The absence of my presence these past few years had made me accustomed to compromising in front of Sophie and her family.

Even when Julius replaced me in the family portrait, or when every New Year's dinner table was filled with dishes Julius liked, I endured it.

I even comforted myself by telling myself that things weren't so bad if someone could stay by their side in my place.

I thought that as long as the family was happy, nothing else mattered.

But today, a single apple gave me a wake-up call. If they already saw me as an outsider, why was I still trying so hard to belong?

I scoffed, "I don't want anything. I wish you and your family a lifetime of happiness."

With that, I turned and went to the bedroom to pack my things.

Sophie followed me into the room and slapped me across the face.

"It's New Year's! What kind of attitude is that? It's just an apple. Do you have to turn the whole house upside down over something so small? Julius already feels awkward in this family. After your little scene, just how embarrassed do you think he is?

"I think you're determined to make all of us miserable!"

My head tilted slightly from the force of the slap. I stared at her.

Before the holidays, I had rushed home early on purpose to spend the New Year's with them. No one came to pick me up. They said they were too busy.

But on Julius' timeline, there was a video of the whole family taking him out to relax.

"It feels so good to be loved by family," the caption read. "I told Mom, Dad, and Sis not to accompany me, but they insisted. What am I to do with them? I matter that much to them."

I felt wronged and confronted Sophie about it.

She got angry instead. "When my dad was hospitalized, it was Julius who took care of everything. Isn't it only right that we take him out to relax? So what if we didn't pick you up? Why are you so petty?"

They forgot that I paid every cent of my father-in-law, James Caldwell's, hospital bills.

I even took a full week off work to come back and help.

Julius showed up symbolically every day, and somehow it became him who was doing all the work.

That day, I stood in the freezing wind outside the station for two full hours before I managed to get a cab, tears silently streaming down my cheeks.

Ever since Julius came into the picture, this had become routine.

Every time I voiced dissatisfaction, Sophie would scold me. She'd say I worked out of town and couldn't accompany them. She'd tell me that Julius was always there for them.

She made it sound like I was jealous and insecure.

Looking at it now, maybe an outsider like me really had been too petty.

Sophie shifted uncomfortably under my stare and cleared her throat.

"You said all those things just now just because you wanted more attention from us, right? You're hardly home. Julius is the one keeping us company. Yet all you do is throw tantrums over your jealousy."

She let out a sigh before adding, "You weren't like this before.

"Enough. You've made your scene. It's New Year's. Don't ruin everyone's mood. And don't ever act like that again. It makes you look uncultured. Go help Mom in the kitchen."

I glanced toward the living room. The whole family was sitting comfortably on the couch, eating fruit. My mother-in-law, Margaret Jackson, was the only one in the kitchen.

I couldn't help remembering how my in-laws used to treat me like their own son. Everything revolved around me.

Even when they were sick, they'd wake up early in winter just to make me breakfast.

Whenever I came home, Sophie would drop even the most important work and wait for me at the station.

I'd tell them I was a grown man and could get home on my own, but they never listened.

My in-laws used to say, "No matter how old you are, Preston, you'll always be a child to us."

In just a few years, everything had changed completely.

I was no longer a child who needed to be cared for.

I looked up at Sophie. "I'm sorry you ended up with such a jealous, unreasonable husband. But it's fine now. I'm not your husband anymore."

Sohpie's face turned ashen. "I've already tried to talk you down. What else do you want? I've really spoiled you all these years!" she exclaimed.

I chuckled, "From now on, we go our separate ways."

I continued packing after I finished my declaration.

Sophie stared at me in disbelief and grabbed my arm. "Preston, have you lost your mind? How could you say something like that? We've been married for years. When have I ever mistreated you? Now you want a divorce over an apple? Have you lost it?"

"If you walk out like this, you'll make me a laughingstock amongst our relatives!" she said, shaking my arm.

I shook her off. "You were the ones who made this a joke first."

She suddenly rushed out of the room.

Seconds later, she stormed back in with some apples. She threw them at me.

"You haven't had this variety of apples, right? Fine. They're all yours. Eat as much as you want. If you want to leave, finish these first!"

The commotion drew the entire family over.

James finally spoke, every word he uttered directed at me. "Preston, it's New Year's. Do you have to make us angry? Look at what this house has turned into because of you!"

