I need to drive to and from work due to a change in my job scope. However, my father-in-law hoards my car and refuses to return it.

My husband stands up for him. "How can you be so materialistic? So what if you have to take an electric scooter to work?"

So, I sell the car. My husband points at me and snaps, "What right do you have to sell Dad's car?"

I look at him calmly. "I've sold the one you drive too."

At the dinner table, I informed my husband's family about the personnel changes at my company.

"I got promoted, but there's a change to my workplace. The new location is an hour's drive from home. Philip, I need to take back the car you're using."

I brought with me two cars as part of my dowry. Since my workplace was close by, I rarely needed them. Hence, my husband and father-in-law, Steven Green and Philip Green, had been using them.

Philip was momentarily stunned before shaking his head. "That won't do. How am I supposed to get to work without a car?"

"Philip, your office is only slightly over a mile from home, and there's a bus that reaches there directly. It's really convenient."

"Nonsense! I'm a department head. You expect me to take the bus to work? That'd be humiliating!"

I couldn't help but scoff. "Didn't you take the bus to work before I married into the family?"

It was easy going from a frugal lifestyle to luxury, but the other way around was a different story. Philip used to take the bus every day. But after I married into this family, he started driving a luxury car, enjoying the envious gaze of his colleagues.

Now, he was too proud to give up that sense of superiority.

"That was then. Now I'm older and can't handle bad weather. I need to drive to work."

Fine. I decided to turn to my husband instead.

"What do you think?"

Steven lowered his head, avoiding my gaze. "I'll buy you an electric scooter."

I was flabbergasted. "You want me to ride an electric scooter for 25 miles every day? In the wind and rain?"

Seeing that Steven wasn't standing up for me, Philip became even more emboldened. "What's wrong with an electric scooter? I think it's great. It's easy to find parking, and you won't be stuck in traffic."

"Then why don't you ride one?" I retorted.

Steven suddenly yelled at me. "Laura White! What's with your attitude? How can you talk to my dad like that?"

I shot back, "It's my car. Don't I have the right to take it back?"

Philip's face turned red as he shouted even louder, "What's with this 'yours' or 'mine' talk? You married into this family, so everything you brought along belongs to the Greens!"

I stared at him, completely stunned by his audacity.

My husband's family wasn't well-off, so my parents had given me two cars, an apartment, and five million in cash as dowry to ensure I had a comfortable life.

But not even a year into the marriage, they were already scheming to take it all from me!

Furious, I snapped, "You want the car? Fine. It was purchased for 1.6 million. I'll cover the depreciation, so give me 1.2 million, and I'll transfer the ownership to you right away!"

Philip slammed the table. "Who do you think you are? Why should I pay to use my family's car?"

"The car is registered under my name."

"So what? No matter whose name is on it, it belongs to my family! I'm the head of this household. Why shouldn't I be allowed to use the car?"

Steven chimed in, backing him up. "Dad's right. He's the head of the family. Why shouldn't he use the car? Laura, honestly, you're being too arrogant."

"I'm arrogant?"

"Not just that. You're vain too! Why didn't I realize how vain you were in the past? What's wrong with riding an electric scooter to work?"

"If that's the case, give me your car."

Philip immediately stopped him. "Steven! You can't give it to her. If you give in this time, she'll keep trying to walk all over you!"

I stared directly into Steven's eyes. "Are you giving it to me or not?"

"Dad's right. You married into this family, so your dowry belongs to us. Good things should go to the men first. Don't you understand tradition?"

I was so furious that I laughed. Not wanting to waste my time arguing with them, I went straight to my room to pack my bags.

Philips was shaking with rage. "Steven, are you just going to stand there and do nothing? Look at your wife's attitude, turning her back on her elders like this! Does she have no manners?"

Dragging my suitcase to the door, I spat, "Pfft! Before you judge others, take a good look in the mirror first. Who's the one lacking manners here?"

Steven saw me leaving and grabbed my luggage in a panic. "Where are you going?"

I yanked it back and kicked him in the knee. "None of your business. Get lost!"

Initially, I planned to tell them that I was going on a business trip for the next few days.

This was my final task in my current position. Once the trip was over, I would be officially promoted to regional director at the headquarters.

But now, I don't see a reason to share that news with them.

I finally understood—they never cared about me at all. The only thing that mattered to them was the money I had.

Steven and I started dating in college. Back then, he treated me like a queen, doing everything he could to please me.

His family was average, while mine, though not extremely wealthy, was well-off.

When we graduated and started talking about marriage, all my relatives objected. But I was completely blinded by love and insisted on marrying him, ignoring their warnings.

I still remember what my mother said as she tried to reason with me. "It's not that your father and I look down on the Greens for being poor. It's just that after getting to know them, we've realized that Philip is an unreasonable person, Fran is two-faced, and Steven is blindly obedient to them. If you marry into that family, you'll suffer for the rest of your life."

But at the time, I was so infatuated that I refused to listen. I even snapped at my mother, accusing her of being arrogant and prejudiced.

It wasn't until after I married that I realized how spot-on her judgment had been.

Everything she warned me about came true one by one.

