Liberty bit her lips, refusing to let herself shed another tear. She had cried for Hank. Liberty did not want to waste any more tears on him. Her tears would not gain her his affection in return, so why should she cry her eyes out? “I’m okay.” Liberty inserted the documents back into the envelope while putting on a brave face and saying, “I’m so over it. It’s not like I’m only finding out now that he’s cheating on me.“Seren.” Liberty handed the envelope to her sister. “Keep the evidence for me. Hank might try to transfer away the assets and whatnot if he finds this at home. It won’t be good for me.” “Okay.” Serenity grabbed the envelope. Liberty uttered calmly, “I’ll pretend I don’t know anything and bring up divorce when I hold down the job as you said. I’ll fight for what’s mine. No way am I going to let them have it!” While she might have stopped working after getting married, she had sacrificed a lot for the family. Hank’s income was the couple’s joint asset a

“My sister doesn’t owe you. Why should my sister fork out the money to ease your mom and sister’s craving for seafood? Hank, I might not have worked and contributed financially to the family in the three-odd years we have been married, I have sacrificed a lot for the family. Without me behind you, do you think you’d find success in your career without any worries?“I won’t buy the seafood if you don’t give me the money. Don’t forget to pay for the labor cost too. You said it yourself. We’re going halves. I have no obligation to cook for your mom and sister, but if you insist, you should pay for the manual labor. “Since we’ve been married for three years, I’ll only charge you two hundred bucks for it.” Hank yelled on the phone. “All you know is spend money and eat. You'll eat yourself to death! What did you do for the family? I have seen no sacrifice on your part. I got to where I am today because of my hard work. Don’t try to take credit for it.“What do you mean labor cost? Isn’

Chelsea hung up the phone in fury, unable to get Liberty to come home now despite rushing the latter twice. Chelsea said to her mother, “Mom, Liberty is at her sister’s shop. She said something about Sonny being asleep and will only head home when Sonny’s awake. She told us to collect the keys from her.” Furrowing her brows, Mrs. Brown replied peevishly, “You can carry Sonny home if he’s asleep. Serenity owns a car. She can drive them home, and it won’t take up a lot of her time.” Mrs. Brown believed her daughter-in-law was deliberately making them wait at the door. “She must be doing it on purpose. She’s making us wait here for her.” Chelsea shared the same sentiment about her sister-in-law. “Mom, you’ve forgotten to bring your keys before, and Liberty was not home either. She would rush home to unlock the door whenever we called her. She never left us waiting for a long time, unlike now. Mom, I think Liberty has changed since her fight with Hank.”Mrs. Brown replied, “Yeah

Chelsea had her parents’ help to look after the children and do the school run while Liberty had to become a full-time housewife without any help. Liberty’s dependency on Hank’s income gave the Browns an excuse to put the screws on her. Mrs. Brown and Chelsea waited for a while before Liberty returned with Sonny. Serenity emerged behind the mother and son. Serenity was carrying a bag of seafood bought from the market. Mrs. Brown and Chelsea wanted to have a go at Liberty when she arrived, but the sight of Serenity at the back made them hold their tongues. After the domestic violence incident, Mrs. Brown and Chelsea went to look for Serenity but had to flee from Serenity’s harsh tirade. Since then, they were haunted by Serenity’s presence. “Sonny.” Mrs. Brown quickly put on a smiling face as she went forth to pick Sonny up from his stroller. “Oh, Sonny. I miss you so much.” Holding her grandson up, Mrs. Brown planted kisses on both sides of his cheeks. “Gwanma.” Sonn

Chelsea was about to give Liberty a good dressing-down when her mother secretly tugged the hem of her blouse. Chelsea had to get to grips with her rage. Serenity helped her sister to push the stroller into the house. Having overheard Chelsea’s remark that her sister should fork out three hundred bucks out of her pocket for seafood, Serenity could lose it. These people were unbelievable. “Mom.” Chelsea waited until Serenity and Liberty were inside the house before whispering to her mother, “Why didn’t you let me give her a piece of my mind? She eats, sleeps, and spends at my brother’s expense! We came here for dinner, and she wants to count with Hank to the last dime.”“Your brother’s going halves with Liberty now. We’re Hank’s family. Since we’re here for dinner, Liberty’s only following the system. Do you think she’ll do the school runs and cook for your children if you make her mad?” Chelsea got over her anger now that she remembered the main reason she was here today.

