My boyfriend’s cousin went to live at his place after her divorce. Not only did she have a five-year-old, but she was even pregnant. She regarded my boyfriend as her support as if it were her right and blamed me for everything. She thought I had taken away her cousin.

At a family gathering one day, her son splashed a drink at me and yelled, "You’re not allowed to steal my dad!"

It happened suddenly, leaving everyone stunned. My parents and Charles Lisbon rushed over to wipe the sticky orange juice off my clothes while I looked at the angry child quietly, still in shock. He was only five years old, but he looked like his mother.

He was an adorable child, but at that moment, his eyes were full of anger. He was like a knight fighting for justice.

Selene Hecks, Charles' cousin, came over while pulling him along and said lightly, "Georgie, this isn't your dad; he's your uncle." She dragged him away without even a word of criticism or blame.

Mom was furious and shouted at her, "Stop! Apologize to my daughter! Is this how you discipline your child?!"

Selene was indifferent, and a frown married her face. She acted as if we were making trouble for no reason.

"He's still a child. What does he know?"

"Are you the same, then?" I asked back in a deep voice, my anger ignited as well.

My boyfriend's parents had also started with their chiding. They were not trying to persuade Selene and her child to apologize but were trying to get me to be more generous.

"Celia, let's not make a fuss with the child. It's a happy day for everyone today," they said, their words painting me like I was the one causing trouble unreasonably.

Today was the first time my family and Charles' were formally meeting each other, and every important relative was present. I even wore a dress that I usually would not wear for this meeting.

However, Georgie Morrison had now soaked my dress which cost over two thousand dollars with a beverage. I was furious. He did not even apologize.

The atmosphere began to sour.

At this time, my nephew, who was standing to the side, picked up a beverage and splashed it on Georgie.

Chaos descended as Selene screamed in shock, wiping the stain with a tissue before looking up to glare at us.

My cousin, Donald Crawford, rubbed his son's head and said, "He's still young and doesn't know any better. Just let it go."

It was an open counter-attack. Since they had been the ones to say it first, there was no way to refute it. The weight in my heart eased a little.

Charles pulled Georgie over and said to him seriously, "Apologize."

"No!" When Georgie saw how his uncle, who usually doted on him the most, was also lecturing him, he was more convinced that I was a bad woman. He ran over and pushed me hard, screaming, "Go away! Go away! I don't want you to be my aunt!"

In my head, a five-year-old child should be innocent and lively. Why did he have such a strong hatred towards others? It had to be because of the environment he grew up in!

I looked up at Selene, who was not far away. She was still standing there steadily and casually as if she did not care about anything.

My parents lost their temper. They pulled me away, grumbling as they walked, "I think we can forget about this relationship!"

Charles got anxious when he saw us leaving and pulled Georgie over to apologize to me.

"Charles, is this woman more important than your nephew?!" Selene had been nothing but calm before, but when she saw her son being treated so roughly, she immediately came over to protect him.

Charles' parents also rushed over to persuade him that this was no way to treat children.

When my parents saw this, they got even angrier and dragged me out of the restaurant with them.

This was the first time our two families were meeting, and it was a disaster.

My parents were still angry when we got home, but I couldn't end a decade-long relationship just like that. We were all adults now, and there were more things to consider and more worries in our hearts.

"Talk to Charles and figure out what exactly happened today."

"He's such a good child, but why does he have such a weird family?"

Dad nodded in agreement. "And that cousin of his—she's pregnant but still out there causing trouble. I was afraid she might try to cause a scene and frame someone even as I was standing right in front of her."

I could not help but laugh out loud. Mom poked me on the head. "You're still laughing? I think his cousin is strange. Why does she need to stay at his house after her divorce? And I get the feeling that she dislikes you. She's behaving as if you took something away from her."

This part was true. I did not know much about Selene. All I knew was that Charles' mother was very fond of her brother, and since her brother had a daughter later in life, she also doted on her brother's daughter—Selene.

I had heard Charles mention things from his childhood. Selene had grown up alongside him, and they shared a deep bond. She was almost like a sister to him. This was why she was allowed to move into his house after her divorce.

Even after losing her financial support, she still managed to live quite comfortably. A big part of the reason was that five people were supporting her—Charles' uncle and aunt, his parents, and Charles himself.

Perhaps she thought that if I married Charles, she would lose part of the financial sources all at once. She had a five-year-old son and an unborn child to take care of. School fees, baby formula—all these needed money.

Her ex-husband was useless, always out messing around. He had never given her any financial help.

Hence, she had no choice but to turn her focus to her dear cousin's family. Once explained like this, it made sense. No wonder she would think I had taken something away from her.

