Chapter 1

I wanted to hire a postpartum caregiver to help me recover after giving birth.However, my husband suggested having my mother-in-law come to take care of me.

After she arrived, every meal she made was dry bread—for an entire week.

I assumed she just couldn't cook, so I figured I'd wait a couple more days until I felt stronger and start cooking for myself.

Then one morning, my husband called to say he'd be home for lunch, and his mother immediately went to the grocery store.

The smell wafted from the kitchen, and by noon the table was loaded with food.

The three of us ate lunch together, laughing and chatting like a perfectly happy family, and afterward my husband headed straight back to work.

That evening, the only thing on the dinner table was a piece of dry bread.

I throw the bread into the trash right in front of her and ordered takeout.

She called her son. When he picked up, she didn't say a word. She just started crying.

It took several minutes of Gordon asking what was wrong before she finally spoke.

"I’m fine, really, I'm fine, it's got nothing to do with Eudora, she treats me well, I'm just... I'm just…"

"Never mind… I'm really fine."

The second she hung up, my phone rang.

I answered and put it on speaker.

My husband's furious voice blared from the speaker.

"Eudora Fox! What did you do to my mother?!"

……

I'd met plenty of women who knew exactly how to play the victim. But a mother-in-law who could play the victim this well? That was a first.

I didn’t bother answering. I just hung up.

This was something that needed to be settled face to face.

A little over three hours later, Gordon Hardy stormed through the door.

"Gordon, it really has nothing to do with Eudora." His mother hurried over to him. "It's just that I'm old, and there's a lot I can't handle anymore."

"Taking care of the baby and cooking on top of that really wears me out."

"That's the only reason Eudora ended up with bread tonight."

"It's my fault. She threw the bread away. That's fine. I just won't do it again."

"No matter how tired I am from now on, I'll take good care of Eudora and the baby. You go back to work. Don't worry about anything here."

"It's fine if I have to suffer a little. I can't let Eudora and the baby suffer because of me."

Gordon's face hardened.

"Eudora, my mother came here to take care of you through your recovery. Even if you don't appreciate everything she's doing, she's still here taking care of you. What kind of daughter-in-law acts like this?"

I looked at him. "You don't have to shout at me. Your phone's linked to the home security system. Go check the footage. You'll see exactly what happened."

His mother wiped away a tear and stared at Gordon.

"Never mind, I'm really fine. You should get back to work."

"Don't let me come between you two as a couple."

"I've had a hard life, I'm used to it. It's fine."

Gordon didn't so much as glance at the security footage. He just glared at me.

"Eudora, my mother grew up working the land. She's been a simple, hardworking woman her whole life."

"She worked herself to the bone raising me. I swore I'd never let her suffer again."

"No one gets to make her suffer."

"Now you apologize to her. Right now."

"Gordon, being a good son is admirable."

"But... blind obedience is not."

"If you'd just listen to me for once, you'd check the security footage. Then you'd see for yourself what happened in this house instead of standing here arguing with me without knowing the facts."

"And I never made your mother suffer. From the very start, all I wanted was to hire a postpartum caregiver."

Gordon kicked the coffee table. "Eudora, my mother came here out of the goodness of her heart to help us with the baby, and this is the attitude you give her?"

He glared at me. "She's crying her eyes out. Do you think she'd be this upset if you hadn't treated her so badly?"

"Now, you're going to apologize to her."

"Right this second."

"Whoever cries is automatically in the right?" My expression hardened.

"I told you, go check the security footage."

"Footage, footage!" Gordon roared, grabbing his glass of water and smashing it against the camera. "You think giving birth means you get special treatment?"