He probably thought my family only ran a small business, but the truth is, we're the most famous enterprise in town. Even the company Silas works for is owned by my family.

When Silas graduated, I initially planned to recommend him to my father, but to my surprise, he got in on his own merit.

Afterward, his work was exceptional. He even suggested I break up with my boyfriend and give him a chance. It wasn't until I brought Silas home that my dad finally stopped making jokes about it.

So, my dad quickly agreed to my relationship with Silas. However, my mom, knowing Silas came from a small mountain village, was worried I might be taken advantage of. She hesitated to approve, but despite her reservations, she was still quite kind to him.

That’s why, when I first met Meredith, I wasn’t prepared for what happened. I thought Silas’ mother would be just as kind-hearted as him, but I never expected her to be so harsh. It reminded me of the awful mother-in-law-daughter-in-law stories I’d read online, and it made me nervous.

For the first time, I began to doubt my relationship with Silas.

Not long after, my manager sent me a video. In it, Meredith was berating Silas relentlessly.

He didn’t say a word. He just lowered his head and took the scolding. Eventually, he even knelt down with a loud thud.

I couldn’t bear to watch more. I knew how much Silas valued his pride, and even though I had doubts about our relationship, I still wanted to protect his dignity.

Just then, I received a message from Silas: "Emily, are you okay? I'm sorry about today."

I thought he would explain what had just happened, but after waiting for a long time, there was no follow-up message.

With a heavy heart, I turned off my phone. Maybe he had already decided that this relationship wasn’t worth it. After all, how long could a relationship survive when our parents didn’t support it?

But that night, I saw Silas waiting for me downstairs in my apartment complex. After a moment’s hesitation, I walked over to him.

“Emily!” He hurried toward me and wrapped me in his arms. “I’m so sorry. My mom's from the countryside. She’s never seen much of the world.”

“Don’t take it personally, please?” His eyes were red, looking at me like a sad, guilty puppy.

If this had happened before, I would have gently patted his head and told him it was fine. But now, I just didn’t want to deal with him.

“Silas, we need to think about this...”

“Our relationship isn’t just about the two of us. It’s also about our families.”

“If Meredith doesn’t like me, you’re going to be stuck in the middle, and that’s going to be hard on you.”

“If you can’t fix this, then maybe we should end things here.” With that, I turned and walked up to my apartment, not looking back.

Back in my apartment, I saw Silas standing downstairs for what seemed like a long time. A pang of sadness hit me—after all, we had been together for so many years.

Was I really going to end this just because of his mom?

I felt frustrated and went for a shower. By the time I checked again, there was no sign of Silas downstairs.

The next time I heard about Silas, it came from my best friend. She told me Silas was in the hospital, diagnosed with acute appendicitis.

Silas had a weak stomach. I remember the time my dad had cornered me at a family gathering, and Silas went to several bars just to find me. That night, he drank so much he ended up in the emergency room. His stomach had never been the same since. I’d been taking care of him for years, but his condition never really improved.

Thinking he had no one to look after him, I softened and rushed to the hospital. But when I arrived, I found Meredith lying asleep in a hospital bed.

And Silas was sitting by himself, getting IV fluids. My heart ached. Was this really his mother?

When Silas saw me, his eyes lit up. I bit my lip and walked in. "How did you end up like this?"

Silas gave a helpless smile. “You know, I’ve been living in the company dorm. My mom didn’t have anywhere to rest, so...”

He pointed to Meredith, who was fast asleep. “She had to sleep in the bed.”

Just then, Meredith woke up, glared at me, and shoved me out of the room. "You damn harbinger of death! You’ve been cursing my son!"

“If it wasn’t for you, he wouldn’t be in the hospital, and he wouldn’t have wasted so many years without saving a penny.”

“Don’t you know how many women would jump at the chance to marry Silas? And you—you're not even grateful.”

I stood there, confused. “What do you mean by that?”

"Ugh, what do you think I mean?"

“If it weren’t for you, would my son be drinking until he passed out?”

“You’re the cause of all this...”

Meredith continued talking beside me, but I couldn't focus on a word she said. All I could hear was the news that, after we broke up, Silas had drunk himself to the point of causing stomach bleeding.

I remember, after his hospitalization, Silas hated the smell of alcohol. Even when I had a sip, he would furrow his brows and lecture me about it.

While wiping my face, he'd ramble on about everything, always trying to reason with me. I loved watching him scold me like that, with his face all scrunched up. At those moments, Silas's eyes were filled with nothing but me.

But now...

Just before I was about to leave, Silas suddenly pulled me into his arms, ignoring Meredith's gaze, begging me to stay.

Silas cried as he said, “Emily, I’m sorry. I promise I won’t let you suffer anymore. Please, don’t leave me.”

“What about your mom?” I tried to push him away, but he only held me tighter.

“Emily, trust me. I’ll solve this. I won’t let you suffer. I won’t let my mom make things hard for you.”

“But…”

Before I could finish my sentence, I was defeated by the redness in his eyes. I slowly wrapped my arms around him and whispered, “Okay.”

Silas promised that after we were married, he'd stay here with me and wouldn’t return to his hometown.

For every holiday, he'd come with me to visit my family, and I wouldn't have to deal with his side of the family anymore.

Looking at Silas, eyes still red, I realized that after all these years, my heart was softening.

Strangely, Meredith didn't oppose this time. In fact, I could swear I saw a brief smile on her face, though it quickly disappeared.

I wondered if I had imagined it, but that smile had been so obvious.

After Silas and I made up, the preparations for our wedding went smoothly. Even Meredith, who had always opposed the idea, began to warm up.

As she put it, seeing how much her son liked me, she had no choice but to accept me. While I still didn’t like Meredith, the wedding preparations went by without much trouble between us.

My parents, too, had agreed to the marriage after seeing Meredith's change in attitude.

Dad had always liked Silas. He admired that Silas had earned his position at the company through hard work, and not long ago, he had been promoted to manager.

Dad was very optimistic about Silas, often joking that I didn’t deserve him.

The wedding preparations were hectic, but as I watched Silas and my soon-to-be mother-in-law working tirelessly, a sense of unease settled in my chest.

And as the wedding day grew nearer, that feeling only grew stronger.

I asked Silas why his mom had suddenly changed her mind. He pulled me into his arms and said, “I almost died for you, Emily. My mom couldn’t bear to see me hurting myself, so she finally agreed.”

But no matter what he said, I couldn’t shake the unease in my heart. With the wedding half-prepared, I had no choice but to force myself to keep going.

I wasn’t sure what felt off, but my gut told me something wasn’t right. So, on the side, I hired Griffin Vale, a private investigator I’d known since childhood.

I hoped he could find me a clue, something to set my mind at ease.

During this time, Silas awkwardly approached me, saying that Meredith insisted the wedding must be held at their hometown.

“Why? Why must we go back to the old place? Didn’t we agree that after the wedding, we wouldn’t need to go back there?” I snapped at Silas, my patience starting to wear thin.

Silas’s eyes turned red in an instant. “Emily, getting married in the hometown is so the people who’ve seen me grow up can witness my happiness.”

I lowered my voice and patiently explained, “If you want them to see, I can send cars to bring them here. I’ll take care of their accommodations, too. Why does it have to be at your hometown?”

“I know your family’s rich, but have you ever thought about me? Have you considered what the people in my village will think of me?”

“Are you really looking down on the village I grew up in? Or is it that you just don’t care about me?” Silas’s voice trembled with hurt.