When the girlfriend of my childhood friend, Shane Sheridan, comes over for the first time, I help to prepare a feast to welcome her.

Lydia Forestwood glances at the garlic butter shrimp and suddenly flies into a rage. "You deliberately made something I'm allergic to! You want to embarrass and badmouth me in front of my boyfriend so you can take my place. Stop dreaming! If he were ever interested in you, then I wouldn't be here."

I'm confused and quickly explain that his mom broke her leg and asked me to come and help. I also explain that I already have a fiancé and have zero interest in Shane.

She lets out a cold laugh. "Stop playing hard to get. I can spot a scheming woman in a glance. You cling to my boyfriend shamelessly by claiming to be his close childhood friend every day. It's disgusting!

"Take a good look at yourself. You're old and ugly. What man would ever want you? If there's one, he'd have to be blind."

Shane is holding back laughter the whole time.

Just as I clench my fists, ready to lose my temper, he wraps an arm around his girlfriend and shows off smugly.

He says, "She has a sharp tongue, doesn't she? Finally, there is someone who can put you in your place. You won't be able to bully me from now on."

I stare at his indifferent expression and slap him hard across the face. "Get lost! Both you and your girlfriend aren't even worthy of my time!"

I finished plating the last dish and brought it to the table.

I had just helped Sarah Paulson, Shane Seridan's mother, over and gotten her seated when Shane walked out of the bedroom with his girlfriend, Lydia Forestwood, wrapped in his arms.

Seeing the table full of delicious food, he casually remarked, "I didn't think you'd actually be this capable."

At those words, Lydia's expression darkened. She slammed her fork down on the table with a sharp clang, her tone displeased.

"Are we eating or not? You talk too much nonsense!"

This sudden outburst startled both Sarah and me.

Shane immediately started fawning over her shamelessly. "Babe, I was wrong. I shouldn't have praised Joanna. When it comes to being capable, that's obviously you. You can go all night without a break. She can't even compare to you."

The comment made me deeply uncomfortable. It was textbook manipulation—praising one person while stepping on another, laced with inappropriate sexual innuendo.

The worst part was that Lydia ate it right up. She lightly tapped his chest, her anger instantly transforming into laughter.

"You're terrible! There are other people here, you know."

My hand paused as I scooped some pasta onto a plate. After considering for only a second, I shot back, "Shane, when you compliment your girlfriend, please leave me out of it. Thanks."

The moment the words left my mouth, Sarah hurried to smooth things over. "Jo, Shane's clumsy with words and doesn't know how to speak properly. Don't hold it against him."

But then Lydia glanced at the garlic butter shrimp and suddenly erupted at me in fury. "You clearly knew I'm allergic to seafood, yet you deliberately made this dish. Are you trying to make me look bad?"

I looked completely baffled. Not wanting Lydia to misunderstand, I quickly explained, "When I was buying ingredients, I asked Shane if there were any dietary restrictions. He said there weren't any."

Allergies were no small matter, and severe reactions could be fatal. This was not something to joke about.

Shane scratched his head, his tone innocent. "Did I not mention it? But I know everything about what Lydia likes and dislikes. I couldn't have forgotten to tell you."

His vague answer absolved him completely while shifting all the responsibility onto me.

When Lydia heard this, she immediately flew into a rage. "I know exactly what you're scheming now! You deliberately wanted to provoke me, then paint me to Shane as hot-tempered so he'd break up with me, and you can take my place."

She wasn't finished. "Let me tell you something—stop daydreaming! If Shane were interested in you, he would have started pursuing you ages ago. I wouldn't even be in the picture.

"Bottom line is, he's not the slightest bit interested in you. Give up now and stop trying to drive a wedge between us."

The more she spoke, the more outrageous she became. I could feel my anger boiling over.

With Sarah constantly trying to calm the situation, I could only suppress my fury and continue explaining.

"Sarah injured her leg, and since this is your first time visiting, we were worried about not treating you well enough. That's why she asked me to come help with cooking."

I kept my voice level. "It really was Shane who didn't tell me about your shrimp allergy, but this is a minor issue. There are over ten other dishes. You just don't have to eat that one.

"And please rest assured, I have a fiance. I have zero interest in Shane. He's yours."

