I hate you so much Victor," Gloria said coldly. "I thought I gave you the perfect opportunity to sleep with your mistresses as much as you want. You can fuck any woman you want now without feeling guilty. Isn't that what you wanted? Not that you ever feel guilt anyway."

On the other end of the call, Victor sounded relaxed, almost amused by what Gloria was saying. "Honey, I will still fuck as many women as I want after this whole 'running away' thing you did," he said casually. "I just don't want my daughter thinking she lost her mom because of me. You know I love my daughter very much."

Gloria's grip on her phone tightened; she was about to explode with anger.

"My daughter will never lose her mother," Gloria said. "But she already lost her dad a long time ago. So stop pretending like you care about her now."

Victor didn't respond immediately. When he finally spoke, his tone was indifferent, like the conversation didn't matter to him at all. "If you say so, what's it going to be?"

"Fine," she snapped. "I will go to your mother's party. And I will take my daughter with me."

Gloria hung up before Victor could reply. She was already shaking with anger. The moment the call ended, she threw the phone onto the bed and covered her face with both hands. Her chest felt tight. She had really hoped she could cut ties with the Anderson family quickly after the divorce.

But Victor knew exactly how to control the situation. He's using their daughter as a tool to frustrate her.

Gloria knew that as long as their daughter was involved, she could never completely avoid him. "Great," she muttered bitterly. "Now I have to pretend to be the good wife again."

The person she dreaded seeing the most wasn't even Victor. It was his mother.

Her mother-in-law had never once taken her side in the marriage. Whenever Gloria complained about Victor coming home late or rumors about other women, his mother always took her son's side and would rather blame Gloria for her son going astray.

"A wife should be more understanding of her husband's needs. If a man looks elsewhere, it's because his wife isn't doing enough. You don't satisfy him, so he's seeking that satisfaction elsewhere. After all, he still comes home to you and your daughter at the end of the day. You need to behave better and stop nagging all the time."

Gloria took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror. "It's fine," she told herself quietly. "This will be the last time I will have to mingle with them. For my daughter's sake, I will go there once more."

After Gloria hung up, Victor looked at his phone and laughed under his breath. He already knew she would agree. She was that easy to control. He knew she would always come back if their daughter was involved. "Stupid woman. Let's see how she gets the divorce," he muttered.

At that moment, Annabel ran toward him holding a toy. "Daddy! Can we go home now? I want to see mummy!"

Victor crouched down and smiled. "My princess, don't you like daddy's company?"

"No," Annabel said seriously. "I like mommy's company better."

Victor raised his eyebrows. "Only Mommy? Daddy can keep you company too. I can take you to your favorite places and buy you the finest toys in this world. Won't you like that?"

Annabel shook her head. "No. Daddy, I only want my mommy."

"Why don't you want me?"

"Because Daddy doesn't keep his promises, and Daddy is always making mummy cry," she said honestly.

Victor froze for a moment. The words his daughter had just said made him uncomfortable, but he quickly brushed it off. "Why would Gloria cry all the time when he's always giving her money? He made sure she and their daughter never lacked anything. Anyway, that's nonsense," he said with a forced smile. "I'm sure that when Annabel grows up, she will know what a great father I was."

Gloria chose a simple red dress with an open back from her bag. It was one of her favorite dresses before she got married to Victor. She left all the expensive gowns Victor bought for her in her closet. She doesn't want anything that will connect her to him anymore.

On the way to the Gray mansion, she called him.

Victor answered on the first ring. "Yes, Mrs. Anderson." "Where are you?" Gloria asked. "I'm heading to your mom's place right now. And where is my daughter?"

"Oh, our daughter and I are already here," he said. "She's with her grandma."

Then he added casually, "My mom keeps asking about you. She says you are slacking off on your duties as a wife, and you can't even take care of yourself or your family."

He lowered his voice slightly. "I mean, she's not wrong. She's right."

Gloria ended the call. She knew arguing with Victor was pointless. She knew that everything would be over soon, and she would be free from Victor and his narcissistic mother.

