Chapter 1

I sold my old house and put a few million more of my own toward a big open-floor apartment as a marital home for my son.

My daughter-in-law was over the moon. She spent half a month drawing up a design plan.

"Sid and I will take the master suite. My mom can't sleep with my dad because of his snoring, so they'll each take one of the other two smaller suites."

"And the three remaining rooms can be a nursery, a study, and a room for the pets. What do you all think?"

My son said yes, yes, over and over, while my in-laws dabbed at their eyes and said what a devoted daughter and son-in-law they had.

Not one of them noticed my name was missing from the plan, so I had to say something myself.

"Did you forget to write my name in?"

The smile froze on Alison's face, and she shot me an annoyed look.

Sid quickly pulled me aside to explain.

"Alison can't handle living with you. You've got your pension anyway, so a nursing home is really the best fit."

"If you want to move in, go get a few certifications, and once we have a baby, you can live in the maid's quarters and help take care of the child."

I was furious. There was no way I could accept this arrangement.

But Sid only told me not to make a scene, saying that if things blew up, he'd be the one in the tough spot.

My in-laws chimed in too, telling me to stop always thinking about getting something back and to think more about giving.

And Alison slapped the design plan against my face and told me I'd better use the best renovation materials.

I let out one cold laugh after another, and through my teeth I said, fine.

Then, after they left, I threw the design plan in the trash.

Since you don't treat me like your mother, this apartment is better off kept for myself to live in.

One:

I worked to steady the shock and anger inside me.

At first I'd only meant to buy the two of them a three-bedroom place to live in. It was the two of them who coaxed me into selling the house, saying buy something bigger, saying they wanted to live with their parents so everyone could look out for one another.

But I never imagined.

That "parents" meant Alison Hansen's parents, and had nothing whatsoever to do with me, the one who'd put in the money and the effort.

So no matter how hard I held myself back, my voice still carried anger and disbelief.

"Sid Lyons, I carried you for ten months and gave birth to you, then raised and cared for you all these years, and your plan for me is to move your father-in-law and mother-in-law into the apartment I bought, and then send me off to a nursing home on my own pension?"

Sid kept his head down and said nothing.

Beside him, my in-laws Jordan Hansen and Margot Lambert let out a couple of dry little laughs.

Then they moved in on either side of me and started working on me.

"When we have a baby, we can't just be thinking about making things hard for the child. We've got to be thinking about the child living comfortably."

"Besides, a nursing home isn't as scary as you make it sound. A good nursing home is a lot better than living with your own kids."

"You're all on your own. In a nursing home you can even make friends, maybe even find yourself a little late-life romance."

"And if you land someone with money, you'd have even more left to give, to help the child along."

I nearly died of rage.

"If nursing homes are so wonderful, why don't the two of you go?"

"You're so eager to be of use in your later years, why don't you two divorce and each find someone new?"

Jordan and Margot had no comeback, their faces a little wounded.

Watching this, Sid decided I was "kicking up a fuss for nothing," so his tone came out even more impatient than mine.

"You really need me to spell it out?"

"It's exactly because you love stirring up trouble like this, because you're so pushy and always have to fight over everything, that we don't want to live with you."