Chapter 2

"You're basically forcing my brother to take out money from loan sharks!" Karen spat.

My blood boiled. I tried again and again to hold myself back, but by the end, I was shaking with rage.

"My money is mine. I can spend it however I want, and nobody gets to stop me. Forget spending two thousand dollars on a bike—even if I tore it apart and sold the pieces as scrap for fun, you'd still have no right to interfere!"

Seeing that I was genuinely angry, and with the other coworkers whispering, pointing, and laughing under their breath, Karen's expression turned ugly.

Unable to save face, she just sat back down at her desk with a dark look on her face.

I swore to myself that from then on, I'd stay as far away from her as possible. If I couldn't afford to fight her, I could at least avoid her.

I thought the matter would end there.

But while I was in the bathroom, she actually followed me inside.

Bang.

The door slammed shut behind her.

The sound startled me so badly that I jerked upright, hastily pulling down my skirt.

"What exactly do you want now?"

My chest rose and fell violently with anger. Looking at her felt like staring at some kind of monster.

Karen let out a heavy sigh. Her eyes swept over me from head to toe, her frown getting deeper the longer she looked. Then she started wiping at tears that weren't even there.

"Jennifer, earlier, in front of all those coworkers, I only spared your feelings because I didn't want to embarrass you. After all, family drama shouldn't be aired in public. You really do have a lot of problems, but that's still our family's private business."

She looked at the designer brands and jewelry I was wearing and frowned even harder.

"You waste way too much money on all this. I'll help you sell it and turn it into cash."

As she spoke, she actually reached for the thick gold bracelet on my wrist.

My heart lurched. I reacted instantly and dodged to the side.

Thinking I was just too embarrassed to argue back, she kept lecturing me in the tone of someone older and wiser.

"You're still young. You don't understand that running a household means budgeting carefully, or how expensive everyday necessities really are."

"If you keep living so extravagantly, won't the whole family end up starving with you? My brother nearly worked himself to death earning that hard money. Wasn't it all to give the family a better life?

"You're his future wife. You should care about him and learn to save money. Otherwise, no matter how much wealth our family has, you'll spend every last cent of it."

My face instantly turned pale with shock.

The emotions I had barely calmed down surged right back up.

My stomach churned violently while the fire in my chest burned hotter and hotter.

I finally snapped. My eyes reddened as I unloaded on her without holding back.

"Are you seriously sick in the head? All you ever talk about is your brother. What, is he made of gold? Is he really that great? What the hell does he have to do with me?

"What kind of poor girl would have to be blind and cursed for generations before deciding to marry into your family? I don't even know your brother, so why are you forcing this fantasy onto me?"

I honestly thought that even if Karen had problems with her brain, at least her hearing still worked.

I'd already made myself crystal clear. Anyone with even a shred of dignity should have stopped pestering me by now.

But I had still underestimated just how insane she was.

Her expression shifted slightly before quickly returning to normal.

"What's there to be scared of if you haven't met yet? He already saw your photo and is on his way here from our hometown. He's handsome, polite, and such a gentleman. Once you meet him, you'll definitely fall for him. This is fate between the two of you. If you miss this chance, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Looking at her disgusting smile, I fought hard to suppress the urge to hit her.

I quickly walked around her, terrified her insanity might actually be contagious.

The moment I opened the door, I hurried out at nearly a run.

Perfect timing—the workday had just ended.

I grabbed my bag, rushed out of the company, and sped all the way home.

Up until now, I'd been completely confident about passing my family's trial. But after running into that lunatic Karen, I started doubting whether my patience could really last.

There were still two weeks left. I couldn't imagine how unbearable every remaining day was going to be.

Seeing the dark look on my face, my dad chuckled teasingly.

"What's wrong? Can't handle it anymore?"

I had a stomach full of grievances and frustration, but in the end, I still kept it all to myself.