Phoebe's POV

Besides, he was the man I love, and soon, he’ll be family. No decent person would speak about him like that, no matter what they thought.

I was just about to speak up when Raven gently pulled me back and shook his head. “Let it go. We’re with family. It’s not worth starting drama.”

Touched by his patience, I leaned into him and gave him a grateful smile, motioning for him to sit down. “Want some strawberries? I’ll wash them just for you. All yours.”

He smiled and nodded.

I rinsed the strawberries and handed them to him, then turned to finish cooking.

Suddenly, my mom’s voice rang out from behind me. “Those strawberries were for Fiona and Ted! And look at you two, sneaking them like thieves!”

Before I could say anything, she snatched the whole plate right out of Raven’s hands.

“Mom, I bought those strawberries,” I said calmly. “Yours are still in the fridge.”

Yet she seemed not to hear a thing. Instead, she shouted toward the kitchen, “Wash another batch!”

I couldn't make sense of it anymore.

Growing up, my mom had always favored Fiona. Every time there was something good to eat at home, she’d call my cousin over to get some.

One time, I bought my parents a massage chair to help them relax. The next day, my aunt had already taken it home.

I never understood my mom’s obsession with helping her sister’s family. We all had our own households now. Isn’t it normal to put your own family first?

I could put up with being treated unfairly, but I refused to let my husband go through the same.

Resolved, I marched into the living room and yanked the plate of strawberries right out of my cousin’s hands. “If you want some, wash your own. I cleaned these just for Raven.”

Fiona froze, caught off guard.

But my mom came over and smacked me on the back of the head. “Well, look at you! Got yourself a man and now you’re too good for the rest of us? All this fuss over some strawberries?”

She then turned to my cousin with a sweet smile and cooed, “I’ll wash more for you two. Just sit tight.”

Then she turned around and gave me a cold, hard glare. “What are you standing there for? Get back in the kitchen! Or do you want us to starve?”

My fists clenched in anger.

That was it for me. I was done with this place. This would be our last meal here. After today, Raven and I weren’t coming back.

When dinner was finally ready and everyone was digging in, I took the chance to bring up my house again.

“Mom, we need to start the interior setup soon. Don’t forget to give me the keys.”

Clueless, Fiona’s husband was cheerful as he invited, “You guys should come check out our place! We live in Willow Creek Drive, too. Guess we’re neighbors now. We spent seventy grand on the furnishings. Looks pretty good if you ask me.”

I smiled politely and replied, “Nice! What's the house number? I’d love to drop by and get some ideas.”

He was about to answer when Fiona quickly shoved a shrimp into his mouth. “Freshly peeled! Eat before it gets cold.”

Seeing I wasn’t letting it go, my mom’s expression darkened. “That house? I’m keeping it for retirement. Your dad and I don’t want to stay in the countryside anymore. You two can just buy another one.”

She then pointed at Raven with a smug look and taunted, “Didn’t he say he earns a lot? Let him pay for the new one.”

Raven’s face immediately turned grim upon hearing that.

But I quickly stepped in, “That house cost three hundred grand. And of that, two hundred grand was from Raven. He transferred it to me directly. At the time, he was working overseas and couldn’t sign in person. That’s why the property title only has my name. But we have all the transfer records.”

Humiliated, my mom’s face immediately dropped.

But my dad jumped in, trying to ease the tension. “It’s All Souls' Day. Let’s not talk about this today.”

Phoebe's POV

Yet, I stood my ground. “No. I’m pregnant. We can’t keep waiting.”

My mom’s face immediately twisted with anger. She stared straight at my belly and snapped, “You’re already pregnant, so what do you need a house for? Just get married already! You two are renting now, right? Then keep renting after the wedding. What’s so special about owning a place?”

Her words hit a nerve. I glared at her and coldly replied, “Mom, I already bought that house. Why should I rent when I have one? I just want to take back what’s mine.”

But she just glared right back at me, her tone just as cold. “I already told you. I’m keeping that house for retirement. You’re not getting it. I raised you all these years. What’s wrong with me keeping a house in return?”

“You’re already pregnant. Even if you end up eating scraps, you’ve got no choice but to marry Raven. Just look at him, he looks like a broke loser! What if he dumps you? And with you like this, who’s going to offer a decent bride price? You’ve completely ruined your worth!” she yapped.

I was so furious, I shot up from my chair, causing the cutlery in front of me to fly onto the table.

“Mom, you’ve gone too far! Raven and I have been together for six years. My pregnancy is a good thing. How can you keep flipping sides like this? We bought that house ourselves and never asked you for a single cent. So, who are you to interfere with our lives like this? You can insult me all you want, but don’t you dare talk about Raven that way!”

My mom was already shaking with rage as she pointed at me. Suddenly, she clutched her forehead and collapsed onto my dad’s shoulder.

“Stop yelling! Your mom fainted from anger!” My dad yelled at me as he quickly helped her to the sofa.

My aunt also shot me a scolding glare before rushing to check on her, too.

Even so, I didn’t budge. I wasn’t falling for it.

She didn’t have high blood pressure or any heart condition. This was just her usual performance.

I’d seen this act too many times over the years.

Fiona, my cousin, suddenly sneered at me. “Looks like Auntie didn’t tell you the truth, huh? Your wedding house is already mine. Signed and sealed.”

“You know how much I paid? A grand and five hundred!” She laughed. “Actually, not even that. Your mom didn’t just give it away. She even paid me forty grand on top of that to decorate it!”

My fists clenched in anger.

When I was buying that house, my parents told me they had no savings and they barely had three grand in a fixed deposit. But now I find out they gave Fiona forty grand?

Fiona’s husband looked genuinely shocked. “So… that house was originally yours?”

