On the first day of our marriage, my husband’s father, Henry Bailey, asked me to hand over my salary to him every month. I refused without hesitation, not saying another word. However, my husband, Kayden Bailey, stepped in to persuade me. He said, “My dad has always been in charge of the family, so it’s only right that he manages our income. If you need anything, just ask Dad, and he’ll give you the money.” My husband’s mother, Emma Bailey, immediately lashed out, “Why are you even talking to her? We don’t keep freeloaders in this family. If she doesn’t pay up, she can leave!” How ridiculous. Who exactly should be leaving? Don’t they have any self-awareness? The meal wasn’t even finished when Henry, furious, slammed his fork down. The atmosphere suddenly became tense. “Kayden, I really must have been blind to think the woman you insisted on marrying was someone with no respect for elders or basic manners! “If you don’t handle her now, you’ll regret it later!” Henry’s scolding echoed throughout the room. Kayden, clearly overwhelmed by his father’s anger, looked even more anxious. He turned to me with pleading eyes, but I continued eating my pie expressionlessly, though I was boiling with rage inside. Who could have guessed that my usually gentle husband would have such unreasonable parents? We had just been married for a day, and already, his whole family was ganging up on me to hand my salary over to Henry for safekeeping. This was absolutely absurd! My own parents never even suggested such a thing. What did they think they were? Without any hesitation, I refused. “No way!” But to my disappointment, Kayden didn’t take my side. Instead, he tried to calm me down. “Jasmine, please don’t be mad. My parents are just looking out for us. Keeping our money with them is a form of security. “You know we both tend to spend too freely and can’t save. When we need money, we can just ask them for it.” Seeing that I wasn’t responding, he paused, then continued, “My dad has always managed the family, so our income should be under his care. “If you need anything, just ask my dad, and he’ll give you the money.” His words were like pouring gasoline on a fire, and my anger only grew. I mimicked Henry’s earlier action and forcefully threw my fork down, the clatter ringing loudly through the room. I didn’t even care to look at their expressions. I directly confronted Kayden. “What did you say before we got married? “You swore to me and promised my parents that I would be in charge of our finances, and we would make all decisions together. You said your parents would never interfere with our life. “Didn’t you say all of that yourself? Was that all a lie?” I glared at Kayden, but his eyes darted nervously, avoiding mine. The truth was, I didn’t even care about managing our finances. My salary was enough for me to live on, and with the support from my parents, I never intended to ask Kayden to hand over his salary. But now, he and his parents were conspiring to control my finances. Emma, at this point, tore off her gentle façade. She no longer acted kind or friendly, and instead, she started yelling at me. “Who do you think you are? Do you think you can control my son’s money? My son is a master’s graduate, earning two or three thousand dollars a month! Why should you be in charge of that? Just because you’ve got a big mouth? “You tramp, your intentions aren’t so simple, are they? Don’t you know what the proper behavior for a woman is? Now that you’re married to my son. This family is your world! “Do you want to challenge that? In this house, you’re going to follow the rules!” Emma’s words made me see her true colors. The gentle, kind woman who had treated me so well the day before our wedding had now shown her true, vicious side.
Kayden’s face was flushed with embarrassment as he gently tugged at Emma’s sleeve, speaking in a low voice, “Mom, please, just stop. Jasmine is new here, I’ll explain the family rules to her later.” I thought, “Rules?” I raised my head, glancing at the man I had just married, and a cold laugh formed in my chest. How had I been so blind to marry him? My parents had opposed me marrying Kayden at first, but I had been so swept up in love that I couldn’t hear their concerns. Kayden’s parents seemed so humble. They had even visited my family, promising my parents that they would treat me like their own daughter. They played their part so well, and I, naively believing it was love, thought I would have a happy life once I married into their family. But now, it was all a façade, a ploy to get me to marry Kayden. Kayden came from a small town. Henry was a middle-school teacher at a third-rate school, and Emma was a housewife, just scraping by. Meanwhile, I had been raised as the only child in a well-off family in the provincial capital. My father was an executive at a Fortune 500 company, and my mother worked as a civil servant. My parents were giving them so much face by having me marry into their family. It was so obvious. My parents gifted me two million dollars in cash as a wedding gift, bought me a house worth over four million dollars, the one I was living in now, and even gave me two cars, both valued over 50 thousand dollars. Kayden and I each drove one to work. At yesterday’s wedding, my husband’s parents were treated like royalty. The Bailey family’s relatives and friends surrounded them, singing their praises. If people didn’t know the truth, they’d think it was Kayden and Emma who were getting married. I could tell that this was the first time they’d been so flattered. But just one day after the wedding, they started showing their true colors. I tried to calm myself and asked coldly, “Kayden, is this your attitude? Do you think I should hand over my salary to your father?” Kayden looked at me, clearly uncomfortable, his lips trembling as he stammered, “I… I… “Jasmine, listen, I’ll explain everything to you later,” he hurriedly said. Before I could respond, Henry said, his face flushed with anger. “What do you mean your money? Since you’ve married Kayden, everything you have belongs to us now. “Don’t just talk about your salary. Even your wedding gift belongs to us! You should hand it over to me respectfully!” Henry’s shameless remarks left me stunned. How could someone who had been a teacher for decades say something like that? Not only were they after my salary, but they had also set their sights on my wedding gift. The fire inside me blazed as I raised my trembling hands and clapped slowly, mocking them. “I didn’t expect you to be such good schemers! I thought you were a humble, decent family. Now it’s clear you’re just a bunch of wolves in sheep’s clothing!” “What did you say? Who’s a wolf?” Henry roared.
