Chapter 1

On the first day of our marriage, my husband's father, Henry Bailey, asked me to hand over my salary to him every month.

I refused without hesitation, not saying another word.

However, my husband, Kayden Bailey, stepped in to persuade me. He said, "My dad has always been in charge of the family, so it's only right that he manages our income. If you need anything, just ask Dad, and he'll give you the money."

My husband's mother, Emma Bailey, immediately lashed out, "Why are you even talking to her? We don't keep freeloaders in this family. If she doesn't pay up, she can leave!"

How ridiculous. Who exactly should be leaving? Don't they have any self-awareness?

The meal wasn't even finished when Henry, furious, slammed his fork down. The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"Kayden, I really must have been blind to think the woman you insisted on marrying was someone with no respect for elders or basic manners!

"If you don't handle her now, you'll regret it later!" Henry's scolding echoed throughout the room.

Kayden, clearly overwhelmed by his father's anger, looked even more anxious. He turned to me with pleading eyes, but I continued eating my pie expressionlessly, though I was boiling with rage inside.

Who could have guessed that my usually gentle husband would have such unreasonable parents?

We had just been married for a day, and already, his whole family was ganging up on me to hand my salary over to Henry for safekeeping. This was absolutely absurd! My own parents never even suggested such a thing. What did they think they were?

Without any hesitation, I refused. "No way!"

But to my disappointment, Kayden didn't take my side. Instead, he tried to calm me down.

"Jasmine, please don't be mad. My parents are just looking out for us. Keeping our money with them is a form of security.

"You know we both tend to spend too freely and can't save. When we need money, we can just ask them for it."

Seeing that I wasn't responding, he paused, then continued, "My dad has always managed the family, so our income should be under his care.

"If you need anything, just ask my dad, and he'll give you the money."

His words were like pouring gasoline on a fire, and my anger only grew. I mimicked Henry's earlier action and forcefully threw my fork down, the clatter ringing loudly through the room.

I didn't even care to look at their expressions. I directly confronted Kayden.

"What did you say before we got married?

"You swore to me and promised my parents that I would be in charge of our finances, and we would make all decisions together. You said your parents would never interfere with our life.

"Didn't you say all of that yourself? Was that all a lie?"

I glared at Kayden, but his eyes darted nervously, avoiding mine.

The truth was, I didn't even care about managing our finances. My salary was enough for me to live on, and with the support from my parents, I never intended to ask Kayden to hand over his salary.

But now, he and his parents were conspiring to control my finances.

Emma, at this point, tore off her gentle façade. She no longer acted kind or friendly, and instead, she started yelling at me.

"Who do you think you are? Do you think you can control my son's money? My son is a master's graduate, earning two or three thousand dollars a month! Why should you be in charge of that? Just because you've got a big mouth?

"You tramp, your intentions aren't so simple, are they? Don't you know what the proper behavior for a woman is? Now that you're married to my son. This family is your world!

"Do you want to challenge that? In this house, you're going to follow the rules!"

Emma's words made me see her true colors. The gentle, kind woman who had treated me so well the day before our wedding had now shown her true, vicious side.