Chapter 1 · I Am Done Being Your Family Slave

Chapter 1

My mother-in-law, Amy Lane, who had been paralyzed for five years, called everyone to her bedside and asked me to read the will.

My husband James Lane and his elder sister Maggie Lane each received 300 thousand in cash.

A 2,150-square-foot property was left to my son Henry Lane.

60 thousand worth of jewelry was left to my daughter-in-law, Kate Lane.

My five-year-old grandson, Lucas Lane, sitting in my lap, received a 100-thousand-dollar education fund set up in his name.

And me? The daughter-in-law who had been cleaning up after Amy and looking after her every need for five years ended up with just 10 bucks.

On the will, in Amy's wobbly scrawl, it said: [10 bucks, for a 'perfect ten'.]

I was frozen in place, completely stunned.

Maggie was the first to break the tense silence.

She pursed her lips, clearly annoyed. She said, "Mom gave you such a meaningful gift with that 10 bucks. Why the long face, Livia Moore?"

I glanced up at her and shot back, "If you think this 10 bucks is so wonderful, want to trade?"

Her face froze. She said, "This is Mom's way of showing her feelings. Not only do you refuse it, but you even look down on it. Do you have any respect for her at all?"

I couldn't help but raise my voice.

I snapped, "I don't have any respect for her?

"After your mom was paralyzed, she lost all bladder and bowel control. I changed her diaper ten times a day, washed the sheets three times, fed her, turned her, and, when constipation struck, used my fingers to dig the stool out myself.

"Every single one of those tasks fell to me alone. If you're so devoted, why haven't I once seen you lift a finger?"

But that wasn't all.

There was a call bell right next to Amy's bed; James had bought it.

He told her to hit the button whenever she needed me.

The bell was shrill and urgent.

It would go off almost every two hours, sometimes even less.

It didn't just ring during the day; it would go off in the middle of the night, too.

Every time it rang, I had to drop whatever I was doing and run over to Amy's room.

If I were even a little late, she'd give me a hard time about it.

When I said that, Maggie's face twitched and she stammered before raising her voice. She said, "James is Mom's only son, and you're his wife. Isn't this exactly what you're supposed to do?"

I was about to speak, but Henry snapped at me.

He said, "Come on, Mom. Grandma did give you money. All you care about is money. Doesn't family matter to you at all? It's the thought that counts, no matter how much it is.

"And it's not like you're the only one who's ever looked after Grandma. Can't you be a little more reasonable?"

I couldn't help but laugh out of anger.

Every day, Henry just came over, chatted with Amy for a few minutes, fed her a couple of bites, then ran off to play his games. Seriously, did he think that counted as taking care of her?

One time, I had to step out, so I asked Henry to make sure Amy ate the food I'd set aside for her.

But he was so caught up in his online matches with his buddies that he completely spaced out, forgetting all about Amy.

When I got home, Amy had already fainted from low blood sugar.

After Amy was brought back from the brink, she cried to James, "Is Livia hoping I'll die soon? Just tell me the truth, it's fine. I know I'm just a burden to you all."

Everyone looked shocked when they heard that.

They all started blaming me.

All those memories, every single thing I'd been through, came rushing back to me out of nowhere.

I realized Henry had zero empathy for me.

Honestly, he was about as comforting as a cold slice of gas-station pizza.

Henry's words felt like a slap in the face, leaving me cold and numb.

It was as if I'd been dropped straight into a frozen pit.

Seeing all those accusing eyes on me, I scoffed, "I'm the one being unreasonable? Fine, have it your way."

I slapped Henry right across the face and said, "Now THAT's being unreasonable."

For a few seconds, the room was dead silent.

Henry clutched his face and started howling.

Kate glared at me, her eyes blazing with anger.

She snapped, "Mom, have you lost it? Just because you didn't get a cut of Amy's inheritance, you're slapping your own son? Seriously, are you losing your mind?"

James slammed his cup down on the table, glaring at me.

He snapped, "Livia, what are you doing? Shouting and slapping people? The kids are watching. Any time you're asked to do what a daughter-in-law should, you whine that you're being put-upon.

"And you actually expect to get paid for taking care of your own family? Shame on you."

He just kept getting louder and louder.

I was shaking all over with rage.

Just then, a sharp pain shot through my knee.

Lucas had smacked my leg with his toy car and suddenly burst into tears. He cried out, "I'm starving; I'm so hungry."

Amy had been watching the whole scene for a while before finally reacting. She let out a dramatic sigh, her face full of worry.

