Chapter 1

On our fiftieth wedding anniversary, my husband bought me a mini bundt cake.

My daughter-in-law saw it and made a snide remark.

"You tell me you have no money when I want a Birkin bag, but you suddenly have cash for a cake."

My son frowned and sided with his wife to criticize us.

"Keep eating! When you get diabetes, no one will take care of you!"

My grandchildren bluntly said they would throw us back to the countryside if we got sick.

"They are just burdens to our family anyway."

My heart completely went cold.

That year, at seventy-two years old, my husband and I left home.

But my son's family took turns calling and begging us to come back.

1.

"Other grandparents try their best to save good food and money for their grandchildren. But you two? Sneaking around to buy cake!"

Chloe glared at us, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

Today was Arthur and my fiftieth wedding anniversary.

He bought me a mini cake from the bakery when he drove the kids to school.

My husband secretly placed it in our bedroom to surprise me.

But unexpectedly, my daughter-in-law saw it.

She immediately started picking fights, acting like our very existence offended her.

"You claim you're broke when I ask for a Birkin, but look at you splurging on cake."

"It's the worst luck of my life marrying into the Bennett family. I suffer this suffocating anger every single day!"

I pursed my lips and wanted to argue, but Arthur grabbed my hand to stop me.

"That's just her temper. Don't engage with her."

"Come, let's eat our little cake. I wanted to buy you flowers today, but the florist wasn't open yet. I'll make it up to you tonight..."

My eyes grew red as I listened to him.

He had always treated me so well.

"Don't cry. Today is a happy day. Oh, I'll cook a few of your favorite dishes for lunch."

Just as he finished speaking, Chloe yelled from the living room that she wanted mushroom risotto for lunch.

"Oh, and make some shrimp ravioli for dinner. I only want the ones with fresh shrimp..."

Her arrogant attitude didn't treat us like elders at all.

I wanted to yell back at her again.

But my husband agreed to her demands while patting my hand, comforting me to let it go.

"Peace brings prosperity to a home. You wouldn't want our son to deal with this drama every day..."

I didn't want that, of course.

But facts proved that avoiding conflict wasn't entirely up to me.

As soon as David came home at noon, Chloe dragged him into their bedroom to complain.

The door was closed, but her voice was so loud she probably wanted the whole neighborhood to know her grievances.

"Have you ever seen grandparents like this? Buying a cake and hiding it from the kids."

She ranted about how David wasn't my biological son, and then claimed Arthur had an illegitimate child.

She even dug up old complaints from when she was recovering from childbirth years ago.

I completely lost my footing in this argument.

"Chloe Miller, speak with a conscience."

It's true I couldn't be there when she gave birth, but I paid for everything.

I wired her ten thousand dollars and told her to let me know if she needed more.

I didn't have a daughter, but I knew having a baby was a huge deal, and a mother's emotions needed care.

Besides, there was a reason we couldn't be there.

Arthur and I were in a severe car accident during that time. I injured my back, and he broke his leg.

Taking care of ourselves was hard enough back then. But to avoid causing them trouble, we gritted our teeth and survived on our own.

But what did she do?

When she took the money, she smiled and said I was the best mom. Once the money ran out, she blamed me for not helping out physically.

She was a totally ungrateful wretch.

"How am I not speaking with a conscience? You didn't come to the hospital, and that's a fact. If my parents hadn't taken care of me, I would have gotten depressed."

She yelled at me like a madwoman, claiming I bullied her because she was an outsider.

My heart physically ached from the anger.

Arthur quickly supported my swaying body and scolded Chloe for being unreasonable.

"Do you just hate peace in this house? Is this all because we didn't buy you that bag the other day?"