Chapter 2 — My mother-in-law made a will to steal my property, leaving the whole family empty-handed

Hearing the cold beeping sound on the phone, I stood still. The sunlight outside the window was clearly very warm, but falling on my body had no temperature at all.

“Just a house and a car?”

He said it as lightly as if it were nothing. That house... is my parents' lifelong sweat and tears. That car... my mother was afraid that if I got married, I would suffer a loss, so she deliberately bought it for me. In his eyes, everything... is just "a house, a car". It's something his mother can arrange as she pleases. It's an item used to "cheer up his sister a little". My feelings, my rights, my self-esteem... are not worth a penny. I finally understand. In this house, they are one family. Chu Cam, Ly Hao, Ly Vy. As for me, Hua Tinh... just an outsider. An outsider brings property and marries in to "relieve" their family. I laughed. But tears... fell again. Three years of marriage, turned out to be a complete joke. I wiped my tears. Crying... is the most useless thing in the world. There are times when the heart dies... just for a moment. I took the will and went downstairs. Chu Cam was sitting on the sofa, biting melon seeds and watching TV. When he saw me coming down, he didn't bother to raise his head. I put the will back into the parchment bag, without missing an inch. After that, I put it and the pile of red books, savings books... back into the old wooden chest. Even helped her reinstall the lock carefully. The corners of Chu Cam's lips curled slightly. She thought... I had compromised. I said nothing. Just took the phone, went back to my room, locked the door. I opened the photo album on my phone. Start taking photos of everything that belongs to you. Shopping invoices for that year. Original real estate certificate. Vehicle registration certificate. My parents' transfer statement when buying a house and car. All dowry jewelry... each item is clearly photographed, accompanied by documents. I also found the list of bride price and dowry before the wedding. Written by Ly Hao himself. On the black and white paper, it clearly states: "One house, one car, are all personal assets before marriage of the female party." Below… are his signature and mine. I took pictures of everything. Each piece, clearly classified. Save to encrypted cloud albums. Chu Cam is right. Marrying into the Ly family, my things... are their family's things. She said… so true. Then I'll take all of "my stuff" away. Including… myself. Give them back a clean, complete Ly family. In the evening, Ly Hao returned with a strong smell of alcohol and a tired look on his face. As soon as he saw me, he conveniently threw his jacket on the sofa and frowned.

“I told you, it's not a big deal, are you really angry?”

He stepped closer to hug me as usual, but I leaned away very decisively, causing his arm to stop in mid-air in discomfort. His face immediately darkened and his voice became a little colder.

“Hua Tinh, what do you mean?”

He looked at me, his eyes carrying undisguised frustration.

“I don't mean anything, I just feel like we should keep a little distance between us.”

“Anyway… I'm just an outsider.”

Ly Hao frowned tighter, his voice began to become annoyed.

“There you go again, can you stop talking so sarcastically?”

"My mother told me, she even apologized to me this afternoon, this matter is over."

He spoke very softly gently, as if it were all just a small thing not worth mentioning. Sorry? I laughed, a smile that carried a bit of unspeakable bitterness. It turned out that my putting the will back in its original place, in Chu Cam's story, became an act of "I'm sorry", which is truly a perfect way of distorting the truth. This family's ability to change white to black is truly eye-opening.

“I'm tired, I want to rest early.”

I didn't say another word, turned around and went straight into the spare bedroom. Ly Hao stood still for a moment, seemingly not expecting me to directly express such an attitude towards him, then quickly followed. He reached out to push the door, but the door was locked by me from the inside.

“Hua Tinh, open the door!”

“Haven't you caused enough trouble?”

His screams outside the door echoed throughout the hallway, but I lay still on the bed, pretending not to hear anything. That night, neither of us said another word, the space was so cold that it made people feel stuffy. The next morning was Sunday, I still woke up very early as usual for the past three years, quietly preparing breakfast for the whole family. Hot millet porridge, golden fried eggs, and a few frugal side dishes are neatly arranged on the table. Chu Cam and Ly Vy went downstairs very slowly. Seeing breakfast, they immediately sat down to eat as if it were obvious. Ly Hao came out of the master bedroom with a black face, glanced at me and then coldly snorted. The dining table was covered in heavy silence, no one took the initiative to speak, the atmosphere was as tense as a string about to break. After eating a few pieces of porridge, Ly Vy suddenly spoke, her tone carrying a clear boast.

“Brother, I got my driver's license, can I drive the Mercedes to work next week?”

"My co-workers all thought the car was mine. When I told them it was ours, they still didn't believe it. I just drove it to open their eyes."

Chu Cam immediately responded, even giving me a meaningful glance.

"Drive, why can't you drive? You can drive your car whenever you want."

"It's a waste of time for your sister-in-law to drive that car. If it doesn't last long, it will break down."

Mother and daughter both looked at me at the same time, their eyes carrying a naturalness and undisguised provocation. They are waiting for me to nod, waiting for me to continue playing the role of a dutiful wife like many times before, for the so-called family harmony to endure everything. Ly Hao also looked at me, his eyes carrying a clear warning. Under the gaze of the three of them, I slowly placed the chopsticks on the table, making a very clear sound in the quiet space. I raised my head, looked straight at them, my voice was so calm that it was cold.

"Impossible."

Just two words, but so clear that they don't give anyone a chance to misunderstand. The atmosphere in the dining room seemed to freeze for an instant, all sounds disappeared. The smile on Chu Cam's face stiffened, and Ly Vy's smug expression also completely disappeared. Ly Hao's face immediately became gloomy.

“What did you just say?”

Chu Cam was the first to react, his voice full of anger.

“Hua Tinh, say it again!”

I looked straight at her, every word clear.

“I said, no.”

“That car is mine, my belongings, no one is allowed to touch it.”

The whole room fell into dead silence. The three of them looked at me like I was a stranger, their eyes full of surprise and disbelief. Perhaps in thought To them, I will always be a patient woman. Chu Cam slammed his chopsticks on the table and pointed them straight at me.

“It's counterintuitive, isn't it, Hua Tinh!”

“Eat at my house, stay at my house, and now you dare to argue with me?”

I looked at her, suddenly feeling so funny that I was no longer angry. Eat at grandma's house? In the past three years, electricity and water bills, living expenses, which money did not come from the salary card that you kept from me? At your house? This house is actually because the Ly family paid the initial deposit. But every month I pay in installments... I'm carrying the burden.