After work the next day, I got home to find Logan's girlfriend, Flora Butler, hanging around. Given the bad blood between Logan and me, ignoring her was my default mode. We made eye contact when nobody else was watching.

Flora started to lose it. "Logan told me you were rude and disrespectful, but I thought he was exaggerating. Turns out he was right.

I'm going to be Logan's wife. You're just a woman waiting to be married off. You can't even say hello when you see me. You really have no class."

I smirked to myself. She really could act. With a poker face, I shot back, "Aren't you also a woman?"

Flora was livid. "How can you compare yourself to me? You're just ugly and bitter. No wonder you're almost thirty and still unmarried."

Grace was sucking up to Flora. "Flora, just ignore her. She's nothing but a dead weight. You're way out of her league."

Clinging to Logan's arm, Flora complained, "Logan, look at Rebecca. What's her problem? Does she not want me here?"

Logan started banging on my door. "Bitch, get out here and apologize to Flora now."

I cracked the door open and warned, "Don't mess with me, or you can forget about your new house and the dowry."

Logan immediately clammed up.

I had to admit, that tactic worked pretty well.

Grace told Logan, "Your Uncle Jayden and his wife Maria are coming to dinner. Your dad's made reservations."

She glanced at me. "Oh, and dead weight, you're coming too."

This was the first time Grace ever invited me to a family event. Jayden was always on about how useless education was for girls. He'd often said to Grace, "Rebecca should just get married instead of wasting time at college."

I'd almost never been included in meals with Jayden's family. Something felt off about today.

At the restaurant, Grace made a big deal about introducing Logan's girlfriend, Flora, who was all sweetness and light. She was quite the opposite of her earlier self. And She charmed Jayden and Maria into fits of laughter.

As we ate, the talk shifted to Logan's wedding. Grace boasted about my lottery win, openly declaring that I'd be funding Logan's new house and dowry.

Jayden looked pleased. "Grace, you've raised a good daughter. Rebecca, with her college education, clearly knows the importance of supporting her brother."

Then, Jayden turned to me and said, "Rebecca, when Flora joins the Watson family, make sure you treat her well. She'll be carrying on the family line."

I just smiled and said, "Well, I'll be married off soon myself. I'm practically an outsider."

Grace shot me a glare and snapped, "Brat, how can you say that? Jayden is just trying to help you. If you can't be grateful, at least stop with the backhanded comments.

I can't believe I wasted my efforts on you, you ingrate."

Logan was busy tearing into his crab, grease dripping from his chin, clearly enjoying my discomfort.

I slammed down my fork. "Is everything I do just expected?"

"Logan's getting married but has no money. I didn't even blink before agreeing to hand over 5 million dollars. Can't you show me a little kindness?" I played up the sympathy card.

Pushing further, I said, "All my efforts are just to win a bit of love from you. Is wanting to feel part of a family too much to ask?"

The table went silent. They weren't expecting my raw plea for affection. Even Brian seemed touched. "Well... You've never spoken up like this before."

I thought to myself, "Of course not, I just made it all up."

As Grace and Brian began to respond, I couldn't keep pretending. So, I secretly pinched my thigh to squeeze out some tears and, with trembling lips, I rushed out.

Ever since that day, it looked like Brian and Grace were finally starting to reflect on how they treated me. Now, they were even including me in house hunting for Logan.

"This place is pretty nice. It's big and bright. We could even stay here too," Grace said, clearly pleased as she looked around.

Grace completely ignored Flora's displeased look. I overheard Flora quietly ask Logan, "Didn't you say we wouldn't live with your parents after getting married?"

Logan didn't seem to care much, but noticing Flora's concern, he soothed, "Babe, my mom's just talking. She's not actually going to live with us."

I could tell Flora was nearly persuaded. That couldn't happen. I quickly interjected, "Oh, Mom, what are you talking about? Young couples today don't want to live with their in-laws." Then I turned to Flora and said, "Right, Flora?"

Flora's face fell again at my words.

Grace snapped at me, "Brat, always got to open your mouth, huh? I'll be there to help when she's pregnant and has kids. Flora, you'd welcome that, right?"

Flora, not too keen, replied, "Of course, Mrs. Watson. You're always welcome."

I caught the real estate agent Yvette's eye and gave her a look, signaling her to follow the plan we'd agreed on.

Picking up on my cue, Yvette quickly chimed in, "Mr. and Mrs. Watson, you've got great taste. This place has seen a lot of interest. It's a hot property."

