Leah hadn't held back with her slap, and it wasn't long before a bright red handprint bloomed across my cheek.

"Hmph, serves you right! That's what you get for pissing off my mom!"

Jonathan's first reaction wasn't to express concern over my injury, but to stand beside his mother with a sneer as he kicked me while I was down.

How had I never realized what an off-putting mama's boy Jonathan was?

In an instant, I felt both aggrieved and angry. Tears slipped down my face before I could stop them, though I wasn't sure if it was from the pain of my stinging cheek or my broken heart.

From childhood till now, not even my parents had ever hit me.

Never would I have ever imagined that I would be slapped by Jonathan's mother, all because I refused to be a pushover and allow them to spend my money.

How could such shameless people exist? They were the ones staying in my house and spending my money, yet they still had the audacity to treat me so harshly. Not only did they scold me, but they even slapped me.

Fine. I must have been blind and stupid to have treated this shameless mother-son duo with utmost sincerity in the past.

Seeing that I had gone quiet, Leah shook her hand before saying in a smug tone, "That was just to teach you a small lesson. If you've realized the error of your ways, then hurry up and unfreeze our card."

Unfreeze their card? To hell with that!

Wiping the tears from my face, I charged straight to their room and stuffed all their belongings into two ratty sacks. Then, I tossed the sacks out of the house, right before their eyes.

"Think I'm a doormat, do you? How dare you two still be so arrogant when you're the ones sucking me dry? I'm not only going to cancel your card, but I'm kicking you out! This is my home, and neither of you has any right to stay here! Get the hell out of my house!"

Jonathan and Leah widened their eyes in shock as they stared at me in disbelief.

I wasn't surprised at their reaction. After all, I was usually sweet-natured and docile toward them. This was the first time I had ever raged against them in such a manner.

"Cass, could you stop with the tantrum?" Though the words were still meant to lecture me, Jonathan's tone had noticeably softened. "Mom just said a few harsh words to you. Is there really a need to be so petty?"

"I'm not throwing a tantrum! I'm being dead serious. I want you and your mother out of my house right this instant!"

I'd been blind to how ungrateful they were before, but now that I saw things clearly, I certainly wouldn't allow them to step all over me again.

At last, Leah snapped back to her senses. Upon realizing that she had indeed been cowed by my earlier words, she raised her voice again, shrilling several octaves higher, "Cassie, you dare speak to Jon and I in that tone? Are you rebelling now?"

Turning to Jonathan, she went on, "Jon, I told you long ago that you had to keep a tighter leash on Cassie! Look at how bold she's gotten! Not only does she dare to shout at us, but she's even chasing us out of the house!

"What terrible luck for us to end up with a troublemaker! If she's already like this before she marries into the family, I can't imagine what she'll be like once she does!"

I coldly interrupted Leah's theatrics. "This is my house, so why wouldn't I dare? You two, on the other hand, truly are beyond shameless! You're living under my roof, yet you still think you can yell at me! Hurry up and leave! Or I'll call the cops and have you two dragged out!"

My threat immediately silenced Leah, while Jonathan decided to take the softer approach.

In a cajoling tone, he said, "Alright, alright. Cass, don't be mad. Mom and I will leave, but could you give us a few days? You know I'm unemployed and have no income, so even if we wanted to move out right away, we can't.

"How about you let us stay for several more days? Then, once I find a house, we'll move out immediately. Cass, I'm begging you. Please?"

Leah opened her mouth to say something, but a glare from Jonathan made her shut it again. Then, as though in unspoken agreement, both their eyes took on a scheming glint.

I saw it all, but after telling them to move out as soon as possible, I coldly turned to leave.

For the next few days, their attitudes toward me were significantly warmer, especially Leah's. She had always been on rocky terms with me, but during this time, she even personally cut some fruits before delivering them to my room. She claimed it was to mend things between us.

Anything out of the norm was certainly fishy. They had been shameless and overbearing for so long, so there was no way they would suddenly have such a massive change of heart.

With that thought in mind, I made sure to be extra careful. That was how I realized that every time Leah came bearing fruits, she would surreptitiously glance at the drawer I kept the house deed in. Besides that, several times after coming home from work, I would catch them trying to slip into my room.

Could it be that they were thinking of stealing my house deed? But what could they do with it? It wasn't like the house would miraculously turn into theirs if they had it.

Despite puzzling over the matter, I wasn't able to think of an answer. However, it didn't take me long to understand what they were planning.

…

One day, I returned home from work and took out my key to unlock the front door as usual.

To my surprise, I discovered that the lock had been changed, so my key wasn't able to open it at all.

I was completely unaware of this change, which meant that this definitely had to be Leah and Jonathan's doing. After all, they were the only people staying in my house who had a grudge against me.

My anger flared, and I began knocking on the door madly.

The audacity! I let them stay in my house out of the kindness of my heart, yet they repaid me by locking me out?

