Roxanne's POV

This time, Colin no longer tried to stop his sister. He just turned to me and softly said, “Roxanne, don’t take it to heart. Dale just speaks without thinking.”

Speaks without thinking?

She was yelling about kicking a pregnant woman out of her own home, and that was supposed to be speaking without thinking?

Clearly, she was not planning to keep that job I got her.

I didn’t want to argue anymore, so I simply said, “This house is mine. No one’s taking it from me.”

After that, I walked out without bothering to respond to her shouting behind me.

I had barely sat down at home when the doorbell rang.

To no surprise, it was my mother-in-law, Elvira Simmons, standing at the door with a fake warm smile.

“Roxanne, you’re about to give birth. I came here especially to take you home with me. Go talk to your boss and quit your job. Pack your things and come home with Mom,” she said.

Before I could even answer, Dale slipped in behind her and made a beeline straight for my bedroom.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” I shouted, moving to follow her.

But my mother-in-law grabbed my arm and said, “What else? She’s looking for the deed. That house was always meant to be ours!”

My heart dropped. How did Dale know where I kept the deed? Did Colin tell her?

As I stood there stunned, Dale emerged from the bedroom, holding the property deed in her hands.

I shoved past my mother-in-law and tried to grab it back. But before I could reach her, Dale threw herself to the floor, clutching the deed and wailing like a siren, “Everyone, come look! My evil sister-in-law is bullying me! Just because she’s having a baby, she thinks that gives her the right to steal my house! I’m just a recent college grad. How is that fair?!”

Just then, Colin walked through the door. He saw the scene and rushed to pull me back. “Roxanne, calm down!”

I stared at him, furious. “Your sister’s digging through my things in my house, and I’m the one you’re telling to calm down?”

“She’s still young,” he said weakly. “Don’t lower yourself to her level.”

“Young? She’s already twenty-two!” My voice trembled now. “Even if she were younger, this is my house. What gives her the right to take it?!”

But then, Dale only cried louder. “What do you mean 'your house'? You married into our family, which means everything you own is ours!”

My mother-in-law chimed in, adding fuel to the fire, “That’s right, Roxanne. You’ve got the wrong attitude. We’re all family. Why are you being so selfish?”

I could feel my blood pressure rising. Even the baby seemed to be protesting inside me, and waves of nausea surged through my body.

“I’m telling you now. That deed stays with me, and the two of you need to get out of my house!” I snapped, pointing at the door.

But instead of leaving, Dale rolled on the floor dramatically, still clinging to the deed and screaming, “Look at this! She’s throwing us out! My brother bought this house for me because he didn’t want me struggling at work, and now this woman shows up and tries to take it all!”

The shouting soon attracted attention. Neighbors were now gathering in the hallway, whispering and pointing at me as they listened to Dale’s sob story.

As such, Colin immediately knelt beside her, gently trying to comfort her. “Dale, it’s okay, don’t cry. Look at your eyes, they’re all swollen.”

Then he turned to me and said, “Roxanne, there’s no need to say such harsh things.”

That was the last straw.

He was worried about his sister crying on the floor, but not about his pregnant wife being pushed to the brink?

I let out a cold laugh. “Alright, Colin. Here’s the deal: either you get that deed back right now, or tomorrow, I’ll call building security and have every last one of you thrown out.”

With that, I turned on my heel, walked into the bedroom, slammed the door shut, and locked it behind me.

Roxanne's POV

From outside the room, Dale’s wailing grew even louder and shriller. “That wretched woman! How dare she make my brother treat me like this!”

Then came the pounding on my door.

“Roxanne, open up! Let’s talk this out!” my mother-in-law shouted, slapping the door repeatedly.

The loud noise they made was giving me a splitting headache.

“Roxanne, come on,” Colin joined in. “Let’s just talk calmly.”

Still, I ignored them and shoved in my earbuds, curling up on the bed. My stomach also started to ache. I couldn’t tell if it was from the stress or something worse.

Eventually, the hallway went quiet.

After everything that happened today, I made up my mind. Tomorrow, I’d go to the office and have HR retract Dale’s offer.

Feeling physically exhausted, I drifted off into a deep sleep.

The next morning, I was jolted awake by the sound of a power drill whining right outside my door.

Then came Dale’s voice.

My stomach dropped. What now?

When I opened the door, I froze in place.

Dale had hired a locksmith, and right there at my front door, they were trying to change the lock on my home.

“What do you think you're doing?!” I yelled. “Changing the locks without the owner’s consent is illegal!”

The locksmith paused immediately and looked at her, confused.

“Wait… didn’t you say you were the homeowner?”

Before she could answer, my mother-in-law jumped up from the couch, got in my face, and shoved me hard. “We are the owners! Stop making trouble!”

As I wasn’t prepared for the force of the push, my back slammed into the wall, and a sharp pain shot through my belly like lightning.

“Colin!” I cried out, clutching my stomach. My voice was trembling. “It hurts—the baby!”

Hearing my call, Colin came running from the kitchen. The moment he saw me doubled over, he snapped at his mom, “Mom! She’s carrying your grandchild! How could you push her?!”

For a second, I felt a flicker of relief. Maybe this time, he was finally standing up for me.

But then he turned to me, his face full of irritation, and scolded, “Your belly’s already this big. Can’t you just stay calm for once?”

Stay calm?

I was defending my own home, and he wanted me to just sit still and let them take over?

I looked at him and thought back to all the vows he made at our wedding. Turned out, none of them meant anything when his mom and sister were involved.