Sonny did not stop with just one box. Soon, his toys were scattered all over the living room floor. Not too pleased with the mess, Chelsea shouted, “Liberty, come out and tidy up the living room. Sonny threw his toys everywhere.” Liberty walked to the kitchen door and checked out the situation in the living room before replying, “Sonny can play for a while more. I’ll clean up later.” She then went back to work in the kitchen. Sonny was at a hyperactive age, going from one thing to the next every few minutes. He turned the living room upside down. Furrowing her brows, Chelsea walked to the kitchen door and leaned against the door frame. She asked, “Liberty, what did you give your sister to take away? It’s a big bag. I hope you’re not giving her the things Hank bought. “Hank works hard for the family, and it’s tiring. Your sister’s married. She has her own family. Get that in your head and don’t just leave all the good stuff to your sister.” Liberty turned back to glare a

Hank gave Liberty the stank eye and questioned, “Didn’t I wire you five hundred bucks?” Chelsea immediately got up and took quick paces over to get a word in after her brother. “Liberty, did you take Hank’s money? You told me that Hank only gave you three hundred bucks, so you can’t afford the bigger shrimps and crabs.” Without lifting her chin, Liberty carried on feeding her son while reminding Hank in a flat tone, “I told you that you should be paying for the groceries and cooking for your mother and sister. You’d have to pay me two hundred bucks for the labor cost if you want me to do it.“I don’t owe you anything. Yet, I have to cook for you and receive nothing but criticisms and lectures in return.” Liberty had to endure the thankless tasks in the past. Hank was speechless. By the looks of Hank, Chelsea knew that Liberty was telling the truth. She shamefully returned to her seat on the sofa. Still, she could not bite her tongue and reproached Liberty, “You and Hank ar

Serenity was a fast eater. She would finish her meal quickly and take over Liberty’s tasks so Liberty could eat. As for the in-laws, they were only concerned about filling their own bellies. They did not care about Liberty. It was as though Liberty would not feel hungry. “Mom, have some shrimp.” Hank helped his mom to a few shrimps before saying to his sister, “Have some more, Chelsea. They’re all your favorites.” Feasting on the crab, Chelsea uttered, “We didn’t get the Alaskan King Crabs this time. These crabs are tiny. They don’t have much meat. I don’t get much taste out of them.” The disdain in her voice was apparent. Hank fell silent for a while before responding, “I’ll take you out to a fancy hotel next time.” “Hotel food is expensive. Your money doesn’t grow on trees. Just wire me the cash next time. I’ll buy the food for Liberty to cook.” Chelsea made it out as if she was doing her brother a favor. “Sounds good.” Since Hank only had to give a bit of money

The vegetables were leftovers from yesterday. Liberty kept them in the fridge, but the vegetables were only enough for one person. Since Liberty bought the vegetables with her money, she was not going to share them with the Browns. Chelsea was stunned. Liberty carried the food out and sat down at the dinner table. She leisurely enjoyed her dinner. Worried that her sister might be picked on, Serenity found the time out of her busy schedule to call Liberty. “Did they gang up on you, Liberty?” “I have a history of chasing Hank down five blocks with a kitchen knife. The worst they can do is get into a tiff with me. When a woman stops caring for her husband, she won't tolerate unreasonable behavior from him or his family.” Serenity was relieved to hear that. “Have you eaten, Liberty?” “I’m having dinner now. How about you?” “I’ll eat after I’m done with work. I should get back to it, Liberty.”“Alright.” Liberty knew that this was one of her sister’s busiest hours. Afte

Although Chelsea had a clear idea of what was going on, she did not do right by Liberty. No matter how highly educated a woman was, she would be bound by marriage and a relationship once she walked down the aisle and had children. Anyone would hate to be in the woman’s shoes. “I have talked to Liberty about it, Chelsea. She refuses to help.” It was not something Hank could promise to make happen. Since the case of domestic violence, the husband and wife had not kissed and made up. Since Hank had Jessica, the only thing on his mind was to keep his lover happy while the hag at home was not worth his time. Liberty seemed to have grown a spine too. She used to back down but refused to do that now. The couple’s marriage came to a standstill. They lived together but slept in separate rooms. They went on with their own lives. The couple did not talk to each other unless it was about the child. “Why can’t she help out on this tiny matter? I’m not asking her to do it for free.