Chapter 3

On the way home, Shane kept sending me messages saying I was being petty, that I was jealous of his girlfriend, and demanding I apologize to both of them.

I texted back, "Shane, from now on, our families should stop associating with each other. That way, your girlfriend won't get jealous and lose her mind."

After I told my parents what happened, they also decided to cut ties with his family. However, the next day, Sarah suddenly showed up at our door carrying gifts.

The moment I opened the door, she dropped to her knees.

"Jo, I'm so sorry about yesterday. I failed to raise my son properly. I brought him here today to apologize to you."

"Please don't do this."

I quickly helped her to her feet. No matter how angry I was, I couldn't accept an elder kneeling before me.

Seeing me soften, Sarah immediately grabbed Shane from behind her and scolded him sharply. "You brat! Jo has treated you like a little brother since you were kids, yet you caused conflict with her over some other woman. Apologize to her right now!"

Shane looked reluctant, but he still apologized. "I'm sorry, Joanna. I wasn't thinking straight yesterday. I was just playing a little joke on you.

"You know it's not easy for me to get a girlfriend. Can you please not hold this against me?"

I frowned slightly. His apology felt perfunctory and uncomfortable.

But having him blocking my doorway and refusing to leave would be a hassle, so I brushed him off. "If it's over, let's not bring it up again."

I reached to close the door, but Sarah caught the scent of the lamb chops I'd been cooking and dragged Shane straight into the house.

By the time I registered what happened, the two of them were already seated at the dining table with their utensils in hand, calling back to me, "Jo, come on in and eat with us."

Fine. Since we hadn't completely burned bridges, this would be the last time I'd host them.

But after just a few bites, violent pounding came from outside the door. "You cheating bastards in there, get out here!"

Shane's face changed. He scrambled to open the door in a panic.

The next second, Lydia burst in, screaming obscenities. "Joanna Calbry, you filthy slut! You lured my boyfriend to your place while I wasn't around. Shameless much? Are you deliberately provoking me?"

"No, Lydia, let me explain—"

Shane barely started before Lydia's hand cracked across his face with a resounding slap. "Shut up! I can see you're enjoying this bitch throwing herself at you."

Her mouth was as foul as a toilet. The fury in my chest kept churning.

I forced it down and pointed at them coldly. "Get out of my house right now. Stop causing a scene here, or I'm calling the cops."

Sarah couldn't stand seeing her son get hit and raised her cane to strike Lydia. "You little tramp, you dare hit my son? I've never even laid a finger on him!"

Lydia dodged while cursing. "You old hag, you want Joanna as your daughter-in-law, but your son thinks she's old and ugly. He only loves me with all his heart! You don't deserve to be Shane's mother!"

She ran into the dining room and, without another word, flipped the table over. Lamb chops and soup spilled across the floor.

Fury consumed me. I strode forward and slapped her across the face. "You think you can come to my house and throw a tantrum? Are you out of your mind?

"Let me say this one more time—I'm not interested in Shane at all! No one's competing with you."

Lydia clutched her face and immediately shrieked, "Shane, are you just going to watch her bully me? I'm telling you, if you don't get revenge for me today, we're through!"

The moment she finished speaking, Shane grabbed a chair without hesitation and hurled it at me. I dodged nimbly and grabbed my phone to call the police.

The next second, Lydia charged out of the kitchen brandishing a kitchen knife, completely unhinged. "Joanna, you bitch! I'll kill you, you man-stealing whore!"

In her panic, Sarah used her cane to strike at Lydia. But Lydia suddenly changed direction and stabbed straight toward Sarah. "Go to hell!"

Accompanied by Shane's panicked cry, Sarah collapsed in a pool of blood.

"Mom!"

The sudden violence left us all frozen in shock. Shane yelled at me, "Call 911 and save my mom!"

Lydia dropped the knife and threw herself into Shane's arms, wailing. "Babe, I didn't mean to. It's all because Joanna provoked me. If anything happens to your mom, I wouldn't want to live either!"