Chapter 2

The next morning, I was woken up by the commotion downstairs.

I took my time getting ready and headed down, only to find Marissa, my snobbish mother-in-law, sitting on the living room sofa.

Reyna was dutifully massaging her shoulders, calling her Mrs. Armstrong in the sweetest voice imaginable.

Keegan was sitting nearby, reading the newspaper. When he saw me come down, his gaze instantly turned cold.

Marissa sneered. "Well, look who finally rolled out of bed. What time is it? Did the Armstrongs bring home a pampered princess to wait on all day?"

I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 8:30 in the morning.

For a full-time housewife who didn't need to clock in anywhere, that was hardly late.

But I didn't talk back. I walked over and greeted her respectfully, "Mom."

"Who are you calling Mom?" Marissa snorted. "You can't even manage breakfast, and now you have our guest cooking for us? Is this what being Mrs. Armstrong looks like?"

I followed her gaze to the dining table, where some fancy breakfast dishes were set out.

Reyna gave me an apologetic look. "Ms. Yates, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you were used to sleeping in.

"I saw Mrs. Armstrong and Keegan were hungry, so I took the liberty of making some breakfast."

She really knew how to play the game.

In my previous life, Marissa picked on me right around this time, like now.

I lost my temper and called Reyna a fake sweetie, and Keegan slapped me. Then Marissa made me stand outside in the yard.

This time, I didn't even bother to get angry. I walked over to the dining table, checked out the breakfast, and couldn't help but gush, "Ms. Goodwin, your cooking is incredible.

"These shrimps look even better than what you'd get from a Michelin chef."

Then I turned to Marissa, looking as sincere as I could. "Marissa, you're totally right. I really am hopeless in the kitchen.

"Why not let Ms. Goodwin handle breakfast from now on? She's so thoughtful, I'm sure you and Keegan will be in good hands."

Marissa was stunned by my response. She'd come ready to lecture me, but I played along and took the chance to hand the job right over to Reyna.

Reyna's smile froze for a second. She was trying to look like the perfect housewife, not actually sign up to be the Armstrongs' free maid.

She said quickly, "Come on, Ms. Yates, I cook every now and then. No way I could do it every day."

I jumped in right away. "Why not? Ms. Goodwin, you love Keegan so much. Shouldn't you be making him breakfast every morning?"

I turned to Keegan. "Keegan, what do you think? Isn't her breakfast way tastier than mine?"

Keegan was crushing the newspaper in his grip. He shot daggers at me, spitting out through gritted teeth, "Shut up."

I obediently zipped it, pulled out a chair, picked up my fork, and started eating. Gotta admit, it tasted pretty great.

Marissa, seeing me dig in like that, slammed her hand on the table. "Karla! Do you have any manners at all? The elders haven't even started, and you're already eating?"

I swallowed the shrimp, grabbed a napkin, and wiped my mouth. "Marissa, don't be mad. I was checking the flavor for you."

I stood up, walked right over to Marissa, and held out my hand. "By the way, Marissa, you still haven't transferred last month's household expenses to me.

"Sure, I might not do much around here, but I'm still carrying the title of Mrs. Armstrong. My monthly allowance is non-negotiable."

Marissa was shaking with rage, jabbing her finger at me. "You money-grubbing woman! What kind of cosmic bad luck did the Armstrongs have to marry someone like you?"

I smiled sweetly at her. "Come on, that's not how it is. Braiden was the one who insisted I marry into this family.

"If you really can't stand me, just march over to him and get his blessing for a divorce. I promise I'll pack up and be out of here in a flash."

As soon as I brought up Braiden, Marissa's anger vanished in an instant.

Everyone in the Armstrong family knew Braiden had a soft spot for me.

Marissa shot me a vicious glare, yanked a card out of her bag, and flung it at me. "Take your money and get lost back to your room."

I scooped up the card with a smug grin, gave it a dramatic kiss, and chirped, "Thanks, Marissa! Enjoy your breakfast, and Ms. Goodwin, you really worked hard."

I turned and walked off, not even bothering to look at Keegan.

As I reached the stairs, I heard Keegan slam his coffee cup hard on the table. The noise was loud, but it didn't bother me one bit.

As long as the money was good, a loser like him meant nothing to me.