Chapter 9
My gaze finally settled on Mary's face, twisted by shock and rage. I smiled a little. "Please be out of the house by tonight. Oh, wait, It's Mr. Lewis's house." My words hit the room like a bomb.
Mary lunged first. She tried to snatch the contract, but I pulled it back before she could.
Shaking with rage, she pointed at me and screamed, "You evil woman! You jinx! This is David's marital home. It belongs to the Carter family. What right do you have to sell it?"
David panicked too. He grabbed my arm and shook me. "Sarah, have you lost your mind? If you sold the house, where are we supposed to live? Where will my parents live? Jamie still has his exam."
His grip hurt. I yanked my arm free, took a step back, and shielded my belly.
"Let go of me!" My voice rose with a sharpness I'd never used before. "David Carter, get this straight."
"This is not the Carter family's house. It's mine. Where you all live is none of my business, and your brother's exam has nothing to do with me. You forced this on me.
"It was your wonderful mother who pointed right in my face and told me to get back to my parents' house. Now I'm giving you exactly what you wanted, and setting myself free too."
My words left David speechless, his face cycling red and white. But Mary Carter exploded like a lit firecracker.
"So if I tell you to get out, you leave? And you still dared to sell the house? Were you planning to go against the Carter family from the start? I'm telling you right now, you can't sell this house. We don't agree."
"Go cancel that contract right now and get the house back."
What she said was laughable. I let out a cold laugh.
"Mom, have you been watching too many TV dramas? The sales contract is already legally binding, and the title has already been transferred. Whether you agree or not doesn't matter."
"What you need to do now is pack your things and move out."
Richard Carter, my usually silent father-in-law, finally spoke up. His voice was hoarse, with a faint tremor. "Sarah, we can talk this out. We're family. Let's not make it come to this. You're pregnant. You need someone taking care of you."
"Yeah, honey," David cut in at once, softening his tone. "Don't do anything rash. I know I was wrong. I'll treat you better from now on, and I won't let Mom talk to you like that again."
"Can't we not sell the house? Let's be a real family, okay? For the baby's sake?"
One played bad cop, the other good cop. They worked together perfectly. Too bad I wasn't the old Sarah anymore. Their selfishness and indifference had already hardened my heart.
"Family?" I looked at David and asked one word, "When your mother pointed at my face and told me to get out, where were you? When I was heavily pregnant and she ordered me around like I was a servant, where were you?"
"David, whenever I needed you, all you ever said was, 'Put up with it.' Well, I don't want to put up with it anymore. And I don't want this family anymore either."
My words hit David like a knife. He opened his mouth, but not a single word came out.