Chapter 3

Brandon's face drained of color, caught completely off guard.

Oh, he remembered, all right.

When we got married, my parents knew his family was struggling financially. They didn't ask for a single cent from them; in fact, my parents gifted him a luxury car as a wedding present.

And what did his precious sister do?

The second the wedding was over, she took every dollar of the cash gifts meant for us, bundled it with her own money, and bought herself a studio condo downtown.

She called it her "premarital asset."

And now, she had the audacity to weaponize that against me?

I let out a bitter, humorless laugh.

"Get your facts straight, Chloe," I said, my voice deadpan and icy.

"First, that townhouse was bought entirely with my own premarital funds. It has absolutely nothing to do with your brother, and nothing to do with your family."

"Second, you came begging on your knees for my help to get your kid into that district. Every word of that is saved in our chats."

"Third, and most importantly: having Richard hold the title doesn't make it his. Legally, I am the sole beneficial owner."

"If you don't believe me, we can let a judge settle it in court."

"Take us to court, then! You think I'm scared of you?!"

Chloe bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Go ahead and sue! Let's see if the judge listens to an outsider like you, or the actual man whose name is on the deed!"

Eleanor, who had stayed silent the entire time, finally broke her silence.

She walked over to me, tears welling in her tired eyes.

"Serena, sweetheart... please, have some mercy on us old folks."

"Chloe is a single mother. Raising that boy on her own is so hard on her."

"It's just letting your nephew use the property for school. It's not like she's taking your life."

"We're family. Why do we have to tear each other apart over this?"

Looking at her weeping face, all I felt was disgust.

When I brought out the money to buy that place, she took my hands and couldn't stop calling me the best daughter-in-law in the world.

Now, for the sake of her daughter and grandson, she demanded that I lay down and let them run me over.

My sacrifices were taken for granted.

My boundaries were meant to be erased.

"Eleanor, this isn't just 'using' the house," I explained patiently, keeping my voice level.

"Signing over the title changes everything. The moment that deed is in her name, that property is gone for good."

"So what if it is?!" Chloe cut in, sneering.

"Your family is loaded anyway! What’s one little townhouse to you?"

"Brandon told me your parents just bought you a luxury high-rise condo downtown! Why are you fighting us over crumbs?!"

I snapped my head toward Brandon.

My parents bought that condo recently. Brandon was the only person in the world I had told.

Caught under my gaze, Brandon shrunk back, unable to meet my eyes.

"I... it just slipped out. I didn't mean to..."

It just slipped out.

All that talk about being partners for life, facing the storm together—it was nothing but a delusion I fed myself.

In front of his family's calculated greed, I had been played for a complete fool.

My heart sank all the way to the floor.

Whatever warmth I had left for this marriage vanished into thin air.

"Fine. I get it now."

I stood up, done wasting my breath.

"Since you've made your stance clear, there's nothing left to discuss."

I turned to walk back to the bedroom.

Brandon lunged forward and grabbed my wrist, his grip painfully tight.

"Serena, stop acting crazy! Is this really worth blowing everything up?"

"Chloe is my only sister! Her son is my flesh and blood! Am I supposed to just watch him lose his future?!"

"Just do me this one favor. Sign the deed over to them. I swear I'll make it up to you a hundred times over later, okay?"