And the man who had once sworn to always stand by my side and protect me forever? After marriage, all he ever said was "Dad's right" and "Mom's right". He never defended me, not even once. Instead, he called me vain, arrogant, and disrespectful.

In their eyes, a man should always be the head of the household. A woman was merely an accessory to her husband. A man's decisions were absolute, his authority unquestionable. That was the ultimate rule of the Greens.

Staring at the endless streams of cars outside the window, I felt a crushing pain in my chest. Regret spread through me like wildfire.

Before I knew it, tears began streaming down my face.

During my time away on this business trip, I finally saw things clearly.

At that moment, my love-blinded self was completely sober at last.

I had made up my mind—once I got back, I would end this marriage.

But what I didn't know was that by the time I returned, everything had turned upside down.

…

As soon as I got off the plane, I didn't even stop to drop off my luggage. I went straight to the office to report on my business trip.

After listening to my report, Henry Stuart, the general manager, hesitated. He avoided my eyes for a long moment before finally saying, "Laura, about your job transfer…"

"Don't worry, sir. I'll report to my new post on time."

"Well… Here's the thing. After further review by headquarters, they've decided that you're not suitable for the position. Your transfer has been canceled."

I was completely caught off guard. "But the official notice has already been issued. How can they just change it on a whim? What's the reason? I demand an explanation!"

Henry sighed. "Laura, you're more than qualified for that role. But… In the end, it all comes down to your family situation."

"Sir, what do you mean by that?"

"Go home and ask your husband."

A bad feeling crept into my gut. After returning to my office, I immediately asked a colleague what had happened.

He sighed and shook his head before pulling out his phone and showing me a video.

In the view, Philip and Fran Brown—my mother-in-law—barged into the company. The moment they stepped through the door, Fran threw herself to the floor, crying and rolling around in a tantrum.

Meanwhile, Philip stormed into the general manager's office, slamming the table and yelling at the top of his lungs.

"You so-called higher-ups have no humanity! How could you transfer an employee who's married and trying to conceive to a workplace 25 miles away? Making her commute and face the elements every day? How is this kind of management even humane?"

Henry tried to explain, but Philip wouldn't listen at all.

His voice boomed across the entire office. "There's no need to explain! I know exactly what's going on. You're deliberately bullying my daughter-in-law! You're sending her off to the middle of nowhere! What kind of garbage company is this? I'm going to sue you!"

Fran was rolling on the floor, flailing about like a child.

"Oh, my poor Laura! How could they treat you like this? A fragile young woman forced to commute 25 miles every day! This is a tragedy!"

Surrounded by onlookers, Philip and Fran showed no shame whatsoever. Instead, they got even more carried away.

"I don't care what excuses you have! Cancel the transfer or I'll report you to the labor office!"

In the video, Philip and Fran looked like a pair of clowns, throwing a tantrum in the middle of the office without a care for anyone watching.

I was so mortified that my face burned red. A wave of shame surged through me.

My colleague cautiously observed my reaction. "They… Didn't just make a scene here. They went to headquarters too…"

My phone trembled in my palm as rage and humiliation boiled inside me. I wanted to find a hole to hide in, too ashamed to face my colleagues.

It was no wonder my job transfer was canceled.

What company would tolerate an employee's in-laws storming in and causing a scene like this?

This promotion had been an incredibly rare opportunity. I had worked tirelessly for it, enduring countless interviews and passing multiple rounds of evaluations before finally earning it.

I had been on the verge of stepping into my new role—until my in-laws ruined everything.

Years of hard work were gone in an instant.

And they did all of this… over a car!

It was utterly ridiculous!

Blinking back my tears, I straightened my back and walked into Henry's office, offering him a sincere apology.

Then, I picked up my phone and dialed Steven's number.

…

"Steven, did you know that your parents came to my office and made a scene?"

Steven hesitated for a moment before replying, "Yeah. I knew."

I felt something inside my snap. "Do you have any idea how unprofessional it is to bring personal matters into the workplace? Why didn't you stop them?"

His reply was cold and indifferent, "Because I don't think they did anything wrong."

"Say that again?"

"Your company didn't take your personal situation into account. They assigned you to a position so far away, disrupting our family life. You not taking the job is the right choice."

I was stunned. "Steven, do you even realize this isn't just a transfer? It's a promotion. A freaking promotion! Do you know how long I've worked for this opportunity?"

"It makes no difference whether you get promoted or not in that crappy company. I really don't get why you care so much. You're married now. Your priority should be the family. You should be focusing on getting pregnant and having a son. That should be your main goal at this stage in life."

I felt my heart sink slowly into the abyss.

So, in his eyes, my only value as a woman was to bear him children.

My career and ambitions were nothing, all disposable in the face of family duties.

"I can't believe this, Steven. It's the modern era, and I'm hearing such outdated, masculinist nonsense from a man with a master's degree."

"Stop being difficult, Laura. Just go home and apologize to Dad. You've been making a fuss nonstop, and it's disrupting the peace at home. How am I supposed to focus on work?"

I hung up on him.

Apologize? What a joke!

They destroyed my career, and now they expected me to just let it go?

Did they really think I would swallow this humiliation just like that?

I grabbed my bag and headed to Philip's workplace.

He stormed into my office and caused a scene, didn't he? Well, it was time for payback.