The Ungrateful Daughter-in-Law My hard-earned apartment, bought with my own efforts, was a problem for my future sister-in-law. “How can a girl buy a house? Shouldn’t she save that money for her brother to get married?” she’d scoff. She even threatened Liam, my younger brother. If he didn’t put her name on the deed, she’d never marry him. Mom, Sarah, exploded, “You ungrateful son, just *try* marrying her! I’ll make sure you regret it!” It was a long weekend, about two years after Liam graduated. He brought home a girlfriend named Chloe Miller. She was quite pretty, with a pure, innocent look, and she dressed stylishly. But she had a real knack for taking advantage. Mom asked me to pick them up from the airport for dinner. The moment she got into my car, Chloe’s eyes lit up, scanning everything. She blurted out to Liam, “Did your sister’s family buy her this car? A car like this must cost at least a few hundred thousand, right?” I smiled. “I bought it myself with my own money. It wasn’t cheap, about $80,000 all in.” I’d had it for years. I stopped relying on my family for living expenses back in college. I even sent some money to Liam every month when he was in middle school. Actually, our family was pretty comfortable, a solid middle-class household. My parents wouldn’t have had any trouble buying Liam and me homes and cars. But Grandpa Arthur always taught us, Liam and me, that you have to work hard for everything yourself to truly appreciate the meaning of happiness. So, from a young age, I had a talent for making money. By college, I was already financially independent and managing my own funds. “Wow, Avery, you’re amazing! You just bought such an expensive car like it was nothing,” Chloe gushed. “Unlike your brother, he’s been out of college for two years and still doesn’t have a car.” Her passive-aggressive comments made my blood boil. I really wanted to snap back, but I didn’t want to embarrass Liam. So I just said, “It’s alright. Here, have some fruit. I picked it up at the store on the way. You two should try it.” Seeing I wasn’t engaging, she quieted down for the rest of the ride, furiously tapping on her phone. She was probably blowing up my naive brother’s phone. She claimed she didn’t really like fruit, but when we got out of the car, I found almost all the fruit I bought was gone. The moment we arrived at the house, her eyes started darting around, taking in every detail. After dinner, she was back to her overly enthusiastic self. She grabbed my hand. She started grilling me: where I worked, how much I earned, how much I gave my parents each month, if I was dating anyone. It was like she’d completely stopped treating herself as an outsider after just one meal. Trying to keep the peace, I just said no. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to introduce her to my boyfriend, Ryan. It was more that I wasn’t convinced this girl would ever truly become part of our family. She immediately perked up and told me that I should find a rich boyfriend, one who would offer a huge dowry. Looks didn’t matter, she insisted. She said it didn’t matter if they were ugly or handsome; as long as they had money, everything else would follow. She said we, as children, should demand a lot for our dowry. Our parents raised us, and it wasn’t easy. Plus, there was Liam who needed support. I had never heard such demands come from a girl before. “So, Chloe, are you with Liam because our family is rich? And you’re going to give all your dowry to your parents?” “No way! Avery, don’t accuse me! Liam and I are truly in love. How could it be about that?” she said, looking like she was about to burst into tears. “Oh, the way you were talking, I thought you were interested in our money. My apologies, I’m not very good at small talk. Please bear with me. After all, we’re going to be family soon.” When I said “family,” her expression softened slightly. She then resumed her lecture. “Avery, don’t you give your salary to your family?” “I give my salary to my family every month to help my brother buy a house and get married,” she said, proudly raising an eyebrow. “You should also plan for your parents. Don’t spend all your salary. You should show filial respect to your mom and dad.” I just smiled, pursing my lips, and said nothing. The next day, I got home from work and noticed one of my designer bags was missing from my acrylic display shelf. I asked Liam, and he casually told me that Chloe had taken it when she went home earlier that day. She said she really liked that style and hadn’t been able to find it. “If she wanted it, why didn’t she buy it herself?” That bag was a gift from my best friend, Brooke. Liam, watching a ball game, simply shrugged. “It’s just a bag. You have so many on that shelf, and I barely see you carry that one. What’s the big deal? Just ask Ryan to get you a new one.” I was so furious my blood boiled. You just waltz into my room and take my bag, and *I’m* the one making a fuss? I went to find Mom. My parents were pretty hands-off with us, so they hadn’t said much about Chloe. Seeing how upset I was, Mom just tried to calm me. “Sweetheart, don’t be mad. It’s Liam’s first serious girlfriend, and his first time bringing someone home. Just let it go.” Then she transferred $50,000 