"Ellie, my mom's talking to you."

Isaac's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. He smiled, but there was a hint of menace in his eyes.

Elena warmly held my hand. Her eyes filled with joy, showing none of her usual sternness.

"Ellie, what do you think? About the wedding gift... should we..."

I immediately understood. Of course, it was about the money for the wedding. They clearly didn't want to spend a dime.

"So, you guys don't plan on spending a single penny for the wedding, right?"

I pulled my hand back and looked at the mother and son duo. I was blunt, saying exactly what they were thinking.

The murmur of conversation around us suddenly started up. Isaac and his mom were embarrassed in front of the relatives.

"W-what? No, of course not," Elena stammered.

Sitting at the large table, Elena's face flushed red with embarrassment. Her smile froze, and her eyes simmered with barely concealed rage.

"Ellie, didn't we already agree that there wouldn't be any dowry? Don't push your luck. Don't forget, you're the one who wants to marry me."

Isaac slammed the table, not caring about the elders sitting around.

Seeing my parents' faces darken, I motioned for them to sit down. I had it under control.

I ignored Isaac and turned to imitate Elena, affectionately linking my arm through hers and leaning on her.

"I knew you were the best, unlike Isaac, who's always so harsh with me. And there's no need for your family to cover the dowry. After all, we will be family soon."

Elena and Isaac's expressions quickly brightened, returning to their previous cheerful expressions. They couldn't stop praising how sensible I was.

"Then, how about a car? My parents already bought the house. Since you're not giving a dowry, a car seems like a fair compromise, right?"

They stammered for a while without saying a word, so I decided to push a little further.

"Since you're unwilling, let's put the wedding on hold for now. We'll talk about it later. Mom, Dad, let's go."

I ignored Isaac and Elena's attempts to stop me and casually grabbed my bag and left, not caring about anyone's reactions.

After all, I had already seen through Isaac and his mother's true intentions.

Isaac couldn't afford to lose me now. He was ambitious and planned to use my dad's influence to climb the ladder.

He wouldn't let such a great opportunity slip through his fingers.

Within a few days, Isaac showed up in a pink Mercedes-Benz at my office, blocking my way.

"Ellie, don't be mad. I bought the car, even in your favorite pink color."

I looked at the pink Mercedes-Benz before me and couldn't help but laugh. This was an outright insult.

"Your mom picked this, didn't she? The money you send me for my birthday is worth more than this car."

"Ellie, my mom says we're going to be family soon. What's mine is yours, so there's no need to waste money on a car."

I thought, "My mom says this, my mom says that... it's always about what your mom says."

There was no other way. To get my revenge, I had to keep dealing with Isaac, suppressing my disgust and pretending everything was fine.

"I knew you cared about me. Come on, let me take you to see our new house."

It was time to bait him, to make him drop his guard.

I took him to the villa my dad had prepared for me and handed Isaac a key.

I drove Isaac home. Before leaving, I called him and gave him a long, fake hug, pretending I couldn't bear to leave.

My goal was to connect the call using his phone, so I could monitor their every move.

Knowing them well, I was sure he and his mom would discuss their plans for after the wedding that night.

I sat quietly in my car, listening to their conversation.

"Find a way to marry her as soon as possible. I feel like she's different from before. If she slips out of our control, we'll get rid of her when the time is right."

I wasn't wrong, but I didn't expect Isaac and his mom to have such a big scheme. Isaac had approached me with an agenda.

Isaac and I moved into the villa. My parents kept telling me that Isaac's family wasn't good people, advising me not to cling to him.

I reassured them to relax, telling them I had my own plan.

Every day, facing Isaac disgusted me. I had my dad arrange business trips for him.

Once a trip ended, he'd go on another.

Whenever Isaac complained, I'd tell him, "My dad is testing you. My dad wants to promote you, but you've got to prove yourself to everyone, right?"

Isaac thought I had a point and happily went on each trip after that.

Without Isaac around, my days were peaceful. I took a leave of absence from work and even got myself a cute little call duck.

Every day, I scratched the little duck's belly, treating it like the child I had lost.

But this peaceful atmosphere didn't last long.

One day, Elena barged into my villa with a group of people.

"Everyone, make yourselves at home. This is Isaac's new villa."

I heard the noise from the living room, and when I saw the scene, I was completely stunned.

At least ten strangers were in my house, dirtying my carpets, eating all my fruit, and throwing fruit peels and used tissues on the floor. Elena's dog even relieved itself all over my house.

"Ms. Murphy, what's going on?"

"Everyone, take a look. This is my son's girlfriend. Isn't she pretty?"

I was paraded around like some kind of showpiece.

"Hello, Ellie."

A clean, well-dressed girl with delicate features greeted me.

According to Elena's introduction, this crowd included Isaac's aunts, cousins, and the girl who greeted me was Lucy, the daughter of Isaac's neighbors.

There was no doubt Elena had come to flaunt the fact that her son was now living in a villa.

"Ellie, these are all our family members. They heard you're getting married and came over to share the joy. Let them stay for a few days."

It was all about showing off, but I still had to play along.

"Of course. Isaac's family is my family. Let them stay."

Whether they stayed was their business. I had no intention of serving them. Since Elena volunteered for the work, I was more than happy to let her handle it.

