Chapter 2

Kayden's face was flushed with embarrassment as he gently tugged at Emma's sleeve, speaking in a low voice, "Mom, please, just stop. Jasmine is new here, I'll explain the family rules to her later."

I thought, "Rules?" I raised my head, glancing at the man I had just married, and a cold laugh formed in my chest. How had I been so blind to marry him?

My parents had opposed me marrying Kayden at first, but I had been so swept up in love that I couldn't hear their concerns.

Kayden's parents seemed so humble. They had even visited my family, promising my parents that they would treat me like their own daughter.

They played their part so well, and I, naively believing it was love, thought I would have a happy life once I married into their family.

But now, it was all a façade, a ploy to get me to marry Kayden.

Kayden came from a small town. Henry was a middle-school teacher at a third-rate school, and Emma was a housewife, just scraping by.

Meanwhile, I had been raised as the only child in a well-off family in the provincial capital. My father was an executive at a Fortune 500 company, and my mother worked as a civil servant.

My parents were giving them so much face by having me marry into their family. It was so obvious.

My parents gifted me two million dollars in cash as a wedding gift, bought me a house worth over four million dollars, the one I was living in now, and even gave me two cars, both valued over 50 thousand dollars. Kayden and I each drove one to work.

At yesterday's wedding, my husband's parents were treated like royalty. The Bailey family's relatives and friends surrounded them, singing their praises. If people didn't know the truth, they'd think it was Kayden and Emma who were getting married. I could tell that this was the first time they'd been so flattered.

But just one day after the wedding, they started showing their true colors.

I tried to calm myself and asked coldly, "Kayden, is this your attitude? Do you think I should hand over my salary to your father?"

Kayden looked at me, clearly uncomfortable, his lips trembling as he stammered, "I... I...

"Jasmine, listen, I'll explain everything to you later," he hurriedly said.

Before I could respond, Henry said, his face flushed with anger.

"What do you mean your money? Since you've married Kayden, everything you have belongs to us now.

"Don't just talk about your salary. Even your wedding gift belongs to us! You should hand it over to me respectfully!"

Henry's shameless remarks left me stunned. How could someone who had been a teacher for decades say something like that?

Not only were they after my salary, but they had also set their sights on my wedding gift.

The fire inside me blazed as I raised my trembling hands and clapped slowly, mocking them.

"I didn't expect you to be such good schemers! I thought you were a humble, decent family. Now it's clear you're just a bunch of wolves in sheep's clothing!"

"What did you say? Who's a wolf?" Henry roared.