My mother-in-law brings a woman from the countryside. She looks like she's up to no good when she asks my husband and I to care for the woman.

My husband is a mama's boy through and through. His gaze darts around, and he doesn't object to his mother's words.

Is it a trend nowadays for people to serve mistresses on a silver platter?

It looks like I'll have to do my best in "caring" for them, then…

I crossed my arms over my chest and stared coldly at Karen Swift, my mother-in-law, as she piled bags and luggage at the doorway.

Behind her stood a dainty woman she had brought along.

"Johnny, let me introduce you. This is Lily White from our hometown. She's looking for work, and I brought her with me since I was already planning to visit. I figured you two could help take care of her," Karen said as she brushed past me and addressed Johnny Lane, who was behind me.

Lily kept her head down but glanced up just in time to catch me rolling my eyes at her. She froze, visibly shocked that I didn't bother to hide my disdain toward someone I'd just met.

"Who says we're willing to take care of her?" I said to Karen, my tone calm but my words sharp.

Karen finally turned to face me and reprimanded disapprovingly, "Why are you so rude? Lily's standing right there! Do you know how bad you're making us look?"

I retorted, "And did you think about how I would feel before bringing her here unannounced?"

"Alright, alright," Johnny interjected to defuse the tension. "Mom meant well. We're from the same hometown, and since we have a spare room, it's no big deal…"

His meaning was obvious, so I didn't refuse outright.

"Fine. Then let's rent her the room. The market rate is 1,500 dollars a month, but considering she's an acquaintance, I'll give her a discount. 1,000 dollars a month should be fair enough."

In their dreams I would let them exploit me under the guise of kindness.

Karen started shouting that I was money-hungry while Johnny tried to calm her down and pull her aside.

I didn't care who ended up footing the rent. They weren't getting to take advantage of me.

In the end, Johnny transferred the money to me as he didn't want to offend either party.

I scoffed and retreated to the bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind me. Once I was sure Johnny wouldn't come in, I called my best friend, Rosie Rivera.

"Karen actually brought that woman to my house," I said.

"Ugh, just as we expected," Rosie replied with disdain. "You set up the cameras, right?"

"Of course. Johnny didn't notice a thing."

A few days ago, while scrolling through my social media feed, I had stumbled upon Karen's latest update. It was a selfie of her and a young woman taken on a bus leaving their hometown.

Lily had both hands draped affectionately over Karen's shoulders, and the caption read, "Bringing Lily to stay at my son's house for a few days."

Johnny mentioned last week that Karen would be visiting, and it appeared she had company in mind.

I'd tapped into the comments section and mainly saw emojis of flowers and kisses from Karen's friends. One comment in particular caught my eye.

"Let's hope your son has an adorable baby this time!"

Karen had replied, "I'll take your blessing."

The moment I saw this exchange, everything clicked in my mind.

Johnny and I had been married for a year without any kids, and Karen had fussed about it nonstop. She'd even spread rumors back in her hometown that I was barren.

After that, I cut all ties with Johnny's relatives and never visited them again.

But gossiping behind my back was one thing. I wasn't about to let it slide when Karen blatantly brought the problem to my doorstep.

One of her nosy friends must have cooked up this scheme.

Afterward, I clicked on Karen's following list and browsed around but found no clues. So, I checked the following of one of her friends who had commented.

Scrolling to the fourth page, I spotted a profile with a young woman's silhouette as the profile picture and clicked into her feed.

Her most recent post displayed a view of the countryside from a bus window, identical to Karen's earlier post. The picture was captioned, "Moving to the city for a better life. The future is bright!"

How bold. I would like to see how exactly she would live her so-called better life.

After ending the phone call with Rosie, I listened to the sounds outside the bedroom while pulling up the feed from the spare room's hidden camera on my tablet.

Karen's hushed voice came through clearly as she whispered to Lily.

"I already spoke to Johnny before coming. Don't worry, he will take good care of you. Focus on connecting with him, and ignore that rude woman."

Lily shyly nodded and replied, "I'm not afraid of her. You and Johnny are so kind to me. Once I have a child with him, I'll be sure to repay your kindness."

Karen beamed with satisfaction, then lowered her voice even more to say, "Remember, whoever has a child gets to be the rightful wife. Once you've had the baby, I doubt she can keep being smug. Johnny's a manager at a trading company. As long as you stay with him, you're guaranteed a good life."

I'd already suspected that Karen had looped Johnny into her plan. When he saw the two of them earlier, he hadn't seemed surprised at all.

