The Man Of The House

After three years of living with my wife’s family, everyone thought they could treat me like a pushover. Me? I’m just waiting for her to hold my hand before I can give her the world.

The only way where someone can ever be more than a man is when the person is a woman pretending to be a man. It was never Penn wish to don on male clothing and act like a man but it was the only thing she could do if she wanted to survive. Living on the streets before she came across a man whose character was erratic and unpredictable, the man offered Penn to be his heir and Penn had no choice but to accept because her life depends on the protection which the man could offer. Penn secret was discovered by her new adopted father who wanted her to remain in her guise as a man to deal with certain issues and cause an insurgency which the man was convinced that Penn was perfect for. Keeping her identity a secret from others and at the same time planning to take down the empire is more than enough work for anybody could handle and as if that was not enough. She just had to learn some deep secrets about her family that seemed to tilt everything she believed in and fall for the Prince even when she knows that she was trying to dethrone his father. Yeah, Penn life was capital letters COMPLICATED. ••

"Sir, is there a problem?" I lift my face flooded with tears and snot to this person held in front of me. She is handing me disposable tissues and I take them from her hands while thanking her. I clean tears from my face. The stranger sits next to me on the public bench where I am sitting. I suddenly feel ashamed to have been caught by a stranger crying, moreover a woman. I then tell her with my head down "I'm sorry that you attended this pathetic spectacle!" "It's nothing. It happens to everyone to have problems in life. And believe me, it is advisable to cry to evacuate your pain. "She said to comfort me. "Thank you!" "So why are you crying? What is your problem with as for you? I'm sure there must be a solution." The young lady asked, while sitting next to me, in a sympathetic tone. "I don't really believe that there is a solution to my problem. Unless a large sum of money falls to me miraculously from the sky. " I replied, looking desperate. "Then marry me!" Such was the declaration of this young woman. I may have been in a desperate search for money, but she was mad to make me such an offer. Dinam is a young man desperately looking for a job. His mother having been diagnosed with blood cancer, he is ready to do anything to find the money to pay for therapy, even if it means marrying against his will. Believing to get out of misery thanks to this marriage, Dinam does not know that he was throwing himself directly into the mouth of the wolf. Conspiracies and low blows from his wife's stepmother will now be his daily life.

Ellie struggles to make ends meet while taking care of her ill father. Even with her struggles Ellie always tries to be kind. One day she helps an older gentleman buy coffee after forgetting his wallet. Little does she know that the a simple cup of coffee would change her life. The older man offers Ellie a contract, freeing her from all her financial responsibilities if she marries his grandson, Maxwell. Ellie is hesitant at first, but with her father's declining health, she agrees. With a promise to always be kind, Ellie marries Maxwell, only to discover he was not as willing as she was to get married. Known as for being a playboy, Maxwell struggles after an accident left his scared. His fiance cheated and left him for his best friend. Heartbroken, Max swears to never fall in love again. After another night of partying, Max's dad gives him an ultimatum. Either get married, or be cut off from the family. Begrudgingly, Max agrees. He believes all women are the same, that they want money and once someone better comes along, they will leave. He decides to make his wife miserable so she will leave and he can keep his family's company.

After Christmas, I went on a vacation. For the trip back, I failed to get a train ticket with a sleeping berth. Thus, I was tired and mussed when I got home. When I opened the door, someone shoved a bunch of cleaning tools at me. The man sneered at me and commanded, “Hurry up! You need to finish cleaning this place before 6:00 p.m.!” I looked at him and saw that he was wearing my father’s silk pajamas. I took a few steps back to check that yes, this was my family’s two-story mansion. It was my home, but who was this man? And what was this about cleaning? Did the man intend for me to clean? I was the son of the owners of the house! I messaged the family’s group chat and mentioned my mother. The message read, [@Mom, your boytoy is asking me to clean the place up. What gives?]

He married into power—but he wasn’t powerless. Everyone thought Julian Ward was just the quiet husband in the shadow of the mighty Lancaster family. A live-in son-in-law, tolerated at best. Disposable at worst. But when enemies close in from all sides—corporate titans, crooked politicians, even his own blood—Julian doesn’t just endure. He retaliates. In a world where family is everything, this one doesn’t protect its own—they protect him. And together, they become a force no one can touch.