Fiona wrapped her arm around him like nothing was wrong and cooed, “Don’t worry, babe. All the paperwork is legit. Auntie gave it to us as a wedding gift.”

I reached for Raven’s hand as he was already trembling with anger.

Who wouldn't? More than half of that house had been paid for by him.

He’d trusted me enough not to insist his name go on the title. And now, my mom had sold it behind our backs.

Despite the tension, Fiona just kept going, as smug as ever. “I still need more money for my startup. Thirty grand more, to be exact, and Auntie just agreed to help. She’s planning to take out a high-interest loan.”

Greedily smiling, she added, “You and Raven have good credit, right? Since we’re all here, let’s apply today! Oh, and your car. It’s brand new, isn’t it? I’m due any day now and I need something spacious. Your car is perfect for that. Just give it to me.”

Unbelievable. She was beyond shameless. Not even human.

Fed up, I snapped, “In your dreams! I will get my house back. And my car? Don’t even think about it.”

Fiona’s eyes widened in fury, then suddenly, she stood up and flipped the entire table.

Dishes went flying and shattered across the floor, and I yanked Raven back with me just in time.

Then, right on cue, Fiona screamed in mock horror, “Phoebe! Don’t be mad! No need to flip the table!”

Phoebe's POV

“Ow! I’m bleeding!” Fiona cried out, holding up her thumb where a piece of broken ceramic had nicked her.

Her husband stood up quickly, darting nervous glances between all of us, but he stayed silent.

The moment my parents and aunt heard her cry, they came rushing over in a panic.

When my aunt saw the tiny cut, she shrieked, “You heartless witch! Were you trying to kill her?!”

My mom’s face also twisted with rage. She grabbed a shard of broken porcelain from the floor and lunged at me.

Fearing she might hurt Raven, I quickly stepped in and caught her hand. But she slashed straight across my palm, cutting it wide open, and blood immediately streamed down my hand.

“You ungrateful brat!” she screamed. “How dare you lay a finger on Fiona? Can you afford to pay with your life?!”

My dad glared at me, too, barking, “Apologize to Fiona. Right now!”

I stared at both of them in disbelief. They didn’t even care about what actually happened.

“I’m not apologizing. I wasn’t the one who flipped the table,” I truthfully said.

But my aunt pointed at me and shouted, “Liar! Who else could it have been? My daughter is sweet and well-behaved. She’d never pull such a disgraceful stunt.”

I shot her a glare and retorted, “Oh, right. So being well-behaved means stealing someone else’s house now?”

My aunt’s face contorted with rage. She turned to my parents and said, “You mean to tell me… you didn’t tell her? I thought we agreed this was a sale. Why are you letting her blame us like we stole something?”

My parents looked awkward and said nothing.

So, I turned to them directly and asked, “That’s what I want to know, too. Are you ever going to explain the truth about that house?”

I had given them multiple chances to come clean. But they refused. And now, I was done holding back.

My mom’s face hardened, and she replied, “There’s nothing to explain. That house is gone. End of story.”

Raven couldn’t take it anymore. Furious, he stood up and warned, “That house is ours. If you don’t return it, we’ll call the police.”

My mom’s eyes narrowed, and she stormed over and slapped him across the face.

“You shameless bastard! Who the hell do you think you are? Who knows how many women you’ve slept with abroad? You look like you’re barely holding yourself together!”

Raven clenched his fists, his whole body shaking. He had never been treated like this before.

As such, I quickly stepped between them and shoved my mom away, shielding him.

“Mom, that’s enough! Apologize to Raven right now!”

My mom fell to the floor, furious, and started wailing and thrashing.

When she saw I didn’t rush to help her up, she got even more dramatic, banging her head against the wall while sobbing loudly, “You ungrateful daughter! I might as well die right here!”

But I wasn’t falling for it. I knew this routine: cry, scream, threaten suicide. She’d used it my whole life. But not this time.

At that moment, my aunt was also trembling with anger. She pointed at Raven and me and snarled, “If something happens to your mother, it’s on you two! You heartless monsters!”

Then she shoved me hard.

I lost my balance, stepped backward, and slipped on a round soda bottle. My body hit the ground hard, and pain shot through me as I clutched my belly in agony.

Even then, my aunt wouldn’t back off.

As such, furious, I pushed her away with all my strength, causing her head to hit the corner of the table, and blood immediately started dripping down her forehead.

“Ow! I’m bleeding!” she shrieked.

My dad rushed over and grabbed Fiona. “Hurry, take your mom to the hospital. Drive!”

Then he snatched my car keys from the table.

But I snapped, “Don’t you dare! I’m hurt too. I need to go to the hospital. You’re not taking my car!”

Yet, he turned around and slapped me across the face, hard. “Ungrateful wretch! They came here in a cab, and you have the only car. Are you seriously going to just stand there and let your mom die and your aunt bleed out? Will that make you happy?!”

As we were arguing, Fiona helped her mom up and started walking toward the door with her husband.

Seeing that, Raven rushed over to get my car keys back, but my parents blocked his path.

But my mom suddenly grabbed a broom and started beating Raven with it.

“You bastard! I’ll beat you to death! I’ll kill you!”

Out of respect, Raven didn’t fight back. He just curled up, taking the blows until he collapsed to the floor.

By then, the car was already gone.

I looked down and saw blood trickling down my leg. My heart dropped upon seeing that as I knew something was terribly wrong.

“I’m calling 911. Raven, hang in there!”

Just as I pulled out my phone, my mom snatched it from my hands.

“You still want to call the cops on your aunt? Keep dreaming! As long as we’re here, you’ll never get your way!”

She then slammed my phone to the ground, shattering it.

Furious, I glared at my cold and shameless parents and firmly declared, “I’m done. I’m cutting ties with both of you.”