She walked toward the main hall, but suddenly someone stepped in front of her - two people, actually.

"You actually came," a female voice asked.

She looked up. Victor stood there with his secretary, his arm around her waist, staring at her with a smirk.

Victor's eyes moved slowly over her dress.

"She doesn't even know how to dress properly," his secretary said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"That old dress looks good on you," Victor said. "It reminds me of when we used to sneak around in college. It's just so unfortunate that you have lost all your charms and have become old, unlike my beautiful secretary here, who's still in her prime, and knows how to take care of my needs in bed."

Victor's words stabbed through Gloria's heart like a knife; he knew his words were hurting her. He grabbed his secretary and gave her a kiss, not minding that people were gathering around them now.

"Where is Annabel?" Gloria demanded, her voice sharp enough to cut glass as she glared at the man standing across from her.

Victor didn't even flinch. If anything, the arrogance in his eyes only deepened. He looked like a man watching an amusing performance rather than facing his furious wife. The corner of his lips lifted slightly, not quite a smile, but close enough to make Gloria's blood boil.

"Oh, come on, don't be a killjoy," his secretary said. She was obviously enjoying the whole show.

"Annabel is with my mother," Victor said smoothly. "They are having a grandmother-granddaughter moment, and my mother has been waiting for you in her room, so go on."

Most of the guests had gone back to drinking and laughing as if nothing in the world could possibly be wrong. They were all the same all rich people were the same.

Gloria clicked her tongue, disgust curling in her chest. Without another word, she turned and was about to walk away when she stumbled on something and almost fell to the ground, but a strong arm caught her. She looked up to see Lukas, Victor's stepbrother.

"Hello, sister-in-law," Lukas said, smiling, his hand still holding her waist firmly.

Gloria quickly collected herself and wriggled out of his arm. "H-hi Lukas, t-thanks for saving me just now," she muttered.

"My pleasure, sister-in-law," Lukas said, his gaze never leaving her body.

Gloria turned to Victor's secretary. "You did that on purpose, right?" she asked angrily.

"Mrs. Anderson, you know you can't go about accusing people wrongly. It's not my fault you are too fat to even walk properly," the secretary said, laughing.

"Fat?" Lukas muttered to himself. The woman he had just held in his hands was anything but fat. She was perfect.

Lukas turned to Victor. "Brother, you allow your staff to disrespect your wife?" he asked. Victor was giggling with his secretary.

Gloria was shocked. This was the first time someone had stood up for her. But she didn't want to start a fight between the brothers.

"Lukas, just let it be. I'm used to it. I will go and find my daughter now," Gloria said as she walked away.

Lukas's eyes followed her. Her dress exposed most of her back, the fabric clinging tightly to her curves; she was breathtaking. No woman in the banquet room came close to Gloria in terms of beauty and full figure. Her skin was as white as snow. Not even the scheming secretary who was still clinging to Victor's arm. Gloria was everything Lukas needed in a woman and for his revenge against the Andersons.

Lukas turned to Victor. "Brother, if you don't treasure her, someone else will snatch her away from you soon."

Victor and his secretary started laughing. "Look at her," he said, pointing at Gloria's retreating figure. "Which other man would want her except me? She's already thirty years old. So you see, I'm doing her a favor by allowing her to remain my wife."

Lukas smiled. He knew he was closer to achieving his goal. "If you say so, brother," he said.

Gloria stormed down the long corridor, her heels striking the marble with furious echoes. The red carpet beneath her feet felt suffocating, like she was walking toward a battlefield she already knew she might lose.

At the end of the hall stood the massive double doors leading to her mother-in-law's room. The security guards recognized her immediately and opened them without question.

Gloria stepped inside.

Her mother-in-law sat on a luxury Italian couch, laughing warmly as she fed Annabel small cookies from a porcelain plate. The grandmother and granddaughter looked perfectly content-like a painting of domestic happiness.

The moment her mother-in-law saw Gloria, the smile vanished from her face, replaced by a deep frown. As she looked at Gloria from head to toe with disdain, Gloria knew she was looking for something to criticize.