"Come on, Preston. Just endure it. Peace is better than conflict. Mom and Dad are old. Don't stress them out," Sophie's younger sister, Olivia Turner, chided in.

My two nephews saw Olivia speaking and immediately joined in. "You're a bad uncle!"

Amelia Caldwell, the youngest in the family, wasn't as polite. She walked up and shoved me.

"Ever since you came back, this house hasn't had a moment of peace. Maybe you should think about why that is. Julius would never act like such a shrew!"

Julius hurried over and pretended to restrain her.

"Amelia, don't say that. Preston didn't mean it," he cried out before turning to me. "Preston, just apologize to Sophie, and everything will be fine."

He reached for me, but I dodged him.

The next second, he fell straight to the floor.

I scoffed. His acting was painfully obvious, but everyone believed it.

They immediately surrounded him and asked if he was hurt.

Julius forced tears in his eyes. "I'm fine. I just tripped. Please don't blame Preston for it."

That single sentence only served to deepen their resentment toward me.

"How could you be so vicious, Preston?" Sophie said, looking at me with pure disappointment. "You've really disappointed me."

I ignored them. One by one, I picked up the apples and ate them.

When I was done, I turned to them and calmly said, "I'm done. Can I leave now?"

Everyone was surprised. They had never expected someone who always bowed his head to turn resolute.

Margaret suddenly dropped to the floor with a thud and burst into tears.

"Just what have we done for Sophie to marry an ungrateful wrench like you? I can't live like this!" she cried, lunging toward the corner of the table as she tried to slam her head against it.

Everyone rushed to stop her.

Sophie's eyes were bloodshot. "Preston, are you determined to tear this family apart?"

Margaret kept threatening to kill herself, so the others hurriedly dragged her out of the room.

Only Julius and I were left in the room.

"Preston, I really didn't expect that such a small grievance of mine would make your whole family stand up for me," he said, faking concern. "If you're angry, be angry at me. Stop making a scene. Mom and Dad can't handle this kind of stress."

Then, he leaned close and whispered into my ear. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of them for you. After all, I understand what they like better than you, their actual son-in-law.

"They even said when the house gets relocated, and the compensation money comes in, they'll leave me a share."

I froze.

I hadn't expected things to go that far.

So that was how much they valued him. All the years of effort I have given them felt like a joke.

Fine. I didn't care anymore.

Julius had one more trick up his sleeve. He suddenly punched himself hard in the face, and blood instantly appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Preston, please don't hit me! I don't want the apples anymore! I'll apologize, okay?" he cried out dramatically.

Amelia was the first to rush into the room. Without asking a single question, she kicked me to the ground.

"Why did you hit Julius, you scumbag?"

Olivia and her husband, Tommy Turner, followed right behind her.

Olivia slapped me. "You've gone too far. How could you hit someone?"

Tommy hovered over the trembling Julius and cooed, "Don't worry, Julius. Your brother-in-law's right here."

Margaret was no longer trying to kill herself. She rushed over and grabbed me.

"I won't let the fact that you hit Julius go!"

"You animal!" screamed Sophie and James as they forced me to the ground. "You've gone completely out of line. Get on your knees and apologize to Julius!"

My knees slammed hard against the floor. The crack of bone hitting tile echoed in the room.

I stared at the family I had been with for 10 years. They were beating me up without hesitation for the sake of an outsider.

My heart went completely cold.

I wiped the blood from my mouth and glared at them. "I'm calling the police. None of you will get away with this," I threatened.

Sophie grew even angrier. She kicked me hard from behind.

"You'll call the police, huh? I'll beat that stubborn mouth out of you!"

Caught completely off guard, my chin smashed against the floor. Blood poured out of my mouth.

The noise was loud enough to alert the neighbors. They rushed over to interfere. "You can't beat someone up like this! If this keeps up, someone's going to die!"

"Mind your own business. I'm disciplining my husband. What's it to you?" Sophie sneered before turning back to me. "Kneel and apologize to Julius, then I'll let you go. If you don't, don't blame me for what happens next."

I slowly pushed myself upright and spat out a mouthful of blood. "Never!"

Her face twisted with fury. She raised her hand to strike me again.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the slap to land.

But the next second, all I heard was Sophie's sharp cry of pain.