My younger fraternal twin brother finally gets a girlfriend. Our parents, who are overseas, entrust me with the task of welcoming her.

I instruct the maids to prepare a feast to welcome her. As we sit around the dining table, my brother scoops a bowl of soup for me himself.

After that meal, my brother's girlfriend pulls a long face at me. "Who gave you the right to eat the soup my darling scooped? How could you be so lazy? You can't even cook, yet you're not even embarrassed to stuff yourself with all that food!"

I'm stunned by her outrageous words. I reply in annoyance, "What does that have to do with you anyway? I'll do as I please!"

She glares at me with hatred written all over her face and yells, "Why aren't you married yet? The family's assets belong to me and my darling. Who do you think you are that you can spend our money?

"Just look at you. You will never be able to get married like this. Perhaps it'll be better for you if you beg me to introduce my elder cousin to you. He doesn't mind that you're lazy. All he wants is for you to give him a son. He earns over ten thousand dollars a month!"

I'm dumbstruck by her shamelessness. I storm straight to the bathroom where my brother is and bang on the door repeatedly.

"Come out here right now! What is with your girlfriend? And since when have our family's assets become yours and yours alone?"

I was clearly the elder twin, but I'd been born much smaller than my brother, and my breathing had been weak.

According to the doctor, I'd given all my nutrients to my younger brother, Matthew Gibson, when we were in utero.

When we were five, I'd caught him as he fell from the top floor of the villa. As a result, both my arms broke, and I had to spend a year in recovery.

When we were 12, Matthew had become severely ill. Out of everyone in the entire family, I'd been the only one whose bone marrow was a match.

In order to save his life, I'd gained 40 pounds rapidly. Thanks to that, I'd been overweight throughout my adolescence. It wasn't until I went to college that I succeeded in losing weight.

Mom and Dad had forbidden Matthew from saying anything mean to me. Since Matthew had suffered multiple calamities from childhood, I felt compelled to bear the responsibility to care for him.

Not only that, my parents had also encouraged me to do it.

In my eyes, Matthew was a fledgling beneath my wings. At home, I had the final say on everything.

The loud banging on the bathroom door drew the maids' attention.

Matthew's girlfriend, Maya Campbell, screamed repeatedly in fright when she saw what I was doing. "What are you doing? How dare you?"

She commanded the maids, "Hurry up and take this crazy woman away!"

The maids exchanged a quick look, then hurried out of the room, too afraid to even do anything.

Maya got a hold of one of them. In a displeased voice, she questioned, "Do you want to be fired? How dare you allow a woman like her to push my darling around when he's the eldest son of the Gibson family?"

The maid smiled. "Ms. Campbell, we take orders from Ms. Gibson in this household."

With that, she freed herself from Maya's grasp and left.

Maya seethed. "This is outrageous! How could a woman like her have a say in such a big family? I need to teach you a good lesson and restore order. Once I marry into this family, I'll be the lady of this household! You'd better know your place!"

She raised her arm to hit me.

A frigid gleam crossed my eyes as I seized her hand to stop her. Once again, I kicked the bathroom door, not bothering to hold back at all.

"Hurry up and get out here! Are you constipated?"

A panicked response came from the bathroom. "What's with the rush?"

Disgruntled, Maya struggled and freed herself from my grasp. She warned furiously, "You mooch off my darling, so you'd better show him some respect! Otherwise, you can forget about marrying my cousin. You don't deserve him!"

I let out an exasperated laugh and scoffed. "How great is that cousin of yours that I should marry him?"

Maya seemed to misunderstand me and thought I was swayed.

Looking proud, she bragged, "Sam has a postgraduate degree and gets paid extremely well. You should be glad that I'm letting you marry him. He doesn't mind it even if you're lazy. All you need to do is serve him well and give him a son."

I turned away, wanting to continue kicking the bathroom door.

Just then, the door suddenly opened, and out came Matthew, his expression dark.

Maya walked up to him immediately and clung to his arm. "Just look at your sister, Matthew. She doesn't show me any respect at all. I'm just trying to help her out, but she refuses to listen!"

Matthew gave me a diffident glance. Given how loud Maya and I had been outside, it was only natural that he'd overheard some of our conversation.

"What are you talking about, Maya? Nicole's my sister!"

Maya's mind raced, and her tears fell instantly.

"I'm sorry. I only had good intentions! If I hadn't met you…"

Matthew's heart went out to Maya immediately. He shot me a disapproving look. "Nic, Maya didn't know any better, so don't stoop to her level. She grew up in a tough environment, so she can't help that it's rubbed off on her."

Playing along, Maya stared at me miserably. "I'm sorry, Nic. I shouldn't have said that. Back in my hometown, women like you get criticized a lot. That's why I… Actually, I was just saying it for your good. Besides, Sam really is a nice man…"

My head throbbed as I gritted my teeth.

When Maya saw the look on my face, she cowered in Matthew's arms fearfully.

Matthew furrowed his brows. "How could my sister possibly marry Sam?"

Maya buried her face in Matthew's arms like a frightened cat, not saying a word or looking up. She simply let out a few muffled sobs.