Emma was about to explode, but I ignored her. “Regardless of what happens, neither my salary nor my wedding gift has anything to do with the Bailey family. It’s all mine, and if you’re jealous, go earn your own!” Before they could interrupt, I turned back to Kayden and said, each word cutting through the air. “Think carefully about what happened today. I’m giving you time and an opportunity. Figure out how we’ll live from now on. If you can’t figure it out, we’ll head straight to the courthouse and file for divorce!” Seeing that I wasn’t joking, Kayden panicked. He grabbed my hand and apologized desperately. “Jasmine, I’m sorry. I didn’t handle things well at home. Give me some time, and I’ll talk to my parents.” Emma saw that Kayden’s attitude was shifting and immediately stormed over in anger. “Why are you wasting your time talking to her? We don’t keep freeloaders in this house. If she doesn’t pay up, she can leave!” “Mom, please, just stop talking!” Kayden pleaded. Kayden’s demeanor was tense as he tried to hold me back with one hand while using the other to restrain Emma from continuing her tirade. But the more he tried to pacify her, the more Emma resisted, her voice rising like a storm. “She’s five months pregnant! I don’t believe she’ll leave you! “Don’t let her fool you. If she dares to divorce, with a second marriage and carrying a child from our family, no one else will want her, she’ll be stuck with this used label forever!” I should’ve been angry, but instead, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. Back when Kayden and I were dating in college, he had confided in me about his family situation. His mother, Emma, was also his father’s second wife. She had concealed her past marriage when she married Henry. At first, Henry had no idea. However, since Emma was still somewhat attractive, the two quickly became involved. When Henry found out that Emma had a son from her previous marriage, it was already too late. Emma was pregnant with Kayden by then. She came with her family to confront Henry, who was furious. At first, he refused to marry her, but, as a teacher, he was afraid it would ruin his reputation. Eventually, they married, albeit with lingering resentment. This conflict had never truly been resolved between Henry and Emma. I smirked as I recalled those. “Used goods? You’re calling me that, but let’s be honest, Emma, you’re the used goods here, no doubt about it. “Right, Henry? You’re a proud teacher, but you ended up marrying someone like her. I feel sorry for you.” I deliberately glanced at Henry, my words sharp. The room’s atmosphere shifted immediately. Henry’s face turned from red to black, then to a deep shade of blue. Emma, on the other hand, went berserk, lunging at me and grabbing my hair. Fortunately, Kayden was quick to intervene. Otherwise, I might not have been able to defend myself. In the end, Henry showed signs of losing composure, and, wanting to avoid further embarrassment, he stormed out after yelling a few harsh words. Emma collapsed onto the floor, sobbing in Kayden’s arms. She lamented how hard she had worked raising him, how difficult it had been, only to have her son’s wife insult her now. She wept and even made exaggerated gestures to bang her head against the wall, playing the victim. Kayden, with pity in his eyes, grabbed her and tried to calm her down. As for me, the entire situation felt suffocating. The atmosphere in this house was toxic, and I couldn’t stand to be there for another second. I quickly packed a few clothes and left for my parent’s house. Before I left, I caught Kayden’s gaze. His eyes held a mixture of disappointment and confusion. He didn’t try to stop me from leaving, but I could see he was frustrated. I couldn’t believe it. He was upset with me! It was a weekend, and my parents were both at home. They were surprised to see me walking through the door alone in the middle of the afternoon. “Have you eaten? What happened?” My mother, knowing me well, immediately recognized something was off. I had never faced any real hardship in my life, and as soon as I saw my parents, I couldn’t hold back the tears. They fell uncontrollably as I recounted everything that had happened. “Such a shameless family!” My dad, sitting on the couch, quietly smoked his cigarette. My mom, shaking with anger, slapped the table and scolded me, “Jasmine Arnold, you’re our only daughter! We told you from the start not to get involved with Kayden, but you wouldn’t listen! You even got pregnant before marriage. You nearly drove your father and me insane. Now you see the consequences, don’t you?” My parents had strongly opposed me dating Kayden. I had been too