Mother-in-law Finds a Mistress for My Husband

On the third day of our marriage, Sophia Lloyd, my mother-in-law who had been missing for five years, suddenly returned.

Clinging to my husband, Noah Lloyd's arm, she pointed at me, making a scene about setting house rules for me.

My husband looked troubled and said, "My mom's just doing this for our own good."

I ran back to my parents' place, but who could have guessed Sophia would storm straight into my office, causing a commotion and accusing me of not fulfilling my duties as a wife and not showing proper respect to her as my mother-in-law.

She even tried to set my husband up with a girl from her hometown as a second wife.

I didn't say a word. Instead, I called the police, filed for divorce, and sold the house.

Then she went to the media, sobbing and claiming I was driving their poor little family to ruin.

I just laughed. "Let's settle the score, shall we? Let's see how much your son owes me for sponging off me all these years."

1

"First rule of the house, in our family, men handle the money. That's the foundation. Women are too careless with spending-they can't be trusted with money."

Sophia, who'd been missing for five years, held onto my husband's arm and lifted her chin at me. "Hand over your paycheck to my son right now, so you don't end up with nothing one day."

Both of them sat on the sofa, leaving me standing in front of them like I was giving a report. In my culture, this kind of display of hierarchy and disrespect would be unthinkable-it was humiliating.

I pulled over a stool, about to sit down, when Sophia shot me a glare. "Second rule! Without my permission, you're not allowed to sit!"

My hand froze on the stool. I looked up at them.

Sophia kept rambling on, "Honestly, you have no manners at all. I wonder what kind of parents..."

"Mom!" Noah called out, grabbing her hand. "You've had a long journey. Why don't you go rest in your room for a bit?"

With that, he half-forced Sophia into my bedroom and closed the door.

Only after the door shut did I finally let out all the frustration I'd been holding in. "What's going on with your mom? Wasn't she missing? How is it that she shows up just three days after our wedding?"

"She was never missing!" Noah rubbed his temples, looking exhausted. "She went abroad for fun, but ran out of money a couple days ago, so she came back. As soon as she heard I got married, she rushed back from her hometown without a moment's delay."

Noah glanced at me nervously. "Honey, you're not mad, are you? My mom's temper isn't great, but she means well. She's tough on the outside but soft on the inside."

I was frustrated, with a thousand questions swirling in my head, but I didn't even know where to start.

Noah and I fell in love on our own. We'd been together for four years before getting married.

I truly loved him-otherwise, I wouldn't have married him despite my family's objections.

"So where's your mom planning to stay?" I let out a heavy sigh, eyeing Noah warily. "Don't tell me she's moving in with us. Noah, you know how I am. I don't even like living with my own parents."

"Of course I know!" Noah scooted closer, gently patting my back to comfort me. "It's just that I haven't seen my mom in ages, and she misses me. She probably feels left out since she missed our wedding, so I thought she could stay for a week. I swear, after that, I'll make sure she leaves. If it gets too much, you can stay at your parents' for a few days."

Looking into his sincere eyes, I gave in. "What about those house rules your mom just mentioned?"

"She was just messing with you. You actually believed her?" Noah chuckled. "She's tough on the outside but soft on the inside. She just doesn't know you yet. Once you get to know each other, you'll see. Just stay at your parents' for a few days. I'll handle everything here."

Luckily, my parents were away on vacation, or else they would have had to crash at our wedding room in the middle of the night.

I was willing to compromise for Noah because I loved him, but my parents wouldn't have put up with any of this.

So I hid out for five days, thinking I could finally go home in a couple more. But when I got to work, there was Sophia, standing at my desk.

I froze. Before I could react, she lunged at me, clawing at my face. "You heartless woman! I finally caught you!"

My coworkers, startled, hurried to pull her off me. She sat down on the floor, crying loudly and making a scene.

"Everyone, judge for yourselves! My daughter-in-law isn't behaving as a proper wife should! What kind of newlyweds sleep in separate rooms? She hasn't been home for five days!" She pointed at the pearl bracelet my mom gave me last year and shrieked, "Look! That must be from her lover! What a disgrace!"

"Enough!" I snapped, unable to take it anymore. "If you want to throw a fit, go find your son! I don't have to put up with you!"

Sophia's cries paused for a second, then grew even louder.

"See? See how miserable I am? Not only is she not fulfilling her duties as a wife, she's irresponsible! Not a shred of respect! In the old days, women would be severely punished for this-maybe even drowned for shaming the family! It's a sin, a real sin!"

Her words were so vicious that my own temper flared.

"The old days?" I crouched down, looking her straight in the eye, and mocked, "What? Do you think you're royalty? Or did those old traditions mess with your head?"

"Grace Hill!" Noah shoved me aside, rushing over to help his mother up, his face full of concern.

Without even asking what happened, he started scolding me. "I told you I'd send my mom away in a couple days! How could you lay a hand on her?"

I stared at him in disbelief, pointing at the scratches on my face and shouting, "Open your eyes! Your mom attacked me first!"

Noah's furious expression faltered for a moment, and suddenly I couldn't hold back my feelings any longer. "Look at my face! If this leaves a scar, how am I supposed to face anyone?"

The more I spoke, the harder it was to hold back my tears. I reached out to Noah, just like I used to when we were dating, wanting him to hold me.

