Chapter 1 - The Descent into Darkness
The very first day she introduced herself to me, she said coldly:
“A girl from a tiny, rural farming town… do you honestly think you can support a family like ours?”
I tried to smile, telling myself that if I was obedient and diligent, one day she would finally accept me. But I was dead wrong. From the exact moment I became her daughter-in-law, she relentlessly criticized everything I did and never once offered a single kind word.
The reason was simple: Beatrice had already planned for Liam to marry a wealthy girl from a prominent family in the state, and I had completely ruined her “plans.”
Whenever guests came over to the house, she would sneer indirectly:
“Nowadays, when you get married, you have to choose someone with real money. What can you possibly do with someone who brings absolutely nothing to the table?”
Liam heard it, but he rarely stood up to defend me; he mostly just stayed silent or awkwardly changed the subject. I swallowed my bitter tears and constantly told myself I had to endure everything for his sake.
One day, Liam had to go out of state on a corporate business trip for a week. I stayed home, taking care of the family business and maintaining the house. That afternoon, I accidentally knocked over a large bottle of cooking oil, spilling it all over the hardwood kitchen floor. When Beatrice saw the mess, she flew into a violent rage, screaming at me, calling me a clumsy fool, and claiming I ruined everything I touched.
But she didn’t just stop there. Suddenly, she grabbed me by the arm, dragged me into a back room, and slammed the door shut. Before I could even react, she grabbed a pair of sharp sewing scissors and began aggressively cutting off all my long hair—the hair I had cherished and grown out since I was a little girl.
I gasped and struggled wildly:
“Mom! Please… stop, not my hair…”
She gritted her teeth maliciously:
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“Shut your mouth! You worthless peasant! A girl like you doesn't deserve to look pretty in this house! Get out! Get out of my sight right now!”
With a brutal shove, she pushed me out the front door into the pouring rain, throwing a small suitcase containing a few of my clothes right behind me before slamming the heavy oak door shut.
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