Kinsley was spitting in every direction as she ranted nonstop.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Sister-in-law, if I remember it right, when you married my brother, your dowry was just 800 bucks and a quilt. But you demanded 500 grams of gold jewelry and a 6.66 million bride price.”

“That money, meant to help you two build a life, was given by my parents. And the very next day, you wired it back to your own family along with that so-called 800-dollar dowry.”

“What now? My brother’s money isn’t enough to waste, so now your little abacus beads are clicking in my direction?”

Kinsley, still sipping her vegetable soup, suddenly snapped. She slammed her bowl, spoon, and fork on the table with a loud crash.

She pointed straight at my nose and screamed, “What do you mean ‘transferred to my family’? That dowry came from my side in the first place! The bride price you gave? That was my family’s money too!”

“And you, you useless tramp living off my husband, eating his food, staying in his house, how dare you eye my money?”

“If it weren’t for my husband supporting you, you’d have starved to death long ago. You’re given a bit of respect and suddenly think you’re something special? You’re not even a proper woman, always out and about. Call it ‘work’ if you want, but anyone with eyes can see you’re just fooling around with men.”

“You filthy, cheap, shameless thing! If I hadn’t spoken up for you, do you really think you’d ever have the luck to marry a decent man like my brother?”

I stayed silent, but my gaze grew colder by the second. My brother noticed, his face paling as he quickly tried to pull Kinsley back.

“Enough. Adeline is my sister. Can’t you stop already?”

But Kinsley wasn’t done. “What, you scared of that worthless burden? You’re the only son of the family. The company, the inheritance, and everything your parents own will end up in your hands. And what’s yours is mine. Every cent Adeline spends is technically my money now. So what if I curse her a little?”

“If I tell her to eat sh*t, she better swallow it with a smile!”

I let out a cold laugh. “Brother, is that how you feel too?”

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, my brother gave an awkward laugh, trying to smooth things over.

“Adeline, your sister-in-law just has a sharp tongue. She doesn’t mean anything by it. Besides, she’s newly pregnant, and her emotions are all over the place. Don’t take it to heart.”

My eyes fell on the table full of half-empty liquor bottles, and I frowned. “She’s pregnant and still drinking?”

Kinsley deliberately puffed out her barely-there belly, a smug smirk curling at her lips.

“I drink what my husband pays for. What’s it to you? I’m carrying the golden grandson of your family. If you dare piss me off, I’ll go abort this baby and see how long you last before your precious mom and dad kick you out.”

My brother’s face drained of color. He instantly grabbed her hand and glared at me.

“Adeline, we’re all family. Why stir up trouble over nothing?”

“Mom and Dad dream of a grandson. Do you really want to drive them into a heart attack?”

“Now be sensible. Apologize to your sister-in-law and say you’re willing to marry her brother.”

A chill crept down my spine. I never imagined the brother I’d called “brother” for over twenty years would put more weight on the words of a woman he’d known for less than six months than mine.

The impatience on his face, the thinly veiled annoyance in his eyes, it all struck me harder than I expected. A wave of cold disappointment washed over me.

But he was right about one thing: our parents were aging. Dad had battled high blood pressure for years. I didn’t want to give them any more reason to worry.

I inhaled deeply, again and again, forcing down the disgust bubbling in my chest. I chose silence over argument.

Kinsley, thinking I had been cowed, let out a cold snort, puffing herself up like a triumphant one.

“Trash like you is everywhere in our village. Being allowed to marry my brother is the kind of blessing your ancestors must’ve prayed for. Now that you’re marrying him, learn to clean, serve my parents and my brother, and pop out a baby boy before the year’s over.”

My fingers curled tightly into my palm. My temples throbbed from the rising frustration. I was scared that if I stayed another second, I’d lose control and slap her across the face.

I made a call to the residential security and turned to head upstairs.

As she was being escorted out, Kinsley took the chance to swipe two bottles of beer from my table, still cursing all the way to the door.

I sat alone in my room for a long time, turning everything over in my head, before finally deciding to call my parents, who were away on a business trip in another province.

The next morning, when I woke up, I saw a message from my brother.

He apologized, saying he’d been too harsh the day before. He claimed Kinsley had spouted all that nonsense because she’d had too much to drink and that she felt terrible once she sobered up.

To show her sincerity, he said, she had specially booked a dinner table to apologize in person.

I didn’t want to go at first. But my brother blew up my phone with over a hundred calls, so many that I couldn’t even focus on work.

In the end, I gave in.

But when I opened the door to the private room at the restaurant that evening, I froze.

Not only were my brother and Kinsley there, but also her mother and that scummy younger brother of hers.

Before I could say a word, her mother, Cassandra Granger, strutted over and smacked me twice, hard, right on the butt, then began circling me with a face full of disdain.

“Kinsley, this girl’s butt is so flat, she’ll have a hard time giving birth to a son. If she were from our village, she’d be married off to some blind cripple if anyone took her at all.”

Her younger brother, Bailey Granger, gave my chest a lecherous once-over, rubbed his chin, and chuckled.

“She’s a bit thin, but not bad. Got some curves. I guess I’ll reluctantly agree to marry her.”

Cassandra shot him a disapproving glare.

“Marry? What marry? Bring her home first. Once she gives birth to a boy, then you can get the certificate. What if she turns out to be a hen that can’t lay eggs? Our family’s not taking that loss.”

Kinsley glanced at me like she was doing me a huge favor and said in a sickeningly generous tone, “Did you bring the property deed? My brother made time today just for you. Go ahead and transfer the villa to him. If he’s satisfied, he’ll take you home tonight.”

When rage reached its peak, laughter was the only thing left.

And today, I finally understood what it meant to be shameless beyond redemption.