"G-good afternoon," Gloria greeted her, forcing a thin smile.

Her mother-in-law didn't respond. Typical.

She turned to Annabel. "Sweetheart, can you give Grandma a moment?" she said sweetly.

"No, Mother, let her stay here with me," Gloria said, reaching for Annabel, who ran into her arms screaming. "Mommy! Where were you? Grandma and I have been waiting for you!"

The innocence in her daughter's voice stabbed straight through Gloria's heart.

"Sweetheart, Mommy had something to do," she said softly. "Did you have a nice time with your grandma?"

"Yes, Mommy! Grandma gave me a lot of chocolate and ice cream too," Annabel said happily.

"Gloria, the maid should take Annabel outside. I don't want you traumatizing my granddaughter with your sad stories about her father," her mother-in-law said. She signaled to her personal maid, who was always on standby, to take Annabel out.

"Baby, go out for a bit with her. I have something important to discuss with Grandma," Gloria said as she kissed her daughter's head.

"Okay, Mommy! Bye, Grandma!" the little girl said happily as the maid carried her out.

As the door closed, the room suddenly became silent. The two women remained, facing each other like opponents in a duel.

Gloria couldn't ignore the comparison. Her mother-in-law was elegance personified. She was wearing an expensive red gown hugging her figure, diamond earrings catching the light with every movement. Her skin was smooth, barely touched by age despite turning fifty years old very soon.

Gloria felt painfully aware of her own appearance. She was thirty but looked like she was already in her mid-forties. Her skin was dull, and she had eye bags around her eyes-an exhaustion that always showed on her face. She had aged quickly being married to Victor.

"Why were you late? You know today is the Andersons' banquet, and as the only daughter-in-law of the Andersons, you were supposed to be here before everyone," her mother-in-law said coldly.

"It doesn't seem like I'm needed here," Gloria muttered to herself.

"What did you say?" her mother-in-law asked.

"No, Mother, I'm sorry I was late. I was caught up in some personal issue."

Her mother-in-law sighed. "And why are you dressed like that? Did you come here just to embarrass my son again?"

"Huh? What is wrong with my dress, Mother?" Gloria asked, confused.

"Don't play stupid," the older woman snapped. "Victor buys you countless dresses, yet you choose to wear that outdated rag from years ago. It's embarrassing. Do you want the guests to start gossiping that my son doesn't take care of his wife?"

"Mother, this is my own dress. I bought it with my own money. I won't take anything from Victor," Gloria said firmly.

Her mother-in-law's brow lifted. "What do you mean you won't take anything from your husband?"

Gloria knew it was now or never. "He's not my husband," she replied, her voice trembling with restrained rage. "Not anymore." The words felt heavy coming out of her mouth.

"I still don't understand what you are saying, Gloria."

"I'm filing for divorce," Gloria said in a shaky voice. "I'm just waiting for Victor to sign the papers. Once he does, I'm taking my daughter and leaving him forever. He has done enough harm to me and my daughter."

Gloria knew what would follow, so she braced herself. She was expecting her mother-in-law to start shouting at her or even start insulting her like she always does-or better still, remind her of how her precious son brought Gloria and her family out of poverty. Victor was the apple of his mother's eyes.

To Gloria's surprise, her mother-in-law started laughing.

"I'm serious," Gloria insisted, her fists tightening. "I came here to take Annabel with me and also for you to convince Victor to sign the divorce papers."

Her mother-in-law's expression changed instantly. The smile remained on her face, but her eyes turned cold.

"Gloria, you really are funny," she said. "Do you think I care about what's going on between you and Victor? Hell no! I don't even care if Victor remains married or not. You were never suitable for my son in the first place."

Gloria's stomach dropped. "Mother, what are you saying?" she asked, surprised.

"You heard me right, Gloria. At first I didn't care if he married you or some prostitute off the street. All I needed was for him to inherit his father's empire and give me a grandchild."

She leaned back, pride gleaming in her eyes. "And he did both perfectly."

