Chapter 2

I met Ryan at the hospital where he was my father's attending physician.

To be honest, Ryan was quite a catch. A 32-year-old medical PhD, he was the youngest chief of cardiothoracic surgery at their hospital. He was handsome and kept himself in great shape.

That period was my lowest point. When my father was suddenly hospitalized, our world fell apart. My mother and I had been so sheltered by my father that we had little life skills. I was running around with a stack of papers, completely lost, when I literally bumped into Ryan.

He helped me pick up the scattered papers and patiently guided me through each counter, being gentle and kind. I followed him obediently, tears in my eyes, afraid of losing him even for a moment.

From that day on, whenever we had any issues, my mother would remind me, "Ask Dr. Zheng."

Soon after, my father passed away. Ryan helped me handle the funeral arrangements, taking care of everything personally. Our relatives even mistook him for my boyfriend. Later, we naturally got together.

He had a clean dating history, being a studious man focused solely on his career. Despite his good looks and no shortage of admirers, he never gave them a second glance.

"I feel like I've been waiting for you to come along," he would say. His romantic lines were cheesy, but I loved them.

When we were preparing to get married, my mother had a serious talk with me.

"You're my only daughter, and all our family assets are yours. Ryan's family is from out of town, and he hasn't been working for long, so he probably doesn't have much savings. We'll contribute more financially. You have a long life ahead, and I believe he can give you a happy life."

My mother was heartbroken after my father's passing, seeing his memory everywhere. She decided to move south to stay with my aunt for a while.

We held our wedding at my family home. At that time, Linda was still living in the countryside and hadn't moved in with us.

Linda still maintained the image of a hardworking rural old lady. She had made an appearance when my father was critically ill, bringing some farm-raised chickens at Ryan's request.

After my father passed away, she would occasionally send me some homemade health supplements.

In my mind, she was a simple and kind old woman, lacking in education but honest and sincere.

After we got married, we were both busy with work. Ryan had a sensitive stomach that needed care, and I didn't know how to cook, so we hired a housekeeper. But Ryan was extremely picky about the housekeepers, so eventually, we decided to have Linda move in with us.

We gave Linda $1,500 a month for groceries, and whatever was left over was her pocket money.

At first, she was diligent and uncomplaining, but recently I felt she had changed. Whenever Ryan wasn't home, she would just throw together something simple for me to eat. I didn't think much of it at the time.

It wasn't until today, when she pointed her finger at me and scolded me, that I saw her true colors.

I spent the rest of the day feeling dejected, constantly reflecting on my marriage with Ryan, wondering where things had gone wrong.

Ms. Smith was right, my mother-in-law was testing my obedience. But was this her idea, or Ryan's?

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