My phone buzzed, indicating I had a new message. I opened it to find a long apology from Charles' mother. It was nothing more than her saying that she felt sorry for how awkward the first meeting went and that she regretted how things turned out.

She lowered herself in the message, and soon, others in the family group chat, including the cousins who had been silent for a long time, started apologizing as well.

My frustration eased a little. All I had wanted from the beginning was for their family to take a stand. Anyone would feel uncomfortable if they were treated like this.

I had just typed a bunch of words to indicate that it was alright when I saw that Charles' uncle also apologized to me. [Whatever happened today was all Georgie's fault, but we, as elders, have also failed to properly educate our child.]

Then, he tagged Selene and told her to apologize to me.

The group chat immediately fell silent. For five whole minutes, no one responded. Selene's silence clearly showed that she did not want to apologize to me.

My anger flared up again, and I immediately deleted the message I had typed out about "everyone getting along peacefully".

Another five minutes passed before Selene finally sent a message: [Sorry, Miss White. Please forgive me for my ignorance.]

Then, she sent a few photos. They were all photos of me with a guy. In one of them, I was wearing a Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet, smiling brightly.

I instantly felt the blood rush to my head. These photos were ones I had posted a long time ago on various social media platforms. How did she find them?!

I felt humiliated, as if I had been stripped and watched in secret.

She continued: [Miss White, you've dined with this man multiple times, which proves you have a close relationship. The bracelet you're wearing in these photos was also a gift from him, right? I've been looking into you, and with your and Charles' salaries, you wouldn't be able to afford this bracelet. So, my question is—are you his mistress?]

They said a woman became foolish during pregnancy, but I felt like her foolishness knew no bounds.

For her to bring something entirely baseless into the family group chat and speak with such a smug tone, it was as if she wanted everyone to praise her for being some kind of great detective.

At that moment, all I could do was send a smiling emoji because I had nothing else to say in response. Charles, however, was even angrier than I was. He snapped: [What are you talking about?! This man is Celia's cousin. The photos were taken after a rare family gathering that happens each year. He was the one who bought that bracelet. What are you even babbling about?! Are you crazy?!]

Charles and I had been together for ten years, and it was the first time I had ever seen him this furious. I figured he was so mad that his blood was boiling.

Selene quickly retracted the message, but the photos she had sent could not be retracted. They remained in the chat, standing out like a sore thumb.

Everyone in the group chat began to pretend to chat casually, trying to push those photos up and out of sight. I just stared at those photos as it had became clear to me that Selene had been stalking me for more than just a month or two.

I posted a lot of random thoughts on Facebook, and I set my posts to be visible only for the past six months. For her to find these photos, she had to have been stalking me for at least a year.

She had been lurking for so long, and yet the only photos she saved were the ones of me dining with another man and wearing an expensive bracelet. She saved them just to accuse me of being a mistress.

I was disgusted to the point of being speechless, and at the same time, my anger was burning inside me.

At that moment, Charles sent me a message, trying to comfort me. He told me not to let this matter ruin my health.

[She's about to drive my entire family crazy. We don't even know what she's up to… Baby, don't be angry. My mom said that when you come over in a few days, she'll apologize to you in person. Today was really too much, and we'll handle it. You should tell your parents about this.]

I felt a sense of relief wash over me. I sighed.

[I'd rather not say anything. It'll just make them angry again.]

Charles had nothing to do with his cousin's actions, and I could not just redirect my frustration at him. So, I decided to give them one more chance.

…

The next time I visited their house was on the weekend.

Charles' parents and his uncle and aunt all lived together. The house was not big, but it was crammed with people, making it feel even smaller. The air was thick and suffocating.

Luckily, his uncle and aunt were at work today, so there were only six people in the house.

Selene was sitting upright on the couch in the living room, watching TV. Next to her was Georgie, who immediately frowned and glared at me when he saw me. He must have received a warning, however, as he did not do anything other than stare at me.

I sat down next to her.

Selene rubbed her large belly, looked at me, and asked, "Why aren't you helping out? Why are you just sitting here?"

"I'm a guest. What am I supposed to help with?"

She lazed around at home all the time, but when it came to others, she had double standards.

Beside us, Georgie saw a new transforming toy on the TV and pulled on Selene's hand as he yelled, "Mom, Mom, I want this! I want this 388-dollar toy! Buy it for me, buy it for me!"

"Wait a minute. We'll get Uncle Charles to buy it for you, okay?" Selene said calmly as if this was something that happened often.

Charles seemed to be at her beck and call, but I wasn't angry. I kept scrolling through my phone without changing my expression.

Seeing that I was not upset, Selene said softly to Georgie, "Georgie, you need to be more considerate. When you have an aunt, your uncle won't spoil you so much anymore."