Chapter 1

A flash of embarrassment crossed Mom's face. But she still obediently poured the plate of jumbo shrimp into the dog's bowl.

The Schaunzer, Lucky, wagged its tail as it happily ate the shrimp.

My girlfriend's mother, Wendy Slade, laughed as she pointed at the dog. "Our Lucky deserves the good stuff. Unlike some people, who live their whole lives worse than a dog's."

She shot Mom and me a snide look.

I ignored my girlfriend Yara Quinn's silent plea to let it go.

"Mrs. Quinn, I'm severely allergic to shrimp," I said. "So my mom wouldn't use expensive ingredients just to take advantage of you."

Yara stared at me in shock.

Wendy immediately stopped smiling.

A vicious look flashed in her eyes as she asked, "So you're saying I blamed your mother for no reason?"

Before I could even say yes, Yara quickly stepped in with an apologetic smile.

She said, "Come on, forget it. It was just a misunderstanding."

Mom took the chance to pull me into the kitchen. She wanted to stop things from getting worse.

"Ian, I know you hate seeing me treated this way," she said. "But Mrs. Quinn is usually a good person. She's just been a little difficult lately."

I held Mom's dry, cracked hands. My heart ached for her.

"Mom, just quit this job," I said. "I can make money to support you now!"

If Wendy could humiliate Mom like this in front of me, then how much had she endured when I wasn't there?

But Mom pulled her hands away from mine.

She looked away. "Oh, silly. I told you it's nothing. Look at you, making such a fuss."

Seeing me refuse to speak, Mom sighed.

"Do you think I couldn't tell you've had a crush on Yara for over ten years?" she said. "You've followed her around since you were little. After I started working here, you insisted on picking me up every night. Wasn't it just so you could catch a glance of her?

"You've liked her for so many years. Now that you've finally made it this far with her, it's fine that I suffer a little."

My tears suddenly fell. I thought I had hidden my feelings so well when I was young, but Mom had seen them all along.

She patted my hand and subtly gestured for me to look over. Yara was leaning against the kitchen door.

Mom took the dishes out and left us alone.

Yara reached out and wiped away my tears. The concern on her face was real.

"Ian, my mom has always been harsh with her words, but she's soft at heart," she said. "She says things without thinking. Please don't take it to heart."

For a moment, I felt myself giving in. But Yara's next words brought me back to reality.

"My mom has always been proud. You can't embarrass her like that," she said. "Ian, if you're going to marry me, you need to learn to tolerate your future mother-in-law."

I took a deep breath and kept my expression calm.

I said, "Yara, you care about your mom, and I care about mine too."

"And I'll have to reconsider our relationship."

I walked past her, and I kept the last thing I wanted to say to myself.