2

I refused to let Anne live with us. During dinner, my mother made a show of placing two pieces of meat onto my plate, sighing.

"Everything's so expensive these days. Having another mouth to feed means spending more money. If it weren't for you and Roderick visiting, I wouldn't have splurged on this meat."

Next to her, Danny, Tina, and Anne kept their heads down, quietly eating, not saying a word.

My mother continued her passive-aggressive complaints, watching me closely.

I smirked to myself, pretending not to notice. With one swift move, I forked all the meat from the serving dish to my own plate.

My mother's face twitched with distress. "You and Roderick are well-off. Just let Anne live with you. The scraps from your table would be enough to fill her up!"

I ignored her, savoring each bite of the meat.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed my bowl, snapping.

"You ungrateful girl! Can't you hear me? You're making over a million dollars a year and living in that huge house! What's the big deal about letting Anne stay for a few days? Is it really going to hurt you?"

She scooped the meat from my bowl into Anne's, grumbling.

"What are you looking at? She's rich and independent now and doesn't want a filthy girl like you living with her. Do yourself a favor and find a crappy little place to rent. Even if the roof collapses and kills you, it won't be her problem!"

Anne's eyes welled up with tears, making her look all the more pitiful.

Under the table, Roderick tugged at my sleeve. "Honey, Anne's your niece. What's the big deal if she stays with us for a while? Don't be so stingy."

In the past, whenever Anne wanted something, she'd go through Roderick first. If I said no, he'd give me the cold shoulder until I caved.

After twenty years of marriage, I thought I was lucky to have Roderick, who never broke his promise to remain child-free. I trusted him completely, even handing over all my earnings for him to manage.

But despite all that, in my previous life, it was Roderick who cut up my body, stuffed me into a suitcase, and threw me into the ocean.

Roderick tugged at my sleeve again, this time more forcefully, ordering, "The master bedroom gets the best sunlight. Let Anne stay there. Girls need plenty of vitamin D to stay healthy!"

This time, I yanked my arm free and laughed.

"Girl? Anne's in her twenties. Could it be that she's pregnant, and it's the baby in her belly that needs the sunlight?"

My words hit the table like a bombshell. Everyone froze.

I reached out to touch Anne's belly, and she quickly backed away, panic flashing across her face.

Finally, Danny, who had been silent until now, spoke up, "Anne's just graduated. How could she be pregnant? Stop making things up! You're just bitter because you can't have kids!"

Anne clutched her belly, her face pale, but her eyes burned with resentment as she glared at me.

I thought, "My niece, husband, brother, and sister-in-law...

They're all in on this, conspiring to take everything from me, even my life."

A cold weight settled in my chest.

Roderick, frustrated by my refusal, shot me an annoying look, expression darkened, anger flashing in his eyes.

After a few moments, seeing I was finishing my meal and preparing to leave, he couldn't hold back any longer.

"This house doesn't belong to just you. I want Anne to move in, and that's final! Your opinion doesn't matter now!"

I almost laughed out loud.

I bought that house with my own money and paid the mortgage on my own. Roderick's paltry three thousand dollars a month over twenty years wouldn't even come close to covering the payments!

Yet here he was, acting all high and mighty as if he owned the place.

"Well, you can all come over to enjoy the luxuries of city life with Anne someday!"

Roderick's attitude made the rejection I was about to voice catch in my throat.

I raised an eyebrow, meeting Roderick's challenging gaze, and smiled brightly. "Alright, then."

"He has no idea who he's dealing with. Does he really think my family is the kind to mess with?" I thought.