Chapter 4

The next morning, I got up at five.

According to the menu Charlotte gave me, Grace's birthday lunch needed twelve dishes, one soup, a birthday cake, and a fruit platter.

There would be over a dozen guests, all from the Locke family and their circle.

I worked nonstop all morning, washing vegetables, chopping meat, simmering soup, steaming fish...

Whenever my back hurt so badly I couldn't straighten up, I leaned against the counter for a minute, then kept going.

At noon, the guests started arriving one after another.

Grace sat on the living room couch in a new dress that cost over 7,000 dollars, wearing that jewelry set again while everyone took turns congratulating her.

"Grace, your daughter-in-law is amazing. She's even better than a real daughter."

"Seriously, just look at this whole table. It's all your favorite food."

"Grace, you've got it made. What a wonderful daughter-in-law."

Grace grinned from ear to ear. "Of course. My daughter-in-law is even more thoughtful than my own daughter would be."

Charlotte smiled beside her. "Mom, don't say that. This is all what I should be doing."

Not one person mentioned who had actually made that huge table of food.

Not one person mentioned that I'd been working since five in the morning without even a sip of water.

I stood at the kitchen doorway and watched them clink glasses and laugh together.

Lily ran over to Grace. "Grandma, I made this picture for you. It's a gift."

Grace took the drawing with a loving smile. "Our Lily is the sweetest girl. Grandma loves you the most."

Lily puffed up proudly. "I love Grandma the most too. I don't love Grandma Helen. She's bad."

Everyone in the room laughed.

It felt like a knife twisting in my chest.

Then Charlotte raised her glass. "Thank you all for coming today. On Grace's birthday, I especially want to thank her for everything she's done for our family over the years. Mom, you've worked so hard."

Everyone raised their glasses. "You've worked hard!"

Worked hard?

Over the past three years, Grace had come fewer than twenty times total, and every visit lasted just three days. Whenever she came, she did zero housework. She sat on the couch watching TV and ordered me around instead. I was the one who picked Lily up and dropped her off, cooked, cleaned, did the laundry, even washed Grace's clothes.

The only thing Grace ever did was sit back and enjoy being served, collect gifts from Lily, and pocket that so-called elder care allowance.

And that counted as "working hard"?

I turned and went back into the kitchen to keep washing dishes.

The sink was piled high with plates and bowls. By the time I was done, my hands were pale from the water and my back felt ready to snap.

That was when my phone rang. It was Attorney Lee.

"Ms. Taylor, I need to confirm a few details about the inheritance. The apartment Ms. Susan Taylor left you is in the best part of downtown Willow Valley City. It's currently worth about 930,000 dollars. Added to the 500,000 dollars in savings, that brings the total to around 1.43 million dollars..."

My whole body went stiff.

1.43 million dollars? That was a number I wouldn't even dare dream about.

"Also, Ms. Susan Taylor wrote in her will that she hoped you would finally live the life you wanted, and stop wronging yourself for your children..."

The tears came instantly.

Susan, you even thought of that for me.

After I hung up, I looked at the mountain of dishes in the sink and suddenly everything felt absurd.

Why was I doing this to myself?

Why was I breaking my back in this house and still putting up with being treated like dirt?

I had my pension, and now I had Susan's inheritance too. I could absolutely live a life of my own.

So why should I stay here and swallow this crap?

Why was I, the actual mother, worth less than the mother-in-law?

My daughter's voice floated in from the living room. "Mom, is the cake cut yet? Everyone's waiting."

I wiped my tears and carried the cake out.

I watched Grace blow out the candles and make a wish. I watched Charlotte hover around her. I watched Lily act cute. I watched Simon take pictures.

The family of four looked perfectly happy together.

No one even noticed me standing there in the corner.

By the time the party ended, it was already three in the afternoon.

The guests were gone, and the living room was a complete mess.

Charlotte yawned. "Mom, I'm exhausted. Clean this up, okay? I'm going to help Grace take a nap."

I looked at the filthy table and the trash all over the floor. All of a sudden, I felt strangely calm.

Without a word, I went back to my room and started packing.