Chapter 1

[Introduction]

It took me ten years of marriage to realize that my doting husband had another family.

A family just twenty meters away, directly across from our flat.

I demanded an explanation.

James's parents, Robert and Margaret, said, "Who’s to blame that you can’t give James a son?"

My daughter, Lily, said, "Big Mum is better than you. You’re just the maid Dad married."

And James? He simply said, "Alright, stop making a scene. I was just keeping her company because she seemed lonely."

For ten years, I gave everything willingly, and yet, to all of them, I was just an outsider.

I smiled bitterly. "Fine. Good, even. I hope you can hold onto those smug faces for the long haul."

[Main Story]

“Why are the lights off?”

Robert and Margaret complained as they fumbled to switch them on.

The moment the room lit up, I turned my gaze to James. When his eyes met mine, raw and swollen from crying, a flicker of panic crossed his face.

“Em… Emily, why are you sitting here in the dark?” he stammered.

I stared at him coldly, then turned to his parents and said, “Didn’t you always say I’m wasting electricity leaving the lights on all the time?”

“We’re home now, aren’t we? Do you think it's better for us to trip and fall in the dark?” Margaret snapped, shooting me a disdainful look.

They saw my swollen, tear-streaked eyes, yet none of them cared to ask why I had been crying.

“If I turn on the lights, I’m wasting electricity. If I don’t, you say I am trying to kill you. No matter what I do, I can never seem to please you,” I said icily.

My detached tone caught them off guard.

At that moment, Lily chimed in loudly, “You can’t be rude to Grandpa and Grandma!”

James backed her up, adding, “Lily’s right, Emily. How can you speak to my parents like that?”

“Oh, really? After everything I’ve done for them over the past ten years, you think I’m out of line?” I said, barely managing to suppress my anger.

But all I could see in my mind was the image of their happy little family across the hall, laughing together like I didn’t exist.

The fact that I wasn’t screaming at them already was nothing short of miraculous.

“Emily, you married my son. Isn’t this your duty to take care of us?” Margaret pointed her finger at me, her tone dripping with condescension.

That was the final straw. My fury boiled over.

I stood up and snapped at her, “What do you mean, ‘my duty’? Ever since I married your son, I’ve worked tirelessly to take care of all of you. Have you ever once treated me like part of this family?”

“That’s because you haven’t done your job properly,” Robert interjected, his voice firm, playing the role of the patriarch.

I pointed towards the flat across the communal garden and asked with a bitter laugh, “And has the woman over there done a better job than me?”

Their faces immediately changed, growing pale with panic.

James, still clinging to some shred of hope, said, “Emily, stop making things up. Apologize to my parents right now!”

“James Harper,” I spat, “you still reek of the perfume that woman wears!”

James froze for a moment, then erupted in anger. “Have you been spying on us?”

“Do I even need to? Every day you’re over there, laughing and enjoying yourself. And me? I’m here alone, cleaning up the dishes and scrubbing the floors!”

“If I hadn’t been tidying up today and decided to put away your binoculars, I wouldn’t have even known about your little family reunion across the way!”