I tried to yank my bag back, but Melissa refused to let go.

Our tug-of-war ended when the strap tore with a sharp rip, sending the bag crashing to the floor. The force of the impact deformed the metal accessory adorning it.

My mind went blank.

"Do you have any idea how much that bag cost!" I shouted.

That bag had cost me over 100 thousand dollars, and to even qualify to buy it, I had to spend close to 120 thousand dollars more. I had only just gotten my hands on it, only for her to ruin it.

Melissa planted her hands on her hips and retorted, "I don't give a damn how much that cost. All I know is that you have enough money to buy a bag, yet you refuse to pay for the Christmas dinner. You're absolutely shameless!"

"And you're being unreasonable!" I snapped back.

I bent down to pick up the bag and stared at the damage. Sheer, unadulterated fury surged through me. "I'm not paying for this meal, and that's final! In fact, I won't even eat the food! What can you do about it?"

With that, I stormed off to grab my luggage with the intention of returning home.

Shawn chased after me and grabbed my arm.

"It's too late to go home now, especially since my house is in a rather remote area," he said quietly. "Since it's too dangerous to leave right now, let's only return tomorrow morning, okay?"

I was both mentally and physically exhausted, so the idea of having to spend several more hours on the road wasn't appealing to me either. Hence, I reluctantly agreed to stay. I doubted that Melissa could stir up much trouble in one single night.

With that thought, I headed straight to our room.

Not long after, Shawn snuck a plate of pasta into the room so that I wouldn't go hungry. His action eased some of my resentment toward him.

The next morning, I woke up bright and early to pack my things, ready to go back home. However, when I opened my suitcase, I realized that the property deed was gone.

I distinctly remembered stuffing it into my suitcase since I had only just received it right before I started packing for the journey here.

How could it be missing now?

Noting something off with my expression, Shawn asked, "Honey, what's wrong?"

"The property deed is gone," I answered with a scowl.

Wendy Zink, Shawn's younger sister, happened to walk past the room at that moment. She immediately bristled and shouted, "Jennifer, what do you mean by that? Are you saying that our family stole your property deed?"

Upon hearing that, Melissa also started throwing a tantrum. "Shawn, just what kind of woman did you marry? As if it isn't bad enough that she wants to freeload, now she's even accusing us of being thieves! How outrageous!"

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Shawn grabbed my arm while attempting to defuse the situation.

"Mom, don't be mad. Jennifer never said you all stole it."

He turned to me next. "Honey, don't get so worked up, okay? Maybe you accidentally dropped it when packing your things and didn't bring it here."

That wasn't entirely unlikely. Not wanting to stay there any longer and endure more humiliation, I swiftly dragged Shawn home. Arguing with them was a waste of time.

Unfortunately, I didn't find the property deed at home either. Left without a choice, I could only prepare the necessary documents to apply for a replacement.

However, several days later, I received a call from an unfamiliar number.

"My family wants to move into the house you sold me, so I need you to give me the keys."

Bewildered, I asked, "What did you say? When did I sell my house? Did you call the wrong number?"

The man on the other end of the line had a terrible attitude as he retorted, "What, are you trying to stiff me? I already transferred you the 800 thousand, and I have the property deed as well!"

He then sent me a photo of the property deed. Seeing my name on it, I realized it was indeed none other than the one I had lost.

I was so infuriated that I was momentarily breathless. That house was worth at least 1.8 million, yet it had been sold for a mere 800 thousand, and I hadn't even gotten a cent!

From what the man revealed, I gleaned that it was Melissa who had sold him the house, and they were even relatives.

As I suspected, Melissa had indeed stolen the property deed from my suitcase.

I immediately called her. "Who said you could sell my house behind my back?" I demanded.

Instead of feeling even the slightest bit guilty, Melissa sounded smug when she answered, clearly delighted that she had gotten one over me.

"So what if I sold it? You refused to pay for Christmas dinner and even talked back to me. I simply thought I needed to teach you a lesson!"

"That's my premarital property! It has nothing to do with the Zink family! What you did is theft! It's illegal!" I screamed back, so incensed that my whole body was shaking.

"Illegal?" Melissa scoffed and began spouting her twisted logic. "You're my son's wife, which means what is yours is his, and what is his is mine! How is it illegal to sell what belongs to me?

"Either way, I already sold the house and received the money. Did you seriously think I wouldn't know how to handle that spoiled, rich girl temper of yours?"

I tried to keep my patience and hold back, yet Melissa kept pushing my buttons. Since it was pointless to argue with an unreasonable woman like her, I decided drastic measures were needed and called the police.

When I arrived at the police station closest to their home, Melissa was already throwing a fit.

The instant she spotted me, she lunged forward and tried to slap me. "You bitch! How dare you call the police!"

Shawn also rushed over, his lips twisted into a scowl. "Jennifer, that's my mom! How could you be so heartless?"