While we were talking, the locksmith finished his job. Dale smugly tossed the new keys up and down in her hand like a prize.

“See this? From now on, this house is mine. Without my permission, you’re not setting foot inside again. You should just quit your job, pack your things, and go home with Mom. Someone there can take care of you, and you’ll be more comfortable. But if you don’t, I’ll tell my brother to drag you back himself. And when you stop showing up to work, your company will fire you anyway,” she sneered.

My mother-in-law clicked her tongue and added with a look of disgust, “If you hadn’t been so stubborn, we wouldn’t have had to waste all this money on a locksmith.”

I leaned against the wall, my hand on my belly as the pain pulsed again and again.

I wondered if the baby could feel this despair, too.

Then I looked at the three of them, so smug, so sure of themselves, and suddenly, I smiled.

Word by word, I said clearly, “Fine. I’ll go resign right now.”

Dale blinked in surprise. She clearly hadn’t expected me to give in so easily.

Meanwhile, Colin’s expression shifted. He looked unsure. “Roxanne, don’t do anything rash…”

“Rash?” I cut him off. “I’m a pregnant woman who just got shoved into a wall and nearly miscarried, and I’m the one being rash? Colin, you just stood there and let your mom and your sister treat your wife like dirt. What kind of man are you?”

But just then, Dale rolled her eyes and snapped, “Oh, drop the act! You’re just going to be a full-time housewife from now on. When my brother tells you to go east, let’s see if you dare go west!”

Roxanne's POV

After Dale, my mother-in-law also chimed in, “She’s right. Once a woman has a baby, she should just settle down and stop thinking about nonsense.”

I grabbed my phone and purse and headed for the door. Colin was standing there, as if he wanted to say something.

So I paused, waiting.

After a moment, he opened his mouth. But in the end, he said nothing.

What a shame. Even when given one last chance, he still couldn't take it.

Just as I was about to walk out, Colin suddenly grabbed my arm, putting on a fake look of concern. “Roxanne, why don’t you just go back with Mom for now? Let me talk to Dale, maybe I can talk some sense into her—”

Before I could shake him off, Dale stormed over, snatched my purse from my hands, and yanked open the zipper. She then dumped everything onto the floor in one rough motion.

She picked up my bank card and glared at me. “I heard people throw farewell parties when they quit. What a waste of money! Every cent you have belongs to our family. If my brother doesn’t say yes, you’re not spending a dime!”

Then she stomped on my phone with all her weight.

As a result, the screen shattered.

“You’re not working anymore, so what do you need a phone for? From now on, Mom will give you fifteen dollars a month, cash. That’s all you get,” Dale added.

I turned to look at Colin.

But he just looked away, silent, eyes downcast, like he couldn’t even bear to face me.

And in that moment, whatever feeling I had left for him vanished completely.

The three of them shoved me out the door and slammed it shut behind me.

I stood there in the hallway, still catching my breath, and heard laughter echoing from inside.

“Finally, some peace and quiet!” Dale cackled.

“See, Colin?” my mother-in-law said. “This is what happens when you spoil your wife too much. When she comes back home with me, I’ll teach her how to behave like a proper daughter-in-law.”

Colin’s voice came next, hesitant and low. “Don’t you think this is a little too much...?”

“Too much?” Dale snapped. “She got what she deserved!”

I leaned against the wall, my stomach aching in waves.

Baby, I’m so sorry. Your mom couldn’t even protect you before you were born.

Right then, the elevator finally arrived. I stepped in slowly, one hand gripping my side as the pain throbbed.

When I reached the ground floor, a sharp gust of cold wind hit me. I wrapped my arms around myself for warmth.

With no phone and money, and being eight months pregnant, there was no way I could walk to the company like this.

And even if I got Dale fired, it wouldn’t be enough to erase the pain they’d caused me.

Suddenly, I remembered my brother had mentioned he’d be in town for a business trip this week.

I hurried toward the convenience store near the gate of our apartment complex.

The shop owner, a woman in her fifties, had seen the drama at our place yesterday and looked at me with genuine sympathy, sighing, “Girl, you’ve really had it rough. Hope you don’t mind me saying it, but that family of yours? They're total lunatics. You’re gonna have a hard life if you stay with them.”

“When a woman gets pregnant, that’s when a man’s true colors show. Shame your belly’s already so big. If it weren’t, I’d tell you to get rid of it and file for divorce,” she said, shaking her head in pity.

I was stunned. For someone her age, she was seeing things far clearer than I had.

I nodded slowly and rasped, “Could I… use your phone to make a call?”

She nodded and quickly pushed the phone toward me.

My hands shook as I dialed the number I knew better than my own name.

The second the line connected, I burst into tears. “Bro, they're treating me like trash.”

My brother’s voice came through immediately, full of panic. “Roxanne, don’t cry! Tell me who did this to you. Send me the address. I’m coming right now!”

Thirty minutes later, five black Rolls-Royces pulled up in a perfect line outside the gates of my neighborhood.

Roxanne's POV

Leading the fleet was a sleek black Rolls-Royce bearing the plate “1.”

My brother, Silvester Harris, stepped out of the first car, flanked by two bodyguards in sharp black suits and a man carrying a briefcase.

He walked straight toward me and draped his cashmere coat over my shoulders without saying a word. When he saw my swollen, red eyes, his warm expression immediately turned ice-cold.

“Who did this to you?”

I pointed upstairs, choking back my voice. “They’re up there.”

Silvester turned to the man with the briefcase and instructed, “Attorney, you know what to do. I want them, and all their things, gone from my sight in five minutes.”