Chapter 3

Once I finished, I sent the "report" straight to Willow via WhatsApp.

Just as the file went through, I heard a shocked yell from the living room, followed by something heavy crashing to the floor. She must've dropped her phone.

The bedroom door slammed open.

Willow stood in the doorway, her face livid with rage, chest heaving. Those eyes of hers, always so sharp and calculating, now blazed with shock and uncontrollable fury.

She was gripping her phone so hard her knuckles whitened, the screen still glowing with the PDF I'd sent.

"Ellie! What is this supposed to mean? Are you trying to pull one over on me?" Willow snapped.

She stormed over, her finger almost poking right into my nose.

"I kindly let you live in this house, and this is how you repay me? Calculating down to the last detail! One thousand? You're treating me like a beggar! You're just trying to welch on your debt, aren't you?"

I leaned against the headboard, not moving my position, not even bothering to look up fully.

"Mom, I'm not trying to outsmart anyone. I'm merely following your directive—to go by the market rate."

My tone was flat and unemotional, as if stating an objective fact.

"The data in the report is publicly verifiable. If you feel the price is too low, we can hire three different authoritative agencies for an appraisal and take the average. I'll pay the appraisal fees."

I added calmly, "As for the legal references, those are just a reminder. While the house is registered under your name, since it serves as the new house for me and Leo, and he resides here long-term, we hold legal residency rights. Demanding a rent significantly higher than the market rate is, strictly speaking, not compliant."

Willow was totally floored by the way I spelled everything out so logically.

Honestly, this was probably the first time in her entire life someone ever stood up to her with pure reason instead of drama.

She was used to getting her way through her status as the elder and her dramatic scenes. My calm rationality rendered all her usual weapons useless.

Willow was practically shaking with rage, her finger jabbing at me. "Is that supposed to be a threat?"

I said calmly, "I'm simply stating the facts."

The commotion finally drew Leo, the invisible man, into the room.

He stood between us with a pained expression, looking from his furious mother to me, who was as calm as ever.

"Mom, Ellie, what's going on? Can't you two just talk this out?" Leo said.

He was already slipping into his classic "peacemaker" act.

Seeing Leo, Willow immediately latched onto him as her anchor. Her eyes welled up with practiced tears, and she launched into her melodrama.

"Leo, just look at the amazing wife you picked! I'm not even dead yet and she's already out here scheming for my house! And who am I doing this all for? Obviously you two! But now she's throwing all those legal terms in my face to go against me? Honestly, I just can't take it anymore!"

Leo immediately turned to me, his brow furrowed, his tone laced with reproach.

"Ellie, how can you talk to Mom like that? She means well. Can't you just be the bigger person here? Don't take it so seriously. We're family."

"Family?"

I finally looked up at Leo, locking eyes with him, and felt my disappointment hit its breaking point.

To him, his mom's drama was just her being "caring," but when I laid out the facts, somehow I was the one "making a fuss."

This was the man I once believed I could trust with my whole life, yet when it came down to family versus love, he chose his side in a heartbeat, leaving me stranded.

My heart ached so much I couldn't even feel it anymore.

I didn't bother arguing with him anymore. It was pointless.

I calmly met Willow's now pale stare and threw out the next suggestion.

"Mom, since you feel the market rate is too low, perhaps we should try a different way.

"Before the wedding, you took 60,000 dollars from my family as gifts, promising every cent would come back with us as startup money for our new home. Then at the wedding, my parents gave another 30,000 dollars, and you also said you'd keep it safe for us," I said.

I paused, catching the quick flicker in Willow's eyes.

"Now Leo and I are married and could really use that 90,000 dollars. Why not give it back to us now? That way, we don't have to stress over something like rent anymore. Or, if you invested it somewhere, just let us know where. We can share the risks and the profits together, right?" I continued.

My tone was steady, but every word was carefully chosen and hit right where it hurt.

Willow was left absolutely speechless, caught off guard by my move.

She hadn't seen it coming. I remembered the exact numbers, and dropped the whole situation right in front of her.