Chapter 4

That attitude of mine tipped Selina right over the edge.

I'd barely gotten a few words in with my mother before the family group chat lit up with a flood of messages.

I opened it. All of it was Selina, sobbing her heart out.

【I worked myself to the bone raising my son, and this is the kind of wife he ends up with.】

【My son arranges a trip for her mother out of pure kindness, and what does she do? Not a shred of gratitude. She goes and transfers every cent out of the family account.】

The relatives piled on fast.

【Layla, how can you treat your mother-in-law like this? Once you marry in, you're supposed to know your place.】

【I said it from the start, didn't I? Don't marry a country girl. They're all from the sticks, what kind of manners could you expect?】

【Exactly. Cornelius has a college degree, he could've had any woman he wanted. How did he end up with such a crooked little tree?】

I read through it all and couldn't help laughing.

Same old routine, running down country people.

When they were the ones being waited on hand and foot by my mother, why didn't her being from the countryside bother them then?

When Cornelius broke his leg, nobody was calling my mother a country woman.

Take the food and curse the cook. No shame at all.

Now one line, "that old country woman," and they think it wipes out everything she gave.

Really, it was almost funny.

I was about to leave the chat when a message from Cornelius's cousin Hildegarde James popped up.

【Auntie, don't take it too hard. There's a much better opportunity right in front of you now.】

【My boss's daughter just got divorced. Her family's worth hundreds of millions. Now that's a real match for Cornelius.】

【She's traveling in a lawless region abroad right now. What do you all think, why not reroute and go meet her there?】

That stopped me cold.

Just last night I'd seen Hildegarde on her social media feed, bragging that she had a big deal coming up soon, one that would make her a lot of money.

That big deal wouldn't happen to be the James family, would it?

Hildegarde wasn't done.

【A man should always aim higher. Layla comes from a single-parent home. A woman like that, her horizons and her circle only go so far.】

The chat filled up with flattery on cue.

【Cornelius is so impressive, he really should find someone with better standing.】

Cornelius said nothing.

It was Selina who went straight to Hildegarde and had her post the contact details in the chat.

I was still weighing whether to warn them when someone kicked me out of the group.

Fine by me. No point talking sense into people bent on their own ruin.

Right then, the boarding announcement came over the speakers.

"Passengers traveling to Aspen, your flight is now boarding. Please power down all electronic devices."

I quickly canceled Cornelius and his family's check-in, refunded the tickets, and switched off my phone.

Then I took my mother's hand and started toward the gate.

"Mom, ready?"

She still looked uneasy.

"Layla, if we just leave like this, your husband's family will..."

I smiled.

"Mom."

"From today on, we don't have to deal with them anymore."

"This time, let me be the one to show you the world out there."

My mother looked at me, and her eyes slowly went red.

"All right. I'll do as you say."