I didn't even hesitate as I shoved Melissa away before levelling a cold stare at Shawn. "You didn't even make a peep when your mom made things difficult for me at the Christmas dinner. Now, she's stolen my property deed and sold my house, and you suddenly have the guts to criticize me?"

His expression darkened further at my words.

Melissa kept yelling that she wasn't a thief and that what she sold was simply her own property.

Not wanting to waste any more breath on them, I showed the police the documents proving the house was my premarital property. If I were to pursue the matter, then Melissa would have to face legal consequences.

Melissa knew nothing about the law, and neither did the relative who bought the house. They both thought that the deal was done as long as they had the property deed. They had no idea that there were legal processes one had to go through when it came to buying and selling a house.

Thus, their transaction was invalid, and the house was still mine. If I didn't pursue the matter, Melissa wouldn't need to go to jail.

Realizing that, Shawn pleaded with me desperately, saying that his mother was already old and couldn't possibly be able to handle a prison sentence.

At first, I ignored him, but then he fell to his knees before me. After he swore that he would never let me be humiliated again, I reluctantly agreed to let the matter go.

Even so, I still decided to move out of our marital home. I needed some space to think about whether it was necessary my marriage to Shawn was worth saving.

…

Upon returning to our marital home, Shawn clung to my suitcase and apologized nonstop.

"I really didn't know Mom would do this," he said. "She knows that she was wrong now. If you don't want to go back there, we can just not go next time. Honey, please! Don't be like this, okay?"

I didn't waver. All I did was tell him that I wouldn't divorce him if Melissa had truly learned her lesson and stopped making things difficult for me. In any case, what I needed right now was some space.

Following that, Shawn tried to prove his sincerity through his actions. Every day, he would drove me to work and picked me up afterward. He would also cook for me.

Life was peaceful for a while. It seemed like Melissa really had stopped her campaign against me.

One evening, Shawn called to tell me he couldn't pick me up. He had to work overtime, so I returned home alone.

As I arrived at the guardhouse, the security guard said, "A group of fierce-looking men came looking for you earlier. They had an access card, so I had no reason to stop them from entering."

My brow furrowed at that. I hadn't given an access card to anybody else, so perhaps the guard had made a mistake.

After complaining about it to my parents, I went straight home.

To my surprise, the moment I opened the front door, I was greeted by the sight of several men. They swiftly closed in on me the second I stepped inside.

I hurriedly backed away in a panic, yelling, "Who are you people? Why are you in my house? I'm calling the police and have you arrested for trespassing!"

Someone was quick to shut the door. Meanwhile, the fiercest-looking man grabbed my hair and violently slammed my head against the wall.

"You bitch! Do you think I'm scared of you?"

Pain exploded through my skull.

I struggled to reach my bag, wanting to grab my phone to call the police. However, the man noticed and snatched it out of my reach. He tossed it to the others and ordered them to find my phone and crush it.

Then, he yanked my head back by my hair and snapped, "Trying to call the police, are you? Looks like I need to teach you a lesson!"

With that, he began punching and kicking at me.

All I could do was try my best to protect my head. Despite my efforts, blood still trickled from the corner of my mouth.

Once the man finally stopped, he snarled, "Aunt Melissa already sold this house to me, so what gives you the right to take it back, huh?"

He gestured at one of the men, who placed a house sale agreement in front of me.

"Today, you have to sign this agreement and give me the house, no matter what!"

Aunt Melissa sold this house to this man? It was only then that I realized that he was talking about my mother-in-law.

So, what Shawn said about her learning her lesson was nothing but a load of nonsense.

Fighting to endure the pain, I snuck a glance at the surveillance camera in the corner of the living room.

"I'm not signing anything. I never agreed to sell my house to you!"

At that moment, Melissa emerged from behind the men. Hands on her hips, she spat at me. "You bitch, it seems like you still haven't learned your lesson!"

She then turned to the men. "Don't hold back. Beat her up as hard as you can. I don't even care if she dies! At least then my son can marry someone I approve of!"

Hearing that, the man kicked me in the stomach, over and over again.

The agony was so intense that I couldn't even speak.

Then, he grabbed my hand and forced me to sign the house sale agreement. Waving the agreement at me, he declared, "Now that the house is mine, you can get the fuck out!"

When Melissa saw that I still wasn't dead, her eyes lit up with a sly gleam before she came over to yank at my clothes.

"Strip this bitch bare before tossing her out on the streets! Let's see if she's able to look anyone in the eye again after that!"

My eyes widened in terror as I stared at the group before me. "You can't do this to me!"

With just a glance from the leader, the other men had me pinned to the ground. Melissa's face twisted in a sinister smile as she tore at my clothes.

As my skin was exposed, the way those men looked at me changed.

The leader swept a lecherous gaze over me before saying to Melissa, "Aunt Melissa, since you plan on having your son get a new wife, why not let us have some fun with this one?"

Melissa didn't even hesitate before she agreed, her eyes gleaming maliciously. "Do whatever you want. That would save me the trouble of having to find an excuse for my son to divorce her. There's no way he would want damaged goods as a wife!"