Chapter 2

Aunt Carol’s bright red lips flapped, spouting a stream of nonsense.

Though I had braced myself for this, her shamelessness still stunned me.

Before Grandpa died, they’d cleaned out anything of value from the house: savings, cash, antiques—things worth over a million dollars.

Uncle Edward even threatened to kill himself if Grandpa didn’t give him what he wanted, worsening Grandpa’s condition.

In the end, Grandpa had no choice but to transfer his last two properties into my name and leave a will stating that Uncle Edward’s family had no claim to them.

Originally, Grandpa intended to give one house to me and the other to Uncle Edward, splitting everything else equally.

Remembering how his health rapidly declined after that, I felt my expression turn icy cold.

“That house was left to me. My name is on the title deed. Whether it’s money or property, none of it has anything to do with you.”

At this, Aunt Carol and Uncle Edward immediately panicked.

Uncle Edward shouted, “You ungrateful brat! That house belongs to the Parsons family. We know you’re struggling financially, so we’re not asking for everything. Just give us $300,000, and the remaining $100,000 can be yours… Ow!”

Aunt Carol pinched Uncle Edward hard. “$100,000 is plenty for you. Plus, you’ve got another house, don’t you? We’ll take this new one.”

Their audacity was beyond shocking.

I overheard Aunt Carol muttering to Uncle Edward, “Didn’t we agree to ask for the house first? Idiot. The house will keep bringing in money. Just asking for cash is a huge loss.”

I sneered. They were plotting this all too carefully.

Too bad for them, after everything they’d done to me and Grandpa, there was no way I’d let them win.

Standing up slowly, I leveled my gaze at them, my voice cold. “I said, the money and the house are mine. Don’t expect to get a single penny from me.”

My firm tone caught Aunt Carol off guard. She lunged at me, her perfectly manicured face twisting in rage.

“You ungrateful little wretch! That house is your grandpa’s! We have a right to it…”

Before she could touch me, I swung my high-heeled foot and kicked her square in the stomach, sending her plump body crashing to the floor.

Oh, and she’d just said these YSL heels were a cheap knockoff. I guess now she could judge how sharp they really were.

“Carol Parsons, I’m not the clueless little girl you used to bully!”

Back when my parents first died, I stayed with Uncle Edward for a while. Aunt Carol hit me constantly and often locked me in a room without food.

Uncle Edward turned a blind eye, and Brandon even helped his mom beat me.

When Grandpa found out, he was furious. He whipped Uncle Edward and, despite his poor health, took me in and raised me.

This family still thought I was the same powerless girl they once tormented.

Seeing Aunt Carol groaning on the ground, clutching her stomach, Uncle Edward didn’t dare come near me. He only barked, “Lily, what are you doing?!”

“Did you learn nothing in school? Is this how you treat your elders?!”

I didn’t even glance at him. I grabbed my bag and walked to the door.

But just as I opened it, a large, overweight man stood in the doorway.

Startled, I froze for a second, only to hear Aunt Carol shouting desperately from behind, “Ryan, stop her! This is the girl I found for you to marry! Once you marry her, you’ll have both a wife and the house!”

Ryan’s eyes lit up as he grabbed my wrist and leaned in to kiss me…