Despite knocking till my knuckles were red, nobody came to open the door.

However, I had seen a post from Leah just three minutes ago, and the background of the photo was my house.

So, that was the game she wanted to play? To pretend not to be home so she didn't have to open the door?

I shouted through the door, "Leah Doherty, I know you're inside! If you still refuse to open the door, I'll forward your photos to the residents' group chat!"

Leah's previous posts were usually slightly more revealing in nature, and since she was the sort who cared more about her reputation than anything else, she couldn't keep quiet any longer when she heard my threat.

Within seconds, Leah's voice drifted out from inside the house.

"What's with all that banging? I have a heart condition! Are you going to take responsibility if anything happens to me?"

Take responsibility, my foot! She took over my house, and now she thought she had the moral high ground?

"Open the door! This is my house! Why did you change the lock and lock me out of my own home?" I couldn't stop the anger from leaking into my voice.

Leah didn't even hesitate as she outright refused, her tone grating on my nerves.

"I can't do that. This is punishment for how rudely you treated Jon and me before! Just stay outside and reflect on yourself. Once you're ready to apologize, unfreeze our card, and promise not to throw us out, then I'll let you in!"

A bark of furious laughter left my lips.

What? To get into my house, I had to first apologize and give them access to my money again? This was my house!

Well aware that Leah was purposely doing this to show off her superiority and humiliate me, I didn't bother arguing with her further. Instead, I called a locksmith over to come open the door.

When Leah heard the noise coming from the door, she started screeching at the top of her lungs, "Everyone! Someone is trying to break into my house! Cassie, this is trespassing on private property! I'll call the cops on you! I really will!"

Her voice was so loud that all my neighbors heard it and poked their heads out to watch the drama.

"Go ahead and call the cops! This is my house. Why should I be afraid?"

I ignored Leah after that and patted the locksmith's shoulder, signaling him to go ahead.

Once the door was open, I was definitely kicking that bitch Leah out of the house.

As the sound of the lock-picking grew louder, Leah finally opened the door, though with extreme reluctance.

When she spotted the nosy neighbors who had gathered around, she instantly went all out and turned on the theatrics.

"Oh, is there any justice in this world? This future daughter-in-law of mine sure is something! Not only is she trying to break the lock, but she's even thinking of taking my house for herself!

"Everyone, I've lived here for years, and you all have seen that for yourself! You should know just who this house belongs to!"

Her words had the neighbors nodding as they erupted into chatter.

"That's right. Leah has always lived here, so this must be her house."

"That young woman has such a pretty face, but who would've thought she's this vicious? She's even set her sights on her future mother-in-law's home! Who would dare marry such a woman? She's nothing but a troublemaker!"

Some neighbors even felt indignant on Leah's behalf and offered suggestions.

"Leah, don't be scared! If she won't stop, you should just call the cops! She's caught in the act, and we can all be your witnesses!"

"Right! You can't just let her off easy! Today, she's breaking the lock to seize your house; who knows what she'll do tomorrow? She might throw you and Jon out of the house!"

Leah's lips curved into a smirk as everyone sided with her. Using a voice so soft that only the two of us could hear, she said, "Cassie, be a good girl. Apologize for your actions and unfreeze our card, and I'll stop this. Otherwise, I'll really call the cops—"

"Then call them."

I cut Leah off before she could finish.

Leah flushed bright red in anger when she noticed how calm I appeared.

"Fine! You're the one who told me to do it, so don't you regret it!"

It didn't take long for the police officer to arrive. Leah immediately accused me of trespassing and destroying her private property.

"Officer, hurry up and arrest her! This woman is the worst!"

The neighbors were also pointing accusing fingers at me as they loudly proclaimed themselves as Leah's witnesses.

I spent most of the day at work and would only come back home at night to sleep. Since I wasn't around most of the time, it was only natural that my neighbors didn't recognize me.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Leah had nothing better to do and were constantly in the house. Thus, the neighbors were more familiar with them, so it wasn't surprising that they would side with the mother-son duo.

The officer didn't immediately conclude the case andturned to ask me, "Is that what happened?"

Shaking my head, I responded, "Of course not. This house belongs to me, and the one trying to forcefully claim it is her."

Leah seemed to have expected I would say that, for a sly gleam appeared in her eyes.

"What proof do you have that this house belongs to you? You don't even have the key to the front door, and the neighbors don't recognize you either. How could you possibly be the homeowner?"

The neighbors instantly agreed with her.

"Leah's right! We've never even seen you before. Just who are you?"

"You don't even have the house key, yet you still claim you're the owner? How ridiculous!"

"Seriously, just take her away already! This is just too embarrassing!"

No wonder Jonathan and Leah had been acting so strange the past few days—they had been laying a trap for me. Thankfully, I had made necessary preparations.

As Leah was urging the officer to take me away, I smirked coldly.

"Who said I didn't have proof?"