“Don’t start.”
But something inside me had finally snapped.
For three years, I had endured Evelyn’s insults. I smiled through family dinners where she treated me like a servant. I attended charity galas where she introduced me as if I were a lucky charity project instead of the woman funding their lifestyle.
That afternoon, she had gone too far.
In front of relatives, she called me barren. Useless. A burden living off her son’s success.
Everyone sat in silence.
Daniel said nothing.
So I laughed.
Just once.
A short, bitter laugh.
Evelyn immediately clutched her chest.
“She disrespected me in my own home!”
Daniel rushed forward.
And now I stood there with a burning cheek.
“Leave the jewelry,” Evelyn ordered. “Leave the car. Leave everything my son paid for.”
I stared at her.
The monthly ten-thousand-dollar allowance she spent on spas, luxury handbags, and personal drivers had never come from Daniel.
It came from me.