Matthew sighed deeply when he saw her like that. "Nic, Maya didn't mean any harm. She's just very straightforward with her words. Don't worry—I'll guide her properly and help her fix all her bad habits. Just… don't tell Mom and Dad about it for now, okay?"

I suppressed the fury burning within me as I met Matthew's pleading gaze.

"Fine. You'd better keep an eye on her, then. Make sure she doesn't come to me again. It'd be best if you only bring her over after she's learned some manners!"

Before Maya left, she snuck a glance at me. The look in her eyes seemed far from friendly.

The anger I'd barely managed to suppress bubbled up once more.

The butler, Arnold Townsend, stopped me, giving a meaningful shake of his head. "This won't work, Ms. Gibson. Just wait until Mr. Gibson learns his lesson on his own."

I supposed Matthew's life had been too comfortable. I figured I would just wait and see how long his relationship with Maya lasted.

In the end, I didn't mention the incident to Mom or Dad. When they asked me about it, I just said that the meeting went fine and that we could talk about it again after Matthew and Maya had dated for longer.

That night, I was removing my makeup at my vanity table when I realized that a necklace I'd left in the corner had disappeared.

I didn't want to assume the worst of people. However, when I checked the surveillance footage, I saw Matthew pointing my room out to Maya when he took her for a tour around the house. Afterward, I saw her entering the room on her own. When she came back out, she looked sneaky and guilty.

I was extremely disappointed. How could Matthew fall for a woman like her?

Then, I happened to come across something she posted online. In her posts, she put on the persona of a rich woman, and she just happened to be wearing my missing necklace.

I showed Matthew the video when he returned home at night.

He was aware that the necklace was a gift from my fiance, Dylan Quall. It was the only one of its kind in the entire country.

Matthew was appalled and rather mad. He called Maya to confront her right away. But when he heard her crying, he gave in.

"Nic, Maya didn't do that on purpose. She was just curious. Considering the environment she grew up in, please forgive her."

I couldn't believe my ears. I was so angry that my hands shook.

"You're unbelievable!" I screamed.

That night, I packed my things and moved to a place closer to my office so I wouldn't be constantly driven mad by Matthew.

After moving there, I asked Arnold to find a high-end housekeeper for me. Her name was Ruby Moone. She was quite a hard worker, and she made delicious meals.

I was quite pleased with how attentive she was. I even gave her a raise after finding out that she was facing some family difficulties.

But I later came to realize that there was something strange about her.

As I applied my face mask, Ruby casually asked me how much it cost. When I answered, she began lamenting her difficult life, saying that she'd never had a chance to use a face mask before.

I gave her a few boxes, along with some high-end skincare products.

Yet, from time to time, she would go on about how women shouldn't spend money like this.

I understood that she'd had this mindset for years, and since she was so conscientious with her work, I chose to tolerate it.

I'd clearly informed her that I was severely allergic to peanuts and ube.

The moment I took a bite of the food, I realized that something felt amiss. I spat it out immediately and even went to the bathroom to throw everything up.

Meanwhile, Ruby just stood by, berating me for wasting food.

I didn't manage to respond before I passed out. After I came to, she apologized repeatedly.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry! I didn't think you would end up like this. There are no such things as allergies. You'll be fine if you just eat them more often. If you can't eat those things, what are you gonna do when you get married? Don't chase me away. I won't do it again!"

When I saw how she was begging me with tears streaming down her face out of fear, I gave in in the end.

After that, she truly did a great job.

Things weren't too busy at work, so I had more time to spare at home. Most of the time, I would just sprawl on the couch, playing games on my phone.

Little did I expect that Ruby would actually start bossing me around.

She told me to handwash my undergarments. After mealtimes, she ordered me to take the plates to the kitchen on my own, and eventually, she made me wash my own dishes as well.

She even made me sweep the floor.

When I refused, she lectured me. "Oh, Nicole, you're a woman. You won't be able to get married if you can't do these things. Plus, these are the basics, and you're already 26 years old. Back in my hometown, women who aren't married by your age are chased out of their families!"

She smiled from ear to ear.

"But don't worry about it. I'll teach you bit by bit. You also have to learn how to cook and clean the house. Otherwise, your in-laws will beat you. I'm telling you this for your sake."

My expression darkened. I was fuming.

I took my phone out and gave my fiance a video call right in front of her.

I said, "I heard women won't be able to get married if they can't do chores. What do you think?"

I angled the screen toward Ruby, showing her my man's charming face.

Dylan was shocked. "Who said that? How could you do the chores?"

I rolled my eyes at Ruby, whose gaze turned grim.

"Will I end up getting beaten if I don't do these things after marrying into your family?" I asked.

"What are you talking about, Nikki? How could that possibly happen? Why would we hire all those helpers at home then? Who is this woman? Let me see your face."

Upon hearing that, Ruby exclaimed in shock, "Who's this?"

I answered, "Didn't you say that I won't be able to get married? This is my fiance. Perhaps you should have a chat with him and explain why you said I'd get beaten up by my in-laws."

She simply stared at me, her expression dark and terrifying. "You're supposed to marry my son! How could you behave like this, you slut?"