Chapter 1 — Forced to return 80 tables, I overturned the divorce table and left them empty-handed

My husband's younger brother's son had 80 bills a month, he pushed 5 credit cards to force me to pay - I immediately blocked all 5 cards, my husband's whole family exploded on the spot." My brother-in-law's son was a full month old and set up 80 banquet tables. No one in my husband's family mentioned money, so it was assumed that I had to pay. My husband pushed 5 credit cards towards me:

“I'll go pay.”

I immediately reported locking all 5 cards. When it was time to pay, my brother-in-law standing next to me kept urging:

“Hurry up, people are waiting!”

I inserted each card into the machine. All… were rejected. She started to panic. I turned my head and smiled coldly:

“That's your child, not mine.”

My sister-in-law's face immediately exploded, she grabbed my wrist tightly. And then, I did something that made everyone there... dumbfounded. My brother-in-law's son is full month old and has 80 tables set up. My name is To Van, I have been married for three years. My brother-in-law - Chu Le, this son... is a treasure that the whole family cherishes like an egg. I'm the only outsider. An outsider... was forced to pay for these 80 banquet tables. Just thinking about it makes me feel like that number is as heavy as a stone on my heart. If each table is about 5,000 yuan (about 17 million)... 80 tables is 400,000 yuan (about 1,360,000,000 VND). One billion three hundred and sixty million. A full month party. And they… want me to pay. No one asked me if I agreed. No one said a word "I'm so sorry for you". It's simply...everyone takes it for granted. As if I was born to pay for this family. My husband is even better. He didn't see any problem. Before starting the party, he casually pushed five credit cards towards me, his voice light:

“Go and pay, the limit should be enough.”

Not a question. Without the slightest hesitation. There wasn't even a word of negotiation. It's like giving me an obligation. An obligation... that doesn't originally belong to me. I looked at the five cards lying in front of me. Silence for a few seconds. Then pick up the phone. One by one. All five panels. Neat, decisive, without shaking hands. When the party ended, the restaurant staff brought the bill. My brother-in-law immediately pulled me back, smiling weakly but his voice was full of pressure:

“Sister-in-law, hurry up and pay, people have been waiting for a long time.”

I said nothing. Just calmly take out the card. Plug it into the machine. Refuse transaction. Change to another card. Refuse transaction. Third card. All... refused. The surrounding atmosphere began to change. The smile on my husband's face stiffened little by little.

“You… what are you doing?”

I slowly raised my head. His eyes were so cold that even I felt strange. The corner of my lips curled slightly, I said each word, brutally clear:

“That's your child.”

“Not my child.”

One sentence, like a knife. My husband immediately went crazy. She rushed forward, grabbed my wrist, and shouted harshly:

“What are you talking about?!”

The husband's whole family... started to fall apart. And I stood there. It was like finally coming out of a three-year dream. And in that moment, I knew— This farce, I'm not acting anymore. 01 Eighty tables for a full month party My name is To Van, I've been married for three years, today is my brother-in-law Chu Le's full month party, a day that should be warm, but it makes me cold inside. The party was held at the most expensive five-star hotel in the city, the entire hall was full, with eighty tables without a single table missing. The scale is so large that at first glance it looks like a lavish wedding. The LED screen on the stage continuously showed the child's photo, surrounded by balloons, fresh flowers and a towering champagne tower, everything was so splendid that it was ostentatious. Chu Le wore a custom-made dress, held her husband's arm, and smiled brightly as she went from table to table raising a glass, while my mother-in-law, Trieu Xuan Mai, smiled until she couldn't close her mouth, boasting to everyone that her daughter was talented and that her grandchildren were a blessing from heaven. No one looked at me. Like I'm just a shadow standing in the wrong place. For three years now, I've gotten used to that feeling, used to being this family's cash machine, the one who solves all problems, but have never been a family member. During this epic month-long party, from beginning to end, no one asked my opinion even once, and no one mentioned money, because in their hearts, it was already the default. By default, this expense of hundreds of thousands will be paid by me, just like during the past three years, every penny I spent on this family was taken for granted. On the day Chu Le got married, I spent 300,000 yuan to buy a car as her dowry. When Chu Le was pregnant, I spent money to hire a high-end nanny with a salary of 20,000 yuan per month to take care of her. Even for Chu Hao's small company, the startup capital of 500,000 yuan was taken from my pre-marital savings and given to him. And what do I get in return? Just a sentence from the mother-in-law: "If you marry into the Chu family, you are from the Chu family, and your money is also the Chu family's money." It's a sentence from Chu Hao: "My sister has been pampered since she was a child, so if you are my sister-in-law, give her a little." It was Chu Le standing in front of her relatives, bragging that she had a sister-in-law who knew how to make money and obey. Listen to me. That was the story of the past. If a person is exhausted for too long, the heart will die, and when the heart is dead, the mind will become frighteningly alert. The party gradually came to an end, the guests began to leave, Chu Hao held a glass of wine, staggered to my side, the smell of alcohol was strong, his eyes were full of orders as if it were obvious. He took out his wallet, pulled out five credit cards from different banks, and then placed them firmly on the table in front of me.

“I'll go pay.”

“I, my mother and Le Le still have to go see off an important guest.”

I looked at those five cards, the total limit combined exceeded 500,000 yuan, each card was the main card in my name, and Chu Hao only held the secondary card, all final bills were paid by me. I raised my head and looked at him.

“Chu Hao, do you know how much money this meal costs?”

He paused for a second, then waved his hand angrily.

"Just pay whatever you want, why ask too much?"

"This is my grandchild's first birthday party. It's worth it no matter how much it costs."

I laughed, a cold smile that even I found strange. That's my husband. I slowly picked up each card and put it in my bag. I just said one word. Chu Hao happily patted my shoulder, turned around to call his mother and sister, as if everything had been resolved. I picked up my bag and walked to the hotel reception desk. The lobby manager saw me and immediately smiled professionally.

“Are you prepared to pay?”

“That's right, help me figure out how much the total is.”

Very quickly, the invoice was brought.

“The cost of alcohol and food totaled eighty tables, totaling 288,000 yuan.”

A number exactly as I expected guess. I nodded, took the first card and handed it over. The employee swipes the card. The machine makes a "tick" sound.

“Sorry, this card cannot be paid.”

I'm not expressive.

“Change to another card.”