Grace always loved flattery. She beamed, saying, "See? I always had a good eye. This house suits my son's style perfectly."

Inside, I almost burst out laughing. I thought, "What style does Logan have? He's a mid-twenties, jobless guy who lives off his parents. If anything, he's got a 'freeloader' vibe."

Yvette chimed in, ""Mrs. Watson, if you like the place, you could make a deposit today. Others are eyeing it too. It might be gone any second."

Logan and Flora got antsy. "Mom, what are you waiting for? Let's get the deposit down."

Grace winced, turned aside, and whispered, "We don't have the cash right now. Rebecca's lottery winnings haven't come through yet."

Logan threw a tantrum. He told Grace and Brian, "I don't care. I want to put the deposit down now. If we lose this house, it's on you.

How can you be so useless? I'm trying to buy a house, and you can't even fork over the money. What good are parents like you?"

Instead of getting angry, Brian just looked worried and started scrambling for solutions. "What do we do? The deposit is 100,000 dollars. Should we try to borrow some money?"

I offered a "helpful" suggestion. "Mom, Dad, why not mortgage our home in the meantime? Once my lottery money hits, we can just buy it back. It should be in my account within a month."

Logan's eyes lit up. "Exactly! Let's go home and get the property deed to get the mortgage started."

Grace was still hesitating. Logan snapped, "Don't you want to help? You just want to see me fail to get this house, right? If I can't marry Flora because of this, you'd be happy, huh?"

I snickered quietly, thinking, "What a great son you've raised, Mom."

Once Logan started his tantrum, there was no stopping him. Grace and Brian had no choice but to nod in agreement.

As we were leaving, Yvette really played up her part, calling out, "Mrs. Watson, better hurry. I can't promise this house will be available much longer."

Grace managed to get a mortgage using our home's deed pretty smoothly. Out of curiosity, I asked the bank clerk how much we could get. Logan's ears perked up when he heard they could loan out a million dollars.

Logan insisted Grace take out the full million. His plan was to cover the down payment on the new house with it, figuring he'd just pay it back once my lottery winnings arrived.

I thought, "Oh, dear Logan, you jump into any pit I dig."

But then, a new drama unfolded when it came time to make the down payment. They began arguing over whose names would go on the deed.

Grace suggested, "It should be in mine and your dad's names. Eventually, all our assets will go to you and Flora anyway."

Flora wasn't pleased. "Mrs. Watson, this house is meant for Logan and me. It should really be in our names. Are you saying you don't trust me?"

Flora really knew how to play victim. She clung to Logan, nearly in tears, which just melted his heart.

Logan threw a tantrum again. "Mom, what's this about? Flora and I are getting married, and you're still treating her like an outsider. How am I supposed to look her parents in the eye?

I'm telling you, the deed has to be in my and Flora's names."

Flora backed him up. "Right, Mrs. Watson. Once we're married, I promise to treat you and Mr. Watson just like my own parents. I'll ensure the Watson family line continues."

With that, Grace had no choice but to agree.

In the end, they decided to put the new house deed in Logan and Flora's names.

It was a hot day, and they complained about the heat and the hassle of paperwork. So, they had me run around with Yvette to handle everything. During the final steps, I swapped out Logan and Flora's information for mine.

All that mattered to them was that the deed showed Logan and Flora's names. They couldn't tell the difference between a real and a fake deed anyway.

Once Logan got the deed, he couldn't wait to show it off on Instagram. His friends commented: [You've hit the big time, man. Let's have some fun.]

Logan was out of cash. He naturally expected Grace to give him some money. Grace handed him a few hundred dollars, which he tossed on the ground, muttering, "Forget it, that's chump change."

I found it strange. "Logan usually isn't like this. Since when is a few hundred dollars too little for him? He used to be happy just to get tens of dollars for a drink."

Then he turned to me and demanded, "Dead weight, give me some money."

I replied with a sigh, "I just spent my last two hundred taking Yvette out to say thanks. I'm tapped out now."

Logan scowled and retorted, "You're totally useless."

Inside, I couldn't help but laugh, thinking, "Yeah, I'm the useless one. You're the one mooching off your parents, and you think you're the big shot."

Flora leaned in and whispered something to Logan. He looked thrilled, and they left with his arm around her.

Clearly, they'd figured out some way to make quick money.

I soon found out where they had gone because Logan updated his Instagram from a casino.

I texted someone and quickly received a reply: [He took the bait.]

Judging by the photo Logan posted, he was winning. He was all smiles, arm around Flora, looking like the cat that got the canary.