Her gaze shifted to Gloria with open contempt. "He built the company. He gave me a beautiful granddaughter." Her lips curled. "So your purpose is fulfilled. You're no longer needed. So you can divorce him for all I care. Do you know how many women outside are dying to marry my son? Take his secretary, for example. Do you see how she treats my son like a king?"

Gloria was shocked at what her mother-in-law was saying to her. "But-" she started to talk, but the older woman cut her off immediately.

"Let me give you some advice," her mother-in-law said as she poured herself another glass of champagne.

"You were never good enough for this family," her mother-in-law said bluntly. "You are not famous. You are not refined. You came from a family of generational poverty with a useless degree and no connections."

Each word landed like a slap on Gloria's face. "The only value you ever had was marrying my son and giving birth to my granddaughter. Otherwise, you are just good for nothing," her mother-in-law said, sipping her champagne.

The room went silent. Gloria could barely contain the tears streaming down her cheeks. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as humiliation, rage, and heartbreak tangled together inside her. She was just a tool for Victor and his mother. Now she understood why Victor stopped having sex with her immediately after she became pregnant. He only wanted the child to carry on their legacy, not her.

Gloria stumbled back, her mother-in-law's words hit her like a storm.

"Why are you acting shocked?" Her mother-in-law asked, sipping her champagne nonchalantly. "If you want to continue living the soft life, then you have to stick with my son. Go on your knees and apologize for your mistakes, kiss his feet if needed, or else once-"

"Even if he is cheating on me with different women and rarely comes home to his family?" Gloria asked. Cutting her mother-in-law off.

Perhaps her mother-in-law was saying such words because she didn't know that her son has been torturing Gloria emotionally for the past eight years, Gloria thought.

Gloria wanted to say another word, but someone knocked on the door. A young shirtless man in his late twenties entered the room. He flashed a flirty smile at her mother-in-law.

"Here you are, baby. I have been looking for you everywhere." The young man said as he walked straight to her mother-in-law and kissed her.

Gloria couldn't believe her eyes at what she was seeing. The young man raised her mother-in-law's leg and started massaging it. For a while, they both ignored her as Gloria sat there awkwardly looking at the scene before her.

"So where were we?" Her mother-in-law asked Gloria, as she finally remembered that she was still there.

"Ah, yes, I remember. You see, powerful men like Victor need to relax after a hard day at work, even from his responsibilities as a husband. And I know my son very well, he's just like his father. One woman, especially a plain and uninteresting woman like you, won't be enough for him to satisfy his sexual needs."

Gloria was shocked. She knew her mother-in-law never liked her, but saying this to her was too extreme.

"Mother, are you saying that you don't see anything wrong if Victor is continuously cheating on me with different women?" Gloria asked, her voice cracking.

"There's nothing wrong about that. It's regular behavior for men, especially a successful one like him. Your husband is a millionaire and he's very handsome too. Do you know how many ladies throw themselves at him daily? You don't expect him to be fucking only you for the rest of his life. If you feel that it's going out of control, just ignore it and live your life as usual. You can also get yourself a boy toy like my baby right here." Her mother-in-law said, pinching the nipples of the young man who was still massaging her legs.

"Mother! Are you advising me to cheat on your son?"

Her mother-in-law nodded. "Just find someone to help you satisfy your sexual needs. That's what we elite women do. You know, even my late husband often cheated on me so many times in his life, maybe more than Victor. And he even brought a bastard home for me to take care of. But I didn't care. I did not divorce him because of that. Loyalty didn't matter as long as he gave me the money and luxury I needed and wanted. Isn't that the most important thing for us women? We need money to get through life. Victor has the money, you just need to be obedient to him and stop complaining about him cheating."

"Mother... I'm not like you or those other ladies," Gloria said. She clenched her fist, furious at her mother-in-law's words. "I don't want to live my whole life trapped in a loveless marriage. Victor doesn't love or respect me; he's torturing Annabel and me emotionally every day. I don't want to live like this anymore."