Noah's expression softened instantly. He let go of his mother and wrapped his arms around me. "It won't leave a scar, I promise. I'll take you to the hospital right now."

He led me out while bowing apologetically to our colleagues along the way.

I caught the resentful look in his mother's eyes, and it gave me a wicked sense of satisfaction.

I couldn't help but feel a little pleased-no matter what, Noah was still on my side. I could keep putting up with his mother.

If even my own mother couldn't boss me around, who did Sophia think she is?

If she wanted a showdown, let's see who won.

2

After that incident, I didn't see Sophia again.

I thought it was all behind us, but when I got home from work one day and opened the door, I found a complete stranger sitting on my couch, wearing my pajamas.

I froze, not quite processing what was happening, when the woman came over and grabbed my hand affectionately. "You're finally home, Grace!"

"That's the nanny I found for my son,"

Sophia announced as she came out of the bedroom, leaning against the wall. "You're always busy with work, making my son cook for himself. My heart aches for him."

She pointed at a thick book on the table. "That's a rulebook for the household. You should read it and learn."

I picked up the book-it was as heavy as a brick-and flipped through it.

It was utter nonsense, making me out to be nothing more than the hired help.

Honestly, judging by the nanny's cheerful grin, even she seemed to have more respect in this house than I did.

I pulled my arm out of the woman's grasp and pointed at her clothes. "Why is she wearing my clothes? Doesn't she know those are my personal pajamas? Doesn't she know they're meant to be worn against the skin?"

"So what if she wears them? She'll wash them for you later if it bothers you so much!" Sophia muttered, "You're always breaking rules and full of bad habits."

I wanted to snap back at her, but the fact that she was my mother-in-law held me back, and I was so frustrated I could barely breathe.

"Lily Roberts! What are you doing here?" Noah pushed open the door, his voice full of surprise. I watched him hurry over to the so-called nanny, excitement written all over his face. "It's been so long! You've grown so beautiful!"

The look in his eyes was anything but ordinary, and I immediately became wary.

My gut told me there was something going on between Noah and Lily.

"Didn't you say she was just a nanny? You two know each other?" As soon as I spoke, Noah snapped back to his senses.

"She was a childhood friend. We haven't seen each other since we grew up." He cleared his throat and walked over to me, searching for something to say. "Honey, you're home early today."

I ignored him and glanced at Lily.

When Noah walked over to me just now, Lily's eyes were practically glued to him, and Sophia looked absolutely delighted.

Could it really be what I was thinking?

No, impossible!

Noah was the man I'd chosen myself. We'd been together for four years-how could he be that kind of person?

Still, I kept my guard up and prepared for the worst.

I'd put up with Sophia mostly because I loved Noah.

But if he ever dared betray me, I wouldn't show any mercy.

Once something was tainted, there was no going back.

Noah would better not let me down, or don't blame me for what happened next.

After Lily moved in, Sophia left.

At first, Noah was a little uneasy about Lily's presence, always watching my reaction carefully.

But when he saw I kept quiet, he gradually relaxed, and that day, Lily was the first person he called out to when he got home.

I lost my temper and demanded to know what Noah was thinking.

At first, he apologized, but soon he started to get impatient. "Lily's just cooking! I only asked if dinner was ready. Did you really have to make such a big deal out of it? "Grace! When did you become like this?"

No, when did Noah become like this?

Was it really true what they said-that once someone had something, he stopped cherishing it?

I took a deep breath and quietly started moving my assets. Noah and I came from very different backgrounds.

If we ever ended up divorcing, I didn't want to leave him a single cent.

After that fight, I'd imagined Noah might cheat, but I never thought it would happen so soon, or so explosively.

"Grace, come home right now!" Sophia's voice was haughty over the phone. "I have something to tell you. It's about you and Noah!"

A sense of dread settled over me. I hung up and drove straight home.

The moment I opened the door, a pungent smell hit me.

Sophia was sitting on the couch, barely able to contain her excitement when she saw me.

She grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the house. "Back where I'm from, this kind of thing is totally normal. You don't have to worry about Lily's character-she'd never try to steal your man. She just needs a place to stay, that's all."

Sophia flung open my bedroom door, and the sight before me was so disgusting I nearly threw up.

The two of them were tangled up together under the covers, looking way too intimate.

At the sound, Lily woke up first. "Why didn't you knock?"

She sounded a little annoyed with Sophia, then turned to me with a smug look. "Oh, you're home, Grace."

She bent down and kissed Noah right in front of me. "Don't worry, Grace. I take good care of Noah."

Noah woke up from the kiss, still half-asleep, and started making out with Lily.

Sophia was beaming, going on and on about how great this was.

When Noah finally stopped, he looked up and met my eyes.

The next second, he jumped out of bed, hurriedly pulling on his clothes. Lily tried to touch him, but he kicked her aside.

"Honey! Honey, I was drunk!" He fell to his knees, desperately grabbing for my hand.

I wanted to kick him, but even that felt like it would dirty my shoes, so I grabbed a vase and smashed it over his head instead.

Blood streamed down Noah's face, but he didn't dare make a sound or dodge.

Sophia and Lily were both stunned, staring at me in shock.

"Let's get a divorce," I announced.

Noah's body went limp, and he collapsed to the floor, his lips trembling as he looked at me.

"Divorce. There's nothing left to say." I looked at him calmly. "You make me sick, Noah."