My sister-in-law, Chloe Rivers, was getting married. On the way to pick up groceries for dinner, I decided to buy a lottery ticket. Little did I know, when the numbers were drawn, I’d hit the jackpot—$20 million! I had imagined living a dream life with my family, but then my husband, Brad, decided he wanted a divorce. I raised my thumb and held back my excitement. “Well, isn’t this just perfect? A double blessing!” After thirty failed blind dates, Chloe finally found her “Prince Charming,” Ethan Montgomery. Everyone in the family was thrilled about the news. Mrs. Margaret Rivers, my mother-in-law, invited Chloe and her new fiancé over for dinner. “Sophia, here’s two hundred bucks. Go to the store and buy something you young folks like to eat,” she said, slipping the cash into my hand. On the way to the store, I casually bought a lottery ticket. When I got home, I put the groceries in the kitchen and noticed that neither Mrs. Rivers nor Brad were in the living room. I started putting away the groceries, and soon enough, I heard the front door open. It must’ve been Brad and his mom coming back. “Brad, make sure Sophia doesn’t find out about the $75,000, or she’ll make a scene!” Mrs. Rivers said as she changed her shoes. “Relax, Mom. The money is safely tucked away in my personal account. Sophia has no clue it even exists!” Brad said, carelessly tossing his shoes around. “Good! With that $75,000, Chloe can marry into her new family with confidence. No one will push her around, and I can finally stop worrying,” Mrs. Rivers said smugly while sipping her water. I stood there, frozen in the kitchen, gripping the spatula. $75,000? Where did that come from? And it’s for Chloe’s dowry? As far as I knew, Mrs. Rivers worked at a factory, making about $4,000 a month, with plenty of expenses to cover. Brad had always told me that between the house, the wedding, and other expenses, the Rivers family was financially drained. When we got married, I didn’t even keep the $20,000 dowry my parents gave me—I handed it back to Brad’s family to help them out. So how in the world did they save up $75,000 in just three years? My thoughts raced like wildfire. I had thought marrying into the Rivers family made me one of them. But now, it was clear: the real family was just Mrs. Rivers, Brad, and Chloe. I was nothing more than a foolish housekeeper. Mrs. Rivers would toss me a few hundred bucks here and there, and I thought she was being generous. Turns out, compared to Chloe, I was nothing. She was practically treating me like a beggar, throwing me scraps. By now, the food in the pan had dried up and started to burn, but I hadn’t even noticed. “When did you get back?” Brad opened the kitchen door and was startled to see me standing there. My thoughts snapped back to reality, and I glanced at him. “I… I’ve been home for about ten minutes…” Brad rushed over, taking the spatula from my hand. “What were you doing? The food’s burning!” I quickly grabbed a bowl, poured some water into it, and dumped it in the pan. “Oh… I was just thinking about whether the store owner overcharged me for the groceries.” I made up an excuse, hoping to cover my tracks. Brad gave me a suspicious look. “You didn’t hear anything after you got home, did you?” His gaze felt like it was trying to pierce through me. I played dumb, staring back at him with confusion. “Hear what?” “You came in so quietly. I didn’t even hear you.” Brad’s expression softened, and he smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “I went out to get your favorite—durian. Just got back.” He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. It was then I noticed the giant durian in his hand. Suddenly, I felt repulsed by the durian—and his kiss. Not because I liked durian, but because Chloe did. This family was exhausting.
That afternoon, Chloe and her fiancé Ethan showed up empty-handed, ready to eat and drink as soon as they walked through the door. At dinner, I decided to bring up the subject of Chloe’s dowry. “So, Ethan, now that you’re marrying our precious Chloe, how much are you thinking for the dowry?” I asked, half-joking, half-serious. Ethan froze for a moment. “Sophie… We agreed on $18,800.” I chuckled. “Oh, lucky numbers, huh?” Then I turned to Mrs. Rivers. “Hey, Mom, that’s not a bad amount. How much are you planning to send Chloe off with?” “Do you have enough? If not, I can chip in. That dowry money is still with Brad, isn’t it?” Mrs. Rivers gave a nervous laugh. “Oh, don’t worry about it. I’ve already got everything set aside for her.” Then she turned to Ethan. “I’ve been saving my retirement money for years, and I’ll give it to Chloe as her dowry. It’s not much, but I hope you don’t mind, Ethan.” Ethan quickly waved it off. “Not at all.” They all thought they were playing me for a fool. But without solid proof, I didn’t dare confront them at the dinner table. After dinner, they sat in the living room, laughing and chatting about wedding plans. The atmosphere was warm and lively, but there was no room for me on that couch. I looked at the chaotic dining table and the kitchen, which looked like a war zone. I took off my apron, excused myself, and went to my room, claiming I wasn’t feeling well. Mrs. Rivers looked slightly irritated, but with guests in the house, she didn’t say anything. I shut the bedroom door and collapsed on the bed, letting the tears I’d been holding back fall. A week later, Chloe and Ethan got engaged. They didn’t invite many