When I finished speaking, Lydia let out a cold laugh. "Don't try that playing hard-to-get act with me. I can spot a schemer at a glance.

"You constantly use the childhood friend card as an excuse, throwing yourself at Shane all day long. These cheap, desperate tactics are utterly disgusting. Anyone would curse you out for it."

A string of cold mockery and ridicule painted me as utterly worthless.

Throughout all of this, Shane kept suppressing his laughter. He even gave Lydia a thumbs-up. "That mouth of yours is something else, Lydia. She actually can't win an argument against you."

He was completely in spectator mode, as if none of this concerned him.

I was so angry I could feel smoke rising from the top of my head. "Shane, do you think you look cool fanning the flames like this?"

Shane grinned. "Lydia, see? I told you I'm popular. You'd better keep a close eye on me, or someone might actually steal me away. Then you'll regret it."

He wasn't only incapable of reading the room, but he was also insufferably narcissistic. Faced with someone this shameless, I was truly at a loss for what to do.

I picked up the plate of garlic butter shrimp and moved to dump it in the trash. "You two really are perfect for each other. You're both equally unreasonable and irrational. Since you don't know how to respect the work I put in, then don't bother eating it."

Sarah chased after me into the kitchen and hurriedly grabbed my hand, pleading in a low voice, "Jo, don't be upset. Lydia's young and doesn't know any better. We should be the bigger people here and not stoop to her level. I'll have Shane talk to her later.

"This is Lydia's first time visiting, and Shane finally has a girlfriend. Please, just bear with it for my sake. The shrimp you made is delicious. Don't throw it away, alright? I'm begging you."

The older woman was being so humble that I couldn't bring myself to refuse. I set the shrimp back on the dining table.

After all, she'd lost her husband before she even turned 30 and raised Shane on her own. That couldn't have been easy.

But Lydia wasn't having any of it. "Oh, so you wanted to throw a tantrum but chickened out halfway? What an act.

"You're deliberately putting on this magnanimous show for Shane so he'll compare us in his head and think you're so much more mature than me. Look how thoughtfully you take care of his mother. How virtuous!

"Take a good look in the mirror. You're old and ugly. Shane would never be interested in you."

Sarah didn't want the misunderstanding to escalate and quickly explained, "Lydia, Jo has a boyfriend."

But Lydia refused to believe it and continued her mockery. "Don't think I can't see through this act you two are putting on together to fool me. Just look at that worthless face of hers. Any man who'd be interested must be blind."

I'd thought if I just put up with this, the whole thing would blow over. I never expected Lydia to push her luck and keep going relentlessly.

She was like a persistent fly I couldn't swat away, absolutely revolting.

I laughed bitterly. "I'm not as worthless as you, not as ugly as you, and I actually have some class. Any man who'd date you must be blind too."

After saying that, I stood up and bid Sarah farewell. "Sarah, I have other things to take care of. You all enjoy your meal. Consider this my parting gift."

I'd only taken a few steps when Sarah grabbed my wrist to make me stay.

Shane probably felt like I'd embarrassed him. He looked at me with a cold laugh. "Joanna, you've always been the queen bee since we were kids. The moment you meet someone who can match you, you can't take it and start being passive-aggressive. How tacky."

Once he finished scolding me, Lydia rewarded him with a kiss. "Babe, that was perfect. You can't stand fake bitches like her either, right?"

She shot me a contemptuous glance and continued in that mocking tone. "Listen, wake up. No matter how understanding or generous you pretend to be, Shane will never like you.

"The more you act like this, the more fake you look. There's nothing genuine about you. Plus, the way you're fuming right now just aged you another ten years. You look like a middle-aged housewife."

The fury that'd been building in my chest kept churning. I clenched my fists, about to explode.

But Shane beat me to it. "Lydia, you really hit a nerve with Joanna. Watch out, when she loses it, she'll hit you. I've been bullied by her every single day for years.

He turned to me and winked, his tone smug and satisfied. "Joanna, karma finally caught up with you. Someone can finally put you in your place. Let's see if you still dare to bully me from now on."

I used to feel sorry for him. He grew up without a father, so I'd always protected him like a little brother. Whenever someone bullied him, I was the first to step up and defend him.

So around him, my personality was a bit domineering. And yet, he'd never once said he hated it.