I swept my gaze across every one of their faces, then locked eyes on my brother, who stood there with his head bowed like a guilty child.

“Maxwell, you’re just going to stand there and let this happen?”

He stepped over hurriedly and tried to pull me aside, lowering his voice like we were co-conspirators.

“Adeline, your sister-in-law is pregnant. She can’t be upset. Just go along with her for now. Keep the peace.”

I stared at him, stunned.

“Your own sister is about to be handed over like some object, and you’re telling me to humor her?”

He looked away, unable to meet my eyes. “You’ll get married eventually. What does it matter who it is? Marrying Bailey, it’ll strengthen family ties.”

I was trembling, my blood boiling, my chest tight, and my breath shallow.

And just as I tried to calm myself, Cassandra suddenly lunged forward, yanked my bag out of my hand, and dumped its contents onto the table.

She snatched up my wallet and tore it open, and the moment she saw that stack of red bills, her eyes sparkled with unrestrained greed.

She stuffed the entire wad of cash into her pocket, then pulled out my bank cards one by one, grumbling with a sneer, “Didn’t you say you made good money? This is it?”

“Let me tell you, women in our Granger family aren’t allowed to keep money. Try hiding a stash, and we’ll slice your tendons clean.”

Bailey stood up with a wicked grin. “Mom, she probably tucked some away on her body. I’ll do a thorough search. I won’t miss a single cent.”

My fury exploded.

As he came near, I slammed a brutal kick straight into his groin.

He dropped to the floor, howling, curling up like a dying shrimp. I didn’t even spare him a glance as I grabbed Cassandra’s hand and yanked my bank cards back.

She stared at her now-empty hands, then at her son’s purpling face, her eyes nearly bulging out of her skull.

Then, out of nowhere, she let out a high-pitched wail and bolted out of the room, flinging herself down the hallway, kicking and screaming like she’d just lost her soul.

“Everyone, come look! My daughter-in-law cheated with some random man, and when I caught her, she beat up an old woman like me. There’s no justice left in the world!”

“This shameless thing, no one even knows whose child she’s carrying! My son didn’t care; he still took her in, and she repaid him by stealing my coffin money and tricking him into signing over the house! Now she’s kicked our whole family out and refuses to give it back! What did the Granger family ever do to deserve this? I can’t go on. I might as well die!”

With that, she threw herself against the wall, wailing with fake despair.

A few bystanders, clueless about the truth, hurried to hold her back. Their eyes landed on me with contempt.

“You had every chance to live right, and this is what you chose? Hurting an elderly woman like that?”

“Exactly, just look at her. Covered head to toe in designer brands, while her mother-in-law wears the same old jacket. Clearly, it doesn’t work. She probably lives off that poor husband of hers and still dares to act high and mighty. What a disgrace.”

Kinsley came squeezing out of the private room, tears streaming down her face as she howled, “My brother cherished you like his own life, and you turned out to be a filthy slut! We’re not even holding you accountable for seducing strangers and stealing our coffin money. Just hand over the deed to my brother, and we’ll call it even!”

The crowd stood tall on their imagined moral high ground, pointing fingers, cursing loudly, and spitting with righteous fury.

Someone even flung their half-finished bubble tea at me, and a glob of spit landed square on my face.

Sticky. Soaked. Humiliated.

I stood frozen, ears ringing and vision spinning.

And finally, my brother stepped forward.

But not to protect me.

He grabbed my arm, face twisted in frustration, and scolded, “Adeline, you’ve got so much money. It’s just one villa. Just give it to Bailey. Once you marry him, we’re all one family; what’s the difference, whether it’s sooner or later?”

He let out a tired sigh as if I had been the one making trouble all along.

“Honestly, this whole mess is your fault. If you had just listened to your sister-in-law from the start, none of this would’ve happened.”

With that, he fished out a tissue from his pocket and reached out to wipe my face.

I raised my hand and blocked him.

With a cold, cutting stare at his fake concern, I slowly raised my phone.

“I’ve already recorded everything and called the police. Every slanderous word you’ve spoken will be handed over to law enforcement. Get ready to deal with the consequences.”

Cassandra and Kinsley’s faces drained of color, turning ghostly pale.

I let out a scornful laugh. “Trying to take something without giving anything in return? You’d better make sure you’re even worth the trouble.”

Wiping my face, I shoved aside my panicked brother without a second glance.

“From this moment on, you’re no longer my brother. Stay the hell away from me.”

It wasn’t until I returned home that I finally allowed my trembling body to let go of its emotions.

I had always believed the Grangers were shameless, but I thought, at the very least, my brother still remembered what it meant to be family.

It turns out reality didn’t slap; it crushed.

After showering and changing, I crawled into bed, physically drained and mentally exhausted.

Just as I pulled the blanket over myself, an angry pounding echoed from the front door.

“Adeline! Your sister-in-law is pregnant. She can’t go to jail! Go explain to the police that it was all just a misunderstanding!”

“Adeline, stop acting deaf! If anything happens to my son because of this, I swear, I won’t let you off!”

When I didn’t respond, the pounding turned into violent kicks against the door.

Frustrated, I pulled the blanket over my head and didn’t even know when I finally drifted off.

In a hazy daze, I felt something brushing along my collarbone, warm breath trailing dangerously close to my ear.

At first, I thought it was a dream until a chilling voice broke through. “Son, hurry up and strip that little tramp! I’ve got the phone all setup.”

Something in my head exploded.

I jolted awake instantly, eyes wide, heart racing.

What I saw left me completely frozen.

Bailey was on top of me, panting heavily, his disgusting breath hot against my neck as his filthy hands roamed my body.

Not far away, Cassandra stood grinning like a demon, holding her phone up high and filming.