Chapter 2

When my husband Eric got home from work, he cautiously asked: "Honey, did you have a fight with Sophia?"

I glared at him, feeling even more annoyed.

Although we didn't live with his parents, having a tattletale sister-in-law was still frustrating.

These siblings may each have their own families now, but they still couldn't get their priorities straight.

I sat on the couch with my arms crossed: "Every year we drive back for Christmas, and your sister's family always expects a free ride. Can't they just buy their own plane tickets?"

Eric scratched his head and tried to placate me: "Honey, you know how hard it is to get tickets around the holidays!"

"Be the bigger person, it's not a big deal to bring them along."

Just then, my coworkers were sharing links in our work group chat to help each other score plane tickets.

"Help a colleague out! My kid's chances of getting home depend on you guys."

"Just need two more people, thanks everyone!"

...

I opened a private chat with a coworker heading to roughly the same destination as us: "Hey John, did you manage to get tickets back home?"

John quickly replied: "Got them, Lily! Tickets were easy to get this year, they even added two new flight routes to my hometown."

"I'm so jealous you can drive back, Lily."

I opened the airline booking app and searched for tickets to my in-laws' place.

There were seven flight options, with three still having available seats.

I immediately took screenshots and sent them to Sophia, telling her to buy tickets right away.

"These flights still have seats available, you can buy tickets now."

"Three tickets together cost less than the gas for driving, and it's safer too."

The last time we drove back, her son accidentally bumped his head on the car door and got a huge lump. It scared me to death.

If anything serious had happened, selling my car wouldn't have been enough to cover it.

I've always suggested she take a plane with her child for convenience and safety, but she never listens.

After some thought, I forwarded an article about child car safety awareness.

The post emphasized that children must use car seats when riding in vehicles.

I kindly reminded her: "Sophia, I don't have a car seat. It's fine for adults, but really dangerous for kids."

Sophia didn't reply, and I wasn't sure if she'd seen my message.

Then I received a $50 transfer from her, labeled "gas money".

I replied with a "?"

Sophia still didn't respond, but she posted a screenshot of our chat in the family group.

"Having to pay gas money to ride in my own brother's car, I've really learned something new."

"Sis-in-law, don't be so petty, I've paid for the gas."

"Calculating everything so precisely between family members, haha!"

That "haha" stung my eyes.

I was about to type a response when Eric came out of the shower.

He wrapped his arms around me and started groping my waist: "What are you looking at, sweetie?"

I angrily pushed him away and showed him what his dear sister had said.

"Look at what your sister is saying. How am I being calculating?"

"I'm just being considerate. If anything happened, your whole family would tear me apart."

"Besides, we've been married for five years and they've gotten free rides every single year without contributing a penny. Why should they?"

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I stood up and started counting off grievances on my fingers.

But Eric just frowned and looked at me with disdain.

"Why can't you be more generous? Why are you always nitpicking about these little things?"

"Are we really so hard up for a few bucks in gas money?"

"How are we supposed to face my parents when we get back if you act like this?"

Seeing his aggressive expression, I was stunned.

So in the eyes of his whole family, I was just a petty shrew?

It wasn't enough that his sister's family took advantage of me, I was supposed to bow and scrape to her, always at her beck and call?

I reminded him: "This car was a wedding gift from my parents. It's not your family's public property."

As soon as I said that, he exploded.

He angrily threw his towel at me, his face contorted with a rage I'd never seen before.

I dodged the towel, but he lunged forward and grabbed my arm, snarling: "How long are you going to harp on about that stupid car? Do you look down on me?"

I was just trying to remind him that the car belonged to our little family unit, and I had the right to decide who could use it.

But he took offense again, thinking I was looking down on him.

Having such an immature and sensitive husband was exhausting.

When we were dating, I was attracted to his ambition and didn't pay attention to his family background.

My parents gave me enough confidence that I wouldn't have to tiptoe around as a daughter-in-law.

But after marriage, his true nature was gradually revealed.

His paranoia and sensitivity left me constantly having to defend myself.

Seeing his enraged expression, it seemed like he might hit me at any moment.

I was frightened and quickly shook my head: "No, you're overthinking it. I'm just stating facts."

Just then, a shrill phone ringtone broke the tension.

He let go of me and answered the call: "Hello, Mom. We're driving back on the 23rd."

"No, no, that was just a joke. How could we ask Sophia for gas money?"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

After hanging up, he coldly looked at me: "Lily, behave yourself when we go back for Christmas. Don't cause trouble."