Chapter 1

When I remained silent, my future mother-in-law, Joana Carrell, grew increasingly smug. Sticking her nose in the air, she said, "Mandy, I just have your best interests at heart, and that's why I'm being so honest with you. I deliberately shifted the doorstop by the door, all so I could test whether you were a meticulous woman. After all, you'll be in charge of all the household chores after your marriage.

"The trash bin in the living room has been full for quite a while already. Yet, despite coming in and out so many times, you didn't bother emptying it. If you don't even have that bit of awareness, how are you supposed to manage the household in the future?

"As for the dishes in the sink, I simply wanted to see whether you were willing to contribute to this family. Not only did you come right inside and sit down without doing any of those tasks, but you even ate five strawberries! Our family won't have anyone who doesn't pull their weight around here, especially spoiled princesses who are lazy and only know how to eat!"

After she finished speaking, I could feel fury surge through me.

How dare she even mention me eating the strawberries! For the sake of that day's meeting, I spent the entirety of yesterday buying clothes and styling my hair. The gifts I picked out after much thought were custom-made and incredibly expensive.

Yet, since I arrived at noon till two in the afternoon, they hadn't even offered me anything resembling a lunch. Driven by starvation, I finally allowed myself to snack on two strawberries, but now, she was using that to say I was taking advantage of them?

How utterly unreasonable!

I snapped back, "Mrs. Yarrow, I wasn't the one who shifted the doorstop, nor was I the one who threw that trash or used those dishes, so why should I be the one to clean up?"

Joana's expression instantly darkened. "Those will be your responsibilities once you marry into our family, anyway! But with this attitude of yours, I think we need to seriously reconsider your marriage to Anthony."

Unwilling to back down, I retorted, "You're right. Some serious reconsideration is needed for this marriage!"

Beside me, my boyfriend, Anthony Yarrow, tugged insistently on my arm as he urged me in a low voice, "Stop causing trouble and show my mom some respect…"

At that moment, Anthony's older sister, Megan Yarrow, came out of her room and plastered a friendly smile on her face.

"Mandy, don't be mad. Mom just has Tony's best interests at heart. Although you only scored 30 marks this time, our family is generous enough to give you another chance. Now that we've already told you the questions, it's no different than an open-book exam, right?

"All you have to do is finish those tasks, and I'll put in a good word for you so that you can get a passing score. You two can continue with your marriage plans then."

Passing score?

Upon hearing those words, all I felt was bitter disappointment and disbelief.

Anthony's father, Andrew Yarrow, was getting on in years and could no longer handle strenuous work, so I called in a favor to get him a cushy job that didn't require him to toil under the sun.

Megan's husband used to have an unstable job, and it was I who used my connections to help him find steady work. Even their children's schooling and school placement were something I helped to handle for them.

I went to great lengths and wholeheartedly helped their entire family deal with problem after problem, yet in her eyes, all I deserved was a pitiful passing score? And given only due to their "generosity"?

Turning to stare intently at Anthony, I asked in a trembling voice, "You knew about this?"

Anthony guiltily avoided my gaze as he stammered a response, "M-My mom told me about it… She's just doing it for my good, for our future…"

What a load of crap.