Chapter 5

Margaret watched her daughter leave, then locked her vicious gaze on me.

"Look at you. You're a cripple now. How can you possibly compete with Julian?"

"If you know what's good for you, you'll leave Claire. Stop clinging to us. I'm going to convince her to divorce you and marry Julian."

Looking at her twisted face, I realized she had always been like this.

In front of outsiders, she played the gracious matriarch; behind closed doors, she constantly humiliated me for my background.

Early in our marriage, Claire used to defend me, vowing she would always stand by my side.