Chapter 1
My mother-in-law slapped me across the face and said, “A poor girl like you should be grateful my son even looked at you.”
I had been married to Ethan for less than a year when his mother, Margaret, invited us to dinner at her home in Boston.
The moment I walked in, she glanced at the small cake I had baked.
“You made that yourself?”
“Yes.”
She smiled coldly.
“Of course you did.”
I tried to ignore her.
Halfway through dinner, Margaret suddenly asked, “What does your father do again?”
“He’s a mechanic.”
“And your mother?”
“She cleans offices at night.”
Margaret slowly put down her wineglass.
Then she looked at Ethan.
“You really married into that?”
My stomach tightened.
Ethan frowned.
“Mom, stop.”
But Margaret leaned toward me.
“Do your parents still live in that tiny apartment?”
“Yes, and they worked very hard for everything they have.”
She laughed.
“Hard work doesn’t make people respectable.”
I stood up.
“Don’t talk about my parents like that.”
Her face changed instantly.
“You’re raising your voice in my house?”
“I’m defending my family.”
Margaret walked around the table and pointed toward the door.
“You should remember where you came from.”
“I remember every day.”
“Then remember your place.”
Before I could answer, she slapped me.
Ethan jumped to his feet.
“Mom!”
But Margaret grabbed my arm and slapped me again.
“You came from nothing, and you’ll always be nothing!”
I pulled away, shaking.
Then the front door opened.
A gray-haired man carrying a leather folder stepped inside.
Margaret froze when she saw him.
“Mr. Harrison?”
He ignored her and walked straight toward me.
“Emily, your father asked me to give you these documents tonight.”
Margaret laughed bitterly.
“Her father? The mechanic?”
Mr. Harrison opened the folder and placed one document on the table.
Ethan stared at it.
Then he slowly looked at me.
Margaret’s smile disappeared.
May you like
Because printed across the top was the name of the company her entire family had depended on for twenty years.
And directly beneath it was my father’s name.
