The ninth time my husband and I were trying for a baby, his widowed sister-in-law's son got sick again.

This time, it was a peanut allergy.

He'd been sick nine times, and we'd postponed trying for a baby nine times.

I couldn't take it anymore and asked him directly, "Do you want this baby or not?"

Ian Jennings was stunned for a moment, but after giving his nephew the allergy medicine, he meekly returned to our room.

The next day, he took his nephew to an amusement park.

Two months later, when I still wasn't pregnant, I used Ian Jennings's phone to book a prenatal check-up.

But I discovered he had ordered birth control pills six months ago.

My heart tightened. Six months ago was right when we brought his widowed sister-in-law here from the countryside.

'So he never intended to have a child with me at all.'

...

My fingers trembling, I scrolled up. It wasn't just that one time...

There were nine purchase records in total, each one perfectly aligning with a period when we were trying for a baby.

An overwhelming sense of shame and anger washed over me.

"Honey, what are you looking at so intently? Are you researching fertility-boosting recipes again?"

Ian Jennings walked over with a smile, moving to wrap his arms around me naturally.

I jerked back a step, shoved the phone screen in his face, and said in a low voice,

"Ian Jennings, please explain what this means."

The moment he saw what was on the screen, the smile on Ian Jennings's face froze.

His eyes darted around in a panic for a second, but he immediately came up with an excuse.

"I bought those for my colleague, Mr. Williams..."

He forced himself to look calm, speaking rapidly.

"He and his wife aren't planning on having kids yet, and he was too embarrassed to buy them himself, so he asked me to get them for him..."

"Honey, don't misunderstand..."

I scoffed and tapped on the shipping address for one of the orders.

It was written there, clear as day: the address was our home.

"You bought them for a colleague, but had them shipped to our house? Ian Jennings, do you take me for a fool?"

With his lie exposed, Ian Jennings's face flushed red, then went pale.

Seeing he couldn't hide it anymore, he immediately put on a heartbroken expression and reached out to pull me closer.

"Yara, please let me explain..." His tone was full of grievance.

"I only did this for our own good!"

"My brother just passed away. Saozi is all alone with Jay in a new and unfamiliar place."

"If we had a child now, how would you be able to handle it all on your own? I was afraid it would be too hard on you!"

Watching his sincere and heartfelt performance, my mind flashed back to a scene from six months ago.

Ian Jennings had brought Chloe Lynn and Jay back from the countryside.

The two of them, frail and thin, stood at our door. Jay called out to me timidly,

"Aunt Yara..."

My heart softened at the sight, and I immediately went forward to take the luggage from Chloe Lynn's hands, welcoming them inside.

Ian Jennings had looked at me gratefully and said, "Honey, you're so kind."

'I thought we were just taking them in temporarily. I never expected I was letting a wolf into our house.'

"So, you've been giving me birth control pills behind my back for half a year?"

I snapped out of my memories, feeling disgusted as I watched his performance.

"Ian Jennings, you never had any intention of having a child with me, did you?"

My words stripped away his final excuse.

"You... How could you think of me like that?"

He looked completely wounded, as if he'd been wrongly accused.

"How could I not want a child with you? I just..."

"Just wanted to wait until Jay grows up? Until Chloe Lynn gets remarried? Or until we're both old and gray?"

I pressed him, closing in.

"Enough!" He roared, lashing out in shame and anger now that I'd hit a nerve.

"Yara Sterling, can't you be a little more considerate? Do you have to cause trouble at a time like this?"

His words made me laugh in anger.

Just as the tension between us was about to snap, Chloe Lynn walked in carrying a glass of milk.

"Ian, Jay said he wants some milk..."

"Are you two fighting? Is it because of me?"

"Maybe... Maybe Jay and I should just move out. We don't want to cause you any trouble."

As she spoke, her eyes reddened, and she looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

Seeing her like this, Ian Jennings immediately grew protective. "Saozi, this has nothing to do with you. Don't overthink it."

"Renting a place is so expensive and unsafe. With just the two of you, a mother and her son, how could I not worry?"

After Ian Jennings finished comforting Chloe Lynn, he turned and started to reproach me:

"Saozi just got to the city. She doesn't know her way around. Can't you be a little nicer to her?"

'Nicer?' Last week, I was so tired from work that I asked him to get me a glass of water, but he just said impatiently:

"Don't you have your own hands?"

And yet, when Chloe Lynn just coughed twice, he immediately rushed over to her in a panic.

He poured her hot water and fussed over her, showing more concern for her than for me, his actual wife.

I trembled with rage, pointing at the nightgown Chloe Lynn was wearing.

"You, shut your mouth! It's not your place to talk!"

"And another thing—that's my nightgown. I want you to take it off right now!"

Chloe Lynn flinched at my shouting, and tears immediately started to fall.

"Yara Sterling!" Ian Jennings completely lost it, yanking Chloe Lynn behind him protectively.

"She's your Saozi! Is that how you talk to your elders?"

"It's just one nightgown! Do you have to be so damn aggressive?!"

"I'm being aggressive?"

I was absolutely furious and said directly:

"If you've got the guts, let's get a divorce! You can take your precious Saozi and your precious nephew and get the hell out of my house!"

The moment Ian Jennings heard the word divorce, his expression darkened.

"Yara Sterling, stop throwing that word around!"

"You're going to make a scene and demand a divorce over something this trivial?"

"Trivial?" I jabbed a finger toward his face.

"You secretly put me on birth control pills and lied to me for six months—is that what you call trivial?"

"You're using our shared assets to support your late brother's wife—is that trivial?"

"Ian Jennings, what in the world would you consider a big deal?"

