“Go clean the bathroom” — my son ordered me, for the third time during family dinner. I looked at him, stayed silent, then went back to my room….(3/4)

“What century are you living in?

Who uses keys anymore? Everything’s fingerprint now.”

Susan was stunned.

“You really bought a house? A villa?”

My mom smiled proudly.

“That’s right.”

“Where did you get the money?” Susan asked.

“That’s none of your business,” my mom replied smugly. “You just need to know that Mary is living much better without you.”

We were about to walk in when Daniel suddenly spoke suspiciously. “This villa isn’t yours.

You’re just the maids, right?”

Susan’s eyes suddenly lit up as if she had just realized something.

“Daniel, how clever of you. I was wondering how they could afford a villa, but now it all makes sense.” She narrowed her eyes and added maliciously, “Just wait.

I’ll tell the real owner about your bad deeds and make sure you all lose even this job.”

How despicable. Daniel was the one who broke our marriage, yet Susan continued to do everything she could to make things difficult for my family.

My parents, however, laughed cheerfully.

“We’ll be waiting.”

A few moments later, Olivia’s art history tutor arrived. Susan glanced at the well-dressed, elegant woman and immediately assumed she was the villa’s owner. She rushed over and grabbed her arm, ready to start badmouthing us.

“Madam, you must be the owner of this villa.

I’m telling you, the people you hired—Mary and her family—are not good employees. They’re very nosy, you know.

They cannot be trusted.”

The tutor looked at Susan, completely bewildered. “What are you talking about?

They are the owners of this villa.

I’m just here to teach Olivia art history.”

“What?” Susan’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Daniel, equally frustrated, snapped, “I thought so, too. I guess Mary was hiding her true wealth from me all this time.”

Susan groaned in regret.

“So you let a rich woman slip away?”

Melanie’s face visibly darkened at those words.

Daniel noticed and quickly tried to smooth things over. “Mom, stop talking.

Melanie is right here.” He turned to Melanie, all affection. “Sweetheart, don’t take what she said to heart.

What I feel for you has nothing to do with money.”

Melanie’s expression softened slightly, but she still didn’t say a word.

With their heads bowed, the three of them shuffled back to their house. Their former arrogance had completely vanished, and any joy about moving into their new home was utterly crushed. When we got home, my parents began to regret how smug they had been earlier.

“Mary, should we have kept a low profile?

But seeing that Susan and her family only respect the rich and trample on the poor, we wanted them to know you’re doing well.”

“I don’t mind,” I said. “It’s okay.

We live in the same neighborhood now. We’ll surely run into each other sooner or later.

They’ll find out.”

“Exactly,” Olivia chimed in.

“Grandpa, Grandma, your clapback was amazing. It felt so good hearing you put them in their place.”

Hearing this, my parents relaxed a little and their expressions softened. That very evening, Robert called.

His voice sounded hesitant.

“Mom, how have you been lately?”

Who says kids aren’t realistic? Sometimes they’re even more pragmatic than adults.

When I was about to divorce his father, he chose Daniel without a second thought, refusing to acknowledge a housewife mother like me. Now that he knew I had money, the first thing he did was call me.

I smiled smugly.

“Since leaving Daniel and his family, I feel great. If you hadn’t called, I’d feel even better.”

“Mom, I know you’re saying that because you’re upset. I’m still your dear son, right?”

Once upon a time he was, but the love I felt for him had been completely drained by his actions.

I looked at Olivia, who was quietly reading a book not far away.

The only person I cherished now was my daughter. Robert continued, “Mom, I’ve wanted to call you for a long time, but I was afraid Dad and Melanie wouldn’t be happy.

That’s the only reason I waited.”

Oh, how considerate of you. “Olivia told me she’s studying art history.

She’s preparing to study abroad, right?

Mom, you know my grades aren’t great, but I want to study abroad, too. Say the United Kingdom. It’s only about $150,000 a year.

You already bought a villa, so this is nothing to you, right?”

I couldn’t help but smile.

Where did Robert get the confidence to think that after treating me with such indifference, I would still do anything for him? Hearing my silence, he grew impatient.

“Mom, you love me so much. You’ll definitely help me, right?”

I reminded him, “Robert, did you forget you chose your father?

You and I have nothing to do with each other anymore.”

My parents added, “Robert, do us a favor and stay out of our lives.

Just hearing your voice puts us in a bad mood.”

Robert, now embarrassed and angry, finally revealed the real reason for his call. “You got lucky with money. Who cares?

Tell me honestly, where did you get the money to buy that house?

My grandma and dad said you must have hidden money during the divorce. If we can prove you used marital assets to buy that house, then half of that money legally belongs to my father.

Once he gets his share, studying abroad will be a piece of cake for me.”

“Oh,” I scoffed. “So now you’re openly declaring your intentions, and you still expect me to tell you anything useful?”

“It doesn’t matter.

My dad is smart.

He’ll figure out where you got the money.”

I hung up the phone calmly. Let them figure it out all they want. The lottery ticket was bought in my mother’s name.

The winnings were collected in her name.

Even the house was bought with her bank account. My mother’s money had nothing to do with me.

And it had even less to do with Daniel and his family. I never expected Daniel’s family to be so shameless.

