After getting married, I experienced Sophia's torment.

Sophia forcefully demanded that I attend various banquets and events with her. Once we arrived, she would leave me standing alone, completely ignoring me.

She allowed Matilda's heiress clique to bully and exclude me, never stepping in even when I was humiliated.

Because she did it on purpose. She wanted to make me feel inferior and timid, to highlight the gap between myself and the Hawke family, and to make me give up.

I had mentioned this to Jameson over the past three years.

But he never had the patience to listen, always advising me to be more accommodating to Sophia, saying I should respect my elders.

When I told him that Matilda was deliberately making things difficult for me, he didn’t believe me either.

He said Matilda, being the heiress of the Northrop family, wouldn’t stoop so low as to bother someone who married into the Hawke family.

When I tried to explain further, he got impatient. "I've just taken over the Hawke Group. Every day is exhausting. Freya, could you be a little more understanding and not bother me with such trivial matters?"

Gradually, I stopped saying anything.

Normally, after the embarrassment at tonight’s banquet, I would have come back wanting to have a serious conversation with Jameson.

I wanted to tell him about my situation over the last three years, to say that I no longer wanted to go to places where I didn't belong.

But now, sitting in the car, looking at Jameson’s annoyed face, I suddenly didn’t want to say anything.

When someone is unwilling to listen, saying more is useless.

I was tired too.

It felt like all the energy had drained from my body, not a word would come out.

As soon as we walked in the door, the butler, Hugo Voss, came straight to me. "Mrs. Hawke, Sophia wants to see you in her room."

I used to be very afraid of Sophia from the Hawke family.

This Sophia seemed to have mastered the art of changing faces, showing different sides to different people.

In front of others, she always appeared kind and amiable.

In front of Jameson, she always acted caring towards me, playing the role of a loving grandmother-in-law.

But alone with me, she was strict and harsh.

If I did something slightly wrong outside, she would call me into her room and scold me with a cold face.

For a period, Sophia became a source of psychological shadow for me.

Whenever I faced her, I couldn’t help but feel scared.

When we first got married, because I was deeply in love with Jameson and saw him staying up all night for work, I didn’t want to bother him.

I silently endured all the mistreatment.

I thought back then, Sophia surely wouldn’t treat me this way forever.

With time, people reveal their true selves, and after we got to know each other better, she would surely stop scolding me.

But I was wrong. Sophia took joy in making things difficult for me and never tired of it.

I realized that some people don’t grow soft-hearted and kind with age.

Unable to bear it anymore, I told Jameson about it.

But he didn’t believe me.

"Why didn't Sophia torment you right after we got married, and only remembered to trouble you after so long?"

"She did. Right after we got married, Sophia often called me into her room to scold me. She even said I didn’t deserve to enter the Hawke family."

"So why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I felt sorry for you back then. I didn’t want to disturb you with this."

"Freya, even if you lie, make it more believable. Sophia is my elder. I don’t want to hear you slandering her again."

That was the first time I felt completely powerless.