I never imagined that now, for the sake of his girlfriend, he'd turn around and throw me under the bus. I couldn't take it anymore. I flipped the entire table over, sending food crashing to the floor.

I walked over and slapped Shane across the face. "Then stay the hell away from me. You and your girlfriend don't deserve to be in the same room as me!"

Amid their shocked cries, I turned and left.

On the way home, Shane kept sending me messages saying I was being petty, that I was jealous of his girlfriend, and demanding I apologize to both of them.

I texted back, "Shane, from now on, our families should stop associating with each other. That way, your girlfriend won't get jealous and lose her mind."

After I told my parents what happened, they also decided to cut ties with his family. However, the next day, Sarah suddenly showed up at our door carrying gifts.

The moment I opened the door, she dropped to her knees.

"Jo, I'm so sorry about yesterday. I failed to raise my son properly. I brought him here today to apologize to you."

"Please don't do this."

I quickly helped her to her feet. No matter how angry I was, I couldn't accept an elder kneeling before me.

Seeing me soften, Sarah immediately grabbed Shane from behind her and scolded him sharply. "You brat! Jo has treated you like a little brother since you were kids, yet you caused conflict with her over some other woman. Apologize to her right now!"

Shane looked reluctant, but he still apologized. "I'm sorry, Joanna. I wasn't thinking straight yesterday. I was just playing a little joke on you.

"You know it's not easy for me to get a girlfriend. Can you please not hold this against me?"

I frowned slightly. His apology felt perfunctory and uncomfortable.

But having him blocking my doorway and refusing to leave would be a hassle, so I brushed him off. "If it's over, let's not bring it up again."

I reached to close the door, but Sarah caught the scent of the lamb chops I'd been cooking and dragged Shane straight into the house.

By the time I registered what happened, the two of them were already seated at the dining table with their utensils in hand, calling back to me, "Jo, come on in and eat with us."

Fine. Since we hadn't completely burned bridges, this would be the last time I'd host them.

But after just a few bites, violent pounding came from outside the door. "You cheating bastards in there, get out here!"

Shane's face changed. He scrambled to open the door in a panic.

The next second, Lydia burst in, screaming obscenities. "Joanna Calbry, you filthy slut! You lured my boyfriend to your place while I wasn't around. Shameless much? Are you deliberately provoking me?"

"No, Lydia, let me explain—"

Shane barely started before Lydia's hand cracked across his face with a resounding slap. "Shut up! I can see you're enjoying this bitch throwing herself at you."

Her mouth was as foul as a toilet. The fury in my chest kept churning.

I forced it down and pointed at them coldly. "Get out of my house right now. Stop causing a scene here, or I'm calling the cops."

Sarah couldn't stand seeing her son get hit and raised her cane to strike Lydia. "You little tramp, you dare hit my son? I've never even laid a finger on him!"

Lydia dodged while cursing. "You old hag, you want Joanna as your daughter-in-law, but your son thinks she's old and ugly. He only loves me with all his heart! You don't deserve to be Shane's mother!"

She ran into the dining room and, without another word, flipped the table over. Lamb chops and soup spilled across the floor.

Fury consumed me. I strode forward and slapped her across the face. "You think you can come to my house and throw a tantrum? Are you out of your mind?

"Let me say this one more time—I'm not interested in Shane at all! No one's competing with you."

Lydia clutched her face and immediately shrieked, "Shane, are you just going to watch her bully me? I'm telling you, if you don't get revenge for me today, we're through!"

The moment she finished speaking, Shane grabbed a chair without hesitation and hurled it at me. I dodged nimbly and grabbed my phone to call the police.

The next second, Lydia charged out of the kitchen brandishing a kitchen knife, completely unhinged. "Joanna, you bitch! I'll kill you, you man-stealing whore!"

In her panic, Sarah used her cane to strike at Lydia. But Lydia suddenly changed direction and stabbed straight toward Sarah. "Go to hell!"

Accompanied by Shane's panicked cry, Sarah collapsed in a pool of blood.

"Mom!"

The sudden violence left us all frozen in shock. Shane yelled at me, "Call 911 and save my mom!"

Lydia dropped the knife and threw herself into Shane's arms, wailing. "Babe, I didn't mean to. It's all because Joanna provoked me. If anything happens to your mom, I wouldn't want to live either!"