That morning, I was still sleeping when I was awakened by a loud commotion downstairs.

When I went down, I saw Daniel’s family had broken into my house and were arguing with my parents. “What’s going on here?” I asked. My parents looked upset.

“We just went out to take out the trash, and they instantly forced their way in, demanding money.”

I arched an eyebrow.

“Daniel, how much do I owe you?”

Susan raged. “What the heck?

Your parents have money. How dare you demand so much from Daniel?”

I replied coldly, “My parents’ wealth has nothing to do with the compensation I was owed.

The sacrifices I made for that home were real.

I contributed to the down payment and helped pay the mortgage. If you’re not satisfied, you can take it to court.”

My mother nodded. “That’s right.

And I heard you recently hired a housekeeper for $3,000 a month.

If we were to put a price on all the work my daughter did in that house, it would be worth much more than that.”

Susan rolled her eyes. “That’s only because Melanie is useless with housework.

I thought she was a good catch—educated, successful, and much better than Mary. But it turns out she’s nothing but a money-sucking mess.

She can’t do anything right and is just wasting Daniel’s hard-earned money.”

Melanie’s face darkened.

“Mom, what are you saying?”

Susan practically pointed her finger at her nose. “Am I wrong? Since you married into the family, have you contributed a single penny?

You even caused Robert’s allergy attack and sent him to the hospital.

You did it on purpose, right?”

I crossed my arms and watched the show unfold. I never imagined that before they could finish attacking me, they would turn on each other.

I had a strong hunch that this little family wouldn’t last much longer. Even if they didn’t split, their life together was guaranteed to be a constant disaster.

Tears welled up in Melanie’s eyes.

“Daniel, aren’t you going to say anything?”

Daniel put his arm around her. “Sweetheart, my mom doesn’t know what she’s saying. Don’t worry.”

Susan, her voice louder than ever, shoved Daniel.

“And what do you mean by that, Daniel?

Did you forget how much it cost me to raise you all these years?”

Daniel’s chest heaved with frustration. He took a deep breath.

“Enough, Mom. Stop talking.

We didn’t come here to make a scene in front of Mary’s family.

Don’t forget why we’re here.”

“Ah, yes. I almost forgot.” Susan finally calmed down. And then they revealed their true purpose for coming.

It was all about money.

They spelled it out clearly: since I was clearly not struggling financially, I should give back the $500,000 in compensation. Plus, I should give them an additional $10 million in cash.

This money was for Robert’s future. They’d heard I was sending Olivia abroad to study, so Robert should have the same opportunity.

“Don’t worry, we’re not unreasonable.

If you want to see Robert, we won’t stop you.” They assumed I would cave for my son. But they forgot one thing. I had long lost all affection for Robert.

I wasn’t going to spend another cent on him.

And with their scheming nature, who knew how much of that $10 million would actually go into Robert’s hands? Smiling, I asked, “Are you all daydreaming?

I’m not giving you a dime.”

Susan gasped. “Mary, how can you be so heartless?

Robert is your son.

If you don’t take care of him, who will?”

I gently stroked Olivia’s head. “Have any of you ever worried about Olivia?”

Robert scoffed. “Grandma says Olivia is useless, that she’ll never amount to anything, so you should focus on me.”

I laughed mockingly.

“When your father cheated on me and asked for a divorce, your first reaction wasn’t to defend me, but to make sure you didn’t choose me so you wouldn’t be dragged down.

You insulted me for being a housewife and praised your stepmother, and you expect me to invest in you?”

Robert looked away. “Well, that’s because you didn’t have money at the time.

If you could have given me a good life, I would have definitely chosen you.”

I replied coldly, “Robert, you still don’t understand where you went wrong. I could accept you choosing to live with your father for a better life.

But what I can’t accept is your betrayal.

For all these years, I stepped away from my career. I became an ordinary housewife just so I could take better care of you. You might not know this, but I worked at the same company as your father, and I was promoted even faster than he was.

If it wasn’t for you, I would have been much more successful than your father.

Of course, I didn’t do all this expecting anything in return. But at the very least, you should have been grateful.

You weren’t. You belittled and dismissed everything I did.

You betrayed me without hesitation and enthusiastically called Daniel and Melanie ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad.’ They were the ones who hurt me, and yet you joined them to hurt me and your sister who has always been good to you.

Do you really think you still deserve to be my son? Do you think you deserve my kindness?”

For the first time, I saw a flicker of guilt on Robert’s face. Susan sneered.

“Enough with the speeches.

Do you think I don’t understand what you’re saying? You simply don’t want to give us money.”

Robert suddenly looked enlightened.

“Yes, for a second I almost got carried away by her words, but after all, I’m still her son. Shouldn’t she be good to me no matter what?”

I shook my head.

Robert was beyond saving.

Talking to him was a complete waste of breath. Daniel, being the most calculating, tried a different approach. “Mary, no matter what, Robert is still your son.

You’ve devoted so much time and energy to him.

You can’t just abandon him. He’s still young.

He doesn’t understand now. But one day he’ll grow up and realize everything you did was for him.”

My mother had heard enough.

She spat on the floor in disgust.

“Robert was given to you in the divorce. He’s your responsibility now. We won’t be dealing with him anymore.

We’ll only take care of our good granddaughter.