging me not to be angry with him. Christina and Andrew spent the rest of the evening calling him, trying to smooth things over. The incident was quickly forgotten. One weekend, my mother-in-law came in with a plate of pastries and found me clutching my chest, dry-heaving. “My sweet girl, what’s wrong?” she asked, her voice laced with concern. “Did you eat something bad?” “I’ll take you to the hospital.” I took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eye. “It’s not food poisoning. I’m pregnant.” Shock flashed across her face, but she quickly masked it with a smile. “That’s wonderful news! What are you craving? I’ll make it for you.” “Don’t bother. I’m going to my mother’s to be taken care of. I’ll come back after the baby is born.” The smile vanished from her face. “Don’t trouble your mother,” she urged. “I’ll take care of you. I promise I’ll take the best care of you.” I insisted on going to my parents’ house. She didn’t argue further, but her expression was grim. A short while later, Patrick burst through the door, his face a mask of fury. Without a word, he marched over and slapped me hard across the face. “Tell me!” he roared. “Whose bastard is it?” Before I could react, he grabbed my throat, his eyes blazing with a murderous rage. My mother-in-law rushed over, her voice dripping with false concern. “Nina, honey, listen to Mom. Just get rid of this baby, and you and Patrick can go back to how things were. Okay?” I wrenched myself free from Patrick’s grip. “What gives you the right to say this child isn’t yours?” I demanded. Patrick hesitated, as if struggling with a painful secret, but then he spat it out. “I was diagnosed with infertility six months ago! Nina! You cheated on me, didn’t you?” A cold smile touched my lips. “I’ll only say this once. This child is yours.” My mother-in-law, who had somehow procured a bowl of abortion-inducing herbs, approached me, her voice syrupy sweet. “Good girl, just drink this and get rid of the baby. I’ll make Patrick forgive you. You can still have a good life together!” I took the bowl from her. A look of relief washed over her face. But in the next second, I smashed the bowl on the floor. “I’m done with you and your family!” I turned to leave, but she grabbed my arm, her face transforming into a mask of cold fury. “You can’t have that child! It’s a bastard! If you give birth to it, where will my son hide his face?” “I’m divorcing him!” I screamed, shaking her off. Seeing my resolve, she finally dropped the act. Her face was hard as she ordered Patrick, “Call her parents! Since she wants a divorce, she’s the one at fault. She has to compensate you. Her family needs to know about this scandal!” “If we can’t handle this privately, then we’ll let the whole world know she’s carrying another man’s child!” I smiled, a genuine, triumphant smile. This was exactly what I wanted. But I wasn’t the one who was about to be humiliated. I was going to bring their whole house of cards crashing down. I was going to ruin them, expose them, and tear them apart.
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