She looked at me with those pitiful eyes and said, "Livia, if it's money you want, I'll give it to you. Just don't take it out on Lucas; please don't let him go hungry, alright?"

Chapter 1

My mother-in-law, Amy Lane, who had been paralyzed for five years, called everyone to her bedside and asked me to read the will.

My husband James Lane and his elder sister Maggie Lane each received 300 thousand in cash.

A 2,150-square-foot property was left to my son Henry Lane.

60 thousand worth of jewelry was left to my daughter-in-law, Kate Lane.

My five-year-old grandson, Lucas Lane, sitting in my lap, received a 100-thousand-dollar education fund set up in his name.

And me? The daughter-in-law who had been cleaning up after Amy and looking after her every need for five years ended up with just 10 bucks.

On the will, in Amy's wobbly scrawl, it said: [10 bucks, for a 'perfect ten'.]

I was frozen in place, completely stunned.

Maggie was the first to break the tense silence.

She pursed her lips, clearly annoyed. She said, "Mom gave you such a meaningful gift with that 10 bucks. Why the long face, Livia Moore?"

I glanced up at her and shot back, "If you think this 10 bucks is so wonderful, want to trade?"

Her face froze. She said, "This is Mom's way of showing her feelings. Not only do you refuse it, but you even look down on it. Do you have any respect for her at all?"

I couldn't help but raise my voice.

I snapped, "I don't have any respect for her?

"Every single one of those tasks fell to me alone. If you're so devoted, why haven't I once seen you lift a finger?"

But that wasn't all.

There was a call bell right next to Amy's bed; James had bought it.

He told her to hit the button whenever she needed me.

The bell was shrill and urgent.

It would go off almost every two hours, sometimes even less.

It didn't just ring during the day; it would go off in the middle of the night, too.

Every time it rang, I had to drop whatever I was doing and run over to Amy's room.

If I were even a little late, she'd give me a hard time about it.

When I said that, Maggie's face twitched and she stammered before raising her voice. She said, "James is Mom's only son, and you're his wife. Isn't this exactly what you're supposed to do?"

I was about to speak, but Henry snapped at me.

He said, "Come on, Mom. Grandma did give you money. All you care about is money. Doesn't family matter to you at all? It's the thought that counts, no matter how much it is.

"And it's not like you're the only one who's ever looked after Grandma. Can't you be a little more reasonable?"

I couldn't help but laugh out of anger.

Every day, Henry just came over, chatted with Amy for a few minutes, fed her a couple of bites, then ran off to play his games. Seriously, did he think that counted as taking care of her?

One time, I had to step out, so I asked Henry to make sure Amy ate the food I'd set aside for her.

But he was so caught up in his online matches with his buddies that he completely spaced out, forgetting all about Amy.

When I got home, Amy had already fainted from low blood sugar.

After Amy was brought back from the brink, she cried to James, "Is Livia hoping I'll die soon? Just tell me the truth, it's fine. I know I'm just a burden to you all."

Everyone looked shocked when they heard that.

They all started blaming me.

All those memories, every single thing I'd been through, came rushing back to me out of nowhere.

I realized Henry had zero empathy for me.

Honestly, he was about as comforting as a cold slice of gas-station pizza.

Henry's words felt like a slap in the face, leaving me cold and numb.

It was as if I'd been dropped straight into a frozen pit.

Seeing all those accusing eyes on me, I scoffed, "I'm the one being unreasonable? Fine, have it your way."

I slapped Henry right across the face and said, "Now THAT's being unreasonable."

For a few seconds, the room was dead silent.

Henry clutched his face and started howling.

Kate glared at me, her eyes blazing with anger.

She snapped, "Mom, have you lost it? Just because you didn't get a cut of Amy's inheritance, you're slapping your own son? Seriously, are you losing your mind?"

James slammed his cup down on the table, glaring at me.

He snapped, "Livia, what are you doing? Shouting and slapping people? The kids are watching. Any time you're asked to do what a daughter-in-law should, you whine that you're being put-upon.

"And you actually expect to get paid for taking care of your own family? Shame on you."

He just kept getting louder and louder.

I was shaking all over with rage.

Just then, a sharp pain shot through my knee.

Lucas had smacked my leg with his toy car and suddenly burst into tears. He cried out, "I'm starving; I'm so hungry."

Amy had been watching the whole scene for a while before finally reacting. She let out a dramatic sigh, her face full of worry.

She looked at me with those pitiful eyes and said, "Livia, if it's money you want, I'll give it to you. Just don't take it out on Lucas; please don't let him go hungry, alright?"