I didn't care about them. I slept until noon every day. When I woke up, lunch was already prepared. Elena kept the house spotless.

This went on for three days before Elena got too tired to continue. Keeping such a large villa clean was no easy task.

"Ellie, I need to ask you a favor."

I nodded for her to continue.

"Starting tomorrow, could you help me out a bit? These people are just too hard to take care of."

"Ms. Murphy, why don't you just ask them to leave?"

"Well… Ellie, you're such a good kid. Help me out a bit. I don't want them talking behind your back, saying you don't know how to do anything. That wouldn't be good for you."

It turns out that those people had been gossiping behind her back, mocking her for being unable to control me and hurting her pride.

"Alright, Ms. Murphy. I'll help you tomorrow."

I had learned hypocrisy from my mother-in-law. The next day, I still got up at noon, ignoring her knocking on my door.

"Oh, Elena, Ellie is tough to deal with. We've been here for days, and she hasn't even offered us anything. You've been doing all the work yourself."

"Right? She sleeps until noon every day. My daughter-in-law would never dare sleep that late. She's up at 5:30 every morning making breakfast for us."

"Elena, she doesn't respect you at all. She doesn't help with anything. If she marries Isaac, you'll have a hard time. You need to keep her in line."

These relatives were all bragging about how wonderful their daughters-in-law were. They might not have meant anything by it, but it was obvious they were saying it for Elena to hear.

Elena had brought these people over to show off her villa. Instead, she became the subject of their ridicule.

Elena felt she was losing face, but she had to hold herself together and assert her authority in front of them.

"Ellie, get up now! It's so late, and you're still sleeping?"

She was shouting so loudly, banging on my door. It only made me more irritable since I was barely awake.

"If you knock one more time, I'll throw all of you out. This is my house."

I shouted. Sure enough, everything went silent.

"Hmph, he had to find a rich girlfriend. Of course, he has to keep her happy, or she'll run off, and he'll lose both her and the money."

"Just put up with it. That girl married down Isaac, so you'll have to endure it if you want to keep living in this big villa."

"Haha, not to be rude, but Ellie treats that duck better than she treats you."

In my previous life, Elena always insulted me in front of the relatives, calling me a cheap woman who didn't ask for a dowry. Now, in this life, she was the one being mocked for not being able to control her daughter-in-law.

"That duck looks pretty fat. Let's make supplements. If she notices, we'll just say the dog accidentally killed it."

That idea hit Elena just right. Since she couldn't get to me, she decided to take it out on my duck.

By the time I woke up, the table was set with an even bigger feast than usual.

Elena cheerfully served me a bowl of soup.

I have to admit, Elena was a good cook. As I was eating, I started to realize something was off.

I scooped out a duck foot from the soup, and my call duck was nowhere to be found. I searched the house frantically but couldn't find it.

"Stop looking. We cooked the duck for the soup. Didn't you enjoy it?"

The room fell dead silent. No one spoke. They were all just watching, waiting for my reaction.

"You killed my duck?"

Elena smiled with a look full of defiance, showing no remorse at all.

"Yep, Zoe accidentally bit it to death, so we cooked it. No sense in letting it go to waste."

She said it so proudly, clearly feeling triumphant in front of the relatives. I could see her legs trembling with excitement under the table.

I flipped the entire table over, not caring at all about saving face in front of everyone.

"You show up uninvited, stay in my house, and eat the duck I raised? Where's your shame?"

Elena was momentarily speechless. Just then, Isaac came back from his business trip.

"Isaac, look at your girlfriend. She's completely out of control!"

As soon as she saw Isaac, Elena straightened her back. Her confidence and authority returned to her eyes.

"Zoe killed my duck, and I want her to pay for it."

I pointed at Zoe, my voice icy cold.

"Zoe didn't do it on purpose! You really want to kill her over this? You're so heartless."

Isaac called me heartless. In my previous life, my cat accidentally scratched Zoe while they were playing.

Elena had been so protective of Zoe that she made Isaac beat my cat to death, even though I had said the same words then. It didn't make any difference.

And yet today, when the situation was reversed, suddenly I was the one being called cruel.

"Fine, if you don't want to pay with her life, then let's break up. You and your mom can get out of my house."

Isaac fell silent, weighing the pros and cons, choosing between a pet and his wealthy lifestyle.

Naturally, he chose the latter.

He dragged Zoe toward the door, planning to deal with her quietly. Elena stood by, saying Zoe had been her companion for years and that if Zoe died, she wouldn't go on living.

"Do it here."

I saw Isaac exchange a look with his mom, knowing that if they walked out the door, Zoe would be set free.

"Ellie, you're being way too cruel. If you keep this up, do you want to marry Isaac?"

"Marry Isaac? I'd rather not. Let's just break up then."

Elena went completely quiet, but the way she looked at me made it seem like she wanted to tear me apart.

"You didn't think you were cruel when you ate my duck. Let's be clear about one thing. It's me who's choosing your son, not the other way around. If you want to stay here, know your place."

Furious, Elena stormed off to her room. Isaac, meanwhile, punched Zoe over and over again.

I knew Zoe wasn't to blame, but neither was my cat. All I wanted now was to avenge my cat.