Chapter 2

At the dinner table, Yvette kept picking at the food I'd made, complaining even as she ate.

"Rachel, these pork chops are like leather. Lucas doesn't have his full set of teeth yet. He can't manage this," she complained, wrinkling her nose.

Helen's face soured the moment she heard that.

She reached over and grabbed the chicken wings—the dish I loved most—right in front of me, then plopped them down in front of Yvette and Lucas.

"If you can't even cook pork chops right, you don't get meat tonight," Helen snapped.

"Let Lucas have them," she added.

Lucas was chowing down, with sauce all over his mouth. When Helen handed him the wings, he grabbed them all and piled them onto his plate.

Then, as he ate, he started making faces at me.

"Yay! All the wings are mine. You're barren, and you can't have any," he said, sticking out his tongue.

Yvette was quick to jump in.

"Lucas, don't talk about Mrs. Grace's troubles like that. Not every woman is lucky like your mom, you know," she scolded, her voice dripping with fake concern.

After she said that, she gave me a look that was all fake sympathy.

But I could see the smugness in her eyes.

Helen shot me an even nastier look after hearing that.

She just reached over and grabbed the only substantial dish in front of me—the shepherd's pie.

"A woman who can't give her husband a child doesn't deserve it," she sneered.

I stared at the lonely plate of greens in front of me and put my fork down.

Seeing me just sitting there, Martin jumped in, playing the good guy. "Mom, it's not that big a deal. Let it go."

Then he turned to me. "Rachel, just remember to make the meat softer next time. We need to think about Lucas. He's still little."

"Here, try some stewed pork. It's even tastier than the wings," Martin said, trying to sound all sweet.

I looked at the bowl of stewed pork—nothing but glistening chunks of fat. My appetite vanished.

I set my fork down and nodded.

Forcing a smile, I replied, "Of course, I'll make them softer next time. Anything to keep Lucas happy."

Martin shared a smug glance with Yvette.

Both of them looked at me with open contempt in their eyes.

I pretended not to notice anything, then gently mentioned to Martin, "My company's sending me out for a few days of training."

The training happened to be in my hometown.

Ever since my parents passed away, I had barely ever set foot back there.

This time, I'd finally put the house my parents bought me before I got married on the market.

Once I sold it, I could finally buy him that fancy, big flat Martin'd been dreaming about.

He had never really told me about Yvette and Lucas. All these years, he was just after my house.

Now that I finally agreed to sell it, he and Yvette shared a secret look of excitement.

Then he reached out, trying to pull me into a hug.

I pushed his hand away and gave Yvette a teasing glance. "Not in front of everyone."

Martin just chuckled and pulled his hand back.

Yvette shot me a jealous look. "You're so lucky, Rachel. Your parents left you a house before they passed away. Me? I got nothing."

I had to hold myself back from smacking that smug, two-faced grin right off her face.

I shook my head. "Lucky? Please. Now that you mention it, I just remembered maybe I can't even sell that house."

Martin's eyes widened. "What do you mean? Why not?"

I let out a long, dramatic sigh. "There's still a mortgage on it. My parents only put down 350,000 dollars for the down payment, and they said they'd help me pay off the rest with their housing fund. But before they could, they passed away.

"There's still 150,000 dollars left on the loan. To sell, I have to pay it off first."

"Where am I supposed to get that kind of cash?" I added, sounding all pitiful.

Everyone froze for a second, staring at me in shock.

Everyone knew I was flat broke.

Ever since Helen moved in, she'd taken my salary card, saying it was for buying groceries and cooking for the family.

So I really didn't have a single cent to my name.

I watched their faces, knowing I'd set the stage perfectly.

Then, using the excuse that I had training the next day, I headed out to buy some stuff.

As soon as I stepped outside, I pulled out my phone and checked the cameras.