Go, Protect Your Family, and I'd Protect My Daughter from You

Roxanne's POV

After graduating, my sister-in-law had a hard time finding a job. I felt bad for her, so I quietly asked someone in our company’s HR department to arrange a position for her.

To protect her pride, I didn’t tell her it was all thanks to my connections.

When she got the offer, she was thrilled and invited my husband and me out for dinner to celebrate.

During the meal, she glanced at my very pregnant belly, eight months along, and took my hand, saying sweetly, "You're due soon, Roxanne. You really shouldn't still be working. Why don’t you pack up and go stay at your family home for a while?"

I frowned and replied, "There are still two months left before my due date. I can still work just fine. Besides, even after the baby comes, I plan to stay in my own home. I’m not looking to move."

But she suddenly snapped, "This place is mine! You were only borrowing it while I was living on campus. Now that I’m working, it’s time for you to move out!"

I stared at her in confusion. I bought this house before I got married. How could she possibly think it belonged to her?

——

Thinking maybe she had her facts mixed up, I patiently explained, "Dale, I bought this house before I married your brother. My name is on the title. It’s legally mine. How could it be yours?"

But she scoffed. “What’s yours and what’s mine? You married my brother, so everything you have belongs to him now! And when you two got married, he promised he’d give me this house!”

That was news to me. I turned to my husband beside me, confused and increasingly frustrated.

But Colin Simmons didn’t even look fazed. He just ladled some chicken soup into a bowl and gently set it in front of me.

"Roxanne," he said softly, "Dale’s a girl living on her own now. I worry about her being out there alone. Besides, once the baby comes, you’ll need help during recovery. But since I’m always busy with work, maybe it’s better if you quit your job and move back to your parents’ place. My parents can also help take care of you there."

My heart sank.

He once told me his family doted on his little sister like she was a precious treasure. I thought that was just affection between siblings, but I hadn’t realized it meant I was disposable in comparison.

Seeing that I didn’t respond, Dale Simmons kept going. "You should be grateful. When you two got married, my brother gave you a fifteen-grand dowry! That money was basically to make up for the house. Otherwise, you’d have nothing. Honestly, dowries are such a backward tradition. He never should’ve given you a single cent.”

I let out a short laugh. “Dale, you really think fifteen grand could buy a house in the city center? You sure have some wild ideas. And don’t forget, you begged your brother for thirty grand as a 'travel fund' the day after we registered our marriage. Just so you know, half of it came from me!”

Colin’s face instantly went pale. Clearly, he hadn’t expected me to expose it right to her face.

Dale, on the other hand, flew into a rage, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She jumped up and pointed her finger right at me. "You shameless woman! You eat our food, so you better follow our rules! Don’t forget you married into this family from out of town. You’ve got no relatives here. If you tick us off, let’s see how long you last!”

Colin’s face darkened with embarrassment. He turned to her and snapped, "Dale! That’s no way to talk to your sister-in-law!”

But she only doubled down. “What did I say that wasn’t true? She’s an outsider! Why should she get to live in my house? I only let her stay because you asked me to. Who knew she’d turn around and try to take it over like some parasite!”

“Dale! That’s enough!” Colin finally lost his temper.

But she crossed her arms and said with conviction, “Tell me I’m wrong. I’ve got a future in a major company, unlike her, stuck waddling around pregnant, not doing any real work. Just wait till the company lays her off. She’ll end up crawling back to the countryside anyway.”