blinded by love to listen to their warnings. All I knew was that Kayden was reliable and kind-hearted. He always took my feelings into consideration. He was the kind of person who, even if he had only 10 dollars left in his pocket, would spend nine of it on me. I was convinced that no one else would love me as much as he did. In the end, my persistence wore my parents down, and they reluctantly accepted him. Looking back, I wished I could slap myself for not listening to their advice. Why didn’t I pay attention to their warnings back then? “Well, what’s the use in talking about it now?” My dad pressed out his cigarette, his voice low and serious as he said, “Jasmine, the Baileys, your husband’s parents, are traditional and care deeply about their reputation, and they are unpredictable and calculating. You’re no match for them. “Then there’s Kayden. He’s a good person, but being honest doesn’t mean he can’t do bad things. “You should see by now that, in Kayden’s heart, you’ll never be more important than his parents. This is just the beginning. Anytime family issues come up, he’ll always choose them over you. Your relationship doesn’t stand a chance when compared to family ties. How long do you think you can hold on?” After I heard my dad’s words, my emotions slowly settled.
I didn’t know what the future would hold, but Kayden’s attitude today was already clear. Maybe I wasn’t that important to him after all. I thought about it, my eyes welling up with tears again. But what about the baby inside me? Was I really going to let him grow up without a father? Besides, this was about Kayden’s parents, not him. Our years of love couldn’t have been fake, could they? I helplessly glanced at my parents sitting beside me, trying to comfort me, but I still couldn’t make up my mind. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and in came Kayden, disheveled and anxious. I had expected him to stay home and work things out with his parents, not to come running after me so soon. That meant, deep down, he really did care about me. A wave of the anger I had been holding back for so long suddenly started to fade. I thought about the five years we had spent together and how we had just gotten married. I hadn’t even had a chance to experience the happiness I’d imagined for our married life. After all we had been through, maybe I shouldn’t give up so easily. At the very least, I would never be able to let it go. Kayden rushed in, greeted my parents briefly, and then sat down next to me. “Jasmine, we’re family. Can you please not hold this against me? “I messed up. I didn’t communicate well. Actually, my parents didn’t mean any harm. Once you get to know them, you’ll see they’re really kind-hearted.” “Today, you shouldn’t have been so unreasonable with my mom.” None of us spoke, waiting for Kayden to finish. But the more I heard, the more upset I became. So, his parents were good people, and I was just a petty, unforgiving person? I turned my head and saw my mom holding back a sigh, rolling her eyes. She was about to speak when my dad raised his hand to stop her. Then he glanced at Kayden, his tone calm yet authoritative, a presence he had earned from decades of leadership experience. “Kayden, it’s normal for young couples to have disagreements. But you two just got married. This should be the sweetest time for you both. And Jasmine is pregnant, so, morally and logically, this shouldn’t have happened.” “Right.” Kayden nodded repeatedly in response to my dad. He was always cautious around him. Not only was my dad, but also his superior’s superior at work. Without my dad, how could Kayden have gotten into such a big company right after graduation, earning two to three thousand dollars a month with no experience? Kayden’s attitude was always respectful, but my dad didn’t soften, continuing, “I have only one precious daughter. I’ve said this before. If anyone causes her even the slightest harm, I will make them pay ten times over, no matter who they are.” When my dad said this, his eyes were full of determination. Kayden visibly shook. In the past, I had thought Kayden’s caution around my parents was simply due to his sincerity and humility. But now, it only irritated me. “I was wrong this time. I didn’t take care of Jasmine properly. I came here to apologize. “I’ll talk to my parents and make sure this doesn’t happen again. I promise I won’t make Jasmine angry anymore.” Kayden was the same as before our marriage; whenever he was questioned, he would promise to treat me better over and over. But now, his promises didn’t seem to mean much. “What are you going to do about it next?”
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