people, and of course, I wasn’t one of them. How ridiculous. Mrs. Rivers told Brad I had to work, so I couldn’t attend. She sent Brad to bring me food at the office, making sure I ate before he left. But after he left, I took the rest of the day off and followed him to the Crystal Ridge Country Club. Not many people were there, but all the important folks from back home showed up. I watched as Chloe and Ethan posed for photos in front of an elaborate display. Not only was there a hefty dowry from Ethan’s family, but there was also a stack of cash—$75,000—waiting for Chloe. The reality hit me like a slap in the face. There it was—$75,000, not a penny short. Mrs. Rivers’ face turned pale when she saw me walk in. I handed the bouquet I had brought to Chloe and smiled. “It’s your big day, Chloe. How could I, as your sister-in-law, miss it?” Chloe’s face flushed with embarrassment. Brad rushed over, clearly annoyed. “Didn’t you already eat? Why are you here?” I raised my voice. “What? Just because I ate means I’m not allowed to attend the engagement party?” “Or are you worried I’ll see the $75,000 you’re giving Chloe?” The moment I mentioned the money, Mrs. Rivers’ face darkened. Once the secret was out, there was no more pretense. Chloe strutted over to me, full of arrogance. “So what if I’m getting $75,000? Can your family give you that?” “Your parents couldn’t afford a dowry like that, so what are you trying to prove?” Her words left me fuming. “Chloe, you know exactly where that $75,000 came from!” Mrs. Rivers jumped up, panicked. “Sophia, watch your mouth! What do you mean, ‘where it came from’? I saved every penny of that myself!” Brad frowned and added, “Sophia, stop causing trouble!” Ethan’s family sat there watching like they were at the movies, probably happy to see me humiliated. After all, marrying Chloe meant they were about to pocket $75,000.
When I refused to back down, Brad slapped me. It was the first time he had ever hit me in our two years of dating and three years of marriage. That slap woke me up. What was the point of staying in this mess? I slapped him back and walked out of the country club. When I got home, I grabbed a suitcase and started packing to go back to the Grant Family Home. As I was packing, I found the lottery ticket I’d bought a week ago in the pocket of a coat. It was the day of the drawing. I pulled out my phone and started checking the numbers one by one. Two billion… I’d won $20 million! In that moment, all the hurt, anger, and frustration melted away. My hands trembled as I reached for my phone to call Brad and share the incredible news. But just as I was about to dial, I stopped. He slapped me. Unless he apologized, I wasn’t forgiving him, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to share in my good fortune. Halfway through packing, I gave up and sat on the couch, waiting for him to come home. It wasn’t until nearly dark that Brad and Mrs. Rivers stumbled through the door, drunk. Brad tripped over my suitcase and fell. When he got up, he seemed a bit more sober. “Sophia, what are you doing?” “What’s all this? Are you planning to run away?” Mrs. Rivers rolled her eyes and let out a loud burp. “A useless hen who can’t lay eggs should’ve left a long time ago! Get out of here if you’re going!” I stood up, shocked, staring at Brad. “You want me gone too?” Brad pushed me aside and collapsed on the couch. “Yeah, go! Leave! I’m so done with you!” “Three years of marriage, and still no baby. My buddies think there’s something wrong with me!” “If I had known you were this useless, I wouldn’t have wasted money marrying you. What a damn waste!” Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn’t believe he’d say something so shameless. When we got married, he’d insisted we couldn’t afford to have kids. Now he was blaming me for not getting pregnant. At that moment, my heart hit rock bottom. I left the rest of my packing unfinished, grabbed my suitcase, and went to my parents’ house. The next morning, Brad called. I thought he might regret everything and ask me to come home. But the first thing he said was, “Sophia, where the hell are you? The house is a mess, and you haven’t made dinner! Get back here and clean up!” Typical. I sighed deeply. “Brad, I want a divorce.” There was silence on the other end, and then he burst out laughing. “Hahaha, great! Let’s get a divorce! Come right now, and we’ll do it!” I couldn’t believe how eager he was. From the time we ended the call to when we had the divorce papers in hand, it took less than an hour. Standing outside the County Clerk’s Office with the divorce certificate in his hand, Brad looked like a new man. He sneered at me. “Sophia, three years of marriage, and you didn’t even give me a kid. Let’s see who’d want you now.” I looked down at the divorce certificate, suddenly thankful I hadn’t told him about the $20 million lottery win. For me, the jackpot and the divorce were a double blessing. Brad had just lost the best thing that ever happened to him, and he didn’t even know it. Ignoring him, I took my divorce certificate, disguised myself, and headed to the State Lottery Office to collect my $20 million. A month later, as I sat at home counting my money, I received a summons from the court. Brad was suing me… Had he found out about my $20 million? Technically, winnings before a divorce are considered joint marital assets… Was he trying to claim half?
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