"Will you only be satisfied when I hand this entire house over to that mother and son?"

"You're being completely irrational!" A vein pulsed on Ian Jennings's forehead, he was so furious.

Beside them, Chloe Lynn tugged on the corner of his shirt and pleaded timidly,

"Ian, please don't fight with Sister-in-law. It's all my fault..."

"Sister-in-law, please don't be mad at Ian. He was only doing it for me and Jay. If you must blame someone, blame me..."

I didn't pay her words any mind, but Ian Jennings did, and his dissatisfaction with me only grew.

"Look how understanding Saozi is! And then look at you! Yara Sterling, I am so disappointed in you!"

'Disappointed?' I was the one who was utterly disappointed in him!

This man standing before me—he wanted a wife from a wealthy family, but he also wanted to play the part of a righteous, devoted younger brother who would never abandon his widowed sister-in-law.

He wanted everything, yet he refused to take responsibility for anything.

"Ian Jennings, you're a spineless coward!"

I looked Ian Jennings in the eye, my voice practically a roar.

"You don't have the guts to tell me the truth, you just resort to these despicable tricks to deceive me. What kind of a man are you?!"

My words hit a raw nerve.

Especially since I'd said it in front of Chloe Lynn, the very person he was trying so hard to protect.

It was a blow to his male ego, and he instantly saw red.

"Fine! Fine! Fine!" he repeated, his eyes bloodshot.

"A divorce it is! I'd like to see who else could possibly put up with your spoiled-princess attitude after I'm gone!"

I didn't wait for him to waste any more of my time. I set the appointment right then and there.

"Tomorrow morning, nine o'clock, at the doors of City Hall. Whoever doesn't show up is a coward."

Then I stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door and bolting it shut.

Through the door, I could hear Ian Jennings's furious curses and Chloe Lynn's insincere attempts at consolation.

I tossed and turned all night.

Early the next morning, I got ready, grabbed my official records and ID card, and prepared to head out.

But the moment I stepped out of the bedroom, I froze on the spot.

Mrs. Jennings, who was supposed to be in the countryside, was now sitting on the living room sofa with a dark expression on her face.

Chloe Lynn and Jay were sitting on either side of her, and there was even peeled fruit on the coffee table.

When she saw me come out, Mrs. Jennings immediately put on a kindly smile.

"Yara, you're up! Come, come, Mom brought you your favorite local specialties."

"Look at you, fighting with Ian. You can't be serious about this divorce, can you?"

"Couples fight and make up. There's no reason to hold a grudge overnight."

She spoke while shooting me a look, gesturing for me to come over.

Ian Jennings also emerged from the kitchen carrying breakfast, a fawning smile plastered on his face.

"Wife, look, I made you your favorite breakfast."

"Mom came all the way from the countryside just to talk sense into us, so don't be angry anymore, okay?"

Looking at the scene, I understood instantly.

'Ian Jennings must have called Mrs. Jennings overnight to ambush me today.'

I couldn't even be bothered to look at them and walked straight to the entryway to put on my shoes.

"Where are you going?"

Ian Jennings immediately put down the breakfast and rushed over to block my way.

"City Hall." I coldly spat out the two words.

The smile on Mrs. Jennings's face froze. She slammed the apple in her hand onto the table.

"Yara Sterling, what is the meaning of this? I came all this way with the best intentions to talk to you, and this is the attitude you give me?"

"Do you have any respect for me as your mother-in-law?"

"If I had any respect for you, I wouldn't be standing here," I retorted without hesitation.

"You! How dare you!"

Mrs. Jennings was so angry she shot up from the sofa, pointing at my nose and cursing:

"Let me tell you, as long as I'm alive, you and Ian are not getting a divorce!"

"Don't think you can just run wild because this house is yours!"

"Ian married you, so he's the man of this house! He can let anyone he wants live here!"

Seeing that her earnest pleas were useless, she finally showed her true colors.

"Is that so?"

I glanced around the room I had so carefully decorated and smiled.

"Mom, have you forgotten? My parents bought this house for me in full before the wedding as my dowry."

"Only my name is on the property deed. Ian Jennings is, at best, just a guest here."

My words made Mrs. Jennings's expression turn even uglier.

She had always told everyone that their family had bought the house, that I had married up into the Jennings family.

Now that I had exposed her in front of everyone, she couldn't hide her embarrassment.

"You, you're talking nonsense! This house is clearly…"

"Should I go get the property deed right now so you can have a good look?"

I cut her off, my gaze icy.

Mrs. Jennings was choked by my words and could only sit back down resentfully, still muttering under her breath.

I took out my phone, and right in front of them, I opened a rental app. I immediately listed the house, setting the rent 30% below the market price.

"If you're not gone in three days, I'm renting the house to someone else."

"When the new tenants show up with a lease, let's see if you still have the nerve to squat here."

"How dare you!" Ian Jennings shouted, lunging for my phone.

I was ready for it and took a step back, dodging him.

"Watch me."

I met his furious gaze and said, word by word.

"Ian Jennings, I gave you a chance."

"You're the one who didn't even have the guts to go to City Hall."

"Since you love being such a coward, I'll give you a push."

Ian Jennings looked at me with a complicated expression; things had apparently spun completely out of his control.

"Yara Sterling, do you really have to be so ruthless?"

He gritted his teeth, forcing the words out.

"You forced my hand."

I put my phone away, grabbed the suitcase I had dragged to the door that morning, and gave them one last look.

"Three days. I'm giving you three days to move out of my house."

"If you're still here in three days, I'll bring people to clear you out. My patience has its limits!"

With that, I stormed out and slammed the door behind me.