Their scheming was practically written on their faces, and I wasn't about to let them have their way.

My phone buzzed with an incoming call. It was from my older brother, Glen Meyer.

"Annie, everything's been arranged."

I ended the call with a satisfied smile. I dressed up, put on lipstick, and exited my room.

"Johnny, has Glen called you yet? Mr. Wilson finally has time to meet with us today. We need to make the most of this opportunity," I said casually.

Karen and Lily emerged from the spare bedroom just then.

The moment Lily saw me, her eyes zeroed in on my diamond necklace and tasseled earrings. Her gaze betrayed admiration and envy as she scanned my designer handbag and outfit.

"Mr. Wilson? You mean the CEO overseeing those huge multinational accounts we've been trying to connect with?"

Johnny jumped to his feet in excitement. He was the type to seize any opportunity to climb the ladder, and this meeting had been on his radar for a while.

Noticing Lily's awed expression, Karen hastily said, "Johnny, Lily hasn't experienced something like that before. Why don't you take her along? It'll be good exposure for her."

I glanced at my freshly manicured nails and remarked nonchalantly, "You've got a point. It's a rare chance. Mr. Wilson is one of the top regional distributors in the country. Anyone who successfully builds a relationship with him is bound to see their status soar."

My words only made Lily more eager. She nervously twisted the hem of her shirt and asked, "Johnny, do you think I could tag along? I promise I won't interfere. I just want to watch from the sidelines."

"Well, if you really want to…" Johnny hesitated.

All three of them turned toward me, waiting for my response.

I tilted my head and said with exaggeration, "Your clothes are too shabby. Mr. Wilson is an important client for the company. Showing up dressed like that might give him the wrong impression about our standards…"

Lily was in a black-and-white checkered T-shirt and a pair of cropped skinny jeans. After several days of train travel, even her collar was stained and worn.

She glanced down at her outfit, then at me. I was dressed in a limited-edition bodycon dress, and the difference was painfully obvious to her.

Karen was annoyed by my attitude. She nudged Johnny with her elbow and gave him several looks.

Caught between us, Johnny hesitated for a moment before reluctantly saying, "Annie, you've got so many clothes. Can't you lend Lily something? You're about the same height anyway. She's new to the city. Let's not make things difficult for her."

It seemed that they had mastered the art of moral manipulation.

"Sure. Which one should I lend her? Hermès or Chanel?" I asked with mock seriousness, my heels clicking on the floor as I approached Lily.

I glanced her over from head to toe and added, "But if it gets dirty, will you cover the thousand-dollar dry cleaning fee?"

Lily instinctively shook her head, which made me snort.

"If you can't afford it, then forget about it. Not just anyone can wear these clothes."

Provoked by my insult, Lily immediately fired back, "Just because I can't afford it now doesn't mean I never will. One day, I'll have better than anything you own!"

"Then you'd better work hard. For now, you should check your suitcase and see if you've got anything remotely suitable," I replied with a shrug.

"Johnny, just buy Lily something nice," Karen chimed in. "It's just a piece of clothing. What dry cleaning would cost 1,000 dollars?"

Johnny's jaw tightened. "Annie's dress is from an international fashion show. It cost 16 grand."

"What?" Karen's eyes widened as though she'd never heard of such an amount.

Then, she turned on me and scolded, "Johnny works hard for his money, and you're out here spending it like water! How could you be so reckless?"

"It's my own money I spent. What does that have to do with your son?"

"Alright, that's enough from both of you!" Johnny yelled with a scowl to avoid further embarrassment.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling insecure? Then go ahead and buy Lily something decent so she doesn't look so shabby," I refuted, refusing to back down.

I doubted he was willing to spend 16 grand on Lily.

"Annie, you've treated Mom with nothing but hostility from the beginning. And Lily's just starting out. She doesn't deserve all this attitude from you."

Johnny sounded furious. I could see he was trying hard to project himself as the "man of the house" around Karen and Lily.

"If this is how you're going to behave, then maybe you shouldn't attend the meeting with Mr. Wilson. Lily and I can handle it ourselves," he continued, expecting me to argue.

But I didn't say another word.

Thinking they'd gotten the upper hand, Lily smirked as she passed me and whispered just loud enough for me to hear, "This house will be mine someday. Just wait and see."

Karen couldn't resist adding her own jab. "What good is all that money and glamor? With a horrible temper like yours, it's no wonder you can't have children!"

I allowed them to mock me all they wanted and calmly took a seat. I picked up a cup of tea from the table and sipped it slowly, waiting for the real show to begin.