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Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours
Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours
Author: Perfect Timing

Chapter 1

Author: Perfect Timing
"Dad, this is Simon, my boyfriend. I figured it was time for you two to meet."

I averted my attention to Simon Lowe. Sure, he ticked all the boxes of a proper man, but I couldn't ignore the air of arrogance that came with being spoiled rotten.

He presented me with a gift, his hands outstretched, his voice bright. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Gardner. This is a little something from me."

I didn't take it. An awkward silence dawned upon the vast living room.

My daughter, Josie Gardner, looked at me, then at Simon. She cooed, "Dad?"

I glanced at her. "Josie, why don't you head upstairs first? I'd like to talk to Simon in private."

She hesitated briefly before nodding. "Okay."

With that, only Simon and I remained in the living room.

Once Josie was gone, the layer of civility on Simon's smile peeled immediately. He tossed the gift to the coffee table and sized me up and down rudely.

"Mr. Gardner," he said, still in the same even tone, though it now dripped with superiority. "Did you just send your daughter away so you could throw your weight around?"

I stayed silent.

"Fine," he huffed. "We'll have a conversation man-to-man. I heard you came from a small town with no connections in Crownyork. The only reason you managed to marry the eldest daughter of the Harrisons was that you got lucky."

He continued, "I know all about men like you. You claw your way up from nothing and get jealous of people like me, who were born with a silver spoon. You're afraid that if I marry Josie, you'll lose your standing in the Harrison family.

"Deep down, you know it, too. The Harrisons may have never said it outright, but you're nothing more than a live-in son-in-law who married into the family. Don't tell me you actually think you call the shots in the richest family in the country!"

Simon looked down at me pompously. "But I'm different. My grandpa is the head of the Lowe family, one of the most powerful families in Crownyork. I grew up surrounded by the city's most elite circles.

"Josie and I are a perfect match. We're equals in every sense. You're just a man who married into his wife's family, so you don't get a say in this!"

He paused deliberately, as if giving me time to absorb everything he had said.

"I looked into your background, Mr. Gardner. Your parents passed away years ago, didn't they? There's no one left to back you up. You only got into the Harrison family because their daughter fell for you.

"But feelings don't last forever. There are plenty of men out there who are younger and better-looking than you. What makes you think you can compete with all those fresh-faced men out there?

"I'm nothing like you. I have the Lowes behind me. Even if things don't work out between Josie and me someday, I'll still be the eldest grandson of my family. No one would dare lay a finger on me.

"And you? Once you lose your place as their live-in son-in-law, you'll have nothing left. Am I right?"

Simon looked at me as if I were someone to be pitied.

"Be realistic, Mr. Gardner. If I want to marry Josie, there's nothing you can do to stop me. Instead of making things ugly between us, why not do me a favor now? Once I become part of the family, I might still show you some respect."

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  • Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours   Chapter 8

    A week later, I moved Mom's grave. She was laid to rest in the finest cemetery on the outskirts of the city, on a south-facing hillside where the sunlight lingered the longest.The headstone was modest, but her name was engraved on it with perfect clarity—Susan Gardner.For 40 years, she had been trapped in that remote village. Even after she died, she wasn't allowed to be buried with a headstone.Today, she had finally left that place behind. At last, she could rest peacefully under her own name.Harlan came. He was dressed entirely in black, standing silently at the very back of the crowd. His hair was whiter than before, and he had lost so much weight that his suit hung loosely from his frail frame.When it was time for the inurnment, he knelt far away from everyone else, alone in the muddy ground.Bella stood on my left, and Josie stood on my right."Mom, it's me, your daughter-in-law," Bella said softly as she bent down and placed a bouquet of white lilies before her headst

  • Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours   Chapter 7

    Harlan's voice was scarily hoarse."What's the matter, Mr. Lowe Senior?""I want to see you," he said. "I want to take a good look at the wonderful man your mother has raised by herself.""You already did. That was me on stage yesterday."Silence fell on the other end of the line. "I… I couldn't see you well. You know I have prosopagnosia. I can't distinguish faces.""You may not be able to distinguish faces, but I'm sure you can differentiate whether someone's good or bad," I argued coldly."40 years ago, if you'd just simply talked to my mother and asked if she was sincere, you wouldn't have been so determined to drive her away. But you didn't. You chose to believe in someone else."You ended up choosing a woman who could bring you benefits. My mother had nothing, so you thought she deserved to be cast aside, huh?""Edward, it's not like—""Don't call me by my name. You're not worthy of it."With that, I ended the call.…When Simon came to me, it was three days later. He

  • Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours   Chapter 6

    Harlan collapsed onto the stage. He stared at me, his lips trembling. "You're… You're…""I'm your son. The woman you drove away 40 years ago gave birth to your son. You never knew I existed because you never once truly looked at her."I pulled a black container out of my bag. More precisely, an urn. The air went still."This is my mother. She waited for 40 years in the countryside and never married again. The people there called her names that no woman would ever want to hear."She ignored them all and went on with her life, but she never got to look anyone in the eye. Even until the day she died, she was waiting for that one apology from someone."I looked at Harlan. "Alas, that apology never came."I placed the urn on stage, in front of him. "Look at her, Harlan. Look at what she's become. Look at the life you've destroyed."Harlan reached out to touch the urn, but his hand was trembling. His fingertip hovered just an inch from the container and never landed.Tears ran down h

  • Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours   Chapter 5

    The hall fell into dead silence.Harlan stood on the stage, the smile on his face frozen. "W-What did you just say?""I said you're both Simon and Josie's grandfather."My voice wasn't loud, but every word landed like a nail driven into the ears of everyone present."40 years ago, you were drugged and spent a night with my mother, Susan Gardner. The next morning, your current wife lay beside you, wearing my mother's clothes. You couldn't tell who was who, so you believed her and married her."You drove my mother out of the Lowe residence. She was carrying me at the time. She returned to the countryside and spent her entire life being called a disgrace, a woman who had gotten pregnant out of wedlock."Until the day she died, she never set foot in Crownyork again."The crowd erupted. Some stood up, some whispered among themselves, and some pulled out their phones and started recording.Harlan's face turned as pale as paper. "Y-You're making this up!""Am I?"A cold laugh escape

  • Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours   Chapter 4

    Harlan pulled a document out of his briefcase and slid it across the table."This is the strategic partnership framework between the Lowes and Harrisons for the next three years," he said. "As long as Simon and Josie's marriage is settled, this agreement will be effective starting tomorrow."He looked at me with absolute confidence, the kind only someone who had been admired all his life could possess, the certainty that he would always have the final say.I didn't budge."Mr. Gardner."Harlan's tone remained calm and measured. "You're still young. The Harrisons may be the wealthiest family in the country, but their assets have little to do with you. Only with our support can your position in the family truly be secure."What he was telling me was simple.In his eyes, I was nothing more than a man who had married into the Harrison family, a man with no background and no backing. Therefore, I needed the Lowe family's support to hold on to my position.What he didn't know was tha

  • Ruin My Mother's Life, Now I Ruin Yours   Chapter 3

    Mildred kept her eyes fixed on me. "Do you really think that just because you married into the Harrison family, you've become someone important?"She stood up and looked down at me with a condescending gaze. "You're just a man with no family background and connections. You know damn well how you got to where you are today."Her eyes swept over me from head to toe like a deadly knife."My husband and I have spent 40 years building our foundation in Crownyork. The connections and influence we've accumulated aren't something a man like you can obtain. So, don't push your luck."I looked at Mildred calmly. For someone who had stolen another person's life, I wasn't surprised to see she had remained rotten to the core.No amount of expensive, custom-made dresses or gigantic diamond rings could erase the fact that she was wicked and cruel."Are you done?" I asked, standing up, picked up the envelope from the table, and shoved it into her hands. "Please leave, Mrs. Lowe Senior. There's n

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