"Whatever, Gloria. You are so immature and ungrateful," her mother-in-law shrugged. "My son has given you money and a luxurious life, and you're still whining and complaining. I don't want to listen to you any longer. My baby wants to help me relax, so leave now, and do whatever you want."

"Fine, you don't need to say it twice. I already wanted to leave this God-forsaken place in the first place," Gloria said as she stood up to leave. When she reached the door, she turned to look at her mother-in-law one last time, but the older woman was already lying down in bed and her toy boy's head was buried in between her legs.

Gloria wanted to throw up as she ran out the door. "I won't stay in this family a minute longer. I need to get my daughter and leave this place for good," she muttered to herself as she was running.

She felt so powerless as she realized that she had no support in the Anderson family. Even her mother-in-law was no different than her son.

"This will be the last time I will entangle with this crazy family!" Gloria said, running down the hallway, until she hit something.

"What the fuck!" Gloria fell to the ground after hitting something tough in front of her. She thought she had stumbled into a wall, but when she saw expensive shoes and slim-fit black trousers right in front of her, she looked up instantly. She saw Lukas, her brother-in-law, again.

He stared down at Gloria with such a deep gaze that would drown anyone in an abyss of fantasy. "Why is he everywhere?" she muttered to herself. This is the second time he had caught her in his arms today.

"Sister-in-law! Are you alright?" he asked in his deep and somewhat husky voice. He didn't even bother releasing his grip on her waist.

Gloria could feel his hot palm radiating warmth on her skin because her dress exposed her back. What's more, Lukas even slid his finger between the strings that tied the dress from behind! His hand was gently moving to her ass.

"I-I'm fine," Gloria muttered. "Can you let me go now?"

Lukas smiled and put his hand away after her words. "Yes, sister-in-law, I just wanted to make sure you are okay." He said, flashing Gloria a smile. "And be careful while running; you are wearing high heels."

"Thanks for standing up for me earlier and for catching me now," Gloria said.

"Oh, it's nothing, sister-in-law. That's what a gentleman is supposed to do." He said.

His eyes were still fixed on Gloria, and that made her uncomfortable.

"So tell me something. I saw you crying after leaving my stepmother's room. Did something happen? You know she's like the wicked stepmother in Cinderella's story," Lukas said.

Gloria didn't know when she started laughing.

"That's more like it. I have succeeded in making you laugh, so tell me what's wrong."

"Ah, it's... it's nothing, just a little argument there," Gloria replied as she quickly said, "I will just go now. I have something I need to do urgently."

Gloria turned to leave. She just wanted to run away from the Andersons as soon as possible, but Lukas suddenly grabbed her wrist. "Sister-in-law, wait!"

Gloria turned around to face him. "Please stop calling me sister-in-law. You can call me Gloria."

Lukas smiled. "Too late for that. I love calling you sister-in-law."

Lukas fished his business card out of his pocket and put it on Gloria's palm. "We've never talked even after my return to the state. I want to catch up with you. Maybe you can call me later? I can always help you if you need anything, and I mean anything at all."

Gloria frowned. "Why would he want to help me? Did he know about what's happening between me and Victor?" She shook her head. As far as she knows, Lukas and Victor don't get along, especially after what happened with the Will. He must have sensed it with the way Victor and his secretary behaved toward her earlier.

"Well, sister-in-law, if you need anything, call my office. I'll be off to see my stepmom now. Take care, sister-in-law."

"I-I think you should wait a bit before going to see her. She's somewhat busy now," Gloria said. She did not want Lukas to barge in on her mother-in-law and her toy boy.

"Alright, sister-in-law, I will see her some other time. I have an important business to attend to, and don't forget to give me a call," he said as he walked away. Gloria looked at his back until he disappeared from the hallway.

"Why did Lukas suddenly come back to the Anderson family and even attend his stepmother's banquet? Something is not right," Gloria said as she looked at the business card Lukas had shoved into her hand. She tossed it into her purse. She knew she would not contact Lukas or ask for his help. She was done with this crazy family.