The fifth year of our marriage was the year my husband, Ethan, told me he’d found his soulmate. I, apparently, was just the daughter-in-law his parents had always wanted, not the other half of his soul. As a consolation prize, he offered me a check for five million dollars and sincerely suggested I take our daughter and disappear. The day I signed the divorce papers, my mother-in-law kicked him squarely in the ass. “You ungrateful parasite,” she hissed. “Take your little tramp and get out of my house!” My father-in-law, his eyes glistening with tears, looked at me and slid a thick portfolio across the table. It contained stock certificates and the deeds to all their properties. “Finally,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “These can finally go to my real daughter, where they belong.” 1 I was stunned into silence. Ethan was even more bewildered, but he recovered quickly, his face hardening with impatience. “You think this little act is going to make me stay? Forget it. It’s over. I already lost three years with Serena. I’m not losing another minute.” He puffed out his chest, a smug look spreading across his face. “I know you’ve always wanted a grandson. Well, Serena and I have a son. He’s three years old. I’ll bring them over to meet you tomorrow. The second you see him, you’ll fall in love.” He looked from his father to his mother, his expression triumphant. “There. Are you satisfied now?” My in-laws stared at each other, their mouths agape. In their eyes, I saw a cocktail of emotions I couldn't quite decipher. Disbelief? Pity? Utter contempt? Was I seeing things? Honestly, I’d initially agreed with Ethan’s theory. This had to be some kind of elaborate performance designed to guilt him into staying. After all, before they’d even met me, they couldn’t stand the idea of me. I was an orphan, a nobody. They’d called me countless times, begging me to leave their son alone. I was on the verge of giving up and finding a new target when they finally agreed to meet me. The moment they saw me, their attitude did a complete one-eighty. Suddenly, they were rushing us to the altar. The dowry was an eight-figure sum. Forty percent of the company stock. A real estate portfolio so vast I lost count—somewhere over eighty properties, I think. The traditional gold jewelry arrived in chests. I don’t know if marriage is a tomb, but it was most certainly a treasure vault. After the wedding, they treated me like I was made of spun glass, catering to my every whim. I remember once, watching TV, I casually mentioned that I loved a certain celebrity. The next day, my in-laws had him flown in for a private performance in our living room. He did backflips. Their adoration was so absolute that, over the years, I let my guard down. The wealth gave me a confidence I’d never known. I stopped trying so hard, stopped playing the part of the sweet, demure girl Ethan had fallen for. He started complaining. What happened to the innocent little flower he’d met? Why had she turned into a cactus? But back to the present. After a long, silent moment, my in-laws finally turned their bewildered gazes back to their son. “You’re going to bring your son to see us tomorrow?” my mother-in-law asked slowly. “He’s three years old?” my father-in-law added. “He’s… yours?” A paternal softness crept into Ethan’s smug expression. “Of course he is! I had a paternity test done. Serena and the kids have had it so tough overseas these past three years. She’s been raising four children all on her own. It’s been unbelievably difficult.” He shook his head, full of manufactured sympathy. “And she never once asked me for help. It was a complete accident that I ran into her after she moved back. That’s the only reason I found out I had a son.” “She’s strong, independent, gentle, and kind,” he continued, his voice swelling. “And her sons are so polite and well-behaved. You’ll absolutely love them when you meet them.” I was so shocked I couldn’t speak, my own expression now mirroring my in-laws’ look of pure idiocy. “Four… sons?” I finally managed to choke out. Ethan shot me a look of contempt. “A family like ours needs a male heir, Sophie. And while three of them aren’t mine, they’ll be great support for my son as he grows up. Every prince needs a court, right? Better to raise them loyal from the start.” He waved a dismissive hand at me. “As for Lily, she’s my daughter, and I won’t neglect her. I’ll make her a department manager or something when she’s older.” His eyes narrowed. “That’s the best I can do. If you ask for anything more, don’t blame me for getting nasty.” I fell silent, a dawning realization sinking in. Maybe the reason I’d successfully landed him all those years ago wasn’t because of my masterful charm, but because he was, and always had been, a complete and utter moron. Seeing my furrowed brow, Ethan’s temper flared. “What’s that look for, Sophie? Are you looking down on Serena?” “Let me tell you something,” he spat, “if an orphan like you could marry into the Hayes family, then so can she! And she gave me a son.” “And whatever my parents gave you as a dowry, they’ll give her double!” The words were barely out of his mouth when I saw my father-in-law and mother-in-law each raise a hand, all five fingers spread. Ethan blinked, and then a slow, greedy smile spread across his face. “Thank you, Mom and Dad! Fifty million! Now that’s more like it!” In the next instant, two blurs of motion cut through the air. I barely had time to blink before the sharp, wet crack of open palms against skin echoed in the cavernous living room. Ethan’s face twitched, his mouth frozen in a perfect “O” of shock. He stared at his parents, his hand trembling as he pointed a finger at them. “You… you actually hit me!” he stammered. “You hit your own son for an outsider? Have you lost your minds? After everything I just told you, you’re still siding with her? What has she done to you?” He took a menacing step forward. “I am the future of this family! You’d better think long and hard about who you’re betting on, or you’ll end up old and alone!” My mother-in-law didn’t even bother to look at him again. She just turned to her husband with disgust. “We were fools,” she said, her voice dripping with regret. “How did we raise something like this? You need to come with me to the temple tomorrow. We need to beg for forgiveness. What a terrible sin we’ve committed.” My father-in-law nodded, his face a mask of grief. “We should have never been so superficial. A handsome face, but a mind full of mud and a heart full of filth. Thank God we’re still here. Who else would look out for Sophie?” Superficial? What did they mean by that? The question had barely formed in my mind when I felt a scorching gaze fall upon me. Ethan, his face now a mottled red with rage, glared at me. “What kind of spell did you cast on them? Their own son! Their own grandson! They’re throwing us away for you!” “Don’t get too comfortable,” he snarled. “They haven’t met Serena yet. Once they see her, you think you’ll still be so smug? They’ll throw you out on the street where you belong!” I looked down at my own hand, then slowly curled my fingers into a claw. With a surge of fury, I lunged forward and raked my nails down his face. He screamed, clutching his cheeks as blood seeped through his fingers. “Sophie! You’re a damn shrew!” he yelled. “I let a viper into my own home!” I was about to let loose another volley of insults when my in-laws shouted in unison, “Bravo!” A strange feeling bloomed in my chest. Was it possible? Were they actually on my side? This wasn’t an act? I had attacked their son, the point of no return. This should have been the moment the charade ended, the moment they showed their true colors. But what was this? I had to admit, for the past five years, they had treated me better than any biological daughter could hope for. But deep down, I’d always maintained a sliver of doubt. I believed their kindness was transactional—they were good to me because I was their son’s wife, and in return, I would be good to their son. But I had just physically assaulted him, tearing the last shreds of civility to pieces, and they were… cheering me on. This had to be real. Ethan saw that his parents were still defending me, and his rage boiled over. “Just wait until Serena gets here!” he screamed, storming toward the door. “Then you’ll see what a real woman looks like!”
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