chapter 3

Eloise’s pov

I leaned against the headboard and cried all night.

I didn’t know how to face this dirty marriage.

A cheating man is like money that fell into a toilet— you don’t want to waste him, but it’s disgusting to pick him up.

If I didn't have children, I could easily choose to divorce Julian. I, Eloise, was not the kind of person who can't let go of things easily. If we could make it work, we could part ways easily!

But the baby was about to be born... what should I do?

Perhaps sensing my emotional fluctuations, the baby frequently kicked my belly and rolled around inside, as if trying to soothe me.

The more the baby kicked me, the more emotional I became, and tears streamed down my face like a broken water pipe.

Divorce and then abort the child – that was impossible.

I believed that every mother in the world, after feeling her baby's movements, would never want to let go.

So, divorce and raise the child alone?

In today's world, single mothers are very common, and women could raise their children to adulthood on their own!

But I kept picturing my baby a few years later, staring at me with those big, innocent, bright eyes, asking, "Mommy, why do other kids have dads, but I don't? Where's my dad?"

What should I say then?

I touched my swollen belly, tears streaming down my face. "Baby, what should Mommy do?"

I didn't sleep a wink all night.

Around six in the morning, my mother-in-law pushed open the door and stormed in angrily.

“Eloise, it's past six o'clock, and you're still lying in bed not getting up to cook. Do you want me to starve to death?"

Previously, I would get up at six o'clock every morning to cook breakfast for my mother-in-law and then wake her up.

Even though I was extremely heavy and clumsy during my late pregnancy.

I was in a terrible mood because I hadn't slept all night, so I didn't pay attention to this.

I rubbed my red and swollen eyes. "Mom, I'm not feeling well. Could you make yourself something to eat today?"

"Don't take advantage of your pregnancy to be lazy and disrespectful to your elders. I was working in the fields on the day I gave birth to your husband! What's wrong with asking you to make breakfast?" Bree said.

Six months ago, when I was three months pregnant, Julian had brought Bree from the countryside to come and take care of me.

My mother-in-law was overjoyed when she came. She even went to the trouble of bringing two old hens from the countryside, saying she wanted to make soup for me to nourish my body.

During that time, I was basically waited on hand and foot, living the legendary life of a queen.

If I did any housework, my mother-in-law sees me and immediately rushes over to do it herself, showing  great concern.

I felt so lucky to have such a wonderful husband and such an easy-going mother-in-law.

Dad, Mom, you can be rest assured in heaven.

But after two or three months, my mother-in-law's attitude towards me suddenly changed. Not only did she not cook or do housework, but she also expected me to cook for her while I was pregnant. She even demanded that I hand-wash her own dirty clothes and forbade me to use the washing machine, saying that it was a waste of electricity and that clothes washed in the washing machine were not clean.

I was utterly shocked and couldn't understand why my mother-in-law had suddenly become a different person.

Did I do something to upset her?

When my parents were alive, I was their precious daughter. I never did any housework, not even washing a dish. That's why Julian called me a pampered little princess.

During that time, I started trying to learn how to do housework, but I had severe morning sickness and couldn't stand the smell of cooking oil. As my belly grew bigger, it became harder to sweep and mop the floor.

I discussed hiring a part-time helper with Bree, and she immediately mocked me.

"Oh my, you city girls are so pampered! You're lazy and good-for-nothing all day long. If you don't do some work to get some exercise, how will you give birth? I'm doing this for your own good!"

I opened my mouth, wanting to argue a little more, but my she interrupted, "Besides, hiring a nanny doesn't cost money, does it? Men work their butts off outside to earn money, and you just waste it like this at home?"

I felt a little uncomfortable and explained. "The money I spent was all earned by me."

Yes, we have always managed our income separately after we got married, but the house and the start-up capital for the company were inheritances left to me by my parents.

I grew up in a family with relatively good financial conditions, and my parents never made things difficult for me financially, so I didn’t really have a strong concept of money.

My mother-in-law slammed her chopsticks on the table and asked me angrily. "You're married to Julian, why are you still distinguishing between yours and his? Aren't you family?"

When I heard this, I felt something was wrong. Wasn't my mother-in-law being hypocritical? How come Julian’s money wasn't mine, but my money was his?

When things were tense, Julian tried to appease me, criticized his mother, and promised me that he wouldn't wait until I gave birth before sending her back to the countryside and hiring a nanny to take care of us. 

He said that it would be difficult for two people with such different lifestyles, upbringing, and education to live happily together.

Indeed, ever since my mother-in-law came to live with us, she has been educating and demanding things of me with her fixed lifestyle and way of thinking, many of which are unacceptable to me.

Julian also felt ashamed. "My father died early, and my mother raised the four of us siblings all by herself. She had no money, no men, and no relatives to help her. You can imagine how difficult it was... Her selfishness and petty mentality were not formed overnight. I am ashamed and heartbroken." he had explained.

I replied, " “Honey, I know you care about your mother, but this isn’t the right way to show it.”

Julian sighed helplessly, his face full of shame, "Baby, I'm sorry, I'm in a difficult position too."

I felt sorry for Julian, caught between me and his mother like a rat in a bellows, torn between two difficult choices; yet I also thought of how my parents taught me from a young age that care for parents is the most important virtue and that one should be tolerant of others.

After my parents passed away, I had few relatives and friends to rely on. The only aunt who treated me like her own daughter was far away in Canada. I had married Julian, and his mother was my family.

I think I should be tolerant, yielding, and filial.

But I'm really not feeling well today.

Before I could explain, my mother-in-law dragged me out of bed. "You'd better go cook, or when your husband comes back, I'll have him beat you to death, you lazy good-for-nothing!"

I couldn't resist my mother-in-law's strength and was pulled up. However, as soon as I got out of bed, I felt a warm flow running down my legs.

I burst into tears, my voice trembling, "Mom, my water broke!"