to my PayPal. “Buy whatever bag you want. If it’s not enough, just ask for more.” I was about to say, “It’s not about the money, Mom! Taking something without asking is stealing!” But she was already on a FaceTime call with her sisters. Fuming, I could only vent in a SnapChat group with Ryan and Brooke. **Avery:** That idiot brother of mine, I don’t know where he dug up this girlfriend. She’s not even married into the family yet and she’s already stolen the bag you gave me last month, @Brooke! **Avery:** I’m so mad, so mad! **Avery:** [frustrated rage emoji] **Avery:** [power punch gif] **Avery:** [furious scream emoji] **Brooke:** Is that the girl you were telling me about yesterday, the one who gives all her salary to her parents? **Brooke:** I was shocked when I heard that. How is a girl in the 21st century still being manipulated like that by her family? **Brooke:** LOL, she’s a legend! Go future sister-in-law! **Ryan:** In a meeting. I’ll take you shopping tomorrow. Don’t get yourself worked up. The next time I saw Chloe, she was two months pregnant. Her entire family – a whole parade of aunts, uncles, cousins, and her parents and brother – came to our house to discuss the dowry. They brazenly demanded $1.88 million for the dowry, an $88,000 “name-change fee,” and $180,000 for a full gold jewelry set. The total came to $2.148 million, but they said “four” sounded unlucky, so they rounded it up to a “lucky” $2.18 million. My parents didn’t find the amount exorbitant. They had already prepared a house and a commercial property for both Liam and me. Plus, they’d set aside $2 million in cash for each of us to start our own families. But the Millers’ demand was that all the cash had to be deposited into *their* bank accounts. They claimed the $1.88 million was for the years they spent raising Chloe. The additional $88,000 was for “care fees” for their relatives. I casually piped up from the side, “What about her personal dowry then?” Mr. Miller immediately launched into a lecture: “You’re just a girl! What business do you have speaking when adults are talking? You have no manners!” It clicked for me: the lecturing was hereditary. My mother’s face instantly dropped when she heard him. Her cheerful smile vanished. “Our daughter can say whatever she wants. We come from a family of scholars; we don’t follow such outdated, feudal customs.” Mrs. Miller, however, sensed trouble and worried they might lose the deal. She quickly tried to smooth things over, forcing a laugh. “Oh, there will be a personal dowry! We’ve prepared some homemade honey from our family farm. It’s excellent for beauty and health. You can’t find pure honey like this in the city anymore!” My parents and I exchanged glances, saying nothing. A classic scam, trying to get everything for nothing. The Millers, worried that Chloe’s pregnancy would become more obvious as time went on, and wanting to avoid gossip, arranged for the wedding to happen at the end of the next month. My parents had already prepared a house for each of us, and the prime school district apartment was meant to be Liam and Chloe’s marital home. Chloe demanded that her name be on the deed, and Liam readily agreed. My parents didn’t say much, just hoping the two of them would lead a happy life together. Since the apartment had only recently been renovated, and considering Chloe’s pregnancy, my parents suggested she stay with us at our current home to rest. At this time, Dad was away on a business trip, and Mom was going back to our hometown to care for Grandpa Arthur and Grandma Alice. So, it was just me, Liam, and Chloe at home. And as expected, trouble soon arrived. Living together, Chloe’s antics were bound to start. For example, while I was in a work meeting, my phone kept ringing, one call after another. I thought something terrible had happened. But it was just Chloe. She was hungry and wanted sandwiches from the downtown deli. She demanded I go buy them and bring them over. I told her to order delivery, but she said she didn’t trust delivery drivers, fearing they might add something to her food that would harm the baby. I told her I was in a meeting and couldn’t leave, and she should ask Liam to go. She said Liam didn’t have a car, so it was inconvenient for him to go. She then suggested I should let him drive my car from now on, so she wouldn’t have to call and order me around. Ah, so *that’s* what she was angling for. I said, “If you want him to drive me to and from work every day, and be available at my beck and call, then sure, I’ll give him the car keys. It would be great to have a free chauffeur.” She clicked her tongue. “Why don’t you just buy another car for yourself? Liam has to work every day; he wouldn’t have time to be your driver.” “My money doesn’t grow on trees. I can’t just buy a new car or give away my old one whenever you say.” “How about *you* buy me a new car? Then I’ll let you two have this one.” With that, I hung up. She immediately went crying to Liam, claiming I wouldn’t bring her food, that I wanted to starve her and her baby. She said that if I dared to give her attitude before marriage, who knew how I’d torment her afterward. She didn’t mention a single word about the car.
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