I caught on that Margaret was messing with my baby Alex, so I kept him away from her as much as possible.

Margaret didn't have much to do except gossip with the neighbors, so it wasn't long before she focused on us again.

I used to do all of Lorenzo's laundry before I got pregnant. After having the baby, I told him he'd need to start handling his own laundry.

Despite being babied by Margaret all his life, Lorenzo understood my struggles and didn't make a fuss.

But Margaret lost it when she saw her baby boy doing his own laundry.

"Lillian, what kind of wife are you, making your man wash his own clothes?" Margaret snapped at me.

After giving birth, I really saw Margaret for who she was, so I didn't let her insults slide.

"What, does he not have hands? Am I supposed to be a servant?" I fired back.

Snatching the unwashed laundry from Lorenzo, Margaret hissed, "What makes you think you deserve to be part of this family? You freeload off us, and doing chores is the least you can do."

That hit a nerve with Lorenzo, probably because he'd been working late so much lately. He looked really upset.

I burst out laughing, incredulous. "Freeloading? Do you think Alex just popped out of thin air? Think your son is some great catch? When Lorenzo and I applied to the same company, they offered me a salary 500 dollars more than his."

That shut Margaret up. She just muttered curses under her breath while angrily washing Lorenzo's underwear.

After taking Alex back to our room, I posted a tweet that only close friends and family could see.

It said: [Turns out Lorenzo's still a big kid. His mom still washes his undies. Guess we'll just stick to managing our own kids.] I capped it off with a smiley emoji.

The Sullivan family was a complicated bunch. They pretended to be close just to keep tabs on each other, even though they really couldn't stand seeing one another succeed. Naturally, Twitter was their go-to for all the family gossip.

Margaret never stopped bragging about Lorenzo landing a great job and being so stable and competent. She could go on all day.

At family gatherings, the Sullivans usually had poker faces, all except Margaret, who was always over the moon.

My tweet racked up a bunch of likes.

Clearly, Lorenzo saw it too. He came into the room and said, "Lillian, stop tweeting nonsense."

When Margaret checked Twitter, her face turned red as a beet.

The comments section lit up. The Sullivan relatives pretended to be clueless, acting concerned while subtly slamming Lorenzo for being shameful.

Both Lorenzo and Margaret hate losing face. Seeing that I wasn't paying them any attention, Lorenzo backed down. "Mom, you should stop doing these things for me. It's making us look bad."

Margaret shot me a venomous look. Clearly, keeping up Lorenzo's image was her top priority.

Even though Margaret backed off, her eyes lingered on Alex in my arms.

After Margaret and Lorenzo started treating me like a freeloader, I decided I wasn't going to let them walk all over me anymore. It was time to prove myself.

After all, I had graduated from a top university, so I was confident I could land a job.

At my last job, a manager named Julia really valued me. She'd often say my talent was underused.

Even after I got laid off for being pregnant, Julia and I kept in touch.

A few months later, when Julia heard I was job hunting, her eyes lit up. "Hey, weren't you a journalism major? Ever thought about being a reporter?"

In college, I was a reporter for the campus newspaper, and I wrote a lot of the stories.

I took her offer.

That evening, when Lorenzo heard I'd found a new job, his face fell. It was not the reaction I'd hoped for.

He scowled and asked, "Who's going to take care of your son if you're working?"

His question annoyed me. "Isn't Alex your son too?

Why is it fine for you to work but I'm just supposed to stay home with the kid?"

Margaret was right there, playing with Alex. I shot her a meaningful look. "Without my own income, I don't have a voice in this family.

I wasn't born to serve others."

Margaret stopped, her hand frozen with a toy in it.

She grabbed Alex's hand and slapped it against her own palm, acting as if he was hitting her. "Mommy's bad. Hit mommy. Your mommy doesn't want you anymore."

I frowned and glanced at Lorenzo for support. Unexpectedly, he looked away, acting as if he'd heard nothing.

I walked over with a stern face, determined not to engage with Margaret. I bent down to pick up Alex and head back to our room.

Unexpectedly, Margaret grabbed Alex's hand, and slapped my face with it.

She smirked triumphantly, "Alex is just playing with you."

It wasn't a hard slap, but the insult was clear.

Furious, I turned to Lorenzo, who seemed to find the whole situation amusing.

I scoffed at both of them, then swung my hand hard at Lorenzo.

He was caught off guard and staggered back, his glasses flying off and shattering on the floor.

"Lillian!" he yelled, boiling with anger.

Margaret, overly protective as always, shrieked and lunged at me, trying to pull my hair.

"How dare you hurt my son! I'll kill you!" she screamed.

Margaret had always lived a life of comfort. She was frail and no match for me.

I easily dodged her, and she stumbled, nearly falling.

Cradling Alex, I chuckled. "Margaret, can't you take a joke? Lorenzo and I were just playing around. Isn't slapping fun?"

Margaret was livid, picking up on my sarcasm.

"I never knew what a wicked woman you were when you begged to marry into our family!" she hissed.

She snorted with contempt. "If it weren't because you didn't ask a dowry, practically throwing yourself at my son, I would never have accepted you.

Shame on you, bitch."

My hand still tingled from slapping Lorenzo, so I rubbed it. And now I felt oddly calm inside.

Overwhelmed by our fight, Lorenzo shouted, "We're getting a divorce!"

Margaret's face went pale.