“Sis-in-law, just wait. Soon, you’ll be living in the villa,” my brother-in-law had said earlier that day, full of excitement.
But by nightfall, he returned with his wife and my mother-in-law, pounding on the door with loud, angry fists.
“Audrey!” they shouted, their voices shrill. “What’s the meaning of this? Only two thousand dollars? Who are you trying to fool?”
“I see it now. You must’ve kept the house money for yourself!”
“Open the door! Mom’s here too!”
I had already anticipated this would happen. Without a word, I walked over and opened the door.
My brother-in-law stormed inside, his face twisted in disbelief. “Audrey, what the hell is this? We agreed to split the villa cost. Why did you only give me two thousand?”
His wife immediately added fuel to the fire. “Sis-in-law, we trusted you. This is how you repay us?”
I frowned. “What do you mean? That’s the full amount from the sale.”
“You’re unbelievable! Lying through your teeth like that, aren’t you afraid of karma?”
He shoved the bank card toward Marlon. “Bro, are you seriously okay with this?”
Marlon knew I had sold the house, but he hadn’t been involved in any part of the process.
After all, the property had been in my name from the beginning.
At first, Marlon assumed his brother was just stirring trouble, so he turned to their mother and asked calmly, “Mom, how much money was actually in the card?”
I also looked at her, wanting to see where she truly stood.
“Mom, you went with me to the bank. You know exactly how much was deposited,” my brother-in-law said sharply.
My mother-in-law’s gaze flicked toward Marlon, her expression tangled with hesitation. After a beat, she finally nodded and admitted, “That’s right. There really was only two thousand in the card.”
Marlon stared at me, clearly unable to comprehend what I was doing. “Where’s the rest of the house money?” he asked.
I shrugged lightly. “That’s all there was. There’s nothing more.”
“Impossible!”
Marlon suddenly exploded. “That house was worth a million! And you’re telling me you sold it for just two thousand?”
He glared at me like he didn’t recognize the person in front of him. “Are you stupid? Or do you think I am? Or are you just treating this whole family like a bunch of fools?”
It was the first time since we got married that Marlon raised his voice at me, and he did it right in front of everyone.
Rihanna sneered from the side, her voice full of mockery.
“Sis-in-law, I used to think you were gentle and kind. Turns out you were just putting on a show.”
“Well, hats off to your acting skills. They’re impeccable.”
I smiled faintly. “Gentle and kind? Me?”
Maybe that’s how I came across before.
But what they never understood was that being quiet didn’t mean I was weak.
It only meant I had been tolerant until now.
The moment I found out my mother-in-law had secretly agreed to sell the house behind my back, the last thread of my patience snapped.
“This house was originally mine. Whether to sell it or not should’ve been my decision. Now that I’ve sold it, you expect me to squeeze into a villa with all of you. What else do you want?”
The room fell silent.
They looked at me as if I were speaking a foreign language as if I had lost my mind.
After all, everyone knew the house had been bought three years ago with money from the Dean family.
Back then, the old woman had told everyone the deed would be in my name, and it was.
And now, I claimed there were only two thousand left from the sale?
“What, are we wronging you by letting you live in a villa? What a joke. Hand over the million right now!”
As her daughter-in-law lashed out at me, my mother-in-law tried to play peacemaker.
“Alright, alright. That’s enough.”
“Mom, this isn’t my fault, it’s hers!”
Rihanna acted like she’d been gravely wronged, her voice shrill with self-pity.
My brother-in-law couldn’t take it anymore. He turned his fire on the old lady, saying she was being unfair.
He accused me of hiding the house money, insisting that if I didn’t hand it over, no one would be able to move into the villa, and the elderly couple would be stuck climbing stairs every day.
I turned to face my mother-in-law directly.
“Mom, tell me honestly, do you really think that money should come from me?”
She snapped, voice full of indignation, “You’ve got the nerve to ask that? After living with the Dean family all these years, haven’t we spoiled you enough?”
